You pass the test!

This week we are we are completing our role as host, producer , and Tournament Director of The Austin ITF Grade 5 Tournament. Like all major events, it presents challenges and provides opportunity. This week has been no exception. Due to the workload ( and obvious lack of profitabiity!) many people have asked why we do it. Let me address that.

The brief history of the event is that it was in College Station before 2012, then moved to Waco . It was about to leave Waco, and Texas too, when we were given a chance to keep it here. There are only 17 ITF Junior events in the US, and only 2 in Texas. Knowing that, we felt it was vital to try and keep this opportunity for Texas juniors We reached out to our friend and colleague Jack Newman at ATA, and he readily agreed to partner with us to keep the event in TX..

Its a unique event for Texas juniors because of its International nature. Though yesterday's Singles finals featured all american kids, 3 Texans and a New Mexican, the event features a decidedly international flare. This week, we hosted top players from Serbia, the Ukraine, Colombia, Spain, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Paraguay - to name a few. Though some relatively local talent rose to the top, the opportunity for all our TX juniors to get out and test themselves against competition from so far afield is indeed a unique and valuable opportunity.

You see, the test is what its all about. Obviously, everyone can't win - though they'd all certainly like to. Competition at its' best is about getting out and testing yourself. Testing yourself against what you know may be equal, slightly better, or tremendously better competition. That way you find out where you stand. This is an opportunity to compare your strengths and weaknesses with those of other players, like any tournament. The uniqueness of the Austin ITF is that you may get to do so against players you've never seen or played, and meet some pretty interesting people in the process..

Our HP program, in only its 15th month of existence, was able to get 5 of our players into this event. We had 4 in the qualies, and one in the Main draw. How'd they do on the test? Well, that depends on your perspective. At first glance, from a glass half-empty viewpoint, not so great. Of the 4 in the qualies, one fell ill and was unable to play, and the other 3 all lost their first round match, The one player in the Main draw certainly acquitted herself nicely by knocking off a seed in her first round, and taking a a much older and more experienced player to 5-7 in the third in her next round. But it would be too easy to simplify, " we had 5 players in the two draws and won only one match- not a great showing."

I disagree. Strongly. Let's take a closer look.

All our players shared common goals.

1-Be competitive. Stay in your matches and force your opponents to play

2-Put yourself in a position to believe you have a chance to win, and further develop your system of belief in yourself

and

3-and improve your problem -solving skills

The players in the qualies all achieved this , and with considerable accomplishment. One lost the deciding set in a tiebreak, one took a set to 5-7, and the third lost the second set 3-6, after getting bageled (0-6) in the first, all showing obvious improvement in the problem-solving department. And our player in the main clearly exceeded the stated goals by beating the seed, and stretching the the match to the ultimate limits in the second round.

So my glass is half full. In our first foray into International competition, our young players took the test, and passed it with flying colors. And how much better will they be because of the experience? How will they fare next outing in a top level competition? How many more players, and how far will they get in this event next year?

Only time will tell - but I'm feeling good about it. Congrats and Thanks to the HP players who got out and tested themselves. You pass the test, and are immediately better players for it.