Get on the bus?

Happy New Year to all,

So I mentioned in my last post that juniors who are looking to compete at the highest levels must play at least 100 matches per year and I also suggested that our cities location was not the best, making it very hard for most kids to achieve the matches needed.  It is not impossible  (people do it today) but big sacrafices must be made by parents, families, players and coaches.

 I started thinking that we need to put some sort of bus system together to get as many kids as possible to the events they need to be at. We could utilize 15 seat passenger vans and get 10-15 kids to tournaments each weekend.

Coaches have a hard time making events but we could leverage technology to film all the matches which can then be reviewed by the playeres coach as soon as poosible - possibly right after the match as these files can be shared in a secure manner online now. It still does not solve the multiple match issue but kids that attend and lose in the first round will still train each day for 90 min (we will book courts) with other bus/tournament participants and they can chart the matches of their bus mates and learn. I think this is a great idea for Ottawa as a region and for our juniors regardless of which club the players attends. This is to maximize the number of matches played each year and to reduce the financial burden on parents.

Estimated cost would be:

1 coach per 5 kids $400 per day ($220 per group 5 for the weekend)
Van rental and gas / by number of kids approx $50 per player (12 players 3 coaches)
Hotel 1 coach room 2 nights ($15 per child)
Players 4 per room $50
Food 10 dollars per meal per player 6 meals ($60)
Snacks and drinks ($25) bananas/water/gatoraide and such
Tournament fee ($45)
Practice court costs ($15)

Approx total for the weekend $480.00 for all 3 days per player ($160 per day)

*As a group we can leverage group discounts which will reduce the cost. Over time we will be able to utilize points (Marriott) to get free rooms also helping to reduce the cost per player.


What do you think? 

Sean Sweeney
President
National Capital Tennis Association