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Christine Franek (Brown '92)Head Tennis Coach -- Wellesley |
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Bio
 What was your experience in youth athletics? Were there opportunities available to you?
Yeah, absolutely opportunities were available to me. But it was definitely a function of my parents and family that made those opportunities available to me. I had a number of siblings that really excelled in many areas. In academics, and in music, and in sports. I was the fifth one in line, just sort of following that legacy. I had many many people who were able to encourage that since I was very very young.
Were there organized sports in your area?
There were definitely organized sports in the area where I grew up. I grew up in Rhode Island and from the time that I was very young I wasn’t just focusing on tennis, I was doing other sports as well. It was probably when I was about 10 or 12 that I really started to focus on tennis primarily and make that where all of my energy and efforts were going. At that point absolutely there were definitely organized ways that I could get involved. There were tennis clinics that I went to, tennis camps that I went to, things like that.
How did an Ivy League experience affect your athletics pursuits?
I was actually able to find a really good balance [at Brown]. Obviously, especially with a sport like tennis, today the chances to make it professionally are very very slim. I think I figured out by the end of my time playing junior tennis that that was not an area I was going to be able to excel and succeed. I definitely wanted to keep my academics as my prime focus but at the same time high-level tennis was definitely a part of my life. The Ivy League was certainly a place where I could focus on the academics but I could sill play Division-I tennis and I think that that was a real big goal of mine. Something I wanted to achieve. It was a great match for me. I was able to keep the academic focus and I was able to find that balance there. Not being on a scholarship or anything like that probably helped. I wasn’t tied to a contract or anything like that, feeling the pressure of, "if my tennis isn’t at it’s best something’s going to fall apart." Definitely I would say that the academics was first but for me tennis was almost even, a close second.
What’s the difference between Brown and Wellseley’s athletics atmosphere?
I would say that I see more similarities than I do differences. They are both outstanding academic institution and the major difference is simply in the level of tennis. I would even say that that isn’t as drastic as people would expect. Given that Wellesley is Division-III we attract a student-athlete that is looking for that great balance. The interest in finding that academic and athletic balance is very similar. The focus on the athletics at a Division-I institution was a little bit strong than at Division-III. The top players in Division-III might be able to play for a Division-I team but I would say that athletics are a little bit more intense and competitive at the Ivy League institution that I went to. However, in my recruiting we actually overlap quite a bit in the students who are looking at the Ivy League institutions and a school like ours. [Students] who have strong athletics, but we’re Division-III because they are looking for that balance. We don’t share a lot of recruits with UCLA or the University of Alabama or something like that, but since we share a common goal to really fit that idea of student-athlete we see very similar types of student-athletes looking at the Ivies and a school like ours. I guess the only other thing I would say, it really at that point, it comes down to a different kind of fit. For me I was ok with being a little bit of a smaller fish in a bigger pond where as had I chosen to go the Division-III route like some of these players are doing, they might have a chance to be a little bit of bigger fish in small pond, but they are actually more similar than different.
Does playing sports at a female-only institution change the way athletes are treated?
I think Wellesley is absolutely outstanding in the way it supports its athletes. When you think about it, I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a bigger pond but I would say that every student-athlete here, because they are all women, is supported in the best way possible. Of course in an ideal world, in a coed institution, you would hope that the male athletes and female athletes would be treated in the same way and given the same support. It’s hard to say if that happen or not but it’s really exciting to be at a place like Wellesley where each student-athlete is guaranteed the same amount of support. They are guaranteed the best facilities that we have to offer, they are guaranteed the best practice times, they are guaranteed everything, because it is all women. That’s a really exciting place for a young female scholar-athlete to be in, there are no hoops that have to be jumped through or barriers in the way of having the best scholar-athlete experience that a young female athlete can have. Wellesley does a tremendous job in guarantying that, and that is one of the benefits of being a scholar-athlete at an all-women’s college.
How has the national climate concerning women’s athletics changed since you were in school?
I think it has changed in that I am really excited that women continue to have more and more opportunities in sports. I have seen the level of young female scholar-athletes improve incredibly. I think the young women now are bigger, faster, stronger than they were even when I was in school. I think the level of training that they are getting and the specialized training is amazing so I definitely see the level of competition or the skill level having increased quite a bit since I was playing and that’s exciting.
What obstacles still stand to young women who want to participate in athletics?
This is just sort of a real personal tilt on it but one of the things I’m concerned about is how specialized young athletes are becoming so early in their lifetime, so early on in age. I’m really concerned about athletes who are specializing so early and are sometimes forgoing high school sports experiences in order to simply have their mindset on trying to make a particular team or trying to grasp a particular scholarship. I get a little bit nervous that sometimes with the specialization that is going on, sometimes young scholar-athletes, whether they are girls or boys, are losing out on the socialization skills that comes from participating with a lot of different people in different types of sports on different levels. It makes me sad to see high school sports becoming less competitive because some of the best athletes are opting out and opting to go just with private coaches. I would just hope that we’re able to still have the high-level scholar-athletes and at the same time maintain just the enjoyment of being able to play more than one sport and do both of them well before specializing in college, so that’s a big concern.
What has athletics done for young girls that choose to participate?
I think some of the best things that comes out of it are confidence building, decision making capabilities, learning how to mature, how to handle hard situations. I think one of the most positive things that tennis has done for me, that I have a feeling that other sports do, is making young people more able to transfer skills from on the court or on the field to off and those are some of the skills I am talking about. Being able to communicate well, being able to make tough decision, being able to prioritize, being able to handle pressure, being able to feel confident even in a tough situation. Having some self-worth even in highly competitive situations, things like that. I think those definitely transfer to athlete’s personal lives and work lives.
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