USTA St. Louis Gears Up for Winter JTT
After a record-shattering 2023 USTA St. Louis Junior Team Tennis campaign, the district is prepping for a strong follow-up in 2024. That begins with the winter JTT session, with team commitments due by December 13 and matches getting underway January 6.
Individuals including club coaches, parents and volunteers can contact Toni McDonald — USTA St. Louis JTT coordinator and 10U coordinator — to get their spot secured for the winter JTT session or to inquire about forming a new team. McDonald can be reached via email at jtt@ustastl.com. Individuals can also complete this form.
Teams at the 10U, 12U, 14U and 18U Gold divisions compete on Saturday nights, while 18U Silver squads play Sunday evenings. Every team plays six matches during the winter JTT session. With indoor court space limited locally during the winter months, teams are required to have courts available for hosting at least half their matches. The winter JTT season wraps up March 10.
“For the beginner and intermediate kids, JTT gives them perfect match opportunities without the stress of being by themselves in a tournament,” McDonald said. “And for the higher-level tournament kids, it gives them a chance to play with their friends. And, again, be stress-free and just have a fun time.”
Breakpoint Tennis & Life Skills Academy joined the USTA St. Louis JTT scene this year, as did Forest Lake Tennis Club in Chesterfield. The new entrants — coupled with returning clubs and some parents stepping up to create teams — helped the district reach all-time JTT figures.
USTA St. Louis had a record-setting 310 children from 48 teams participate in fall JTT, up from 265 kids in fall 2022. That followed a record-breaking summer JTT campaign.
In addition to a couple new teams joining the winter JTT fray, McDonald said a new structure has been installed for team advancement. In previous years, JTT squads competed locally to earn the opportunity to progress to district, section and national championship events. Now, teams can participate in JTT section qualifiers to have a chance at moving on to the next championship stage.
Individuals interested in participating in JTT can reach out to these club contacts to learn more or join a team:
Breakpoint Tennis & Life Skills Academy
Ben Gildehaus
Creve Coeur Racquet Club
Toni McDonald
Forest Lake Tennis Club
Kalie Snyder
kaliesnyder@forestlaketennisclub.com
Missouri Athletic Club
Conner Stevenson
Vetta Sports Concord
Brett Helbig + Sammy Lhotak
Vetta Sports Sunset
Brent Gruno
Vetta Sports West
Beth Jameson
To read more about the differences between section qualifiers and local JTT play, click here. To learn more about Junior Team Tennis and getting involved for the first time, click here.
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