High School Tennis Archives - On One Hand Business... On the Other Hand Sports

What is the Purpose of High School Tennis Programs?

March 17, 2016November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

If a group of parents, athletic directors, trade associations, manufacturers, retailers, coaches, tennis professionals, medical services, and athletes were convened to discuss the purpose of high school tennis they would provide a variety reasons why high school tennis is important. Some of the perspectives are listed below. High school tennis is:

• An individual sport. This is reflected by the fact that the state tournament is actually 7 different tournaments – 3 singles and 4 doubles. Athletes learn to manage mistakes and solve problems when they are the only person competing.
• A team sport. Players learn to enjoy the sport with a group of girls who share a love of the sport.
• An individual sport with team scoring. This allows the athletes to get best of both worlds. They can play an individual sport and still be supported by teammates.
• A large market for tennis goods and services.
• An athletic program that may focus on quantity rather than quality of the program. Smaller programs may have 30 players while some programs have as many as 150 players.
• A feeder system for college tennis. This may be the case for the stronger teams. Frequently, players who want to play college tennis are more likely to focus on USTA tournaments and rankings than high school tennis.
• A program intended for players who will not play sports after high school.
• A feeder program for local tennis clubs, recreation programs, and USTA programs.
• The recipient of players from other programs – local tennis clubs, recreation programs, and USTA programs. This perspective views high school tennis as the center of tennis for adolescents.
• A glorified intramural program. This may be the case for JV or lower programs or schools that make it a no-cut sport.
• A program that gives juniors an opportunity to play during the school year. This may be the case for players who play tennis in recreation programs and summer tennis clubs.
• Social tennis, where the primary purpose is for players to play with their friends.
• Entry level programs where players learn to play sport in a no-pressure, no-cut environment.

All of these perceptions about the purpose of high school tennis have merit; however, high school tennis cannot be all things to all people. The industry and the school programs would be better served if high school tennis leaders would identify its primary and secondary purposes, communicate those purposes to the industry, and become more formally integrated into the industry.

2016 Colorado High School Girls Tennis Season Around the Corner

February 16, 2016November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

Every year the Colorado high school spring sports season kicks off in mid to late February 29. For tennis fans that means about 4,500 girls will be hitting the courts in 150 locations. The boys are lucky. Their season is in the fall.

More precisely, the NFHS reported that 4,552 girls played on 153 teams during the 2014-2015 Colorado high school girls season. Despite the popularity of tennis, the number of participants has tapered off since a peak in 2008-2009. That season there were 151 programs and a peak of 4,901 participants.

The varsity season can be summed up as follows:
• The varsity season spans 59 days with a starting date of February 29th and an end date of April 27th, the final day of the regional tournament.
• There are 38 school days during the season and there are 21 scheduled off days. There will be 31 days of matches and practices and 28 days of unscheduled and scheduled off days.
• During the season, there are approximately 29 hours spent in practice and 21 hours spent in competition.

More specifically, the activity for the varsity season can be classified in four categories: competition, practice, unscheduled off days, scheduled off-days.
• Competition (matches and tournaments) CHSAA restricts the number of tournaments and matches that teams can play.
― It is estimated that players will play 4 matches in 3 days of tournaments. Those four matches will each last 1.5 hours per match. Athletes will play 6 hours in tournament competition during the season.
― It is estimated that players will play 10 days of dual matches. The average time of each match will be 1.5 hours. Approximately 15 hours will spend playing dual matches.
― The total time spent in competition is 21 hours.
• Practice and challenge matches – Coaches will plan to have 25 days for practice and challenge matches. In a best case scenario they will get 18 days for these activities.
― It is assumed the team will spend 3 days playing challenge matches or mini-matches to determine the lineup. During this time, a player will play 3 matches/mini matches. On average each of the 3 matches will take 1 hour, for a total of 3 hours.
― The team will have 15 days of practice scheduled for 2 hours. In a best case scenario a team will practice for 1.75 hours on those 15 days for a total of about 26 hours.
― The total time on court is about 29 hours. This is a best case scenario.
• Unscheduled off-days – As previously mentioned, coaches plan for 25 days of practice and challenge matches. Inevitably, there are at least 7 days where no time is spent on the court.
― The biggest challenge facing spring sports is the weather. There is usually at least 5 days where there is inclement weather. During some years this number may approach 10 days.
― There will be at least 2 days for school-related activities where no tennis is played. This includes photo days or unforeseen events. Sometimes coaches will give the team time off after they have played back-to-back matches. Other coaches give players the Friday off before Spring break.
― This estimate projects there will be 7 days when players are involved in non-scheduled activities. That number may be as high as 12 days.
• Scheduled off-days – During this 59-day period there are 21 scheduled off-days.
― There are 5 days for spring break.
― There are 16 weekend days.

The total on-court activity is 50 hours during the 59 day season. This breakdown is similar at many of the top schools and will vary based on the weather, qualifications of the coach, budget, and the number of players and courts.

It is great that girls have an opportunity to play in a high school tennis program. At the same time it is a challenge for high school athletic departments to make the program meaningful for the athletes given that most programs face significant budgetary and facility challenges and the fact the athletes have limited time in competition and practice while they are in the program.

Colorado Girls High School Tennis Has Strong Foundation

February 4, 2016November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

Between the 1999/2000 and 2014/2015 academic years the number of Colorado girls high school tennis programs in Colorado ranged from 110 to 153, with the peak coming in 2014/2015. This increase comes after declines in the two previous seasons. The range of the number of boys and girls programs was similar during these 15 years.

For this period, there has been a wide range of participation in girls programs. Interestingly, there is a solid correlation between the number of girls programs and the number of participants. That was not the case with the boys tennis. Over this period the annualized rate of growth in participation is 2.4%.

At its peak in 2008/2009, there were 4,901 participants. The number of participants has since trended downwards, for no obvious reason.

The lowest number of participants during this period occurred in 1999/2000.

Between 1999 and 2015 the Colorado population increased by from 4.2 million to 5.4 million. This is a gain of 1.2 million people, at an annualized rate of 1.7%.

The number of females between the ages of 15 and 19 increased from 144,081 in 1999 to 176,661 in 2015. This is a gain of 32,580, at an annualized rate of 1.4%. It appears that girls tennis is growing at a much higher rate than the population of females in the 15-19 year range.

Over the past three years the average number of players per program has been about 30 students.

There are a number of factors that are a challenge to girls high school tennis in Colorado such as the lack of quality coaches and adequate funding and facilities. Nationally, tennis is growing at an annualized rate less than the rate of growth in the U.S. population, (less than 1.0%). Probably the biggest challenge is that girls tennis in Colorado is a spring sport and the weather in the spring is often windy, cold, and wet.

On the other hand, many girls participate in programs because the season is short, most players are recreation level players, and many programs emphasize the social aspect of the sport.

Colorado girls tennis has a strong foundation and should continue to grow.

Source: NFHS.

Colorado Boys High School Tennis On Solid Footing

January 11, 2016November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

Between the 1999/2000 and 2014/2015 academic years the number of Colorado boys high school tennis programs ranged from 110 to 144, with the peak coming in 2007/2008. Since that time, there has been a decline in the number of programs. The range of the number of boys and girls programs was similar during these 15 years.

For this period, there has been a wide range of participation in boys programs. Interestingly, the number of participants has a low level of correlations with the number of programs. At its peak, there were 3,707 participants, although that number appears to be an aberration. With the exception of this value, the number of participants ranged from 2,059 to 3,061. The number of participants has trended downward since 2010/2011. Over this period the annualized rate of growth in participation is 2.2%.

Between 1999 and 2015 the Colorado population increased from 4.2 million to 5.4 million. This is a gain 1.2 million people, at an annualized rate of 1.7%.

The number of males between the ages of 15 and 19 increased from 156,330 to 185,377. This is a gain of 29,047 males, at an annualized rate of 1.1%.

On average there were 23 participants per team over the past three years.

There are a number of factors that are responsible for Colorado boys high school tennis not growing at a faster rate, including inadequate funding, facilities, and the lack of quality coaches. As well, U.S. tennis is growing at a long-term annualized rate less than the rate of growth in the U.S. population, (less than 1.0%). Probably the most important reason why the sport is not showing stronger growth is stiff competition from other fall sports. Football is the dominant fall sport, but cross country, soccer, golf and lacrosse are popular sports.

Overall, Colorado boys high school tennis is on solid footing, despite recent challenges.

Source: NFHS.

U.S. High School Girls Tennis Shows Modest Growth

January 5, 2016November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

This post summarizes participation in U.S. girls tennis programs based on data from the National Federation of State High School Associations (http://www.nfhs.org).

In 1969-70 there were no tennis high school programs in the United States. Participation in the sport exploded overnight when the President signed Title IX into law in 1972. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in any federally funded education program or activity. In addition, interest in the sport rose precipitously as a result of the Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs match and the subsequent tennis boom. By 1979-80 there were 8,443 high school programs.

For the next decade the number of girls programs remained flat and there were 8,550 programs in 1989-90. Steady growth has occurred since that date. In 1994-95 the data shows there were 10,270 teams, although this number appears to be an anomaly or a glitch in the data.

In 2014-2015 there were 10,099 programs.

As might be expected, the trend for the number of participants is similar to the number of programs. In 1969-70 there were no participants. Between then and 1977-78 the number of participants the number of participants reached 147,365.

As a result of the bust in the tennis industry, participation plummeted to 114,177 in the 1983-84 season. From that point, the number or participants increased gradually to 182,395 in 2009-2010. It has remained flat since then.

In 2014-25 there were 182,876 participants.

Title IX is the primary reason for the growth of the sport. Other factors that have caused participation to rise and fall are the overall popularity of tennis and competition from other girls sports. Other factors impacting the number of participants are the size of school budgets, local feeder programs, and the number of qualified coaches in the school districts.

Between 1999-00 and 2014-15 the number of programs increased at an annualized rate of 0.43% while the number of participants rose by 0.91%.

The average number of participants per program ranged from 13.6 to 18.6 players.

High school girls tennis is a small, but important part of the U.S. tennis population. The number of participants is likely to grow at a rate similar to the growth in the U.S. population.

U.S. High School Boys Tennis Shows Steady Growth

December 30, 2015November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

This post focuses on participation in U.S. high school boys tennis programs. It is based on data from the National Federation of State High School Associations (http://www.nfhs.org).

In 1969-70 there were 6,221 boys high school programs in the U.S. Interest in the sport rose precipitously as a result of the Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs “Battle of the Sexes” match and the subsequent tennis boom. By 1979-80 there were 9,912 high school programs.

The tennis bust happened more quickly than the boom and that downturn was reflected in the data. By 1983-84 the number of boys programs had fallen to 8,644.

From that low point, the number of programs gradually increased. During the 2009-10 season there was a record number of boys teams – 9,916 teams. This was 4 more programs than the previous peak in 1979-1980.

In 2014-2015 there were 9,725 programs.

As might be expected, the trend for the number of participants is similar to the number of programs. In 1969-70 there were 83,717 participants. Between then and 1977-78 the number of participants more than doubled to a peak of 170,653 participants.

By the 1983-84 season, participation had plummeted to 118,539. From that point, the number increased gradually to 162,755 in 2009-2010.

In 2014-25 there were 157,240 participants.

Factors that have caused interest in the sport to rise and fall are the overall popularity of tennis and competition from other sports such as lacrosse and cross country. In some schools Title IX may have reduced court time for boys or caused schools to move boys tennis to a different season. Other factors impacting the number of participants are the size of school budgets, the number of local feeder programs, and the number of qualified coaches in the school districts.

Between 1999-00 and 2014-15 the number of programs increased at an annualized rate of 0.08% while the number of participants rose by 0.8%.

The average number of participants per program ranged from 13.5 to 19.2 players.

High school boys tennis is a small, but important part of the U.S. tennis scene. The number of participants is likely to grow at a rate similar to or slightly less than the growth in the U.S. population.