Post by slackerdad on Dec 1, 2016 12:53:35 GMT -5
Kids should play junior tournaments in their age bracket until they consistently place 1st or 2nd. If they are winning every tournament, they are wasting their time and should "play up." If you have a 14u player beating 18u teams, then go play CBVA. If you win AAA or Open tournaments, go play in the qualifiers. The whole point is to challenge the kid and not to win the medal or get a rating. You should be looking for the good competition where you have to fight to win half your games. Qualify and play in the Cal cup though. That's really a great way to test yourself against your peers and the most prestigious junior tournament in my kid's circle.
Yes, there are some people who have squeaked into a AAA-rating by playing in a lower-skill AA-tournament with enough teams. Every elite beach coach has played CBVA, so what's the point? They want to see consistency as well as playing with a variety of partners. Heck, my 12yo kid could get a AA playing with a pro who will just bomb serves and play 90% of the court on serve-receive. I'm impressed by the girl who can do well at tournaments with different skill-level partners and styles. That shows me she knows how to be flexible and problem solve but more importantly that many are willing to play with her. That girl is probably a great teammate and makes those around her better. If you just want a AAA rating, you can pay a pro to play with your AA daughter.
Many of the juniors around So Cal play adult tournaments without LOI'ing or committing. Just looking at the 2016 14u girls cal cup entries, 14 out of 24 have CBVA ratings and I'm pretty sure none of them have committed yet. Some youth tournaments aren't particularly strong, so why not play an adult tournament? It makes them better reading and defending great cut shots, deep pokeys, and handling mean-free-balls-into-the-wind delivered by players with decades of experience.
When I play with my kid, I tell my friends to serve and take swings at her. Now that she's seen adult males (albeit only A-rated and over 40) swing hard, she's not intimidated by any juniors. "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball" is my motto. She's taken 1 or 2 off the face, but at least now she always has her hands up and asks, "uh, can you take away his angle next time he's set that tight?" Another bonus is that they want to see her get better so many times they'll coach her and tell her what to do next time.
Yes, there are some people who have squeaked into a AAA-rating by playing in a lower-skill AA-tournament with enough teams. Every elite beach coach has played CBVA, so what's the point? They want to see consistency as well as playing with a variety of partners. Heck, my 12yo kid could get a AA playing with a pro who will just bomb serves and play 90% of the court on serve-receive. I'm impressed by the girl who can do well at tournaments with different skill-level partners and styles. That shows me she knows how to be flexible and problem solve but more importantly that many are willing to play with her. That girl is probably a great teammate and makes those around her better. If you just want a AAA rating, you can pay a pro to play with your AA daughter.
Many of the juniors around So Cal play adult tournaments without LOI'ing or committing. Just looking at the 2016 14u girls cal cup entries, 14 out of 24 have CBVA ratings and I'm pretty sure none of them have committed yet. Some youth tournaments aren't particularly strong, so why not play an adult tournament? It makes them better reading and defending great cut shots, deep pokeys, and handling mean-free-balls-into-the-wind delivered by players with decades of experience.
When I play with my kid, I tell my friends to serve and take swings at her. Now that she's seen adult males (albeit only A-rated and over 40) swing hard, she's not intimidated by any juniors. "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball" is my motto. She's taken 1 or 2 off the face, but at least now she always has her hands up and asks, "uh, can you take away his angle next time he's set that tight?" Another bonus is that they want to see her get better so many times they'll coach her and tell her what to do next time.