College Tennis - A parent discussion and exchange of experiences between Dennis Eichner and me about everything worth knowing about tennis scholarship and college tennis

College tennis - that is currently concerned with me and our family. After our daughter Mia went to the United States as a student two years ago, we are in the middle of the "onboarding" process for the second time. Our son Tom will also pack his tennis matters in August to open a college in Alabama. Reason enough to talk to Dennis Eichner, dad of 17-year-old Leni Eichner from Meerbusch. Leni will also graduate from high school in the spring and will fly to college tennis with a scholarship to the USA, so that the two are currently facing exactly the same questions and challenges as we do. An exchange of experiences among parents , which Dennis and I find very valuable. Even if we go through the process for the second time, an exchange of experiences is extremely valuable. It is better and better open up the large wide world of college tennis and at the same time shows that there are some differences. You will soon find out in a separate blog post how the whole thing works at Tom. Today everything revolves around Dennis and Leni and her way to the USA . Let's go!

 When did you start to deal intensively and specifically with the topic?

Since the summer of 2020 we have had loose contact with Sandy Franz von Keystone, but really started, the topic actually only had a virtual parent information evening in autumn 2023. From then on everything went quite quickly and the contract was signed at the end of the year and the trip could officially go.

 Then what did the individual steps look like?

After the contract was signed with Keystone, the next big goal was of course the showcase in Leverkusen in July. From spring, however, the first inquiries from Coaches have already come in via the Keystone player portal and thus also the first non -binding conversations with different colleges. Of course, we also exchanged ourselves with many other players and their parents who have already gained experience on the college and tried to bring a little light into the still dark chapter "College" for us.

After the showcase, the conversations with the coaches and, above all, the exchange with Sandy, who looks after Leni as a recruiting agent, then intensive care and in autumn we were able to choose which college she was going to. 

 Leni will open on the Missouri State from August-what were the most important decision criteria for you when choosing a college? What should be considered?

We dealt intensively with the final universities and colleges with the final. Offer for a scholarship, location, weather, campus, possible subjects, accommodation, etc. were of course important criteria. However, we put the main focus on the team and above all the coach, which in the event of the MSU made us feel that he absolutely wants Leni for the team. Leni was and is Coach Hale's first signing as a new coach at the MSU (now 4) and that made us feel really good at the time. At the same time, Leni also wrote to all the team players about a wide variety of channels and asked their experience on college. Since only positive feedback came back here, the decision was ultimately clear.

 What's next on the todo list?

We are currently going through the admission process at college that cannot be underestimated in terms of time. After the promise by the MSU, together with the Admission, we have been able to check out the NCAA registration quite quickly together with the Admission specialists from Keystone, Nina Reiter and Christian Lewin, and also thanks to the good cooperation of Leni's school and are now waiting for the passing and their certificate and Your amateur Certification, which we can finally apply for in April. In parallel, we apply for the I-20 form at College, which is the basis for the student visa that we still have to apply for at the consulate in Frankfurt, deal with college with the accommodation, accommodation, health insurance, meals and, load, but not least , the selection of the subject. A little bit of what to do before it starts in mid -August.

 Why did you choose Keystone Sports as an agency and are you satisfied?

For us there was actually no alternative to Keystone, as, as already mentioned, they accompanied us from the beginning and we have a great contact person with Sandy Franz, whom we could contact at any time and who stood by us with answers to all of our questions . But the other team around Nina and Christian is also incredibly nice and at all times and gives us the feeling of having made the absolutely correct decision. In any case, we have not yet regretted it.

 What are your three most important advice on parents of future college athletes?

First, be open when choosing the college ... If you initially deal with college tennis, you first look at the Map of the USA and immediately have possible dream locations in your head ... California, Florida, New York, Ost coast, … The more you immerse yourself in this new world, the more you deal with it and the more you exchanged with former or current college players, other factors like the team get other factors And above all the coach a much larger role. This is basically exactly what keystone communicates from the start. 

Secondly, be honest, to yourself ... Important is an honest self-assessment, so how good is the child really and in which team strength you should search, what are the individual goals during and also after the college time ...

Thirdly, be prepared ... If you really plan to let your child go to the college, it is definitely a great advantage of playing internationally early, ie either at tennis courts or at the latest at the Junioritf tournaments. Then only this is how you get a good Utr rating and utr ranking, which is certainly what the coaches look and compare the coaches.

And load, but not least ... trust your own gut feeling and trust your recruiting agents.

 Thanks Dennis for the conversation and all the best for you in the next few months!

You are cordially invited to the parents' webinar on April 8, 2025 - register right away!

What does it apply in general, but especially for us parents on the way to a tennis scholarship to consider everything? How can we support our child in this versatile process from the first rough idea to the very specific big step over the pond? Questions about questions that we asked ourselves quite suddenly in 2023 when our daughter Mia expressed the wish to go to the USA with a tennis scholarship after graduating from high school. I wrote a five-part series on our path there on our blog, such as Mia, but in particular we parents "lived and passed and pass the entire application process up to departure. We are currently preparing for our son Tom for summer 2025 everything for his stay at the college in Alabama. And there are also some new challenges!

invite you to our College Tennis webinar for parents on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 7.30 p.m. You have the chance to ask your questions Sandy Franz von Keystone Sports And there is certainly plenty of it, right? Regardless of whether you have just started to deal with the topic of college tennis or have already been in the middle of the application process: We will surely be able to answer your questions. And open and honest, just as you are used to.

Yes, I want to be there and learn more about college tennis from parenting

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Our topic special on college tennis

For everyone who also wants to "read" something, there are various blog articles available in our theme special, lots of fun! 

In the meantime, if you have any questions about college scholarships or would like to know specifically how we approached things, please feel free to contact me at any time This email address is being protected from spam bots! To display JavaScript must be turned on. . Or you can take a look at the website Keystone Sports around. There you will find a lot of helpful information about a scholarship and the way there. And a free initial assessment!

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