The Gibbs Of Gab: Go to College

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Based on feedback I’ve received on Twitter, a lot of you have been wondering what my experience playing college was like and whether I’d recommend it to elite junior players as a pit-stop before professional tennis.

The short answer is yes – always yes – consider college tennis.

College tennis, if used correctly, can be a great tool for player development and preparation for the “next step.” I’m not going to pretend that every facet of college life was well suited to transitioning my level of tennis from junior to professional – see: sleep schedule, academic workload, occasional weekend indiscretions – however, I think that the experience as a whole helped to shape me into a more well-rounded person who was capable of taking on life on tour.

A normal weekday at Stanford for me went as follows:

7:30 AM Alarm. Minimum 2 snoozes before rolling out of bed.
7:58 AM Bike to class as fast as I can. Curse self for snoozing twice.
8:07 – 9:00 AM Lecture.
9:00 – 10:00 AM Break consisting of Jamba Juice and finishing homework for section. I’m known to procrastinate.
10:00 – 11:00 AM Section. This is awkward. Didn’t finish the reading. Must raise hand for questions I know the answer to in order to avoid cold calls.
11:00 AM – 12:15 PM Lecture.
12:15 – 1:00 PM Lunch. Possible power nap.
1:00 – 2:00 PM Section.
2:00 – 2:30 PM Bike to practice. Call boyfriend. Tell him I’m too tired to function, that I can’t possibly make it through the rest of the day. Boyfriend tells me I’ll be fine, that he’s busy. I remind him that I’m more important than anything else he’s doing. He says ‘OK.’ I still hang up angrily.
2:30 – 5:00 PM Team Practice.
5:15 – 6:15 PM Team Workout.
6:15 – 6:30 PM Bike to Training Table. Still alive despite earlier concern.
6:30 – 7:30 PM Training Table. Special athlete food in special athlete section of dining hall – with the team (definite highlight within my day).
7:30 – 7:45 PM Bike to professor’s office hours. Stress that I am late. Know that I am doomed if I can’t finish math problem set during office hours because it is entirely impossible to complete on my own. Curse myself for being lowly athlete instead of math genius.
7:45 – 9:00 PM Office hours.
9:00 – 9:15 PM Bike back to dorm. Call boyfriend. Tell him that I can’t possibly write this essay tonight that’s due in section tomorrow. He suggests I procrastinate less. I suggest he learns how to give empathy rather than advice. He says ‘OK.’I still hang up angrily.
9:15 – 11:30 PM

Alternate between writing essay, browsing Facebook, and telling the football players across the hall that ‘No, I cannot have a beer with them’ despite their pleading with me to honor ‘Thirsty Thursday.’
11:30 PM – 12:30 AM Boyfriend who thinks I’m mad at him but doesn’t understand why comes over. I assure him I am not mad at him: “Long day.” Essay is not done but I am too tired to write any more words. Episode of Friday Night Lights with boyfriend then bed. Set alarm for 6:48AM following day to finish essay before section.

In summary, my life at school was incredibly hectic. For a lot of tennis parents – or junior players themselves – this brings up a big red flag. If my kid is spread so thin, how will they be able to dedicate themselves to tennis? How will they get better?

Speaking completely honestly, there were weeks during which this crazy grind wore me down to the point of no return. My practices were poor, my workouts more lethargic than inspired, and sometimes I got sick. On those weeks, all I could do was survive until the weekend and then catch up on sleep (I only slept five-six hours on weekdays) and reset.

But there are two reasons why I don’t think that that should deter parents from pushing their kids down the college path. First, not every week was like this. I got to be a master-level prioritizer at school, so I almost always found a way to allow my tennis to take center stage when it was most important. This meant more sleep, harder practice, and less academic work in the days and weeks leading up to the NCAA tournament and other big events.

Second and, I think, more importantly, my crazy schedule taught me the balance that is necessary to performing well on tour. As a junior player who suffered from a lot of pre-match anxiety and self-applied pressure, I discovered that the ‘distractions’ that school provided were a welcome change. I learned so much about what it meant to put myself in a position to perform well on the court, and it didn’t always mean subscribing to the crazy tennis-above-everything mindset that I had been taught prior to school. I began to realize that spending the evening before a match with my non-tennis friends or even finishing a problem set the night before a big match (and thus taking my mind entirely off of tennis) was great – even relaxing – preparation.

Beyond balance alone, college offered me camaraderie with teammates – an opportunity not often provided to tennis players – excellent coaching from a tour veteran, Lele Forood and her associate head coach Frankie Brennan, state of the art fitness facilities, training rooms, and staff, the stability of home base eight months out of the year. Last, but not least, it provided the security of a someday-to-be-finished Stanford education in my back pocket. I don’t think that tennis parents and junior players always realize just how important that last facet is: a college education and the network of alumni that comes with it are an incredible safety net.

In response to this argument for choosing college, people always seem to come back with, ‘But doesn’t a safety net make you less desperate to make it on tour? More likely to tap out if things get tough?’ I’m sure every player’s experience is different, but I would venture to guess that most players considering a jump straight to the pros are incredibly intrinsically motivated, special beings. I have never once thought to myself, “This is really hard, I should just go back and finish college so that I can bail out of the grind.”

That being said, I also have somewhere to go if I’m ever fraught with injuries or am no longer enjoying the game. So sue me.

I acknowledge that college is not the path for everyone. Those who are capable of making a considerable living on tour right out of high school and/or lack passion in the classroom are viable candidates for going straight to the pros. However, I do think that every single player should at least consider college, particularly given that the average age in the WTA Top 100 is pushing 26 (28 on the men’s side).

I maintain, unequivocally, that I became a much better player at Stanford under Lele’s tutelage – and with the help of Stanford’s first-class training staff. Beyond that, I believe that I came out of college better equipped for the challenges of professional tennis and the balancing act that is life on tour.

I wouldn’t have rambled on nearly this long if I weren’t really passionate about this, so please, please, please at least consider college with your junior player.

Catch up on Nicole’s past blogs for WTA Insider here, and follow Nicole on Twitter @Gibbsyyyy!

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