A new competitive junior tennis league has been created in Ventura County and is currently being played once a week by some of Southern California’s top junior boys and girls from Santa Barbara to Calabasas.
Spanish Hills Country Club Tennis Director Dave McKinney and Oxnard Tennis Center
Tennis Director Mark McCampbell created the All-Star Tennis League after realizing a need for highly competitive matches between the area’s top junior players.
Thirty-eight players currently play in the league, which consist of three divisions (boys 15s and 12s and girls 15s) competing over seven weeks (on Mondays). Players receive coaching during actual match play.
According to a recent column in the Ventura County Star, the league fills a void in the county that has been “holding back the development of rising junior players the past 10 to 15 years.”
McKinney and McCampbell were able to secure Babolat as the presenting sponsor with prizes awarded to winning teams and individuals with the best record.
“There was such a void for the ranked players to get good competitive matches in this area that we created a league for all the juniors to play in and get competitive play during the week,” McKinney said. “It’s very similar to the old USTA Junior Team Tennis that all the juniors used to play in, including the Bryan Brothers.”
Added McCampbell: “The parents have been so happy and the response has been really good. We have a number of the Santa Barbara kids as well as kids as far south as Calabasas playing in it every Monday. It has been a big hit here for junior high level tennis.”
Area coaches who have supported the league include Brian Giffin, Alex Alfaro, Thomas Brinkoff Steve Beckendorf and other visiting coaches.
To learn more about the All-Star Tennis League Presented by Babolat, go to www.allstartennisleague.com or reach out to McKinney at (805) 388.5000 or Dmckinney@spanishhillscc.com or McCampbell at (805) 483.2600 or oxnardtc@aol.com