How to Get Your Child Ready for High School Tennis Tryouts
By Randy Ignacio, Program Director at TPB Hero | La Mirada Regional Park
Every February and March, I start getting the same phone calls. “Coach, my son wants to try out for tennis in the spring. He’s played a little bit but never competitively. Can you get him ready in six weeks?”
Honestly? Six weeks is tight. It’s doable — I’ve seen kids pull it off — but the ones who make their team almost always started preparing months before tryouts, not weeks. If your child is serious about making their high school tennis team, here’s what actually matters, what coaches are looking for, and how to give your kid the best shot.
When to Start Preparing
Yesterday. I’m only half joking.
If tryouts are in March or April, the ideal time to start structured training is the previous fall. That gives your kid six months of consistent practice, which is usually enough time to develop the basics: a reliable forehand and backhand, a serve that goes in more often than not, and enough match play experience to handle the pressure of competing for a spot.
I’ve worked with students from La Serna, California High, Cerritos High, Gahr, Whitney, Fullerton Union, Troy, Sunny Hills, and a bunch of other schools across the LA and Orange County area. The kids who make their teams almost always have one thing in common — they didn’t wait until January to start thinking about it.
If you’re reading this and tryouts are two months away, don’t panic. Just know that your kid will need to practice more frequently and with more intention than someone who started earlier. Three to four sessions per week minimum.
What High School Tennis Coaches Actually Look For
I’ve talked to a lot of high school coaches over the years, and what they evaluate during tryouts might surprise you. They’re not just watching your kid hit pretty forehands.
Consistency over power. A kid who can keep 8 out of 10 balls in play will beat the kid who blasts winners but also hits 6 out of 10 into the net. High school coaches want reliable players, especially for doubles. If your child can rally consistently from the baseline — forehand and backhand — they’re already ahead of most kids who show up to tryouts.
A serve that goes in. This sounds basic, and it is. But you’d be amazed how many kids show up to tryouts and double fault on every other point because they’ve never practiced serving under pressure. Your kid doesn’t need a 90 mph serve. They need a serve they can put in the box 70-80% of the time. A consistent second serve is worth more than a flashy first serve that only goes in one out of four tries.
Competitive composure. Can your child handle losing a point without falling apart? Do they know how to manage their emotions between games? This is something that only comes from playing actual matches — not just drilling. Coaches watch body language closely during tryouts. A player who slams their racket or sulks after an error is a red flag, regardless of talent.
Basic match play knowledge. Your kid needs to know how to keep score, which side to serve from, how to call balls in or out, and basic tennis etiquette. I’ve seen talented players get cut from teams because they didn’t know how scoring worked during a tryout match. Don’t let that be your kid.
The Skills That Matter Most
If I had to prioritize what to work on, I’d rank them in this order:
Serve. Practice it every single session. Have your child hit 50 serves at the end of every practice. Not 10, not 20 — fifty. The serve is the only shot in tennis you have complete control over, and it’s the one most kids neglect. A reliable serve with decent placement will win more points in high school tennis than any other shot.
Rally consistency from the baseline. Your child should be able to hit 10 balls in a row, crosscourt, from both the forehand and backhand sides without missing. If they can do 20, even better. Crosscourt is the highest-percentage shot in tennis because the net is lower in the middle and the court is longer diagonally. Coaches know this and they test for it.
Net play basics. At a minimum, your kid should know how to hit a forehand and backhand volley without swinging like a groundstroke. A lot of high school doubles comes down to net play. A kid who’s comfortable at the net has a huge advantage over one who only plays from the baseline.
Movement and recovery. Getting to the ball is half the battle. Teach your kid to split step before every shot, recover to the center after hitting, and never stand flat-footed. Footwork separates the kids who make teams from the kids who don’t. It’s not about being fast — it’s about being ready.
Match Play Is Non-Negotiable
This is where I see the biggest gap. Parents sign their kid up for lessons and think drilling is enough. It’s not.
Your child needs to play actual competitive points against other players before tryouts. Not just rallying for fun — actually keeping score, serving, dealing with the stress of being down 3-5 in a set and figuring out how to battle back.
At TPB Hero, our Competitive Tournament Training class exists specifically for this. We don’t just drill technique — we put kids in live match situations every session so they learn how to compete, not just hit. We also run monthly tournaments and challenge ladders that give teens real competitive experience in a lower-stakes environment before they have to perform under the pressure of school tryouts.
If structured match play isn’t available to you, find another kid who’s also preparing for tryouts and play practice sets. Three times a week minimum. There’s no substitute for actual match experience.
The Mental Side Nobody Talks About
Here’s something I wish more parents understood: tryouts are as much a mental test as a physical one.
Your kid is going to be nervous. That’s normal. But nervousness turns into panic when a player doesn’t have a routine. Here’s what I teach our teens:
Before each point, take a breath. Bounce the ball a set number of times before serving (pick a number and stick with it every time). Between changeovers, take a sip of water and think about what’s working, not what went wrong. Have a go-to pattern when in doubt — for most high school players, that’s hitting crosscourt and waiting for a short ball.
The kids who have a routine stay calm. The kids who don’t have a routine spiral. I’ve watched incredibly talented players fall apart at tryouts because nobody taught them how to manage the moment.
A Realistic Timeline
Here’s roughly what a prep plan looks like if your kid is starting from a beginner or low-intermediate level:
Months 1-2: Build consistent groundstrokes (forehand and backhand), learn proper serve technique, understand scoring and basic rules. Practice 2-3 times per week.
Months 3-4: Add volleys and net play, start playing practice points and tiebreakers, increase serve practice to 50+ per session. Practice 3-4 times per week.
Months 5-6: Play as many practice sets as possible against a variety of opponents, simulate tryout conditions (play best-of-three sets with no coaching), fine-tune serve consistency and return of serve. Practice 4-5 times per week.
If your kid follows something close to this timeline with quality coaching, they’ll walk into tryouts feeling prepared instead of panicked. That confidence alone is worth everything.
One Last Thing
Making a high school tennis team is an achievable goal for most kids who are willing to put in the work. It doesn’t require a USTA ranking or years of private lessons. What it requires is consistent practice, real match play experience, and a coach who knows how to prepare players for competition — not just teach them to look good hitting balls in a drill.
If you’re a parent in the La Mirada, Whittier, Cerritos, Buena Park, or Fullerton area and your teen wants to get serious about tennis, come check out what we’re doing at TPB Hero. Our Competitive Tournament Training class is designed exactly for this. Your first week is free — just show up and see if it’s the right fit.
The tryout won’t wait. Start now.
Randy Ignacio is the founder and Program Director of TPB Hero at La Mirada Regional Park. Several of his teen students have gone on to make their high school JV and Varsity teams across the LA and Orange County area.
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