After the COVID-19 pandemic derailed Junior Team Tennis (JTT) programming last year, it is back in 2021 within certain pockets of USTA Missouri.
All teams are full for the forthcoming season, as USTA Missouri will have a total of eight complete teams competing. Courtney Nesbitt — USTA Missouri junior and adult competition coordinator — said individuals interested in participating in future seasons of JTT can contact her.
Additionally, Nesbitt encouraged parents or coaches wanting to help provide or form JTT squads down the road to get in touch with her, too. She can be reached via email at: Courtneytime2grow@outlook.com.
“Junior Team Tennis has never really worked in our district because we’re so spread out. We are super excited we found a way to make it more of a league this year,” Nesbitt said. “Where we will play multiple matches in a multiple-week timeframe against each other. In the past we’ve just come together for a one-day event, which is not what JTT really is. We found a way to make it an actual league, which is exciting.”
The USTA Missouri JTT season will feature teams competing in 10 & Under orange ball, 11-14 green-dot ball and 18 & Under yellow ball.
Teams in Camdenton and Springfield will participate in orange ball as well as green ball. The teams at their respective age groups will face off against one another in dual matches on three separate occasions — once per month in May, June and July. The winning team is the one that accumulates the most games during that stretch for a fun scoring twist.
The JTT 18 & Under yellow ball season, meanwhile, will include a total of four teams located in Camdenton and Jefferson City. The campaign will last four weeks, with every team competing against each other twice. Teams are slated to play their matches on Wednesdays from mid-June to the first week of July.
“It’s a different play opportunity than a tournament because you come and play with your team,” Nesbitt said. “You play your matches and then you leave. As opposed to arriving and planning on being out there all day for a tournament. JTT is a lot more of a league feel than a tournament. That’s what our players have never experienced. So we’re excited to see how they like it.”
Nesbitt said there have been talks of another JTT battle including Columbia later this summer. She is hopeful to form another JTT league at the 10 & Under orange ball level that includes the Columbia area.
The USTA Missouri district’s Junior Team Tennis efforts come on the heels of a successful first JTT season in fall 2019 in which 35 players participated. To learn more about Junior Team Tennis, click here.
Other recent junior events within USTA Missouri include a Level 7 tournament in Camdenton on April 17. Nesbitt said the event was comprised of 22 players and went well. There was also a 10 & Under Junior Circuit orange ball kickoff event in Camdenton on April 18 featuring six participants.
“It was great. The kids had fun,” Nesbitt said. “There was a rain delay and then another rain delay. All the kids hung out and played together. It was a lot of fun. They had a blast.”
