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Playing tennis in college requires a multifaceted tennis recruiting strategy. The college recruiting process for tennis players is very competitive, as shown by the following college tennis statistics.
There are over 1100 women’s tennis programs and over 900 men’s tennis programs in the US. There are usually 8-12 players on a team, although this varies by division and school. For more information on specific college tennis programs, visit the ITA website. The following 3 steps will provide a guide to set you on your path toward a successful tennis recruitment.As you can see from the table above, there are a large number of aspiring college tennis players and a much smaller number of college tennis roster spots available for these players. Therefore, assuming you are good enough to play tennis at some level in college, it is important to have an effective tennis recruiting strategy as you begin to navigate the entire process.
1. Evaluate Your Best Fit Both Academically and Athletically
The first step of getting recruited to play college tennis is to create an initial college list with a few colleges that you wish to focus on. It is important to center this around both academics and athletics, as well as other Best Fit factors such as geographical location, school size, religious affiliation etc. For more general information on how to select your initial colleges click here. Many tennis players make the mistake of solely focusing on the tennis aspect of the college. The statistics show that a very low percentage of college tennis players will go on to play professionally, so it is important to ensure you have a good college experience and come out of college with a great degree. Also, if you have a season ending injury find yourself not enjoying the non-tennis aspects of the college then you may end up transferring. Finding your very Best Fit schools is easy with the AM’s Individual Plan.
When it comes to evaluating what NCAA Division you should be playing tennis at there are a number of ways to assess your level. One of the best ways is to speak to players who play or have played tennis in college and get their feedback. As you start to narrow the schools you are interested in, take a look at their top 6 players — are your rankings similar to the rankings of these players? If the answer is yes, you could be a candidate for a spot on the roster and an athletic scholarship at a program that offers them. Likewise, if you have consistently close matches with a player who is playing at a high level Division II school then this may be a good indication that you should be playing around that level too.
Another way to assess your level is to speak to your high school and club coaches. Often, these coaches have extensive experience watching their players get recruited to certain schools based on their ability. These coaches will be able to give you an unbiased opinion of your general playing level. Your tournament results are a good indication as you can compare your results and rankings to those around you and assess where others are applying to play college tennis. Finally, if you play in a showcase tournament or another event where coaches are present and receive emails from them afterward this is usually a good indication that you fit within that specific level.
2. Strengthen your Tennis and Academic Value
Before you begin to reach out to the tennis coaches at the schools on your college list it is important to prime your message to these coaches. Remember, tennis roster spots are very competitive so you need to make sure you stand out. First, create a great Tennis Resume, following the advice from this link. This is the best spot to list all of your tennis accomplishments including your best tournament results and current rankings. College coaches utilize a number of tools to figure out the level of recruits early in the process; these include USTA Rankings (both section and national), International Tennis Federation (ITF) Rankings and Universal Tennis Ratings (UTR). You will want to make sure your ranking on any of these ranking systems is easily visible to a coach in your communications.
In addition to ranking, list your most recent tennis-based accomplishments and go down the list to older tennis accolades. This information could include any other valuable tennis-related accomplishments such as being a team captain. End your tennis resume with two references, contact information for your club or high school tennis coaches if possible. College tennis coaches won’t utilize this initially but when they are nearing the end of their recruiting process they may want to find out more about you from another experienced tennis pro. Your Tennis Resume should also include basic academic information such as GPA, SAT/ACT scores, grad year etc. College tennis coaches quickly filter through applicants based on whether or not they will be admitted to the school on academic grounds. If you have sufficient grades to be admitted to the school without any coach involvement they are more likely to prioritize you. This is why step 1 is important, as it allows you to target schools where coaches will be encouraged to recruit you, on academic grounds as well as tennis grounds.
In addition to documenting your suitability for a program on a Tennis Resume, it is important to provide a tennis highlight reel to prospective college tennis coaches. This tennis highlight reel should follow these recruiting highlight video guidelines. The aim of the tennis highlight reel is to stimulate interest on the part of the tennis coach. The video should show successive points from games in different matches. The best way to do the video is to combine one game each from multiple different matches, some serving and some receiving. This will allow the coach to see successive points (rather than isolated plays) and also get a sense of your consistency across matches. The tennis highlight video is essentially a teaser, showing the coach your good technique, quickness, best shots etc. If you want to go the extra mile you can also incorporate some doubles plays into the video as college tennis involves both singles and doubles. You want your tennis highlight video to be of high quality, succinct and relatively brief. For a great highlight video editing tool, or service, visit the AM Highlight Reel Creator. Once you have a great tennis resume and tennis highlight video it is time to reach out to college coaches.
3. Communicate with College Tennis Coaches
Armed with a great college list, your tennis resume and tennis recruiting highlight video it is time to reach out to your targeted tennis coaches. College websites usually have the relevant contact information for each coach. You will want to reach out to each coach individually, using your private email account or AM’s Fit First Platform. Do not use traditional college recruiting websites to send branded, impersonal emails as coaches dislike these types of communications. Keep your email brief, as coaches receive thousands of emails and don’t have time to scour through long emails. Follow these email guidelines and attach your Tennis Resume and a link to your Tennis Highlight Reel. Once you begin the conversation you will want to let the coach know of any showcase tournaments or events you will be playing in that may be near to them. The aim of this is to get them to come out and watch you play. You should also end the email with an opened-ended question which asks what the next steps of the process need to be and what other resources you can provide to them. If you don’t hear back in 7-10 days, send a follow up email following the same guidelines as above. Coaches are very busy, so don’t take a lack of response to mean a lack of interest.
Following these steps will help you to decide which colleges to prioritize as well as how to communicate your value to the tennis coaches of these colleges. This will help you to maximize your chances of a successful tennis recruiting outcome. Create a Free Profile today to begin your journey to your best fit college, or try our search & filter tool for free.