Rumor has it that I am not a big fan of the USTA’s Tennis on Campus program. In fact, I eventually came to believe that idea myself. Curiously enough, when I went back to read my original post “Tennis on Campus is not the Solution,” I was genuinely surprised to discover that despite the headline, I was generally positive about the program.
One of my regular practice buddies who participated in Tennis on Campus when she was in school tells me that the program is a very effective engagement mechanism. She was on the “top” team at her University and participated in the travel team competition between universities. Her insight into how the program worked for the lower teams was illuminating.
My reservations about the program are rooted in the relatively narrow swath of the college-age population that even has Tennis on Campus as an option. Currently, the program is only available at 6% of United States universities. That’s not enough. It also completely ignores the growing population of students who are not immediately going to college or skipping it altogether.
Tennis on Campus is a great program for engagement in the sport, but it cannot be the only mechanism for retaining players as they age out of junior tennis into adulthood. My reservations were firmly rooted in a perception that the USTA was regarding the program as a centerpiece rather than a small part of a much larger puzzle.
I do see signs that the USTA is taking a broader perspective. My Section has a committee focusing exclusively on Social Tennis and has chartered a new committee for Gen Y/Gen Z participation. I have it on pretty good authority that the new generational subcommittee is planning on changing the name, but that the focus will remain on the players that have recently aged out of juniors or who are picking up the sport as young adults.
This weekend I am writing about topics where my thinking has evolved since my previous posts. My thoughts on Tennis on Campus are a subtle but significant evolution. My complete disinterest in the topic has moved out of the corner into active strategy.
I am currently living part-time in my childhood hometown where a once vibrant tennis community has evaporated. As we struggle for ideas on how to get tennis reinvigorated, I am looking toward the college campus which is nestled in close proximity to the public tennis centers. Tennis on Campus is a potential avenue for engaging the younger generation.
Any engagement we can muster via Tennis on Campus opens the door to spillover benefits for the broader tennis community in the city. The population of college students literally at our doorstep could be an untapped source of volunteers and players to bring tennis back up to critical mass.
My attitude toward Tennis on Campus has evolved from the idea that it was nothing I would ever be involved with. I am now considering the best ways to get that program started on my local campus. That’s a huge leap forward.
This will undoubtedly spark some future posts on how to better engage people who want to get the program started. I confirmed that my local university is not registered for Tennis on Campus and in the process discovered that the first button presented is “Create a Team.” That’s a pretty daunting first step.
I would also note that in Texas someone has created a “Fake Team” with the mascot of a Unicorn. Whoever did this… you are my people.
