Stories from UTR players, like today’s UTR Real Story from Holly, Ella & Chris Croteau, are why we do what we do every day to make tennis better for everyone. Holly and Chris’ daughter Ella is a 13-year old player who aspires to play D1 collegiate tennis. She picked up a racquet at age 10 and fell in love with the sport, but despite her still young age, felt like she was far beyond her competitors who had already been playing for years.
Despite a difficult entry into the game, Ella’s passion for tennis never wavered and her game has steadily improved in just three years, to the point where she’s playing at national team level tournaments. Her mother, Holly, emailed us to share Ella’s story and how being a part of the UTR community empowers her as a player and is helping her stay motivated and achieve her tennis goals.
Hi. I am a tennis mom and wanted to send you guys a testimonial. My daughter, Ella, is 13. She is super excited to be a UTR social ambassador. Not only does it mean a lot to her that you guys picked her, but it means a lot because UTR has offered her hope and also has really changed her life when it comes to her passion- tennis.
"Who would have ever thought that starting tennis at 10 years of age, would be considered "behind?" That is what we had experienced before finding out about UTR."
Who would have ever thought that starting tennis at 10 years of age, would be considered "behind?" That is what we had experienced before finding out about UTR.
We would show up weekend after weekend for my daughter to be eliminated in the first or second round of every tournament. For well over 2 years, this happened and each time, I would see a little piece of her heart break and see that glimmer of hope that she had to one day play D1 college tennis slowly fade. Many of her friends and opponents had been playing for years by this time, and it felt as though catching up would be like climbing Mt. Everest. (YES at 10!!)
Last spring, by pure fate, she was selected to play a national level team tournament in Louisiana and the guest speaker was Tony Minnis. Tony was there to talk about many things, but college recruiting was the main thing he spoke about. He brought up UTR, which we had never heard of, and really dove into the importance of it and why the players should start looking into UTR. A few parents agreed, so we decided to research it. It made SO MUCH SENSE.
After Ella's first UTR event, I was able to connect with Randy Jenks and he explained even further in depth about UTR and this got our family excited. My daughter now is more "game" focused in her matches and not only is SHE seeing a huge difference, but her coaches are both seeing differences as well.
Being "equally yoked" in her matches, offers not only hope for some wins, but also LOTS more practice, as her matches are going longer and she is improving from UTR event to UTR event.
Last weekend, she played an event and was bottom in her flight and her opponents were three boys rated higher than her. She was so nervous- but she won all three matches and told me just today that last weekend was a HUGE turning point for her, not just skill wise, but mentally as well.
She is enjoying tennis, and has a UTR goal she would like to reach by the end of the year. She has made a "gauge" to put on the back of her bedroom door and color in until she reaches that UTR goal so that she can then set a new, higher goal.
My girl is extremely goal oriented and instead of trying to be the "best in the region" which is somewhat hard to track, she is now aiming to be "the best Ella" that she can be and beat her UTR rating from month to month.
"I can't say enough about how GRATEFUL we are for this system and all of the hard work you guys have done for the love of the game."
I can't say enough about how GRATEFUL we are for this system and all of the hard work you guys have done for the love of the game. My husband is a tennis performance trainer and he tells all of the athletes that he works with on fitness, how great UTR is.
Our family is forever grateful for you guys, as we watch our daughter chase her dreams, so I had to write and thank you!
We love hearing from you! We receive inspiring notes from players, coaches, parents and event organizers telling us how UTR has positively impacted their game. In our new series, we’ll share their stories with you and highlight the work they’re doing on and off the court. Tell us how you use UTR! You can send us an email, or share your story with @MyUTR and #MakeTennisBetter.
