Junior Offerings Expand with Installment of JTT Qualifiers

An all-new events-based Junior Team Tennis program — titled JTT section qualifiers — has been developed and implemented at the USTA national level. USTA Missouri Valley and USTA Missouri junior players seeking a fun and competitive team-oriented offering with advancement opportunities can jump on a team or form their own.

Tara Williams, USTA Missouri Valley community tennis manager and JTT manager, said USTA national wanted to better clarify the purpose of local Junior Team Tennis and championship-level JTT. During previous years, JTT squads competed in matches locally before earning the chance to advance to district championships, section championships and finally the national championships.

This year, USTA National tacked on the installation of JTT section qualifiers. While JTT national regulations remain the same — teams must have at minimum three boys and three girls — JTT squads need to participate in at least one section qualifier to have a shot at progressing to the next championship stage.

“All the qualifiers are open, so there’s no underlying piece where you have to win local JTT,” Williams said. “The qualifiers are the very first step in championship JTT. The top two teams in each division qualify to go on to section championships. The teams can play in as many qualifiers as they want. If a team places third or fourth and they want to go to another qualifier somewhere in the section, they’re more than welcome to do that. It gives them multiple chances.”

Teams can participate at the 14 & Under Intermediate, 14 & Under Advanced, 18 & Under Intermediate and 18 & Under Advanced divisions, which are all yellow ball offerings. Every USTA Missouri Valley district will hold a section qualifier with the first opportunity coming on June 10-12 in Omaha, Nebraska. USTA Missouri will host its section qualifier on June 23-24 in Camdenton.

While Junior Team Tennis historically has consisted of primarily local play, the JTT section qualifiers provide an opportunity for squads to travel to other districts and further bond as a group. Williams noted while tennis can often feel individualized, the JTT qualifiers feature a team-oriented approach in which games won in each match count toward the overall team total.

“Every player is working together to win that match,” Williams said. “When you’re playing championship JTT, you’re really building on that camaraderie between the kids. They’re getting to have fun and have competition. They’re getting to see kids in a team atmosphere outside their district. It’s just a great time.

“All the qualifiers will be in great locations. They’ll be fun to participate in. Also, just being able to work together to see if you can make it to section championships — which is always a highlight of our year — is a great goal to try to achieve for these teams.”

In addition to Camdenton and Omaha, the 2022 section qualifiers will take place in St. Louis, Kansas City, Wichita, Edmond (Oklahoma) and Marshalltown (Iowa) during June through early July. To view the full schedule of events and complete registration, which is live as of March 1, click here.

Teams that place first or second at a qualifier earn advancement to the USTA Missouri Valley Section Championships, which occur July 19-21 in Edmond. The first-place finishers there move on to the USTA JTT National Championships, which take place this fall in Orlando, Florida.

“Because this is championship JTT, we’re trying to also encourage these players to take advantage of the local play that happens, too,” Williams said. “While prepping for the qualifiers coming up, they’re also playing in local Junior Team Tennis just to get working together as a team.”

As with district-level JTT, coaches and facilities can form teams to participate in the section qualifiers. Parents can build teams as well. For players and parents who aren’t sure where to begin or how to get involved, Williams suggested contacting their local JTT district coordinators. For USTA Missouri, Courtney Nesbitt holds that role. She can be reached via email at Courtneytime2grow@outlook.com

To read more about the differences between JTT section qualifiers and local JTT play, click here. To learn more about Junior Team Tennis and how to get involved for the first time, click here.