Broward Tennis Blog: New Local League Coordinator for Palm Beach County

LLC with TLC: With kindness and persistence, Jessica Agee-Bradshaw always aims to expand USTA League play in Palm Beach County, and Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties, too.

Earlier this year, USTA Florida named five new local league coordinators, employees who will replace the current local league contractors.

Jessica Agee-Bradshaw is one of those five, and is the new staff member responsible for three areas: South Palm Beach County, North Palm Beach County, and Indian River/St. Lucie/Martin counties. Prior to taking over this post in January, she was the local league contractor for the Indian River/St. Lucie/Martin area.

According to Christine Ducey, USTA Florida’s newly-appointed director of leagues who oversees league play for the entire Sunshine State, the other four regions with pilot LLC employees are Duval County, Leon County, Lee/Charlotte counties, and Collier County. Christine, who began her new appointment on July 7, is a former board member of USTA Florida, and the former executive director of the Mid-Florida Tennis Association in Orlando.

Jessica is now hard at work networking with tennis club directors and teaching pros to stimulate further USTA League participation. She recently spoke at the USPTA Regional Education Day in Boca Raton in an effort to grow USTA Leagues in our area. In just Boca Raton and Delray Beach alone, Jessica said, the following leagues are being offered:

• 65 & Over doubles for men and women
• 55 & Over doubles for men and women
• 40 & Over for men and women, featuring two singles courts and three doubles
• 18 & Over for men and women, also featuring two singles courts and three doubles.

There are also mixed doubles leagues for 18 & Over, 40 & Over, and 55 & Over. What’s more, she added, there are combo leagues for men and women where the combined ratings of the players are 5.5, 6.5, 7.5, and 8.5. Relatively new, she noted, is the Tri-Level doubles format, where male and female teams sport a pair of 4.5 players on court 1, a pair of 4.0 players on the second court, and a team of 3.5 ranked-players on court 3.

Chance to Advance

According to Jessica, one of the advantages that USTA Leagues have over their county counterparts is the opportunity to rise in NTRP ratings as their ability progresses. Players and teams who sport convincing win-loss records get a chance to move up to a higher level of play. What’s more, there’s an opportunity for play during evenings and weekends, a feature not usually afforded teams that play in county leagues.

She will move heaven and earth to accommodate new teams that wish to join a new division by changing the dates offered, for example. “If they want it, I will make it happen,” the USTA’s new representative for South Palm Beach County said.

New to USTA League play, Jessica said, are the Boca Raton-based Patch Reef Tennis Center, Boca Lago Country Club, and Boca Delray Golf & Country Club in Delray.

If you’d like more information on the activities of South Palm Beach County’s new LLC, you can visit the website at www.spbtennis.net, or call Jessica at (770) 330-0696. Her ability to respond is as quick as her reflexes at the net.