What Is the Point of College Exposure Camps? With Ed Krass

Summary

Ed Krass — former Harvard women’s head coach (four consecutive Ivy League titles, four DI national tournament appearances, 1986-90), former Clemson men’s assistant, founder of College Tennis Exposure Camp (now in its 29th year) — explains the purpose and structure of his camps, identifies the key technical and mental deficiencies he sees in juniors transitioning to college tennis, and makes a detailed case for why doubles skills — specifically serve-and-volley and net play — are the most underinvested and most recruiting-relevant skill set for junior players. Krass also introduces the “one-on-one doubles” format (sanctioned by USTA, played on half a court with mandatory serve-and-volley) as both a training drill and a tournament format that could transform the way doubles skills are developed in junior tennis.

Guest Background

Ed Krass played college tennis at the University of Central Florida (1978-82) and then coached their men’s team to a #6 national ranking in 1983. He served as assistant men’s coach at Clemson under the legendary Coach Creasy, helping the team to ACC titles and a #5 national ranking in 1985. From 1986-90 he was Harvard Women’s Head Coach, winning four consecutive Ivy League titles and reaching four national DI tournament appearances. After leaving Harvard, he founded College Tennis Exposure Camp, running it for 29 consecutive years at the time of this recording. His camps have been attended by hundreds of college-bound junior players and are staffed exclusively by head college coaches (approximately 15 head coaches at each camp) rather than assistants or outside instructors.

Key Findings

1. Camp vs. Showcase: A Critical Distinction with NCAA Implications

Krass draws a sharp distinction between an exposure “showcase” (tournament format, coaches cannot speak directly with players) and an “instructional camp” (coaches are teaching, conversations are permitted). His camp is structured as instructional, which means head college coaches can interact freely with players of any age — a significant compliance advantage over showcase-format events. Parents who confuse the two formats may unknowingly put families at risk of NCAA violations or miss the relationship-building opportunities that only instructional formats allow.

2. 15 Head Coaches on Court Simultaneously — Not Assistants

A distinctive feature of Krass’s camp is that every instructor on court is a head college coach — not a graduate assistant, not an alumnus, not a teaching pro. Approximately 15 head coaches rotate through working with 55 players, with each player working with a different coach every 25 minutes in a live-ball, competitive format. This gives junior players direct exposure to the coaching styles, personalities, and program expectations of multiple programs in a single session — far more efficient than individual official visits.

3. The Three Biggest Deficiencies Krass Sees in Juniors Entering College

Krass identifies:

• Insufficient practice matches: Juniors need 3-4 competitive practice sets per week (two-out-of-three format, with notes afterward). Current training heavily emphasizes coached drilling with insufficient competitive match play. The feedback loop of real match play — identifying what works and what breaks down under pressure — is irreplaceable.
• Lack of all-court game / net play: College coaches overwhelmingly want players who can serve and volley, hit approach shots, and play at the net in doubles. The junior circuit has almost no serve-and-volley, which creates a dramatic skill gap at the college entry point.
• Inability to adapt to new coaching voices: Players who’ve worked with one coach for years struggle to adjust to new instruction styles and reduced individual attention in college (where a coach may have 10 players). Camp exposure to multiple coaches’ voices is remedial for this challenge.

4. Doubles Proficiency Is a Recruiting Differentiator

Krass is explicit: between two comparably ranked juniors, the one with polished doubles skills — particularly serve-and-volley and net approaches — will win a college coach’s offer. In Division II and III, where doubles counts as one point toward team score (the same as singles), sweeping doubles puts teams up 3-0 before a singles ball is hit. Even in Division I (where doubles is now a quick 6-game set, no-ad), starting singles up a point is a major morale and tactical advantage. Yet junior tournaments produce almost no net play, leaving players who arrive in college “fish out of water” in doubles.

5. One-on-One Doubles: A Training Format That Builds Net Skills

Krass has been promoting the “one-on-one doubles” format since 2004 — a game played on half a court with a line down the middle, where players must serve and volley on both first and second serve, all points go cross-court, and alleys are active. This mandatory serve-and-volley rule forces baseline players to develop the half-volley, mid-court volley, and approach shot skills that are essential for college doubles. The format is sanctioned by USTA as a tournament format (oneonedoubles.com), and Krass ran tournaments in the eastern section with plans for a national event. At Clemson under Coach Creasy, players used a version of this game for challenge matches — building the net confidence that made Clemson’s doubles nationally competitive.

6. The Coach Creasy Book as a Technical Foundation

Krass recommends Coaching Tennis by Coach Creasy (his Clemson mentor) as essential reading for serious junior players and coaches, noting it covers momentum management for match play, directional concepts, and pressure handling. This technical reading habit is his proxy for “learning how to learn” — a meta-skill he argues juniors must develop to thrive under college coaching.

7. Camp Culture: Live-Ball, Music, Competitive Rotation

The camp’s on-court atmosphere is deliberately designed to simulate college training: live-ball drills (not fed balls), competitive scoring where winners advance and losers move down, light music, approximately 25-minute rotations, and a college-team energy. Off-court seminars feature coaches speaking to a full audience of 50-70 players and their peers on topics like managing pressure, navigating recruiting, and developing as a college athlete. Evenings include social activities designed to let players experience the college social context alongside the athletic one.

Actionable Advice for Families

• Seek out true instructional camps (not showcases) for college recruiting exposure — the ability to have real conversations with head college coaches at instructional camps is a compliance-safe advantage that showcase formats cannot provide
• Prioritize doubles skill development — specifically serve-and-volley training — as early as sophomore year of high school; a junior player who can serve and volley in college doubles is a recruiting asset that transcends ranking-point comparisons
• Organize 3-4 competitive practice sets per week (full two-out-of-three set format, with notes afterward) in addition to coached drilling; the ratio of competitive match play to instruction in most junior programs is badly inverted
• Research the one-on-one doubles format (oneonedoubles.com) as a training tool and tournament format — it builds the net skills that college programs consistently identify as the most underdeveloped area in juniors they recruit

INTENNSE Relevance

• Format innovation: One-on-one doubles is a micro-format with a mandatory structure (serve and volley) that produces specific skill outcomes — a model for how INTENNSE could design developmental formats (youth leagues, clinics) that produce players with the athleticism and net presence that make INTENNSE matches more exciting
• Coaching education: Krass’s emphasis on multiple coaching voices and styles maps to INTENNSE’s coach development model — players in the league experience different coaches’ philosophies, which builds adaptability and broadens their game
• Doubles emphasis: INTENNSE’s mixed-gender team format and unlimited substitution system create space for doubles specialists and net players to shine in ways that traditional singles-dominant formats do not; Krass’s argument for doubles as a recruiting differentiator validates the strategic importance of net play
• Coach broadcast visibility: Krass’s seminar model — coaches speaking publicly to players about what college tennis demands — is a template for INTENNSE broadcast content: coaches on mic explaining what professional team tennis demands, building audience education and investment
• Player development pipeline: The deficiencies Krass identifies in juniors entering college (insufficient match play, poor net skills, inability to adapt to new coaching) are exactly the problems INTENNSE’s league context helps resolve — high-frequency competitive play under multiple coaches with immediate feedback
• Community: Krass’s camp-as-community model (15 head coaches, 55 players, evening social activities) parallels INTENNSE’s vision of team tennis as a community hub — not just competition but social infrastructure around the sport

Notable Quotes

“We have all head college coaches on the court — so every coach on the court is a head college coach.”

“Three to four practice matches a week is such a great learning lesson versus just the instructional lessons.”

“If they’ve got the propensity to serve and volley and have the mid-court volley and the half volley — they got hands, they got quick volleys — that’s huge in Division II and III.”

“I would really like to tell the juniors and their junior coaches to definitely work on the one-on-one doubles game and really understand the pressure of what that game is all about.”

“They need to keep learning to learn — and that’s what the coaches are there for, to keep teaching them how to learn how to improve.”