Ask The Experts
Roundtable: Considering Junior College Tennis
by James Hill, 30 May 2017
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Many student athletes begin their collegiate careers at junior and community colleges. Two-year college coaches have the services of players for a relatively short period of time. Keeping this concept in mind, we asked a panel of JUCO coaches the following questions:
Q) How will recruits benefit by playing two years for your program? How do you help them find a new college afterward?
Charity Andrews, Cowley College Men and Women
Recruits benefit from playing two years in my program because they get more experience competing in college and more exposure to the university level.
Many American students don't get the exposure they desire directly out of high school. I have had kids can come to Cowley College to compete at a top school against other top schools. Competing at this level gets kids more exposure - traveling with the team and playing other top JUCO players as well as four-year university players.
Many international kids are in the same situation - they might not have high enough rankings in their countries to get noticed with their talent. But, by playing at JUCO they get a lot of playing time and will have more exposure - and they have the opportunity to earn a strong ranking so that universities can see their talent.
Along with going to JUCO, they have a few years to learn how to manage homework, classes, and traveling - along with practicing and training.
Dash Connell, Tyler Junior College Men and Women
One of the advantages of junior and community colleges is that they can benefit different types of recruits for different reasons. For some, it can act as a time where the tennis game for a recruit can improve and strengthen so that they might gain more interest from four-year schools. For others, it is a chance to help improve their grades or life habits so they find themselves more prepared for a four-year school's academic requirements. It might be both cases for some recruits. It is a place to grow before taking that next step.
When the recruit begins a search for their next place after junior or community college, the coach can act as a middle-man or coordinator of communication with four-year school coaches. We ask that our players do much of the homework on different schools where they might transfer, but we will help communicate with schools.
We also meet with the players several times a year to discuss what areas interest them the most for the school they will go to after junior or community college. The best thing the coach can do for anyone is to match up players' personalities, goals, and environment they thrive best in with their next coach and team.
