Take this PMac

[klu375]

Not his fault - their food is too good.

[bjk]

PMac fed that reporter the USTA line that USTA creates champions, all the great champions (with the exception of Williams) pass through the USTA. Of course NO champions have been produced by USTA. Fanatical tennis families produce champions, usually the youngest kid becomes a great player. Roddick (youngest of three bros), the 2 Macs (2 youngest of three bros), Chang (youngest of 2 bros), Agassi (youngest of three kids), Evert (older bro John), etc etc. Or the kid is raised by tennis pro parent - Querrey (mom was pro), Young (both parents pros), Fish (father was pro), Sampras (Pete Fischer played that role), Connors (mother was fanatic), Tracy Austin (mother was pro, older brother), etc. There are some exceptions - Lindsay Davenport's parents didn't even attend some of her grand slam finals, no siblings as far as I can tell. But basically if you're going to be a pro in the US you need a) fanatical parent or b) older bros who play tennis. PMac and USTA are irrelevant.

[goober]

Originally Posted by ClarkC

Hilarious! That famous Greek work ethic, which has transformed Greece into the economic powerhouse of Europe, nay, of the world! The land where people have a God-given right to retire at age 50 and live on the dole for the rest of their lives, and if anyone says otherwise, it is time for another riot.

Lol- yeah that was really a poor example. Pete Sampras undoubtedly worked hard to become a tennis star, but "famous Greek work ethic" ? You have got to be kidding me!

[TCF]

Originally Posted by goober

Lol- yeah that was really a poor example. Pete Sampras undoubtedly worked hard to become a tennis star, but "famous Greek work ethic" ? You have got to be kidding me!

Ha, my dad is full Greek and it even made me laugh. He is a super hard worker, but out of his 7 siblings, that makes him the exception. I love my uncles and aunts.....but work ethic? Not so much.

[Kaptain Karl]

Originally Posted by Pro_Tour_630

KK where have you been

Two businesses AND coaching kinda kept me away. I'm not as regularly on TT as I used to be. Thanks for noticing.....

HS tennis coach here and I agree with Pat. The USTA just funded our elementary school and middle school courts. We are starting the programs and getting kids to start early and get them through the pip line to HS tennis.

The USTA does seem to be making better moves these last few years. Good!

Problem is our local private tennis academies are selling a dream not to play HS tennis if they want to make it to D1, which is sad. I had two top players fall for the snake oil only to come back and play for my team and do well which gave one of them an edge to get into Yale.

So take that USTA!!!!!!!

So, are you *with* the USTA ... or against them?

- KK

[Pro_Tour_630]

I support the USTA in most things they are doing,

[TCF]

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[Pro_Tour_630]

Not to go off topic but many things in life we do not know the long term effect 100% we do our best with what we have. Our kids are the most precious and we do not know for sure what is %100 best for them in terms of education and what we are feeding them. For example I do not know the long term effect if I should homeschool my kid or not. or what am I putting in my kids mouth in terms of food, medication etc.....

[Misterbill]

Originally Posted by TCF

Cool. I have no idea if I support them or not because I do not have any idea how their changes will play out long term. Will TAUT make tennis like ping pong or dodge ball? Or will it grow the base of serious players? Will the draw changes lead to epic local play? Or will the changes gradually marginalize tennis to many tennis families? Will high performance in its 4th regime ever reach its goal of a champion?

Hard to say if you support things we have no idea will be great, mediocre, or terrible in the long run.

Yeah, but intrepid, anonymous souls on message boards like to do things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.

If, in fact, it is hard for us to support or not support a given policy.....maybe we (all of us, not addressed to you specifically) should have more consideration and tolerance for the people who have to make real decisions about these things.

Because it is hard, here is where I stand on the issues noted above.....with only a little fluff added.

1. TAUT. Heartily support this concept

2. Forcing more competition at the Sectional level, reducing slots at Nationals. Support this concept.....open for debate on what the exact numbers and formulas should be. But support the general concept

3. High performance (This is Player Development, right?) Nice idea. doesn't work. Provide resources that are kept in the individuals' hands to be utilized at the individuals' discretion--with reasonable conditions and limitations of course--instead of at the centralized organization's discretion.

[Pro_Tour_630]

double post .................

[TCF]

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[coolhandluke]

Originally Posted by RF20Lennon

The main issue is work ethic and age at when they start playing. If you look at the top European guys they start playing when their 3 or 4. Americans on average start at around 8-10. The second thing is work ethic. The time spent practicing on the court and the pre-gym work out. For people who want to become pros they spend about 8 hours everyday for practice,stretches and workouts!! Americans usually don't even spend half the time! The reason Pete Sampras was so succesful was because he was originally Greek and he had the European work ethic in him. McCenroe and Connors worked EXTREMELY hard. mcCenroe said once in an interview as a junior sometimes he used to spend 6 to 7 hours on the court!! So when this improves America will get their new champion

That's not true. i grew up with john mcenroe and john's high school year were spent being on the HS soccer team and spending 2 hours commuting to and from school and going to a very academically tough school. John practiced maybe 6-7 hrs a week.

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by RF20Lennon

The main issue is work ethic and age at when they start playing. If you look at the top European guys they start playing when their 3 or 4. Americans on average start at around 8-10. The second thing is work ethic. The time spent practicing on the court and the pre-gym work out. For people who want to become pros they spend about 8 hours everyday for practice,stretches and workouts!! Americans usually don't even spend half the time! The reason Pete Sampras was so succesful was because he was originally Greek and he had the European work ethic in him. McCenroe and Connors worked EXTREMELY hard. mcCenroe said once in an interview as a junior sometimes he used to spend 6 to 7 hours on the court!! So when this improves America will get their new champion

If you look at the European tennis guys, most have completed only secondary school (grade 10), so they are technically high-school dropouts from a US perspective. Many of them also try to come to the US for college. What are the failed tennis guys with a grade 10 education doing in Europe?

Sometimes you will hear that so and so is pursuing a college degree. In many countries, there are degrees which are pretty easy to get - no attendance requirements, just read the books and show up for the exam. The college experience in the US is much more rigorous.

JMac was actually not noted for being keen on fitness workouts apart from tennis itself. The fitness work escalated after he retired!