Recently a number of Berkshire players have made the successful transition to USA College Tennis. Most of the players have represented Berkshire at a number of age groups and they are now playing for the Berkshire adult teams when in the country.
Alisha Reayer, George Headley, Jamie Malik, Jathan Malik, Charlie Ridout, Chloe Lant and Hannah Brett are all currently in the USA, playing tennis to a high level, whilst gaining a good education at a reduced rate and experiencing a different culture.
The College tennis season kicks off in the autumn term with a number of friendly team matches and invitational tournaments plus a heavy training programme. This takes the form of drills and gym work typically 3 hours per day, 5 days a week with tennis matches on weekends. The REAL season starts when the 6 player team tennis in the Conferences (leagues) is played from January to May. The training continues with the addition of 1 or 2 tennis matches every week. Whilst playing tennis the players also have to maintain a high academic standard and are supported by their College in achieving this, with individual tuition if needed. If the player does not meet their academic requirements they can be stopped from playing, so maintaining academic standards is a must.
Some players do find the programme too demanding but all the Berkshire players who have gone in the last three years are still out there. They are progressing well there have been some highlights.
In 2016 Hannah Brett (McNeese) was voted by the Louisiana sports journalists as one of the best 6 women’s college players in the State. She is currently on an 18 match unbeaten run, the longest of any woman player in College tennis in the USA at the moment. Jathan Malik (Michigan) is also having a big impact, getting to the semi-finals of the USTA/ITA Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, one of the major US College tournaments. This places him in the top 4 doubles pairings in the USA Colleges at the moment.
We look forward to their return for Berkshire in the Summer County Cup.