Springfield to Host All-New Junior Team Tennis Summer League

USTA Missouri is offering an all-new Junior Team Tennis summer league. This fun and competitive option will run for four weeks in July outdoors at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.

Mallory Weber — USTA Missouri president and coordinator for the new league — said this offering is the “resurgence” of JTT in the Springfield area. While the district has provided JTT opportunities in Camdenton helmed by Courtney Nesbitt, USTA Missouri junior competition coordinator, the Springfield pocket has lacked JTT in recent years.

Weber is changing that with opportunities for players to jump in on the action at the 10 & Under, 12 & Under, 14 & Under as well as 18 & Under levels. The 10 & Under and 12 & Under divisions will utilize green balls, while the 14s and 18s will play with yellow balls.

“Whether you play tournaments or you don’t, it’s a great way to try out competitive tennis without all of the pressures of maybe a tournament,” Weber said. “It’s a low-cost option. We’re charging $40 for a four-week season. We’re targeting fairly local teams; we’re looking at an hour radius. It’s not as far as driving to an out-of-town tournament. It’s a fun environment to start competitive tennis if you haven’t really done that before.”

Participating teams will be coed with players getting the chance to compete in singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Weber said Junior Team Tennis is “a little bit more laid back than going to a tournament” while still providing solid competition. To learn more about JTT, click here. Weber has contacted high school and club coaches around the area to drum up interest in the new league.

“We’re really excited to have it here at Cooper,” Weber said. “We can serve kids of course in Springfield but down to Branson and out to Joplin, too. Hopefully we can get some kids from Lebanon and Waynesville. We’re trying to spread our radius to get outside of just Springfield.

“JTT is just a great opportunity. Maybe you’re a JV high school player or a lower-level varsity player and you don’t have as many opportunities to play in the summer at tournaments. You could play in this. We’re trying to reach more kids to give them that competitive match play and an experience they can handle. That’s our goal with this.”

The 10s and 12s age divisions will compete on Sundays starting July 10 and running through July 31. The 14s and 18s will play Wednesday evenings beginning July 6 and wrapping up July 27. To register for the JTT league, click here. For questions or more information, Weber can be reached at mallory.weber@springfieldmo.gov.

In addition to participants, Weber said she is in need of volunteers to lead teams. She said that could be a coach, parent, family member or anyone who wants to help get the league off the ground. Volunteers must be USTA Safe Play certified and don’t need coaching experience to help out.

Another new junior offering Weber and  USTA Missouri staff are looking forward to is their JTT Section Qualifier. This championship-level Junior Team Tennis offering was implemented at the USTA national level and has advancement opportunity. Each USTA Missouri Valley district hosts a JTT Qualifier. To learn more, click here.

USTA Missouri will play host to its JTT Section Qualifier on June 23-24 in Camdenton. Nesbitt is running this event. For more information or to sign up for the USTA Missouri JTT Qualifier, click here. Teams outside of USTA Missouri can parachute in to participate in this event. And USTA Missouri teams can likewise travel to other districts to compete in their offerings.

“We’re really excited — Camdenton has a great setup there,” Weber said. “Courtney runs a lot of tournaments in that area and has really built a strong junior following. She’s done a good job of trying to get this off the ground and have a successful tournament.”