Catching Up on Friday

Catching Up With...the Progression of a Program

Last week, I brought up some numbers about how players have performed under pressure, bringing up the stat of 3-2 matches and who was successful in those matches. I'm sure that it didn't go unnoticed that our current class of seniors didn't have unbelievable records in those sort of matches (with some exceptions). You might have also noticed that several of the better players on previous teams (Joel King, Michael Steury, and Jordan Kauffman) had really good records in 3-2 matches. This week we're going to look into that.

The reason they had better records is directly linked to how good the team was. The record in 3-2 matches is not necessarily only an indication of how clutch a player is (partly that is involved) but also the quality of the opponent one is facing.

Let me tell you what I mean by comparing two seasons, 2008 and 2005. In 2008 we played 6 matches where the final score was 3-2, either in our favor or in our opponents favor. In 2005, we played in 5 3-2 matches. Here are a list of the opponents in those two seasons.

2008 -------------------------------- 2005
Northridge ------------------------- Fremont
Concord ---------------------------- Triton
NorthWood ------------------------ NorthWood
Westview --------------------------- Bremen
Fairfield ---------------------------- Tippecanoe Valley
East Noble

Notice anything about the quality of opponents that we were having 3-2 matches with. And 2005 was the pinnacle of the Joel King, Michael Steury, Jordan Kauffman years. Those guys were great players, but were pulling out their 3-2 wins in matches where their opponents were not as capable.

Putting this comparison another way, the winning percentage of the opponents in 3-2 matches:
2008 ---------------------- 2005
71.5% --------------------- 48.8%

So the teams we were playing close to, competing with in 2008 were much better than the teams we were close to in 2005.

What this speaks to is the development of a program. In 2005 we had 3 or 4 guys who were serious about winning as tennis players, and for the most part they were rewarded but the team still suffered. By 2008, I'd say we had 10-12 players who were serious about winning matches and putting in the work that was necessary. Because of this, we jumped to a completely higher level of play. We were playing close matches with Sectional competitors across the board. Every one of our losses this past season were to either Regional champions, Sectional champions, or to Sectional runners-up. This couldn't have been said in previous seasons. No wonder we were able to compete and win our own Sectional.

Another way of judging the development of the whole program is the JV. In 2005, the JV struggled to a 7-6 record. Luke Hostetter led the team with an 8-3 record at #1 singles JV. Johnny and Jeremy played #1 doubles JV most of the season and were only 5-3-1. As those guys stepped up to varsity they were able to pull off winning seasons in their first years on the varsity level (Luke went 13-6, Johnny went 11-8 and Jeremy went 12-7). This past season, JV was 16-0, beat 2 varsity teams, and was led by 3 undefeated players, and several more with only one loss.

The program is obviously developing and more and more people are serious about tennis, and winning, and working hard. This must continue if we want to stay on the same path. We need 10-12 people serious about tennis throughout the spring and summer. I know of several, I hope the rest of you are ready to committ to the further development of this program!