This Is My Sport - BCC Academy All-Girls Team

This past fall, the BCC Tennis Academy in Oklahoma City moved the vast majority of its Junior Team Tennis (JTT) 12U team up to 14U. At the last minute, we decided to put together a 12U team with a group of four girls that at the time I would not have classified as USTA tournament players.  Labeling the group even as intermediate players may have been a stretch at the time. These girls trained about two days a week and at times would miss an entire week, attending selected academy programming for fun and for something to do. This was my initial impression, anyway.

We lost our first three duals – they weren’t close. The girls rallied, however and won the final three duals!  You would have thought they won the US Open! It was a big deal. When we initially put the squad together, I was most nervous about having a full roster each week, with only four players total and no room for error. But, they arrived to matches before I did - and I arrive early.

Since the season concluded:

• All four girls train a minimum four days a week, with some even training five days. 
• They participate in what we call “High Performance Semi-Privates”.
• One receives weekly high-performance privates with our top teaching pro. 
• Three have become regulars on the USTA Oklahoma tournament circuit
• The youngest member of team, 9-years-old, went 13-0 in the last four USTA Oklahoma tournaments of the year. She is a rising star!

Why do I make special mention of this? On selected Sundays we host BCCTA Play Days. During the winter space is limited to those who RSVP first due to court availability. The members of  “BCCTA All-Girls Team” were the first four to RSVP for this Sunday’s Play Day.

Without Junior Team Tennis none of this would have happened. It changed their outlook on their approach to tennis and helped them realize, “this is my sport.” 

My guess is two would have quit tennis, one would have remained part-time, and the other would have likely stuck with it recreationally for another six to twelve months.

A tribute to the role Junior Team Tennis plays in the sport we all love.

Brad Lund

BCC Tennis Academy

Oklahoma City