College Prep Yale Showcase Tour 2011 - Day 2

Benny Lin

Founder & Academy Director

College Prep Yale Showcase Tour 2011 - Day 2

Our team got up around 630am this morning. I took the kids for running so that they could adjust to the weather and get over their jet lag sooner. We did a light jogging for about 30 minutes and a few sets of speed and recovery exercises. The kids really needed this morning work out to get their body ready for the day.

After our breakfast we went to Seton Hall University where we were given a campus tour by coach Greg. Seton Hall University last year successfully recruited Sher Pui Wing. SPW made the dean’s list last school year and coach Greg spoke very highly of Sher Pui Wing and said he would like to recruit more student athletes just like Sher Pui Wing. Currently SPW is studying at Seton Hall under full tennis scholarship (tuitions, books, meals, dorms, books and a laptop are all paid by Seton Hall).

We were impressed with the school’s facility and the campus was beautiful. Located just outside of NYC, Seton Hall has one of the finest business and law schools around the area. The student body is around 5000 students, not too big and not too small with a long history of great achievements in sports, including a trip to the final of NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.

Coach Greg was very kind explaining to our players what it takes to get recruited and what are the coaches looking for at the showcase. It was good for the players to listen directly from a Div 1 school coach.

In the afternoon I brought the kids to see coach Michibata and coach Luana from Princeton University. We all know Princeton is one of the top 3 Ivy League schools and definitely one of the best universities in the world. Coach Michibata and coach Luana met with the kids for about 45 minutes talked about the school, SAT, tennis, grades requirement, etc. It was a very informative session with both coaches giving a lot of information. It was definitely an eye opening experience today for some of our players.

After our meeting, we have a 2 hour hitting session where I worked and prepared the kids for the up coming showcase. I explained to our kids what they need to do when they are playing at the showcase. In order to prepare, in the end of the training I made our players do more fitness. I want them to be fully ready and fit for the showcase and hopefully in these next few days they will be physically fitter and mentally tougher. I knew I have to challenge their body for the next few days so they don’t get soft during the showcase.

Tomorrow we are off to New York to see NYU coach and Columbia coach. After that we will drive straight to Boston.

Pictures have been posted on HKITA facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hong-Kong-International-Tennis-Academy-HKITA/134959733197513