[kenny29878]

im a 16 year old irish tennis player looking for advice on my tennis career. im top 40 nationally which may sound okay but the standard of tennis in ireland isn't great.id reckon id be top 200 in the usa at u.16 level .i play tennis 5 times a week because i want to reach a high ranking and in the future maybe play college tennis in the us.
what do you think my chances are of getting a scholarship as i have watched college tennis on youtube and i believe i could reach that standard in 2 and a half years ?how good are the guys who play college tennis? would you be expected to play itfs to get a scholarship and ranked high nationally? would top 200 be good enough in the usa for a scholarship, i do believe with effort i could be very good , im always geting better and would hope to be in around the top 100 in the usa at u.18 when im 18.any advice from someone who has played or knows college tennis would be much appreciated.already posted this in the college tennis section but looking for more replys here.thanks in advance

[Schu]

Originally Posted by kenny29878

im a 16 year old irish tennis player looking for advice on my tennis career. im top 40 nationally which may sound okay but the standard of tennis in ireland isn't great.id reckon id be top 200 in the usa at u.16 level .i play tennis 5 times a week because i want to reach a high ranking and in the future maybe play college tennis in the us.
what do you think my chances are of getting a scholarship as i have watched college tennis on youtube and i believe i could reach that standard in 2 and a half years ?how good are the guys who play college tennis? would you be expected to play itfs to get a scholarship and ranked high nationally? would top 200 be good enough in the usa for a scholarship, i do believe with effort i could be very good , im always geting better and would hope to be in around the top 100 in the usa at u.18 when im 18.any advice from someone who has played or knows college tennis would be much appreciated.already posted this in the college tennis section but looking for more replys here.thanks in advance

I know some former college coaches and a lot of current U.S. tennis scholarship players. Based on the players I know, I'd say in order to get any significant scholarship amount - 20% or more, you'd have to be about U.S. TOp 125. CIrcumstances vary at each university and they vary within the same University each year so you never know. Only the VERY, VERY top ranked U.S. players or equivalent get full/100% scholarships, the rest usually get anywhere from 20%-75%.

A very large % of U. S. scholarship players are foreign. THe very Top tennis schools take the very best U.S. players and then the rest of the coaches think they can find a better level of player in foreign countries vs. what is left in the U.S. (this is a sore subject among many U.S. high school male players, so don't get me started). Anyway these coaches do look at ITF rankings as that is the best way to compare but smart coaches also look at your record - the level of competition, how you did and how much you played.

You should know that men's tennis scholarships in the U.S. are getting harder to get every year. The maximium number of Division I (highest level/better well known schools) men's tennis scholarships a University can have at any time is 4 1/2 and because of budget issues more and more schools are being forced to either reduce that number or eliminate men's tennis completely so the bar keeps getting higher for the level of play necessary to get the scholarships that are left.

There is also Division II scholarship tennis. These schools are usually much smaller and less well know but the level of tennis is considerably lower so chances of a more complete scholarship are better.

Good Luck.

[navy75]

Good luck Kenny. You sound talented, mature, and determined, which is a great combination.

As for your question, top 100 or 200 U18 quality in America will certainly get you a tennis scholarship. However, the caliber of tennis program could be quite different depending on how high up you are (which determines facilities, coaching, fan base, internal and external competition, etc). A top 20 player will be playing at one of the elite programs, while a player ranked #200 might be playing for a tiny division 3 school. http://www.tennisrecruiting.net/ can you give an excellent barometer of where you stand if you are familiar with any of the other players that are listed on an annual basis.

Also, do bear in mind that you are competing not only against the US, but the rest of the world as well in trying to get a scholarship into the better programs. Some programs don't even have a single American in their top six, and some tend to recruit primarily from certain countries (i.e. a French head coach and assistant picking the cream of the crop in France, etc.). Keep working hard and good luck!

[PiggyGotRoasted]

Originally Posted by navy75

Good luck Kenny. You sound talented, mature, and determined, which is a great combination.

As for your question, top 100 or 200 U18 quality in America will certainly get you a tennis scholarship. However, the caliber of tennis program could be quite different depending on how high up you are (which determines facilities, coaching, fan base, internal and external competition, etc). A top 20 player will be playing at one of the elite programs, while a player ranked #200 might be playing for a tiny division 3 school. http://www.tennisrecruiting.net/ can you give an excellent barometer of where you stand if you are familiar with any of the other players that are listed on an annual basis.

Also, do bear in mind that you are competing not only against the US, but the rest of the world as well in trying to get a scholarship into the better programs. Some programs don't even have a single American in their top six, and some tend to recruit primarily from certain countries (i.e. a French head coach and assistant picking the cream of the crop in France, etc.). Keep working hard and good luck!

Also - Dont just look at D1, the best colleges from other divisions are just as good. And you also cant get a tennis scholarship for D3 so it might cost you a lot to go even if you get a good academic one due to being international. Look at Division 2 as a whole, as you will be able to get a good scholarship at a decent one if you are lucky and if not look at top NAIA.
Failing that your other option is a junior college (2 Year), where even if you dont get a scholarship (Probably will by your second year) you can be able to afford it any way since they are so much cheaper and the top juco's are still very good at tennis and will be better than a lot of 4 years.