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THE ART OF PICKING PLAYERS FOR TEAMS: Part #1

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  As I broke the news to the best player in the country that I was not selecting him to play in the Davis Cup tie the following week I expected a huge backlash. One of the toughest tasks you perform as a tennis coach is selecting players for teams. Sometimes you have the luxury of seeing the player compete under pressure in matches before you decide, as I did when selecting national teams, but often you don't.  In the case of College coaches in the US, many times you have very little to go on and must make recruitment decisions that at Division 1 schools have repercussions lasting for the next 4 years.  Once money has been committed to a new player, that money can't be used again on a better player later. Picking players for teams is one of the most difficult tasks you will do as a coach  (Thai Davis Cup Team) Selection mistakes made by college coaches have long-term repercussions. Making informed selection choices comes down to three important factors, the candidates game, the