Tennis Rules Clinic - Unit 1
Coaches,
The rules clinic will be divided into two sections: the introduction, which you are reading, and the tennis section within the NMAA handbook. Please familiarize yourself with both sections.
The following are areas that need to be brought to the forefront for this season:
1. Tennis is a year round sport. The start date of February 8th is for competition only. The practice start date is determined by the local school.
2. The State Individual Championships will be held on the evening of May 5th and all day on May 6th. The Team Championships will be on May 7-8, all in Albuquerque. First round matches on May 5th will begin around 5:00 PM.
3. Schools must declare lineups to the NMAA office by April 18, 2010. These lineups will be used for the remainder of the season, particularly in district and state matches. See Section 7.20.1 G for clarification.
4. Seeding and Selection will take place at the NMAA office on Sunday, May 2nd. The District Champion head coach will represent the district in the seeding process. The girls seeding will begin at 10:00 AM while the boys will begin at 11:00 AM.
5. In State Team Competition, all matches will be played out in the first round. Once both teams have completed their initial round of the tournament (playing all 9 matches out) and advancing to the next round, play will conclude for each round thereafter once a team has won the best 5 out of 9 single/double matches combined. The format will continue for the duration of the tournament. Make sure parents are aware of this rule prior to state. It will not be the coach’s decision as in the past. Play will conclude once a team has won 5 matches after their initial round
6. Every match in the state tournament will be regular scoring.
7. A minor change in state competition: An ill or injured player, in doubles only, may be replaced by that school’s coach provided appropriate medical notification is submitted to the Director on site in advance and approval is achieved. The replacement player must be on the Full Team Roster, must be a “weaker” player, and cannot have competed in doubles competition during the district and state tournament.
8. Small Team Tennis Schools may be calling to schedule matches. Scheduling of these teams will NOT go against your match limitation. It is my hope that schools play these teams with athletes that may not necessarily play in your normal line-up. This will allow all students to have an opportunity to compete.
9. All Small Team Tennis Schools will compete for a Team State Championship in their Division. Small Team individuals will compete in the district tournament in which the school is assigned. See Section VII – Tennis for the District Alignment.
10. We are having trouble, particularly as the season progresses, with student-athletes who are blatantly cheating when it comes to calling lines. It is the responsibility of the coach to talk to your athletes about honesty and integrity. If the behavior continues and I begin receiving formal complaints in my office, the student-athlete and coach may be suspended from future matches.
We continue to see growth in the sport of tennis statewide. A big thank you goes out to you, the coaches, and to the USTA for bringing middle school tennis to our state. I am looking forward to a fun and competitive season.
Sally Marquez, Associate Director
Sally Marquez
NMAA Associate Director