A Bold New Plan for U.S. Player Development

November 26, 2014 | By Steven Kaplan

The USTA has a whopping $30 million annual player development budget, according to The New York Times. Given their goal to "Create the Next Generation of Champions," things are not going too well. While the women's side seems brighter than the men's side, the outlook for the next great American, capable of winning multiple Grand Slams is a long way off. In fact, it seems that each Grand Slam sets a new record for U.S. tennis futility such as this last U.S. Open which saw no American male reach the fourth round for just the second time in the 134-year history of the event (the first time was last year).

Patrick McEnroe is now out as the director of player development after a five-year run, and USTA Executive Director Gordon A. Smith laments, “He will be hard to replace.”

The new director of player development, as The New York Times explained, “Will need to hit the ground running." I hope the new USTA director will bring a new vision for High Performance American Tennis.

I have several suggestions for the USTA to grow the game through player development, but I don't really expect all of them to be taken very seriously because they are a far departure from the status quo.

1. The current tournament system does not allow for the economic feasibility of clubs providing sufficient umpires at all Level 2 or higher tournaments. The USTA should subsidize this cost.
Legendary coach Robert Lansdorp has been saying for years that junior tennis shenanigans need to be cleaned up for the sport to grow and he's right. Many parents and children are turned off by the gamesmanship, poor sportsmanship and cheating in junior tennis. The current setup is flawed, as it's difficult to think of another sport in which children are asked to act as their own referee. The result is that the most aggressive kids, who are the least respectful of the rules, often flourish and the kids who embrace fair play often choose between honor and honesty or pragmatism and advancement. It's a systemically rotten choice. Add in some nervous, demanding parents, as well as ambitious coaches sitting on the sidelines and it's not difficult to understand why some of the best kids and their families are fleeing tournament tennis.

2. The USTA needs to do a better job at identifying, motivating and developing talent at a young age.
The current "talent identification" system identifies resources and playing background more than it targets talent. You need resources to progress to the level that your ranking and skills get you on the USTA radar and many talented young players are overlooked.

We need to think "out of the box" here, and go beyond the scope and reach of the current QuickStart program.

I propose establishing a balance and coordination program for young children, with funding from the USTA, so that it is free to the public as an outreach program. Let's call it "First Start." This would not be a groundbreaking program, as other countries have embraced the idea of early development athletic training with great results.

It can be run at existing clubs and it will immediately boost a declining industry. More importantly, it “Will Grow the Game!” John McEnroe has been talking about the need for tennis in this country to "attract better athletes." Former top 10 American Todd Martin, whose name has been thrown around as a candidate for new the role of new head of player development, recently said, “As long as the best athletes are going to football, basketball, soccer and lacrosse (I don't want to offend lacrosse players as they are great, but lacrosse?) we're going to struggle." How about we attract the best young athletes to tennis by training them in critical areas at important stages of development? This program would provide an edge in athletic development, talent identification and reduce the image of the sport that it is not economically accessible to all.

Imagine hundreds of thousands of families introduced to thousands of tennis facilities and staffs across the country. Even with a retention rate of just one out of 20, the growth potential for the sport can be enormous.

3. Players should be allocated funds by the USTA for training advancement.
Renowned Brown University Women's Coach Paul Wardlaw favors a system of individual funding for talented players as the costs of tennis can be staggering. Bloomberg News recently estimated that the average cost of developing a world-class tennis player is $400,000 over a career, or approximately $50,000 annually. Thirty million a year is a lot of money. For just $10 million annually, 200 players a year could receive an average of $50,000.

This money could be allocated based in part on financial need combined with the cost of local training. For example, the cost of court time in New York is higher than in Southern California, and this would need to be factored in. The players and their families would not receive the funds directly. Instead, the monies would be payable directly to those providing services so that player's amateur status is preserved. Players may be given guidelines for spending funds, so that at least 15 percent must be allocated to non, on-court instructional training, such as physical trainers, nutritionists, sports psychologists, etc. These guidelines will help increase the scope of each players’ training and these specialists could be required to register with the USTA to help ensure that they follow recommended practices for high performance players. Billing guidelines could be established for those providing services to players as well.

The Canadian Tennis Federation permitted Eugenie Bouchard to train outside of Canada with their financial support. That seems to be working out okay. Imagine if we used this strategy on a way wider scale.

The concept of National USTA Training Centers is flawed. As day academies, they appeal only to those in close proximity. As resident academies, they place the USTA in the child care business and the results of this venture thus far have been less than successful. More than $100 million will be spent on a new tennis center in Orlando, and this is costly and redundantly inefficient. The operating budget must be at least $5 million yearly. Amortized out, that's $200 million over the next 20 years or $10 million a year (assuming no debt service). Why spend this enormous amount of money to compete with the many great and successful academies already in the state of Florida? U.S. Open finalist Kei Nisihkori trained at IMG Academy with the financial support of Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai since the age of 14. Why not use this money to offer to send hundreds of aspiring players to academies like IMG who have a proven record of developing top players?

4. The USTA needs to invest in performance and academic education.
The first educational investment can address making U.S. tennis the world leader in sports research and development. We need to be cutting-edge in sports performance science to compete on the world stage. The USTA should take responsibility to be on the cutting edge of scientific discovery and they should fund the development of innovative technologies and methods of high performance in a dedicated research and development center. I think it's in the plans for the new Orlando center and it's a very worthwhile aspect of that enormous project.

Of equal value is the need to guide young players to seamlessly integrate tennis training with elementary, secondary and higher education. How about the creation or hiring of an independent educational advisement service to help guide young players and parents make the important educational decisions they may be faced with as rising tennis stars?

Finally, vocational, employment and educational support services for former professionals would greatly reduce the risk of turning pro and act as a motivating safety net to those considering joining the Pro Tour. We shouldn't cut players loose if they try and fail.

The USTA is committed to the idea that to grow the sport, we need to grow U.S. champions. I'm all for it, and it can be done. It will take financial and core value accountability, bold creativity, a free market vision and a commitment to education.


Steven Kaplan

Steven Kaplan is the owner and managing director of Bethpage Park Tennis Center, as well as director emeritus of Lacoste Academy for New York City Parks Foundation and executive director and founder of Serve & Return Inc. Steve has coached more than 1,100 nationally-ranked junior players, 16 New York State high school champions, two NCAA Division 1 Singles Champions, and numerous highly-ranked touring professionals. Many of the students Steve has closely mentored have gone to achieve great success as prominent members of the New York financial community, and in other prestigious professions. In 2017, Steve was awarded the Hy Zausner Lifetime Achievement Award by the USTA. He may be reached by e-mail at StevenJKaplan@aol.com.

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