Special from
Donovan Tennis Strategies
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“What’s the best way to increase UTR and TRN ratings?”
At Donovan Tennis Strategies, we hear this question constantly. There certainly are tangible ways to address that goal, including scheduling the proper tournaments, playing enough matches, understanding how each entity operates, etc. However, for the purpose of college recruitment, the overall development and mindset of an athlete is often missed when seeking the quick answer to the above question. In essence, there is no shortcut.
As a former collegiate coach, I often reflect on pre-season individual meetings where expectations for the upcoming season were discussed. Many times, a student-athlete would share lofty plans, statements such as, “I am going to be an All-American,” or “I want to win NCAA’s,” or “I want to be first team all-conference.” Similarly, junior players will often tell me, “I want to be an 11 UTR by next fall” or “I want to be a four-star when the next ratings come out.” With each conversation, my response to the vision is always, “How? How are you going to be an All-American this year? How are you going to be an 11 UTR next fall?” Inevitably the next response would be something along the lines of, “I am going to win all my matches.”
“How?”
“I am not going to miss a ball.”
This process continues until more concrete responses, which can be used as short-term goals, emerge.
