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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.

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.