USTA Tries to Give Young Players a Boost

The deep, dark-tanned man in the trendy sunglasses was leading the U.S. Davis Cup team to a come-from-behind victory over Russia last week. But here was Tom Gullikson, a week later, analyzing 13-year-old Bethany Mattek’s forehand at the Easter Bowl junior tennis tournament.

“That just shows you the priority this program has with development,” said Greg Patton, the former UC Irvine tennis coach who was recently hired by the U.S. Tennis Assn. to be a regional coach. “He’s out there every day, all day, working with these kids. He’s like St. Peter. The guy is out there spreading the word. It would be like Tommy Lasorda going to the Little League World Series coaching the Little Leaguers.”

Gullikson’s presence at the Easter Bowl also signals the troubles of the USTA’s junior development program. Gullikson, former director of the touring pro program, has never spent much time watching junior tennis. Now he and Doug MacCurdy are in charge. Gullikson is the director of coaching and MacCurdy, formerly involved in international junior tennis, is the director of USA Tennis Player Development.

Gullikson said it became painfully obvious that junior tennis was in a major lull.

“Sampras, Agassi, Courier and Chang won 18 Grand Slams over the last 10 years, but they’re all getting older,” Gullikson said. “We just spent $250 million building a new tennis center, but do we want two foreign players in the finals for the next 10 years? The USTA is funded in large part by the profits from the U.S. Open, so how do you attract Americans to tennis if they’re constantly watching a bunch of foreign players?”

Well, you start by doubling the budget to $155 million. Then you essentially change the philosophy of the program from exclusive to inclusive.

“Some players will be given more money than others based on their ranking and ability, but we will be giving more players opportunities,” Gullikson said.

Rather than having a national team composed of 12 players, the USTA will have Team USA made up of 60 girls and boys’ players from three age divisions. A $5,000 grant will be given to those 60 players to help defray traveling expenses to the four major national tournaments, the Easter Bowl being one of the four.

“We went from a subjective process to a very objective process,” Gullikson said. “We are picking the top-10 ranked kids in each age group.”

The financial aid doesn’t stop at the top 60. Gullikson said other highly ranked players might also apply for grants. Many of the top players and other selected players will be invited to regional camps, which will be run by the regional coaches. Patton, the Northwest region coach, will be holding a camp in Denver this summer.

“We’re getting closer to the kids, getting out in the field,” Gullikson said. “Before, we had four full-time coaches and they were all in the eastern part of the country.”

The USTA is also hoping to improve communication between the USTA and the private coaches and the players’ families. Last Thursday at the Easter Bowl, tournament director Seena Hamilton organized a forum for players and their families with the 12 regional coaches.

“We’re trying to develop a little bit of a team spirit among American players,” MacCurdy said. “We got the feeling it was all sort of individually based and kind of lonely for the players.”

MacCurdy said the complete reorganization of player development is still unfolding. Patton is just happy Gullikson is in charge.

“These kids know their special with him being out here,” Patton said. “He raises the standard by his presence.”