Indoor court maintenance, junior college tennis
spark Forum conversation
July 2009 -- As many pros in the northern United States already know, maintenance for indoor Har-Tru tennis courts can be a bit difficult due to the lack of a natural weathering process. In addition, indoor courts tend to be quite popular, leaving little time to properly maintain them. On a recent post in the Tennis Resource Center Forum, a member from Farmingdale, N.Y., asked for help with tips, tricks and advice on how to soften up indoor Har-Tru courts.
A fellow member from Charlottesville, Va., responded with the following: "The amount of play coupled with the lack of a weathering process ends up making indoor Har-Tru courts very hard. However, there are tools and techniques available to combat the compaction issues."
He provided a link to an indoor Har-Tru maintenance manual that covers all maintenance topics and lists the types of tools that are most effective for loosening the surface and keeping the courts playable. He also provided contact information for an employee at Lee Tennis who has led the research on indoor clay courts.
To access the link to this Har-Tru manual, or to get the contact information for Lee Tennis, visit the Forum online and follow the thread under Facility Operations - Court Maintenance - Indoor Court Maintenance - General Discussion.
Tennis at the junior college level has also become a topic of conversation on the Forum. As one member noted, "Junior college tennis has been dwindling as the years have passed. With the way the economy is and the cutting of scholarships academically and athletically, what are your thoughts on attending a junior college to save up money for a better school, get the basics out of the way and play the college tennis lifestyle for a little while?"
In response, a coach of an NAIA institution in Rome, Ga., said having players from two-year junior colleges could be an advantage for tennis teams.
"We have a positive opinion about players from a junior college," he wrote. "They have had two years to mature, they have (hopefully) earned a two-year degree and have played some top-notch tennis. I agree with your point about saving money and getting the basics out of the way. It allows the player to experience college tennis and at the same time lets them know early if this is something they want to do over the course of four years."
To read more about this topic, or to post your own opinions, follow the thread under Coaching - College Coaching - Junior College Tennis. You can access the Forum online at http://forums.uspta.com. To participate, sign up as a USPTA member and log in with your last name and member number.
|
