USTA Boys' 18 & 16 National Clay Court Championships hosted by the City of Delray Beach

Thank you for participating in the 2008 National Clay Court Championship. Your input is important to us. Please visit this link to pass along your opinion and thoughts on the brief 16 question survey. more info

Congratulations to all participants who competed in this year's event and good luck to everyone the rest of the year...

7:00 - 9:00pm. It's time to leave the rackets at home. Nintendo Wii Tennis, Ping-Pong & Basketball Tournament of Champions. Pasta, hamburgers, hot dogs, sides, etc...Players: free...Parents-coaches-siblings $10pp. Directions: I-95 to Atlantic Ave., head east for approximately 1 mile, left on NW 1st Ave. Community Center Gym immediately on your left. more info

PLEASE DOUBLE-CHECK AS SOME PLAYERS HAVE NEW START TIMES/SITES...The SINGLES draw & starting times will be posted on Thursday, July 10. If withdrawing, the final day for a refund is Sunday, July 6.

ALL PLAYERS MUST bring a USTA Signed Medical Release form (parent/guardian signature) (click on "more info.") to Registration or they will be UNABLE to participate in the event! If you would like to fax the form before the event, fax to: 561.330.6001. more info

Each divisional draw will consist of 192 singles players, and 96 doubles teams. Click the following for the daily match schedule, weather pending and subject to change. more info

All players should check-in at the site that they compete at. The Boys' 18's sites are approximately 3 miles from each other. The Boys' 16's sites are approximately 4 miles from each other. The Boys' 18s sites are approx. 10-15 minutes from the Boys' 16's sites. Weather pending, BOTH the 18's and 16's divisions will move to the Delray Beach Tennis Center from days six through eight, with highlights of both the 18's and 16's singles finals being televised.... Click for match sites & directions. more info

Boys 18: Corbin Benson, Drake Bernstein, Jordan Cox, Lawrence Formentera, Mousheg Hovhannisyan, Kayvon Karimi, Jadon Phillips, Raymond Sarmiento Boys 16: Sean Berman, Garrett Brasseanx, Chidi Gabriel, Michael Lippens, Nathan Pasha, Clay Thompson, Quinton Vega, Daniel Weingarten

This event is one of the premier amateur tennis events in the United States, and we welcome you and your family to Delray Beach, Florida. This event is organized by the sister company of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, a $500,000 Men's ATP Tour Event, and we will be awarding the winner of the Boys' 18's singles division a MAIN DRAW WILDCARD into the ATP Event, held February 2009! more info

REPLACING PLAYER before draw is made: The tournament committee shall replace a player who was accepted as part of a Section's quota with the next player on the Section's endorsement list. The tournament committee shall replace a player who was NOT accepted as part of a Section's quota with the next highest remaining alternate on the National Standings List (as of deadline date). REPLACING PLAYER After Draw is Made (Monday, July 7), but Before the Completion of the 1st Round: The tournament committee shall replace a player after the draw is made, but before the completion of the 1st round with the next highest remaining alternate on the National Standings List (as of deadline date). All singles alternates (including doubles endorsed players) may call the tournament office for updates, as well as please sign in at the Players' Registration held on Sat., July 12.

Players unable to arrive at the Player Registration prior to 4:45pm due to limited airline arrival times or delayed travel, must contact Ivan Baron as soon as possible - IBaron@YellowTennisBall.com (confirm receipt of e-mail) or call (561) 330-6000. more info

For practice courts BEFORE SUNDAY, JULY 13, call the following match sites (Delray Swim & Tennis Club, Broken Sound CC, Boca West CC) as well as the practice sites listed on the web-site. BEGINNING SUNDAY, JULY 13: Players cannot reserve practice courts at the match sites, courts are 1st come, 1st serve. 8+ practice courts will be available 45 minutes before the first match at the match sites, as well as 1-2 courts throughout the day. All courts are 1st come, 1st serve with two persons per court - if courts are full, four persons per court. During the tournament, players may reserve practice courts ONLY at the Swim & Racquet Center-Boca Raton, Boca Pointe Country Club, Boynton Beach Tennis Center and Hunters Run (click for times/amounts)... Click for Camp Times & Practice Courts. more info

11:30am - 2pm: COLLEGE COACHES EXPO* (All parents & eligible players only)... 2 - 2:30pm: SEMINAR: EDUCATING PLAYERS/PARENTS ABOUT THE COLLEGE TENNIS RECRUITING PROCESS (hosted by ScholarshipforAthletes.com)... 2:30 - 3:15pm USTA SEMINAR (Parents/Coaches Only) - Over the course of the next several months, the USTA will be undertaking a comprehensive review of the current national junior competitive system. To that end the USTA has selected the USTA Boys' 18/16 National Clay Court Championships as one of the sites for conducting a parent focus group. Timon Corwin, USTA Senior Director of Junior and Collegiate Competition, will be at the tournament to host a one-hour informative interactive session. The USTA would like to receive input and ideas from parents of junior players regarding this important topic. Following the discussion, parents will be invited to fill out a survey. The data from the surveys will be studied and ideas will be incorporated into a new and improved junior competitive structure. 2:30 - 4:30pm: PLAYER REGISTRATION & DOUBLES SIGN-IN... 4pm: BOYS 16's GROUP PICTURES... 4:15pm: BOYS 18's GROUP PICTURES... 4:30pm: DOUBLES SIGN-IN CLOSES... 4:30 - 4:45pm: MANDATORY PLAYER MEETING more info

The DOUBLES event is "single elimination" (all players MUST re-register at the Player’s Registration) with matches beginning on Sunday, July 13 (rounds 1 and 2). If you know your doubles team, please e-mail the team to IBaron@YellowTennisBall.com (Important: make sure we reply back to you to confirm receipt of the e-mail). All singles players may play doubles. If you do not have a partner, please let us know at Registration and we will do our best to pair you with another person. PLAYERS MAY ONLY PLAY DOUBLES IN THE SAME DIVISION AS THEY ARE PLAYING SINGLES. more info

11:30am - 2pm. Held at the Embassy Suites, Boca Raton. Eligible players** and all parents/coaches of ALL of the participants will have the availability to meet and exchange information with the attending college coaches. Access into the Expo is free, and the list of attendees will be announced shortly. **Please comply with NCAA rules that state: players may attend if they have not yet signed a letter of intent with another college and have completed their junior year of high school. more info

2 - 3pm (Embassy Suites): SEMINAR: EDUCATING PLAYERS/PARENTS ABOUT THE COLLEGE TENNIS RECRUITING PROCESS (all players and family members may attend)...Includes a presentation from ScholarshipsforAthletes.com which will include "the 3 most important questions that all families of student-athletes must answer in order to end up at the right school." In addition, Timon Corwin, Senior Director, Junior and Collegiate Competition for the USTA, will give a presentation on the NCAA Clearing House, Eligibility, Amateurism issues, Playing Professional tournaments while in college, Recruiting Resources, Important dates, Official/Unofficial Visits, Recruiting web sites, and Div I, II, III, NAIA, and Jr College Recruiting... more info

Please contact our office if you would like to have a table at the College Expo and/or would like your school's information placed in our College Bio Book... Confirmed Colleges attending the Expo will be announced soon. more info

Click the following for a list of hotels located between 5 - 15 minutes from the sites. Please reserve early as rooms are limited and the tournament receives a special player rate. more info

Both the the Doubletree Suites AND Embassy Suites have complimentary transportation (van), based on availability, within a three mile radius of the hotel. Both are available to hotel guests on a first come, first serve basis. We suggest to rent a car based on the number of participants and tournament guests.

Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach Airports are approx. 30 minutes away from the tournament hotels/sites... OFFICIAL RENTAL CAR: Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Call 1-800-978-8815 and mention rate code "41W0143" - (pin: UST) for tournament special rate. more info

Dr. Jorge Valverde, a renowned psychologist who has developed a specialized system to train the minds of tennis players in a positive and effective way, will be providing 20-minute free consultations (compliments of the Tournament Chairman) for players, parents and coaches. This is an excellent opportunity for players who want to develop mental toughness... Dr. Valverde graduated from the University of Kansas with a Doctoral dissertation research on the mental preparation of highly ranked tennis players. He has served as sport psychologist for numerous tennis academies and universities throughout the US, Mexico, Poland and South America. He has also worked with many elite players such as Luke Jensen, French Open Doubles Champion, 1993 Anna Lenna Groenefeld, number one junior player in the world in 2003 and ranked as high as 14 in the WTA Meghann Shaughnessy, ranked as high as 11 in the WTA, Timothy Neillly, Orange Bowl Boys’ 18s Champion, Tim Smyczek, singles Semi Finalist at Wimbledon 2005, Kim Couts, 2006 Girls 18s Easter Bowl Champion, Gabriel Flores, 2006 Boy’s 14 Winter National Finalist, Ashley Weinhold, 2007 Girls18’s Super National Hard Court Champion, Stephanie Vidov, World Junior Tennis Champion, 2007, and Grayson Goldin, 2008 Boys's 12 USTA Spring National Championships Champion, in singles and doubles. more info

Pro-Circuit Stringing will be based at the Embassy Suites, Boca Raton... Jim Early, massage therapist, who has worked closely with Olympic swimmer and multiple-gold medal winner Michael Phelps, as well as works with the U. of Maryland swim, track, & football teams, the U. of Virginia tennis teams & the Princeton swim, tennis, and lacrosse teams, will be based at the Delray Swim & Tennis Club for any massage therapy sessions. Call 443-745-3591 for an appointment...

All Withdrawals must be sent via email to ibaron@yellowtennisball.com (must receive confirmation from event). The last day to withdrawal and receive a refund is Sunday, July 6. All withdrawal refunds will be mailed by check within 7 days of the completion of the tournament.