Congratulations to Kennedy Dumas, our newest player to earn a West Michigan Top 15 Ranking!
Kennedy was initially a competitive figure skater. A couple years ago, she made a decision to switch to tennis. During the school year, it's common for her to put in 8-10 hours per week on court, and during the summer, it's very normal for her to be on court between 20 and 30 hours a week.
Regardless of how many hours you play, to get a USTA ranking, you have to play tournaments and actually compete and beat other players to accumulate points. She's been doing this over the past year, and has earned several impressive wins. In sanctioned play, she has beaten the current #1 singles player for Grandville, the #1 doubles player for Grand Haven, and the #4 singles player for Holland Christian. Pretty impressive for someone just entering 9th grade.
Thanks Kennedy for all your hard work and congratulations on your amazing progress!
Note: I'd like to end by adding that several other members of our program, both boys and girls, definitely have the talent RIGHT NOW to go after a ranking like this. Kennedy's ranking is a reflection of her talent, but it's also a reflection of putting in the time on weekends to compete around West Michigan. If this is a goal you want to pursue(and it's absolutely ok if it's not), then I want to encourage you to enter USTA tournaments and start competing. I like to encourage this because USTA tournaments teach players to compete under PRESSURE. This is something that you can't simulate at your drill or at academy. Ideally, I want my varsity players already used to pressure tennis before they ever put on a varsity uniform each fall and spring. So, while getting ranked is something I advertise and celebrate, know that the reason I'm excited about Kennedy's ranking is that I know with confidence that she can win when the pressure is on.
Kennedy was initially a competitive figure skater. A couple years ago, she made a decision to switch to tennis. During the school year, it's common for her to put in 8-10 hours per week on court, and during the summer, it's very normal for her to be on court between 20 and 30 hours a week.
Regardless of how many hours you play, to get a USTA ranking, you have to play tournaments and actually compete and beat other players to accumulate points. She's been doing this over the past year, and has earned several impressive wins. In sanctioned play, she has beaten the current #1 singles player for Grandville, the #1 doubles player for Grand Haven, and the #4 singles player for Holland Christian. Pretty impressive for someone just entering 9th grade.
Thanks Kennedy for all your hard work and congratulations on your amazing progress!
Note: I'd like to end by adding that several other members of our program, both boys and girls, definitely have the talent RIGHT NOW to go after a ranking like this. Kennedy's ranking is a reflection of her talent, but it's also a reflection of putting in the time on weekends to compete around West Michigan. If this is a goal you want to pursue(and it's absolutely ok if it's not), then I want to encourage you to enter USTA tournaments and start competing. I like to encourage this because USTA tournaments teach players to compete under PRESSURE. This is something that you can't simulate at your drill or at academy. Ideally, I want my varsity players already used to pressure tennis before they ever put on a varsity uniform each fall and spring. So, while getting ranked is something I advertise and celebrate, know that the reason I'm excited about Kennedy's ranking is that I know with confidence that she can win when the pressure is on.
