Q: How can we get the juniors around here to get together and play each other? They play tournaments and take drills together, but they don’t get the pressure-free, social enjoyment of just hitting, which would allow them to bond and to work on different parts of their games in a fun environment.

A: Here's part of the reason for that: They play too many tournaments. You know, the one [junior] I'm working with is Eric Rutledge, and I have been for years. I would say he plays at least two or three tournaments a month.

My daughter Angela, who is a pro at T Bar M, and the other pros are all over the place with these kids. The kids are bordering on what the pros are doing, because it's geared toward a points system for rankings, so, whether they want to or not, they've got to play those tournaments.

They're playing matches almost every weekend. They need to be working on their shots and trying to improve the weaknesses in their games as much as they can. I do have a couple of young ones [students], and for sure they're going to be playing every weekend, and they need to be working on their games, not just competing.

They [juniors] are playing plenty of matches if they stay in the tournaments long enough. Those compass draws have them playing four matches even if they lose them all--which is a good idea, especially if you're traveling. But whether you are in school or home-schooling, if you are playing that much and you are practicing every day it's a heavy load. They would have to play fewer tournaments to make time to just practice together, which I think would be good for them.

Tut Bartzen, the legendary TCU coach whose 16-0 record in Davis Cup play remains unequalled among Americans, lives in Fort Worth. He coached TCU tennis for 25 years, and the varsity courts are named after him. Send your questions for Tut's Take to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .