Too young to go pro? Will tennis prodigy Donald Young join the constellation of stars that shone brightly but burned out?

There's a secret that every statistician, CFO and Weight Watcher's representative knows: Numbers tell a story.

Take, for example, the career of tennis phenomenon Donald Young Jr. He started playing tennis at 2 years old. When he was 10, he worked as a ball boy at a seniors' tournament, giving him the chance to hit a few rallies with John McEnroe. He earned the tennis legend's ultimate praise--a comparison to himself.

In 2003, Young became the first African American to win the prestigious 16-and-under Orange Bowl and went on to win the Easter Bowl 18 singles crown at 15, surpassing the earlier achievements of tennis greats McEnroe and Pete Sampras in the same competition.

Last January, he became the youngest male to win a junior Grand Slam crown when he captured the boys' title at the Australian Open, a win that also made him the youngest player to be ranked No. 1 among juniors in the world.

Perhaps the most impressive number in the telling of Young's story is his age--he turned 16 in July. However, the real buzz surrounding Young is the age when he turned pro: he was only 14.

By then, he already had nearly a decade of competition under his belt as well as a lifetime of being coached by his parents, Donald Sr. and Ilonah Young, both of whom played college tennis. In no time, he landed lucrative contracts with Nike, Head, and sports management giant IMG.

His stunning level of play and precocious professional launch prompted Newsweek magazine to place Young on its 2005 list of individuals to watch, alongside Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, and Avon CEO Andrea Jung.

New Rules, New Priorities

Sponsors compete to sign a small circle of star players to exclusive contracts, which requires them to spot talent early and move in fast. The lure of sponsorship dollars is becoming increasingly hard for top young players to ignore, especially since the costs of training and competition continue to mount. In addition, a U.S. Tennis Association rule change now allows professionals under 18 to continue playing junior tournaments, while being underwritten by deep-pocketed sponsors who bank on their future success.

So, like many NBA hopefuls graduating high school, the most accomplished young tennis players--despite full scholarships--are beginning to wonder if it makes sense to attend college when they could earn a living playing tennis instead. The idea that gifted athletes hone their games in high school and then college before going pro seems to have gone the way of rotary telephones and vinyl LPs. These days few tennis hopefuls finish college. Even the cache of an Ivy League degree can't compete with the lure of the pros. James Blake left Harvard for the pros after two years, but is returning to college after a tough year spent recovering from an injury and the loss of his father.

While the primary goal of a young player may be to win a Grand Slam, the ultimate dream is to make enough money from competitions, sponsorships, and international fame so they will step seamlessly from tennis into other business opportunities without ever having to earn a degree. While it may be an unattainable dream for most people, the Young family and their inner circle of sponsors and agents are investing in Donald Jr.'s dream coming true.

"You go to college so you can get a degree and come out and make a living," says Katrina Adams, a former Women's Tennis Association tour player who is now an analyst for the Tennis Channel. "Well, you can always go to college. College is always going to be there and if you have an opportunity to earn good money while you're young, you'll be able to pay for college when you're ready to go."

In the mid-'80s, Adams, 40, made a different choice. She started playing tennis in a summer program run by the Chicago Boys and Girls Club at age 6. The program was technically for 9- to 18-year-olds, but Adams was allowed to tag along with her older brothers and she quickly outshined them and their peers on the court.

"When I played in my first 10-and-under tournament, I won a big trophy," Adams recalls. "That was my incentive. I wanted more of those trophies."

By the time Adams finished high school, she ranked among the top players in the state of Illinois and received a full scholarship to Northwestern University.

"When I was a kid, turning pro was not top of mind as it is today for these kids," she says. "Tennis wasn't televised as much, you didn't hear about it as much. Today, the kids all want the sponsors, the magazine covers, the fame. I wanted to go to college and my parents wanted me to get my college degree."

But after two years on the college circuit, Adams had risen in the ranks, and she was being encouraged by her coaches to turn pro. So, at age 19, she gave up her scholarship and did just that. The decision was hers alone.

"My parents were supportive, but they stayed out of it," she says. "They didn't play tennis, they didn't know tennis, they both worked hard to earn every dollar and they are not risk takers-and there's real risk involved either way."

To Go or Not to Go?

Some fear losing some of their best years on the college circuit, outside of the spotlight of the pro tennis tour. Possible injuries could prevent a chance at going pro. A tennis player hitting his or her peak at 19 may miss maximizing that moment by playing against the best.

The counter argument disputes that getting an education is never a "waste," and allows a great player to hone his or her game. In addition, it also prepares a player for life after tennis--something even the greatest players of all time have to face.

"I'm a big advocate of college tennis," says MaliVai Washington, a 1996 Wimbledon finalist who turned pro at age 20, after playing for the University of Michigan. "Baseball has the minor leagues to develop its players. With a few exceptions basketball players go to college, and football players go to college. There's a good reason for that."

Washington was forced to retire from tennis in 1999 after a knee injury. He now runs his own real estate brokerage firm in Ponte Vedra Beach. He also oversees the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation, which encourages positive life skills and academic achievement in underserved children through exposure to tennis.

"My college experience helped me work on my game, but it also prepared me for life after tennis," Washington says. "On my college team there was a guy who wanted to go to medical school and a guy who went on to work for Arthur Andersen. They were good at tennis but they also had other interests and other goals. That gets you thinking about the world beyond tennis. It helps you to not be a one-dimensional person. The biggest sacrifice you make when you go pro at Donald's age is that experience."

While Washington concedes that every great player has made major sacrifices, he notes, "For every kid who makes those sacrifices and ends up very successful, there are probably 100 who made those sacrifices and didn't make it. They got injured, got beaten, or lost interest."

Adams agrees. "Jennifer Capriati and Anna Kournikova turned pro at 14," she says. Martina Hingis was 16. Now we have Maria Sharapova. They all came out with a bang and A pulled it off. But you don't see the scores of 14-year-olds who tried and failed and were crushed by it."

The Future is Now

Despite those tough odds, Young appears destined to beat them.

Much is made of his size 12.5 foot and the fact that when he reaches his full size, the left-hander will surely be a force to be reckoned with. Adams, who has known Young and his family "since he was born," notes that he is "starting to get hair on his legs" and to become increasingly muscular. In the next year, he'll probably have a significant physical growth spurt that will show itself in the strength of his game. Expectations are high, but, Adams insists, not unreasonable.

"No one is looking for Donald to be in the top 10 in the world by 16," she says. "But he's on an accelerated training path that will hopefully benefit him in the long run. It's a calculated risk, but so far, so good."

Others have adopted a more skeptical view, challenging his poise and mental stamina or whether his enthusiasm and drive will hold up in the face of the pressures that have been thrust upon him.

"Ply concern is that he loses perspective and tries to be all things to all people," says Zina Garrison, who last year became the first African American captain in the 41-year history of the U.S. Fed Cup Team. "He needs to not get caught up in the rankings, but just keep focused on his game and on improving. If he does that, the rest will take care of itself."

On the upside, Young has the unflinching support and guidance of a strong family, which all the experts agree is important. Donald Sr. and Ilonah have determined that their son will become the No. 1 tennis player in the world. They also have not minced words in communicating their absolute belief that he has what it takes to get there.

In hot pursuit of that dream, they relocated to Atlanta last year, where they took over the Tennis in Motion National Tennis Academy with the help of IMG (which also now owns the much celebrated Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy). Donald Jr. spends about six hours a day hitting with Donald Sr. as lead coach. The high school freshman is also coached and home schooled by his mother.

"His parents understand pro tennis, they teach tennis, and they understand what's at stake," says Garrison, who turned pro herself at age 17.

But some question the prudence of his parents' decision to both participate fully in his career, tossing the family's eggs in the young man's basket. Many also question what happens to the balance of power in a family when the child becomes the primary breadwinner. While there are many negative examples, there are positive examples as well--one need look no further than Venus and Serena Williams and their father, Richard, for that.

But what kind of a future will Young have on and off the court, given that his life at a young age has become tennis?

The travel, enormous discipline, and focus the pro life requires can be a plus, but come at a great cost. "He's probably five or ten years ahead of his peers as far as travel and exposure to certain things," says Garrison. "But he's probably five years behind socially. That's all of us. At 41, I'm still trying to catch up."

Washington's viewpoint bears not even a tinge of regret--for himself or for Young. "Going to college was one of the best decisions I ever made. But I wasn't as good as Donald at 14 or even at 18," he says. "I've never been one to say, 'Oh look, he's sacrificed his childhood.' The fact is, he's doing something he loves and it's benefiting him and it's a positive thing. There are plenty of kids with limited childhoods who have nothing productive going on and nothing to show for it, so I commend him and his family for that."

As for the future, Washington offers the professional neophyte only his best wishes and a bit of advice he got from his own dad years ago. "Playing tennis for a living is a dream life," Washington says. "You've made your decision. Don't second-guess it. You can go a long way in life by having a lot of self-confidence. So love your decision, and just run with it."

Adams echoes Washington's enthusiasm. "I'm happy for Donald, and I'm proud of him," she says. "He's getting the attention, and he deserves it. But this is when we have to sit back and wait. You can only hope and pray that he and his parents are strong enough to handle everything that comes at them and that he will make the most of his moment and not take it for granted."

Adams adds, "We're hungry for a star African American male, another Arthur Ashe. Is Junior strong enough to deal with the pressure that's on him? We'll see."

College Served This B.E. Golf & Tennis Champion Well

When Richard Brown finished his second year of college at Northwood University in Palm Beach, Florida in 2003, his father Arthur thought enough was enough. It was time to go pro.

Already, the family scrapbook was bulging with articles about Richard's tennis accomplishments. He started playing when he was 9, hitting balls with his dad in their cul-de-sac. "I really didn't take it seriously, but he loved the game from the start," says Arthur Brown, a contractor for IBM. "I would come home some evenings, tired from work and the last thing I'd want to see was a tennis court. But Richie would ask me to go out and hit with him. I'd look at my wife and say, 'Is he kidding?' But I never told him no."

Richard took professional lessons when he could, but the cost of doing what has become the norm for serious tennis families was prohibitive for his. Equipment, pro lessons, top tennis camps, and traveling to compete can run the family of a dedicated fifth-grader into the tens of thousands per year.

So Richard did whatever he could to improve his game, largely on his own. He would hit against top ranking juniors as a favor to their coaches while eavesdropping in on expert advice. He also served as ball boy for 10 years at local Florida tourneys, soaking up all he could from the pros on tour.

By age 14, Brown's talent was apparent. He was the No. 1 player for Atlantic High School in Delray Beach, Florida, all four years. When his dominance on the court continued at Northwood University, where he majored in business administration and sports management, his father started watching the clock and measuring it against the costs.

"Money is the issue with any player, but especially with any black player," says Brown's father. "You can't improve or get noticed without competing in the tournaments, and you can't get to the tournaments if you can't pay the fees involved in getting there."

According to Arthur, paying tournament fees was next to impossible without sponsorship, and a player cannot accept sponsorship money while on a college scholarship, so after Richard's second year at Northwood, Arthur thought it was time to leave college behind. Richard's mother, Pamela, who works in the multicultural can tar at Florida Atlantic University, had other ideas.

"My wife is very education minded and she disagreed with me," Arthur recalls. "We went back and forth over it and finally, we left it up to Richie. It was his decision to finish college first."

Richard went on to be ranked No. 1 at Northwood his sophomore, junior, and senior years. This year, he will represent Trinidad and Tobago, his parents' native country, in the 2005 Davis Cup Championship. Not only did he represent the country last year, he also emerged as the 2003 Black Enterprise/Pepsi Golf & Tennis Challenge Men's A Division tennis champion.

But by far, one of his proudest moments came in May 2005, when Richard received his college degree. A few weeks later, he left for Quito, Ecuador, where he spent a month training and competing, still hoping for his shot at the pros. Back home in Del Ray, his father works to attract the sponsorship needed to fuel his son's dream. He estimates the family has already invested about $10,000 in Richard's quest and they've committed two years of doing all they can to continue it. go when Richard turns 24, his dad says it will be "sanity check time."

He is facing an uphill battle, since Richard is competing against players who have been groomed their entire lives for nothing more than tennis. Like Donald Young, who entered the pro ranks at a young age, the odds are against Richard Brown, who may find he comes with too little too late.

But his father insists Richard's underdog status should only heighten his appeal and the impact of his on-court accomplishments. "Richie has proven time and time again what you can do if you work hard," says Arthur. "He hasn't disappointed himself or me yet, so I don't put it past him to make something happen within a year. Adversities build character, and Richie knows who he is and what he wants."

Does Arthur have any regrets that his son didn't take his advice two years ago? Not at all. "Putting school first and playing college tennis not only gave Richie the perfect opportunity to discover himself, it allowed his game to blossom and it prepared him for life after tennis," his father says.

"He hasn't played some of the big tournaments, but he's already surpassed the accomplishments of many of his tennis peers because he has a college degree."