Q&A with Jay Harris, JMTA College Recruiting Combine Director

April 16, 2019 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
JMTA Combine 2

 

1) Entering the fourth annual JMTA College Recruiting Combine, how have you and your team built on the event from year to year? 

We are striving to make the JMTA College Recruiting Combine the absolute best recruiting opportunity for tennis players anywhere in the United States! This year, we have upped our recruiting efforts in terms of gaining commitments from some of the nation’s top college coaches, including Baylor, Brown, Mississippi State, Penn State, Dartmouth and William & Mary. We also have UTR discounts for players, which allows a player with a qualifying Universal Tennis Rating to receive a significant discount into our event. Last year, that program helped us attract our best batch of talent to date, including having the U.S. National Clay Courts Champion compete in our Combine.


2) What have you learned/heard, in terms of feedback, from previous events to help improve the event this year? 

One of the big components we added last year was a seminar and testing session from one of the country’s top Sports Vision specialists in the world, Dr. Annie Reuter. The players all loved her informational session and really enjoyed getting the feedback as to how their vision helps, or sometimes hampers, their performance on court.  Another amazing section of the Combine entails a College Coaches’ Discussion Panel. We again have attracted an incredible group of College Coaches who will share their secrets and advice on the most important aspect of the recruiting process and what they tend to look for when building their team. They will also explain what life is like for a college tennis player, and this information is invaluable for our recruiting prospects!


3) What are some of the common misconceptions, or mistakes, parents and players make during the college recruiting process, and how does the Combine help to ease this strenuous endeavor?

The biggest mistake I see is that parents/players attempt to navigate the arduous recruiting process on their own and without the help of knowledgeable consultants. There are so many pitfalls that prevent prospective recruits from putting themselves in a good position to be recruited by the best possible colleges and college tennis programs, and without the proper guidance, those are easy to fall into.


4) Who is eligible to attend the combine as a player?

Space is limited to 60 Boys and 60 Girls entering their high school sophomore, junior or senior years in September 2019. Players from the New York Metropolitan Area, from across the USA, as well as from Puerto Rico, Greece and India, have participated in past years.


5) What colleges have already committed to the 2019 Combine?

Below are the colleges who will be in attendance. Subject to change. 

Baylor University, Bentley University, Boston University, Brandeis University, Brown University, Bryant University, Bucknell University, Cedar Crest College, Colgate University, Connecticut College, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Fordham University, Grinnell College, Hofstra University, Hollins University, Long Island University, Martin Methodist College, Marymount University, Middlebury College, Mississippi State University, MIT, Molloy College, New York Institute of Technology, Penn State University, Queens College, Shippensburg University, Smith College, St. John’s University, Stony Brook University, The Citadel, Union College, United States Naval Academy, University at Buffalo, University of Cincinnati, University of Connecticut, University of Rhode Island, Trinity College, Tufts University, Vassar College, Villanova University, Wake Forest University, Washington University, Wesleyan University, William & Mary and Yale University.


6) What should participants, both players and coaches, come to expect at the event this summer?

Players can expect to gain access to the country’s top college coaches, and coaches will be able to experience in-person, “live”, access to prospects, along with detailed tennis and fitness performance reporting, to help them find the right recruits for their programs. Match results from the Combine count toward prospects’ Universal Tennis Ratings (UTR) which gives players amazing opportunities to increase their UTR while performing for their potential future college coach! By attending the combine, players will attach themselves to our recruiting services which has helped place hundreds of players in college programs in all Divisions. Being able to pull from our expertise is something that is encouraged during and even after the event. 


Click Here to sign-up or learn more about the fourth annual JMTA College Recruiting Combine.

 


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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