Author: Steve Jones
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Your Kid’s Sleep Cycle, Explained: What Happens in Those 90 Minutes
Here’s something nobody told us when our kids started playing serious tennis: the most important training session of the day might be the one that happens after they fall asleep. Every night, your kid’s brain and body run a recovery program. It runs in repeating cycles of about 90 minutes each — light sleep, deep…
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7 Signs Your Junior Is Burning Out (and What to Do Before They Quit)
There was a season when the car ride to practice got quiet. Not the good quiet — the heavy kind. My kid stared out the window, and I told myself it was just a phase, just tiredness, just a rough patch. It wasn’t. It was burnout, and I almost missed it because I was too…
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How Much Does Junior Tennis Actually Cost Per Year? An Honest Breakdown
Nobody tells you the number. The coach quotes the lesson rate. The academy sends a glossy brochure. The other parents at the tournament mention their kid’s schedule in a tone that suggests money is no object. So you lie awake doing math on your phone. I’ve been there. Here’s the honest math, from parents who’ve…
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Junior Tennis Racquet Size Guide: Stop Guessing, Start Measuring
Walk into any sporting goods store and you’ll see a wall of junior racquets in a rainbow of lengths, and zero useful guidance. The packaging says “ages 5–8” on three different sizes. Your kid grabs the coolest-looking one. You buy it. It’s wrong. I know because I’ve bought the wrong one. Twice. Here’s how to…
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Part 1: College tennis scholarships (the real prize)
At some point every tennis parent does the same math. The lessons, the travel, the stringing bills — it adds up, and eventually you find yourself wondering: is there anyone out there who helps pay for this? The answer is yes. There are real programs, real scholarships, and real sponsorship deals for junior tennis players.…
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Be the Wall: Why Calm, Loving Parents Raise Tennis Players Who Last
Here’s the single most important thing on this entire site, and it’s not about topspin or UTR or sleep cycles. Your kid has to love this. Not tolerate it. Not endure it for you. Love it. Everything else — the training, the tournaments, the 6 AM practices — runs on that love like an engine…
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Step 1: Go to UTR Sports
You heard another parent mention a number — “my daughter’s a 6.4” — and now you’re wondering: what’s my kid’s UTR, and how do I even find it? Here’s the exact process, step by step. It takes about five minutes. Head to utrsports.net (that’s the current home of UTR — it used to be called…
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From First Tournament to Nationals: The Tournament Success Roadmap
“When should we start tournaments?” It’s the question every tennis parent asks, and the honest answer is: earlier than you think, smaller than you think, and with lower stakes than you think. Tournaments aren’t the reward for getting good. They’re how kids get good — the testing ground where practice turns into match toughness. But…
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The Junior Tennis Tournament Parent Checklist (Before, During, After)
Our first tournament, I forgot the sunscreen, brought one banana for a six-hour day, and didn’t know the check-in closed 30 minutes before the first match. We’ve been the unprepared family. This checklist exists so you don’t have to be. Print it. Laminate it. Keep it in the tennis bag. The bag: what to pack…
