YOU MUST HAVE AN RRISD PHYSICAL CLEARED BY THE WESTWOOD TRAINERS BEFORE YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO TRYOUT!

The Westwood Warriors are looking for dedicated student-athletes who take pride in their school and are willing to make a maximum effort in both the classroom and on the tennis court. Wearing a Westwood uniform is a privilege, one that carries both responsibilities and rewards.

For tryouts you MUST have an RRISD PHSYICAL turned in 4 DAYS before tryouts.  You will not be allowed to tryout if you don’t have a current RRISD PHYSICAL turned in 4 DAYS before tryouts to the WW Trainers.You must be on their "cleared" list to be eligible for tryouts.  All information must be completed and submitted no later than Friday, April 26th, to participate in tryouts for the 2024-2025 season.  Your physical needs to be hand delivered to the Trainers at Westwood.  Not the tennis coaches, not the front office, only to the trainers.  You can get a RRISD physical form from the trainers or you can click on the link below.

Physical Forms

DO NOT BRING YOUR ATHLETIC PAPERWORK TO THE WESTWOOD TENNIS COACHING STAFF.

Tryout Schedule for 2024-2025 season

All tryouts are at Westwood High School tennis courts

April 30th incoming 9th grade boys will have tryouts from 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm

April 30th  incoming 9th grade girls will have tryouts from 4:45 pm - 5:30 pm.

The Freshman team will be announced no later than May 6th on the WW Tennis website. You must be a part of the Westwood tennis team to be in the tennis class at Westwood.

 Varsity Tryouts will be July 30th for boys and girls.  Start time is 8:00 am.  Please get here early.  

Incoming freshman should tryout and make the freshman team before trying out for the Varsity Team in August.

Freshman/JV Tryouts for people not currently on the team will be the first day of school from 4:30pm - 5:30 pm.  

What to Bring and What to Wear

Comfortable Athletic Wear, Tennis Shoes, and your Tennis Racket are required for tryouts. You should bring your own bottled water or reusable water bottle for tryouts.

Tryout Criteria

The coaching staff will be looking for coachable athletes who have a great work ethic and want to learn to be better players and teammates. Prospective student athletes will be tested and evaluated for their overall athletic ability and level of tennis skill.  Coaches will apply the following criteria (in this order):

Attitude: Players who are positive, competitive, and eager to learn.

Athletic Ability: Players with the ability to learn and perform complex skills.

What to Expect at Tryouts

Expect to work hard. You will be asked to perform all physical testing and drills at full speed. You should run when shagging balls, when moving from drill to drill and when going to and from water breaks. You will not sit down during tryouts, except during water breaks.

ATTITUDE EVALUATION: Prospective Westwood Tennis players should be willing to try hard, make mistakes, learn from those mistakes and keep trying. Coaches will take note of those players who listen, follow directions, and ask questions when necessary.

SKILL/COMPETITION EVALUATION: Prospective players will be asked to demonstrate their understanding of basic tennis skills (forehand, backhand, volleys, and serve) in competitive situations. Hitting TOPSPIN is very important.

As with most sports, coaches will evaluate players for their ability and potential to fill the needs of the team.

How to Impress the Coaches

1.     Help get out balls and equipment.

2.     Be among the first to line up for drills or demonstrations.

3.     Look the coach in the eye when she/he speaks to you or to the team.

4.     Be a champion ball shagger.

5.     Be among the first to help put away equipment.

Options for Players Not Selected

Tryouts are a difficult time.

One of the toughest jobs for any coach is the final decision about which players make the team, and those who do not. The Westwood Tennis coaching staff strives to make all decisions fairly, without bias, and after extended deliberation and evaluation of each prospective student-athlete.

If you are not selected this season, and would like to try out again in the future, there are other options available to you that may help you in the future. (see website for future dates and times).

1.     Be a team manager. Tennis managers have a chance to learn leadership and organizational skills and fill a valuable role on the team.

2.     Play another sport for the Warriors. Other sports at Westwood include football, volleyball, swimming, cross-country, basketball, soccer, wrestling, water polo, track, golf and softball.

3.     If you are planning to tryout again at a later date and time.  This is a list of recommendations to get better over the summer:

4.    Take lessons: either group and/or private. Look under for helpful links or ask the coaches for the best places to improve.

5.    Join USTA and play tournaments.

6.    Play UTR and C.A.T.A. tournaments

7.   Attend tennis camps. There is an active recreational tennis community year-round in Austin.

8.    Hit a LOT of tennis balls and work on your technique and mental game

9.   Don't give up