Competitive Junior

Parenting Your Tennis Playing Child

In this video, USTA Player Development coaches and staff discuss how parents of young tennis players can best support their child to ensure they have a positive experience in tennis.

Parenting my champion

Read the recommended guidelines for parenting a successful junior tennis player at the beginning, intermediate and high performance stages of tennis.

Understanding the role parents play in junior tennis success

From providing transportation and emotional, logistical and financial support to reacting emotionally at matches and being over-involved, read some positives and negatives regarding the role parents play in their tennis player's success.

Parent Pledge

I PLEDGE TO:
• Set a positive example for players.
• Treat fellow parents, coaches, spectators and officials with respect
• Emphasize the importance of fair play and good sportsmanship
• Cheer respectfully for winners and good points, not errors and double faults
• Allow players to work out on-court disputes

Sport parent do's and don'ts

Check out the Top 10 things you should be doing as a sports parent and 10 things to avoid.

The Importance of Positive Coaching

In the performance coaching world, when working with young adolescent players, there is no doubt we, as coaches, need to be tough on our players to foster certain character qualities to help them prepare for the tough situations they will face come match time. However, the way we provide feedback, both verbally and non-verbally, needs to be on the spectrum of positive coaching.

The progressive development of a high performance player

Fun and fundamentals, training and competition and personal excellence. Check out how these learning themes can be used in the various phases in the development of a high-performance player.

USTA Player Development Athlete Developmental Plan

The Athlete Developmental Plan helps outline the areas of growth for your athlete and is valuable to refer back to throughout the year.

Scheduling Guidelines: Ages 12-15

The following guidelines highlight recommendations for junior players that are conducive to
development. At this stage, skill development is extremely important where players learn how to
get better as players that will set them up for the rest of their lives.

Ideal Periodization Plan

Use this document as a template to schedule Active Rest, Preparation, Pre-Competition and Competition phases for your athlete.

Changing the Game in Youth Sports

John O'Sullivan of Bend, Ore., was a former professional soccer player and college soccer coach. He now runs a non-profit organization for youth sports, focusing on giving kids, parents and coaches a "positive, high-performing mindset." Watch what he has to say about the topic of youth sports.

Tennis Parenting: The Good and the Bad

There is less distance between the caring, involved, good tennis parent and the domineering, aggressive, bad parent. Both have many of the same feelings, but the difference is in the degree of self-control each can exert.

The strange world of tennis parents

A tragic case in France has shed light on the tense relationship between players and their families.

Navigating the junior tennis pathway as a parent

Rate, on a 1-to-5 scale, the questions relative to the parenting of your child in tennis. Think about how your child or your child’s coach would rate you. When finished, total your ratings, and read the associated notes.

What to expect on tournament day

We want to make sure your child has fun, makes friends and improves by playing USTA Junior Tournaments. Here are some quick tips to get prepared.

Andy Brandi blog: Advice to parents of young players (ages 12-14), Part 1

USTA National Coach Andy Brandi gives advice to parents of young players developing their games.

Andy Brandi blog: Advice to parents of young players, Part 2

Andy Brandi offers more advice to parents of young players developing their games.

Podcast: Intro to Parenting Peak Performers

Kathy Feinstein, Mental Health Counselor and Sport Performance Consultant, has lived the life of sport parent. Through her own experiences of sport both bringing her family together and threatening to tear it apart, Kathy has developed a love (and an amazing skill set) for helping parents manage their own expectations and attitudes while supporting and parenting their peak performer with confidence.

Podcast: Adding Water to Your Child's Well with Dr. Lauer

In this episode, USTA's Dr. Larry Lauer highlights the path of healthy parenting for sporting families. Separating a child’s goals and aspirations from the parents. Dr. Lauer also talks about grounding your parenting in love and positivity, ensuring your child has a source of confidence to draw from in times of trial, on the court and off.

Podcast: Parenting for the Child

Andrew Deramo joins to talk about his son, Andrew, currently pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays and their path in sports. Andrew is a firm believer in letting the child lead when it comes to choosing a sport. When his son decided to specialize in high school and give up basketball for a few years, Andrew didn't fight him, even though he disagreed.

Podcast: Parenting for a Pro

Former NHL player, David Emma, joins to discuss his daughters pursuit of sports and how his professional experience has been useful (and detrimental) to his own parenting.

Strength and Conditioning Development Chart

Refer to this chart outlining Strength and Conditioning areas of focus for each step along the pathway to a high performing tennis player.

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