How to Get American Tennis Back to the Top
How to Get American Tennis Back to the Top
There is an another article from Robert Lansdorp. He provides his point regarding a reorganization of the existing system of development of strong tennis players in the US.
Dear Patrick McEnroe. It is obvious to just everybody that your system does not work and that your MINIATURE tennis is disliked by just every parent with a “talented” lets say 7 year old. But, I am writing about your program after MINIATURE tennis. Why don’t you stop what you are doing. Close these worthless tennis centers. Build tennis centers or use existing tennis centers, where kids can come and play matches.
That is what most people are looking for, not to be “coached”. Hire people to run these centers. Won’t cost you that much, because you don’t need that many people. Set up strict rules with discipline and let them play. Hire one or two “hitters” who will fit in to hit with kids if needed. NO coaching, just hitting and playing matches. If the kids coaches or parents want to come….. No problem, just don’t let them interfere AT ALL till they come off the court. NEXT !!! Have the coaches who produced the top juniors participate in the USTA program. Leave the junior with their coach and help the kid and the coach in getting the kid to become the next GREAT American player.
The only purpose for you Patrick is to get American tennis back to the top. Let’s face it your reputation as a developer of Champions is screwed up anyway. Help the kid financially and help the coach financially to make the kid better. We have a great amount of talent in this country, but somehow they get lost, and you are a big part of the problem Patrick. BUT again, help the juniors and their coaches, with whatever means you have. Treat them like American kids and NOT USTA kids. Stop this idea that the only way you can help these kids is if they become USTA kids. You throw millions of dollars away, including to yourself, throw it to the coaches and kids who they have developed FOR YEARS.
If you enjoyed this article, please don’t forget to tap 
. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you.
Robert is right about P. McEnroe and USTA just throwing money away. Look at the investment they put in for the Evert Academy and they have not produce one great player. I have posted on one of Valery’s postings in the past on how to find and develop the next great American player. We have so many good junior players in the US and they are trained by different individual coaches; let’s bring them together. Like Robert said, help the junior and their coach. There are plenty of talented coaches out there and some of them may just produce the next great player.
Americans were introduced into different way of playing the game. They were offered a surface that is fast. Players tend to develop their skills into different path. To kill the ball the soonest.To develop a strong serve, good volleys and smash. Because of the speed of the ball on a cemented tennis court, They forget the ground strokes and their patience. Players who honed their tennis skills on a slow tennis court tends to develop their personal patience first.
The way I see it,because of high labor costs in the US compared into different part of the world, USTA thought of building tennis courts that are fast and easy to maintain and we are paying the price.
Recommendation!
Train our current talented players on clay!
I would like to agree with you. But I do know what happens to all good juniors that US have. Most of them choose the easy way out and go to college tennis. It is pretty simple. Anyone can get the stats on computer internet files and see how many of the top juniors go to college every year, and less than 5 percent try and make on the pros after they graduate.
Maybe is the lack of money and sponsors for juniors to travel and try to go Pro!!!!
I completely agree with Lansdorp in that juniors need to get out and play so they can learn how to really compete. Play a match a day, tie breakers, tug-o-war… anything, and put something on the line (e.g. loser rolls in the clay, whatever). I don’t agree with the build it and they will come approach. We have plenty of courts in this country already. The trick is in establishing those daily/weekly scraps. I see it as another opportunity for the coaches in this country to get creative and get involved.
In my opinion, we overlesson and underplay in this country, and as a result, many of our juniors don’t learn how to really compete. Instead, many parents throw money at lessons every day which I think is detrimental to developing the natural player. I subscribe to the piano lesson a week approach. Learn something new and go work on it all week in matches or drills with another kid/parent. That’s what I did with my kid, particularly in the early years.
As for P-Mac… the McBash stories get old after a while. My kid trains in Boca so I’m obviously biased, but I’m certainly better informed than most of the critics including Wayne Bryan who does an admirable job of stirring the pot! I could write about this topic in great depth, and certainly from a different perspective based on today not 20 years ago, but the so-called experts would crucify me. So instead, I’d rather be about it and not talk about it…at least for now.
There are some great stories evolving in American junior tennis. I think/hope we all share the same objective of growing the great game of tennis in this country but the barriers need to come down.
I don’t belief in training on clay is the answer. A matter of fact, USTA is already doing that at this moment under the guidance of Jose Higueras. I truly belief our juniors are trained to go the opposite direction. USTA is training our juniors to play more topspin and a slower ball. In actuality the game now is must faster, high pace, and intense. These juniors will look good because they play amongs each other and all having the same type of game. Our juniors need to play more internationally and they will find out how tough it is on the ITF circuit. Our training needs to intensify to a faster pace and aggressive style of play. This also tides in with training in quickness and agility. You look at our group of mens’ player now. We have Isner, Querry, Harrison, etc. None of them are great movers.
Paulo
You are right. Most of the juniors being trained now will end up playing college on a scholarship. The college game is totally different then how they are played in the pros. This is what I’m referring to about USTA; they are training juniors to play college while other countries trained their juniors to go pro. Different type of mentality in the game played by the two systems. USTA trains juniors to play it save by topspin and slower ball which what every college coach is looking for. Waiting for your opponent to miss. On the other hand, if you were on the pro circuit, you must have the ability to create and force your opponents to make mistakes. You must be more mentally stronger and aggressive. That is whats lacking in our juniors.