The United States Tennis Association or USTA has been in existence since 1881. The USTA was originally known as the United States National Lawn Tennis Association. The group was started by a small group of people in New York City. The current USTA is an organization with more than seven hundred thousand members. It invests one hundred percent of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from beginner to professional level. There are many people who have trained with this organization and have achieved great success. An example of this are the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, or the brothers Brian, Bob and Mike." In 1916 the National Junior and Men's Championships were added, and in 1917 the Women's Championships were established. A year later, juniors, boys and girls were classified for the first time. Ten years later, the Junior Development Program was established." (USTA) The USTA developed young athletes by starting them young, identifying their talent through "Talent ID", participating in competitions to develop skills, and encouraging parents to support their children. The USTA trains people of all ages. The organization is made up of separate age groups to ensure fairness of play between opponents. The under 10 group is the youngest competing group in the organization These children can range from five to ten years old. Starting too early can actually be detrimental to player development. “Hanging a tennis ball in the crib or giving your children intensive private training at age four probably doesn't suit you. will give that advantage in the development of a champion that many parents believe is actually the opposite. Focusing too much on tennis can actually delay basic physical development... in the middle of the paper... it really makes a difference the USTA will continue to use these strategies until it finds another way to advance players. Works Cited “Progressive Development, Part 1.” How to play tennis, tennis lessons, tennis instruction, tennis tips, tennis videos, tennis shots clips, pro shots clips. Network. December 20, 2011. "Tennis Training Programs | Training Programs | Performance Fundamentals." Key Performance | Fueled by athlete performance. Network. December 20, 2011. "USTA History | Community Tennis - News | USTA." United States Tennis Association - Home | USTA. Network. December 20. 2011. .