ALUMNI STORY
From red ball to an NCAA scholarship
Erin Caldwell arrived at Rowan Hall aged six and left eleven years later on a full athletic scholarship to the University of Georgia. She was never the best player in her squad.
Erin CaldwellLeft Rowan Hall in 2025- Joined
- September 2014, aged 6
- Left
- July 2025, aged 17
- Programmes
- Mini · Squads · Elite
- Now
- University of Georgia, NCAA D1
BACKGROUND
Where she started
Erin was six when her mother brought her to a Saturday morning red-ball group because a school friend went. She had never held a racket. Amelie Fortin put her on an eight-metre court with a soft ball and she rallied nine times in her first session, which is roughly average and, at Rowan Hall, roughly the point.
She was third or fourth in every group she was ever in. The file is full of technique and almost empty of results.
For the next four years nothing about her progress was remarkable. She moved through orange and green at the expected pace, won nothing, and was consistently the third or fourth strongest player in every group she was placed in. Her file from that period is full of technical notes and almost empty of results.
DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY
Eleven years, one syllabus
Every move up a stage was made on technical checkpoints rather than a birthday or a result.
Joins the Saturday mini group with no experience. Groups of six, two coaches, racket on loan.
Rallied nine balls in her first sessionMoves up on stage checkpoints rather than age. First in-house festival, first competitive loss.
Unit turn and low-to-high signed offTwo sessions a week. Amelie flags her movement as the strongest thing about her game.
Full court, two sessions weeklyEnters the performance pathway after a trial block. First LTA rating: 10.2.
First LTA rating — 10.2Nine hours a week plus S&C. Douglas builds her first planned tournament year: eight events.
11 hrs a week, 8 planned eventsWins the Surrey under-14 closed from outside the top eight seeds.
Surrey U14 championMoves to twenty hours a week with schooling on site. LTA rating reaches 6.4.
26 hrs a week, schooling on siteTold frankly that the American route suits her better than the tour. Final two years replanned.
Calendar rebuilt around US recruitmentSigns a four-year full athletic scholarship. Plays number three singles as a freshman.
Full four-year scholarshipCOACHING PROGRAMME
The last two years, planned backwards
Erin’s last two years at Rowan Hall were built backwards from a recruitment calendar rather than a ranking. Douglas Rennie entered her in the events American college coaches actually attend — ITF junior circuit stops in Europe, the national age-group championships and two US summer showcases — and cut everything that only served a domestic ranking.
- Weekly training20 hours court, 6 hours athletic, Monday to Friday
- CoachesMarta Silveira (technical), Douglas Rennie (competition), Sam Okafor (S&C)
- Tournaments11 events in her final year, 5 of them abroad
- SupportTermly physio screening, weekly video analysis, monthly written report
- SchoolingOn-site to A-level, three subjects, taken in the afternoon block
Her recruitment folder contained twenty-two termly written reviews going back to 2014. Three US coaches asked for it by name.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
What she took with her
THE SCHOLARSHIP
University of Georgia
Georgia offered a full athletic scholarship in November 2024 after watching her at a summer showcase in Florida and reading the file. She started as the freshman playing number three singles, is studying sports management, and returns to Rowan Hall each December to train with the elite group.
IN THEIR WORDS
Erin and her mother
The written reviews are what got me the scholarship. Six years of them, in one folder. American coaches do not care what you won at twelve, they care whether someone has been paying attention.
Erin CaldwellPlayer
We asked twice to move her up a group early and were told no, twice, with a reason. At the time it was infuriating. At sixteen she had a serve that did not fall apart, and the girls who moved up early did not.
Claire CaldwellErin’s mother
START THE SAME WAY
Every player here begins with one session
Erin’s first session was a free Saturday taster with no experience and a borrowed racket. That is still how the junior pathway starts.