Q:
There is a very talented 11-year-old male player who has been playing in the 14s all summer. This player has competed in district, sectional and national tournaments. He also plays 16s and 18s in order to advance his level of play. He hits the ball as hard as any 18-year-old, is tall for his age – about 5 feet 6 inches, and has an average build for an 11-year-old. At the tournament last weekend, this young man was playing 18s against a pretty good opponent who was 18. As he returned a forehand, he felt his shoulder snap. After that, he could not continue the tournament and was sent to have an MRI the following day.
Has there been any research regarding the physical ability of a young body (particularly male since they mature later) to handle the force exerted by a more physically mature player?
A: This is an area of great concern, both from an anatomical viewpoint, and from a view of total tennis development. Let me begin by discussing issues of injury in tennis and how they occur. Injury can be acute (occurring upon immediate stress like stepping on a ball and spraining an ankle) or chronic (over time stress like tennis elbow). Causes of injury can be numerous, but can stem from three general areas:
1. Encountering too much force for the body to accommodate
2. Accelerating to move a body part
3. Decelerating to slow down a body part
Your question specifically deals with the issue of encountering excessive force, but it also involves the other two areas. For years, I have had concerns about young children using racquets that are either too long or too massive for their bodies to handle. Although this research does not specifically address your question, it took place in the late 1970s. I published a research article in a scientific journal dealing with how children must have a racquet suited to their physiological capacity. This was stated specifically to minimize the incidence of injury and to improve that child’s skill development in tennis. It was found that children will change their swing mechanics if the racquet is not appropriately suited to their capabilities. Therefore, tennis skill development is severely compromised. Now, let’s discuss the issue you raised.
If an 11-year-old child plays an 18-year-old of the same gender, we should examine the physical situation. An 11-year-old is pre-pubescent, so many issues are presented, but the primary one I wish to expound upon is anatomical development. An 11-year-old definitely has not completed bone and muscle development whereas an 18-year-old late adolescent is nearing full development. This has ramifications for the ability to encounter and resist force, accelerate the body and decelerate the body. This is true for both genders, but would probably occur in higher numbers for boys because, in general, an 18-year-old boy can swing the racquet with greater speed and accommodate the repetitive force of the strokes.
To examine your specific issue, then, we have an 11-year-old boy playing an 18-year-old boy. Assuming that this 18-year-old boy is skilled and can swing the racquet effectively, this boy may be able to serve near 100 mph and hit heavy, aggressive groundstrokes. Given this, the 11-year-old has options – change swing mechanics to "bunt" the ball back, or try to play the 18-year-old straight up and try to match hit for hit. Most (and I emphasize the word most) 11-year-olds could not handle this second option.
Now, whose responsibility is it to monitor a situation like this? I believe it is first the parents’ and then the coach’s. We must step up to the plate, take responsibility and protect our players. I feel this way, in general, about the sports medicine implications to our players regardless of whether they are young or old, male or female. Having said that, you should be aware that in some countries (such as Spain), there exists only one competitive age group, 18-and-under. There are age-level tournaments, but not for ranking. It is the responsibility of the parents and coaches to allow or not allow a child to compete in those 18-and-under tournaments. Decisions would be made on physical and mental capabilities, but also from the standpoint of game development.
In summary, we as tennis-teaching professionals must help players at all levels and ages improve their skill, but we also must act responsibly in protecting the health and happiness of our athletes.
