Waiting for Jan Silva show up

[Carlo Colussi]

I'm waiting for him... I'm gonna crush him... I'm 9 and last entirely year i only lose one match in Milano (I was sick by the way) ... I want him...:)

[GRANITECHIEF]

Wow, your 9 and you can't wait to beat up on a 6 year old?

Jealous much?

[BradBaughman]

Wow, your 9 and you can't wait to beat up on a 6 year old?

Jealous much?

Granite heard a lot of kids a lot older then little deiton wanting to crush him its always good to be a young target!!this is good for Jan

[GRANITECHIEF]

It just shows that he feels threatend by the talent. I guess that's pretty normal.

[Big-Serve]

wow, 9 years old and writes here on the board...go on the court and practice more

[norcal]

Carlo Colussi is from Milan? No way. I would have never guessed.

Go eat some pasta kid, Jan is going to SPANK you.

[xpaulinabearx]

wow, 9 years old and writes here on the board...go on the court and practice more

hahahaaaaaaaa
wow.
;D

[Tim W]

Just a little FYI; No one cares.

[babolatking]

what a modest kid! jk haha

[MIGHTY MANFRED THE WONDER]

His whole troop passed thru Tucson a couple weeks ago, with mixed results
(USTA SOUTHWEST APRIL 4-6) You could have run the board- not many players, and a nice resort to hang around between matches.

[Babb]

Kid, you're an idiot. Don't your parents know what you do on the internet?

[10isDad]

His whole troop passed thru Tucson a couple weeks ago, with mixed results
(USTA SOUTHWEST APRIL 4-6) You could have run the board- not many players, and a nice resort to hang around between matches.

Losing all 3 matches in a round-robin is mixed results? I know he's "playing up", but still...

[MIGHTY MANFRED THE WONDER]

^ Good catch, I ment "mixed results" for the wandering tribe- His older brother did better. I guess this may signal the "15 minutes" they had may well be over.
Hopefully, with the right proffessional guidance, they may find some semblance of former selves- you know, children.

[GRANITECHIEF]

You gotta start somewhere and losing matches when your 6 playing 10's is no biggy. I'm guessing when the kid is 10, the 10's and 12's will already be a thing of the past.

[PimpMyGame]

I'm waiting for him... I'm gonna crush him... I'm 9 and last entirely year i only lose one match in Milano (I was sick by the way) ... I want him...:)

Crank caller crank caller hang up hang up hang up

[BradBaughman]

You gotta start somewhere and losing matches when your 6 playing 10's is no biggy. I'm guessing when the kid is 10, the 10's and 12's will already be a thing of the past.

Granite deiton lost 90% of his matches before he was 9 ,your right not a big deal right now!!

[scraps234]

ya jan went to this tourney and his bro... I guess Kaydyn did good placing second losing to jared aldor who is number 2 in the 12s
http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=61313&E=5

[babolatisduhbomb]

i just played this kid in boys 10s and i beat him im 9 but 10 now but idk hes 6 he will kill u when he grows up

[adams_1]

I smell alts...

[scraps234]

jan is also going to be a pro i bet...

[samster]

I'm waiting for him... I'm gonna crush him... I'm 9 and last entirely year i only lose one match in Milano (I was sick by the way) ... I want him...:)

Okay, go take your ADHD medication now.

[scraps234]

i just played this kid in boys 10s and i beat him im 9 but 10 now but idk hes 6 he will kill u when he grows up o ye he will defininitly win when hes older

[babolatking]

Okay, go take your ADHD medication now.

haha yea this is a pointless thread...

[TennisCoachFLA]

How a boy plays at 6 years old, or 9 years old, or even 14 years old is totally, completely meaningless as a predictor of ending up a pro. Nick B., Macci, Evert, and all of us lower level coaches have seen thousands upon thousands of boys...and none of us can predict a dang thing until they are in their later teens.

With the girls you can tell sooner. But with the boys it is impossible. The boy's growth and athletic ability is all over the map from 5-17. The great player at 8 can become very average by age 13.

We will all know about Jan Silva's pro prospects at the same time, in about 10 years. Anyone who claims any different is a liar.

[GRANITECHIEF]

TC FLA, can't the youngins that have exceptional talent stand out a bit. It should be clear that some have more talent than others and thus have a better chance to be succesful. But i agree that until about age 15, its all speculation.

[scraps234]

ye he might get average when hes 13 but at the rate hes going and where his parents are sending him im sure they will try to keep his pace up so he atleast plays hs or college. on this vid of jan they claim him to be 5 and he is already playing with a continental which is pretty good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rDr_EX3Kt8

[BradBaughman]

i think jans on a great road in fact i think him not being here in the USA will give him a mental edge ,notice all the players on the tour most from other countrys tend to be on a mission, their body language seems to always be on the side of as the Americans put it positive.

I think if he gets the size he tends to show some exceptional skills at a young age i think he will have a great shot!!

if you dont understand what i mean go watch jo digulio great body language win or lose he's and exception to the rule, i would also include my son those who have seen him cant deny the presence he carrys on the court he's a machine but he's been groomed to be this and he is,and thats what their doing with this jan kid

[tenniscrazed]

i think jans on a great road in fact i think him not being here in the USA will give him a mental edge ,notice all the players on the tour most from other countrys tend to be on a mission, their body language seems to always be on the side of as the Americans put it positive.

I think if he gets the size he tends to show some exceptional skills at a young age i think he will have a great shot!!

if you dont understand what i mean go watch jo digulio great body language win or lose he's and exception to the rule, i would also include my son those who have seen him cant deny the presence he carrys on the court he's a machine but he's been groomed to be this and he is,and thats what their doing with this jan kid

As much as I've disagreed with you I will give you this. You have a point with the "drop back pattern" honestly it appears that any half way athletic child (and most tennis players are very athletic) have a better chance of 1) making a crack at a pro career 2) Playing a NCAA division 1 sport. In just about anything other than "non revenue sports". Whether it is baseball, basketball, football whatever.

Tennis is just not that popular of a spectator sport at any level below the top 20 therefore there is just no money generated. That is why a guy like Federer gets 200K just to show up and someone ranked 150 has to beg for a wild card. There is no spectators for the guy who is ranked 150 so he gets nothing.

[Rafanatic]

I hope he smokes you for being cocky.

[TennisCoachFLA]

TC FLA, can't the youngins that have exceptional talent stand out a bit. It should be clear that some have more talent than others and thus have a better chance to be succesful. But i agree that until about age 15, its all speculation.

No doubt he stands out for a 6 year old. He hits a tennis ball as well as any 6 year old most of us will ever see.

And if you could ask the top 100 tennis coaches on the planet what that means as far as pro potential, I think every one of them would tell you absolutely nothing at all. Boys change way, way too much to even try to predict what a 6 year old will be at 20.

Now if you take 1000 6 year old boys who displayed good athletic ability and give them the training that Jan is getting, you would have a decent chance of making a pro. You would hit upon the right combination of adult athletic ability, desire, tactical mind, etc. needed to make a male pro tennis player.

But taking one 6 year old who has been hitting a tennis ball since 1 year old, giving him tons of training, and hoping he ends up having all the intangibles needed, along with the physical skills at age 20 to be a pro.....

That is a complete, utter shot in the dark with a very tiny chance of success.

[10isDad]

^^^ Just to play devil's advocate (even though I agree with you), a gentleman named Earl Woods gave his 1 year old son Eldrick a cut-down golf club and look what happened - arguably the greatest golfer of our generation.

As stated, I agree with you BUT it's certainly possilbe that Silva will be the real deal.

[tenniscrazed]

^^^ Just to play devil's advocate (even though I agree with you), a gentleman named Earl Woods gave his 1 year old son Eldrick a cut-down golf club and look what happened - arguably the greatest golfer of our generation.

As stated, I agree with you BUT it's certainly possilbe that Silva will be the real deal.

Totally a random event. Look at who whon the Open (golf) a child prodigy that didn't go anywhere beyond the top 20 for years then boom breakout and beat Tiger by 6 strokes I think. Tiger tanked the first day and left the field wide open.

One needs to understand that their is a certain degree of randomness involved in elimination events.

Vic Braden once said "Nobody at Rancho Palos Verdes wanted to play Little Petey because he couldn't keep the ball in the court." Then look what happened.

There is a lot of random events that occur in individual sports, especially tennis and golf.

[jansilvatennis]

No doubt he stands out for a 6 year old. He hits a tennis ball as well as any 6 year old most of us will ever see.

And if you could ask the top 100 tennis coaches on the planet what that means as far as pro potential, I think every one of them would tell you absolutely nothing at all. Boys change way, way too much to even try to predict what a 6 year old will be at 20.

Now if you take 1000 6 year old boys who displayed good athletic ability and give them the training that Jan is getting, you would have a decent chance of making a pro. You would hit upon the right combination of adult athletic ability, desire, tactical mind, etc. needed to make a male pro tennis player.

But taking one 6 year old who has been hitting a tennis ball since 1 year old, giving him tons of training, and hoping he ends up having all the intangibles needed, along with the physical skills at age 20 to be a pro.....

That is a complete, utter shot in the dark with a very tiny chance of success.

You seem to be questioning his athletic ability and minimalizing once again his chances for success???

[jmsx521]

I'm waiting for him... I'm gonna crush him... I'm 9 and last entirely year i only lose one match in Milano (I was sick by the way) ... I want him...:)Your use of ellipsis is quite good for a nine year old.... Good job kid! When I was nine, I didn't even know what a comma and period was, and forget about ellipsis.

[johnathan smith]

It's undeniable that Jan has some serious gifts. It looks like he is getting the proper training as well. Sure, it's impossible to predict the future and for-see a top 10 player or possible Grand Slam Champion in the making, but the bottom line is this.....
he has serious skills and is enjoying what he is doing. Agassi hated tennis and was miserable during his academy run. Jan is living the dream and LOVES it...
So, in my opinion he wins either way.

[MIGHTY MANFRED THE WONDER]

We have beat this subject into the dirt so many times....
Lets take a different tack and get some interesting questions/opinions since "he" is watching/reading (and you know I mean "boss" Silva)

Hey Silva-
What did you think of El Conquistidor/ Tucson? Is it part of a nation-wide stopover- business- both?
What brought you to our fair metropolis? How did you find our Mexican fare?
What are your kids set ups (in rackets) right now?

[tenniscrazed]

We have beat this subject into the dirt so many times....
Lets take a different tack and get some interesting questions/opinions since "he" is watching/reading (and you know I mean "boss" Silva)

Hey Silva-
What did you think of El Conquistidor/ Tucson? Is it part of a nation-wide stopover- business- both?
What brought you to our fair metropolis? How did you find our Mexican fare?
What are your kids set ups (in rackets) right now?

Yes, Mr. Silva

How about the string tension, 60, 70+?
Are "grooming" a baseline clay court style game? (France and all)
Or is this jaunt to the US part of some hard court training?
Planning any tournaments in Texas, Florida, or California?

Last question, I beg your forgiveness, but why would you come back to the US if a french academy was helping his training while you and your wife where working there?

[BradBaughman]

It's undeniable that Jan has some serious gifts. It looks like he is getting the proper training as well. Sure, it's impossible to predict the future and for-see a top 10 player or possible Grand Slam Champion in the making, but the bottom line is this.....
he has serious skills and is enjoying what he is doing. Agassi hated tennis and was miserable during his academy run. Jan is living the dream and LOVES it...
So, in my opinion he wins either way.

also look at the "tone" of most who comments they all say how impossible it is to make it , yet they live in the "so called" land of opportunity, yes it is a sport that will be tough to make it to the top not impossible, but looking at how you all approach the possibilities of making it in this sport is the reason i keep our circle small and let very few near it ,you guys would quench the fire and hunger my son has that it takes!!

[BradBaughman]

You seem to be questioning his athletic ability and minimalizing once again his chances for success???

the thing i didn't like is how hard jan pushed Deiton in their practice match!! good match though the kids tough!!

[scraps234]

http://http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/graphics/gallery/tennis/jansilva/jan02.jpg nice raquet for jan to it is pretty cool when you can see younger players slaming the ball back with a full size raquet.

[TennisCoachFLA]

You seem to be questioning his athletic ability and minimalizing once again his chances for success???

No Mr. Silva, not at all. The first line of my post says he hits as well as any 6 year old any of us will ever see.

My post is not directed to you, as the father you should be 100% behind your son and think he will be the greatest of all time.

My post was directed at the 3-4 people who posted about the pro potential they saw in a 6 year old. To see pro potential in a 6 year old boy is literally impossible. No human being can tell what a 6 year old will be at 20.

Your job is to ignore what I have posted, ignore anyone who gives you statistics and facts. Your job is to put the blinders on and help your son become a top tennis player. Thats what many parents of the past great players did.

But my job requires a dose of stats and facts when parents talk to me about their 5-6-7 year olds chances of going pro. We had a boy 10 years ago who at age 7 literally was ripping apart good 14 year olds. Macci and John Evert both came to look at him and said they never saw a 7 year old like him. Anyone who saw him said he would be a top pro one day.

He asked to play other sports at 10 years old, met a girl at 14 who he is still dating,she has no interest in tennis, and he now enjoys drumming in a rock band with kids at his high school. He has no interest in tennis anymore.

So thats my job, to be realistic that the road between 6 and the pros is impossible to predict, no matter how good a 5-6-7 year old is.

Best of luck to you and your family.

[autumn_leaf]

wow...you definitely use syntax like a 9 year old.... you're 9 and he's 6...you should be twice his size.

[jansilvatennis]

We have beat this subject into the dirt so many times....
Lets take a different tack and get some interesting questions/opinions since "he" is watching/reading (and you know I mean "boss" Silva)

Hey Silva-
What did you think of El Conquistidor/ Tucson? Is it part of a nation-wide stopover- business- both?
What brought you to our fair metropolis? How did you find our Mexican fare?
What are your kids set ups (in rackets) right now?

We have been there now twice, Kadyn played the Boy's 12 zonals last July (When USA Today story ran) and we enjoyed the event plus we loved the hotel (Beautiful Hotel, Excellent Restaurant, and Incredible Swimming Pool). Jan's God Parents retired there last year. Jan is to young to play tournaments in France so we came back to the US to get some match play in a tournament setting. At 6 to play with 10 year olds and win some sets we are happy with what he is able to do. The boys get the rackets from HEAD. All the kids from the Academy who are not under contract elsewhere get them free from HEAD. As I said before the biggest beneficiary of this is Kadyn...Whom gets alot of stuff thanks to Jan.

When I think about it a little deeper there are several kids whom benefit from Jan's playing in the Academy. As he gets more new stuff we funnel things down to other deserving kids whom we have had the opportunity to meet and help in some small way.

[jansilvatennis]

Your absolutely right!

[jansilvatennis]

Nadal beating Federer after being down 5-1 in first and 5-2 in Second!

[Shaolin]

^^Do you not understand that is a spoiler? Post it in the match results section, genius.

[scraps234]

Nadal beating Federer after being down 5-1 in first and 5-2 in Second!

what tourniment was that???:shock::shock: that was probably a close one

[babolatisduhbomb]

o ye he will defininitly win when hes older

hahah no he wont shut up scraps i can kill u in tennis and hes a easy 6-0 6-0

[rommil]

I just hope these very young kids grow to be as "normal" as they can be. That said, I predict this Silva kid will beat Roddick at the first round of the French next year.

[tennisplayer411]

you guys are saying all of this. but he's only 6, who knows how he is gonna be when he's older. yes hes amazing now, but playing so much, you never know if a kid is going to get burned out or not. im just saying

[BradBaughman]

I just hope these very young kids grow to be as "normal" as they can be. That said, I predict this Silva kid will beat Roddick at the first round of the French next year.

thats and easy pick for the first round

[scraps234]

sorry to bump an old thread but has jan silva and his brother done any national tourniments recently...??

[10isDad]

sorry to bump an old thread but has jan silva and his brother done any national tourniments recently...??

Do you not know how to use the internet? There are numerous websites you can look: the USTA website tennislink website, tennisinformation.com, the ITF website, etc.

Become self-reliant and do the research yourself. You won't have "to bump" old threads, you won't have to rely on others, you'll better yourself.

[stoneagle]

you guys are saying all of this. but he's only 6, who knows how he is gonna be when he's older. yes hes amazing now, but playing so much, you never know if a kid is going to get burned out or not. im just saying

it's hard to tell that if this kid is not going to get burned out.
i wanted my son to become a pro tennis also, but he gave up just
last september "08 he is 15. i trained my son 6 days a week since he was 7/yo, and
took him to different tournaments around the state and neighboring states. he was doing good, since he went to 9th grade he
suddenly changed his mind that he doesn't really want to be a
pro tennis player, instead he wants to be a musicians.
kids at a very young age are easy to teach and persuade, but
when they are around 14/yrs and up, they
start to change. in case of jan silva, it's hard to tell in the future if
he's going to like it not. for now just train him and wait till he gets
around 15,16,17. you never know what kids like in the future.

[TennisCoachFLA]

it's hard to tell that if this kid is not going to get burned out.
i wanted my son to become a pro tennis also, but he gave up just
last september "08 he is 15. i trained my son 6 days a week since he was 7/yo, and
took him to different tournaments around the state and neighboring states. he was doing good, since he went to 9th grade he
suddenly changed his mind that he doesn't really want to be a
pro tennis player, instead he wants to be a musicians.
kids at a very young age are easy to teach and persuade, but
when they are around 14/yrs and up, they
start to change. in case of jan silva, it's hard to tell in the future if
he's going to like it not. for now just train him and wait till he gets
around 15,16,17. you never know what kids like in the future.

What a great post. I have seen this over and over and over again.

There must be 20 of these wonderkids with websites and every parent predicts they will be the great one. Nothing wrong with that....as long as the parents know that in the end, the kid at 13-17 will decide if he or she will go for it, not the parents. If it does not come from the kid themselves, it won't happen.

[stoneagle]

TennisCoachFLA

If it does not come from the kid themselves, it won't happen.

true, you said it!

[IMSPONSOREDBYDUNLOP]

im 12 and i play every day for 3 hours and win lots of tourneys and i want to quit

[tenniscrazed]

im 12 and i play every day for 3 hours and win lots of tourneys and i want to quit

You quit a "job". Sounds like tennis has become a job to you. If it feels like going to a job or school or doing chores around the house, then you need a well deserved vacation.

Remind your parents that you are 12 and a couple of weeks or months off will not mean much in the long run. Take some time off, when YOU miss playing so much you can't stand it anymore then get back on the court.

[game set match 46 TIMES!!]

jan is also going to be a pro i bet...

alot of people think so and he can. but he could get blown out of tennis. i mean he may be playing tennis soo much he may get worn out. we can never say anyones gonna be a pro when there 6 or 7.

[scraps234]

alot of people think so and he can. but he could get blown out of tennis. i mean he may be playing tennis soo much he may get worn out. we can never say anyones gonna be a pro when there 6 or 7.
yeah he might burn out but if he doesnt at the rate he is going he will probably be on the tour.... unless he does burn out

[TennisCoachFLA]

yeah he might burn out but if he doesnt at the rate he is going he will probably be on the tour.... unless he does burn out

Nonsense. Macci, Nick B, and Lansdorp say it is impossible to tell with the guys, even when they are 16-17. Because a 6-7 year old hits a ball well means absolutely zero in regards to a future men's pro career. If the kid at 7 was beating top 12 year olds in real tournaments, maybe it would warrant some talk, but still would not mean much. But at least you could understand such talk. Please show us one tournament where this now 7 year old has done anything. The only thing the boy has ever done was hit balls back that are fed to him. Only a fool would try to predict the future based on that. "At the rate he is going"?? I am still on the floor laughing at that comment!

A tennis career is in no way a linear progression. Kid A hits the best at 3 so he will play the best at 13 and will compete the best at 20. Total, utter, nonsense.

[scraps234]

http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/PlayerDetail.aspx?T=61313&L=A&P=1179180179181185181177177177179


ok true he lost all of his matches but he did get into spit sets playing 4 ages up...