In mid-July, the TennisTraveller Keystone Sports College Tennis Showcase on multiple missions . On board the TennisTraveller speedster was my 16-year-old son Tom, who wants to go to college next year and therefore didn't want to miss the showcase. On the other hand, I was scheduled to be a speaker for a special "parent slot" on Friday afternoon, where I was able to report on my experiences with Mia's "onboarding" for college. Yes, and last but not least, I wanted to meet and talk to my cooperation partners from Keystone Sports in person. However, Tom and I were only able to take part in the showcase for two days, as an important association game on Saturday and the study trip on Sunday meant we had to return home early. But our wildcard winner Silas took part in the entire showcase from Friday to Sunday and is letting you as readers take part in the entire showcase. Let me tell everyone who is interested in a scholarship at a US college: the showcase is a really great event!
The Keystone Sports Showcase takes place once a year in Leverkusen. The main event is always from Friday to Sunday and consists of various matches where players can collect UTR points and numerous information sessions for players and parents.
Prep Day takes place on Thursday . Since our time in Leverkusen was somewhat limited for the reasons mentioned, Tom took part in this preparation day. So we drove to the Ruhr area on Wednesday and checked into the players' hotel, the Lindner Hotel Leverkusen BayArena. A brilliant hotel for all tennis players, which is built directly next to the football stadium. At dinner we could already feel the international atmosphere, as in addition to the US tennis coaches there were also some players from abroad.
Check-in with welcome bag
Best atmosphere on court
Tom at training
On Thursday morning we went to the beautiful and spacious RTHC Leverkusen facility at 9 a.m. After a welcome session by Sandy Franz, Head of Marketing at Keystone Sports Germany, his team and the US coaches, we went straight into groups for a very intensive warm-up. Then off to the tennis court for the first training session . The courts were teeming with motivated players. The US coaches made clear announcements and had the boys and girls play different types of games. After lunch there was mental coaching and an information session with US coaches, where the coaches talked about what they look for in their players and what is important to them. Before the cooldown, Tom played another match that was only played to 4, but also counted for the UTR ranking.
Meet & Greet with all showcase participants
Welcome to the showcase
Perfectly “branded” center court
At 6 p.m. the facility became much more crowded, as many players from the “actual” showcase arrived on Friday for the general meet & greet. A very relaxed and pleasant atmosphere with interesting conversations with coaches, Keystone employees and parents. And the kids had already gotten together and had a lot of fun!
Unfortunately it rained on Friday morning, so the planned training sessions before the matches unfortunately fell through. So without further ado, the opening ceremony took place not on the complex's large center court, but in the tennis hall. A great opening that thrilled everyone!
Opening ceremony on Friday morning
Video shoot
My lecture room
Afterwards the first matches started in the tennis hall. Tom had booked the video shoot, so he and his hitting partner then drove to a neighboring hall where the video was recorded. After returning, we went to lunch and then quickly onto the court for his UTR match, which was also streamed live. These video recordings are available to the US coaches at any time. At the same time as Tom's match, I held my information session for parents with Steffen Thies, the admissions chief, which was quite well attended and in which we gave some parents helpful tips and open and honest answers to questions about the US scholarship in general and as a whole concrete things to pay attention to. After that it was already 6 p.m. - time to steer the TennisTraveller speedster back towards Schwabenländle.
"It's great what new people I met here. Everyone is so open and friendly - just great!" - that was Tom's statement after the two days in Leverkusen.
I can only share his conclusion. I also found the atmosphere incredibly beautiful, open and warm! The Keystone employees are really omnipresent and help everyone. The coaches are relaxed and look forward to every conversation. And there was also a friendly and open atmosphere among the players - completely different to what you see at some tournaments. We take a lot of information and new contacts home with us. And Tom also got his first UTR points because he was able to win both of his matches - a nice "side effect". A few coaches also contacted him during and after the showcase - we'll see what comes of it.
Silas, or rather his father Markus, won the wildcard for the Keystone Sports Showcase in our TennisTraveller raffle. It was very nice to meet and accompany them both on site on Thursday evening and Friday. And since Tom and I only caught the first part of the showcase, Silas and his dad will report from now on.
Many thanks to both of them for the detailed report!
" Silas was really looking forward to the Tennis Showcase in Leverkusen. Especially since for Silas, who has just finished the 9th grade, going to college could actually become an issue in 3 years at the earliest. Nevertheless, he has already looked into the idea and is already beginning to think about whether studying in the USA might be right for him, since tennis is quite important to him. For the showcase weekend, we, Silas and his father Markus, booked ourselves into the Lindner Hotel in Leverkusen, which is directly connected to the Bayerarena and, as a cooperation partner of Keystone Sports, offers good conditions for the participants.
Our wildcard winner Silas
with his dad Markus
We arrived a day earlier and, after a short detour, went straight to the RTHC Bayer Leverkusen facility in Cologne for the meet and greet there. Here we personally met Susanne Köpf from TennisTraveller and Thorsten Bertsch from Keystone Sports. After very nice initial conversations with both of them, we were able to get a first impression of the RTHC's great tennis facility.
The next morning the time had come, after the sign-in and the inaugural gift (really cool shirt, one must say) we received the necessary information about what would happen over the next few days in a first meeting and learned it for ourselves Know your assigned Keystone Sports contact. Afterwards, there was a joint welcome in the tennis hall (due to the mixed weather on Friday). The US coaches, who were supposed to inspect the players on site, were also introduced here.
For physical well-being, a buffet was laid out at lunchtime where the players could fortify themselves. After the weather on that first day brought a little too much rain, several games were moved indoors. After briefly converting the video systems for the live broadcasts on the individual pitches, Silas then went into the hall, where he was to play his first of three group games. Due to the schedule, the matches were played in short sets and with a no-ad rule. In addition to his father and other spectators in the stands, family members who did not travel with him were also able to follow the game live via a corresponding link from Virtual Days. Thorsten from Keystone Sports also took the time to get a picture of Silas on site and to describe his first impressions of Silas to us. In general, it should be mentioned that all games, without exception, could be followed live online.
On the second day, the weather was expected to hold and the games could be played as planned on the outdoor courts, while the hall was used to record professional application videos by Keystone Sports. Various information events took place parallel to the matches. Here the players and parents were able to ask questions directly to the coaches and former college players and received valuable information. Susanne Köpf also described her experiences from the parents' perspective. In general, it was observed that there were always short conversations between the coaches and individual players between the matches. A first personal meeting. Now Silas went into the second individual match. Silas had to narrowly admit defeat, but the two boys clearly had fun and played a very respectable and extremely fair match. What we would also like to clearly emphasize at this point is that, despite the fact that everyone wanted to present themselves from their best side and of course want to win, the game was always played extremely fairly and there was a very respectful attitude towards each other, which is often the case in a ranking tournament like this experienced differently! We then got to see one of our highlights in one of the many doubles. Tom Zeuch, a former college player and current professional player whose planned exhibition match unfortunately had to be canceled due to an injury to his opponent, stepped in here in a doubles match after a player from this group had to withdraw. Silas’ comment on this match was: “awesome!”. And then you have to say what Tom Zeuch and especially the three other players showed, a lot of people pay admission for that!
After lunch and a little break, Silas went into doubles. The doubles pairing was drawn in such a way that the boys in this group who did not know each other from the singles were now on the field together as doubles partners. Another great experience for Silas, as his doubles partner is from Sweden and they had to communicate exclusively in English, which should work from the start. A very exciting double ended after almost two hours in the match tiebreak, which went in favor of the two German opponents. A great, very interesting and informative day of tennis, characterized by many impressions regarding the individual sporting levels and the way the players interact with each other, was rounded off with a barbecue in the evening.
After checking out on the third and final day, Silas had his last match in the group against his Swedish doubles partner. A successful final act for him, in which he was able to achieve a victory. It should also be clearly mentioned here that in this great event it didn't matter who would emerge as the winner at the end. This was also mentioned again and again. We also had the impression that a lot of attention was paid to the ability itself and also to the behavior of the players.
Even though the event came a little too early for Silas, as he cannot be recruited yet due to his age and current school situation, it was still a very valuable experience for him. It encouraged him that going to college could be a path he might want to take in a few years in terms of his academic, personal and sporting development.
The showcase was definitely worth the trip and who knows, maybe Silas will play again in the near future and then buy his ticket to the USA. This experience definitely increases the likelihood.
At this point we would like to thank Susanne and the Keystone Sports team again for everything!
Stay healthy and see you next time!
Silas & Mark "
Would you like to find out more about the showcase and generally about a tennis scholarship in the USA? Then you are welcome to stop by Keystone Sports . There you also have the opportunity to have free and completely non-binding initial consultation This will definitely help you!
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