"Love Means Zero" Discussion Thread

vandre

vandre

Hall of Fame
by this time i've had a chance to watch the nick bollettieri doc "love means zero". i was struck by a couple of things in no particular order:

1. does this seem like an extending of the olive branch to andre to anyone else? if so, why now?
2. man, nick b is old but do you think he has something else (healthwise) going on?
3. i had forgotten about the rain delay during the second set of the 91 french open men's final but when i watched the match in 91 i though "it's weird nick's doing an interview right now".

***i don't think this is a spoiler but it might be to some...



4. i have wondered what exactly caused the split between nick and andre. it was nice to finally hear how each side must have viewed the other in the wake of the 92 wimbledon title. in a crazy sort of way, andre winning that title seemed like the final nail in coffin.


have you seen it yet? what did you think?
 
Haven't seen it but Andre wrote some really nasty stuff about B. Called the academy all sorts of names, accused him of being abusive.
 
Andre is a jerk and that's the nicest word I could use for him.
I like Nick and think he out out some good talent. Not perfect, but knows his stuff.
 
vandre said:
4. i have wondered what exactly caused the split between nick and andre. it was nice to finally hear how each side must have viewed the other in the wake of the 92 wimbledon title. in a crazy sort of way, andre winning that title seemed like the final nail in coffin.
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I only saw the first 25min of the show and from what I can tell I wouldn't take all of what bollietteri says as fact.. He seems somewhat of a spin artist that seems fully aware of the image he wants to project... courier and blackman otoh seemed honest even if it meant less interesting.. I only got to the part where courier beat agassi at the french..
I can see why agassi wouldn't want to participate.. It's prob in his past & he really doesn't care if ppl know what really happened and he gets nothing out of it either.. it did seem odd to make a show about their relationship tho when half the participants decided not to participate. I wish it was more about the academy and bollietteri in general. I didn't see the part of the show about the break up, but from what I remember, bollietteri sacked agassi in 1993 when he got fat and had a career threatening wrist injury and did it with an impersonal letter... bolletteri prob thought agassi was done. he said he wanted to spend more time with his family but then started coaching Becker the next year...I think bollietteri was also upset because mcenroe was mentoring agassi & ppl were giving him more credit for agassi's Wimbledon 92 win than bollietteri... probly one of those splits where nobody was in the right but the mistake was how he did it... with a dear John letter...
I'm going to watch the rest of it, but I honestly don't seem to like bollietteri as much as I thought I did because the way he was talking in the show he seems pretty callous.. agassi has his own issues too but he seems at least a little more thoughtful & sensitive for others...
 
It was one of the better documentaries I'd seen in quite some time. I didn't know much about Bolletierri the man prior to this. Even though most people will leave the film thinking Nick can be very reactionary, cold, and borderline clinically crazy, I don't think they will dislike him. He wears his whole personality on the outside for all to see, so it's clear you know what you're getting into when you decide to have a relationship with him.
 
"Love means zero in tennis. It only means you lose." Lizzie Bradbury

gallery_movies-wimbledon-still-2.jpg
 
big ted said:
I only saw the first 25min of the show and from what I can tell I wouldn't take all of what bollietteri says as fact.. He seems somewhat of a spin artist that seems fully aware of the image he wants to project... courier and blackman otoh seemed honest even if it meant less interesting.. I only got to the part where courier beat agassi at the french...
I'm going to watch the rest of it, but I honestly don't seem to like bollietteri as much as I thought I did because the way he was talking in the show he seems pretty callous.. agassi has his own issues too but he seems at least a little more thoughtful & sensitive for others...
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i've dvr-ed it so i've seen it a few more times since i made the op. i think you will find once you see the entire show that making a champion was like making an omelette and nicky b was never afraid to break a few eggs.

i am convinced a merciless individual could turn watching this movie into a downright vicious drinking game (take 3 drinks every time nick refers to himself in the third person; take 2 drinks every time you see a guy with no shirt on; finish your drink and pour another one out every time someone leaves the academy and so on...).

i can't remember if you saw it already or not but at one point nick reads a letter from andre on camera.
 
vandre said:
by this time i've had a chance to watch the nick bollettieri doc "love means zero". i was struck by a couple of things in no particular order:

1. does this seem like an extending of the olive branch to andre to anyone else? if so, why now?
2. man, nick b is old but do you think he has something else (healthwise) going on?
3. i had forgotten about the rain delay during the second set of the 91 french open men's final but when i watched the match in 91 i though "it's weird nick's doing an interview right now".

***i don't think this is a spoiler but it might be to some...



4. i have wondered what exactly caused the split between nick and andre. it was nice to finally hear how each side must have viewed the other in the wake of the 92 wimbledon title. in a crazy sort of way, andre winning that title seemed like the final nail in coffin.


have you seen it yet? what did you think?
Click to expand...

wish I could, don't get Showtime...would like spoilers :)
 
Strokes of Genius on Tennis Channel Sunday night, the doc based on Wertheim's book about the 2008 Wimbledon final..I'll watch that I guess though it still feels so current that they could have waited until they retired
 
vandre said:
i was wrong. the letter wasn't from andre. it was to andre.
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I'll have to watch it again but I think u were right the first time? from what I remember Nick reads a letter from Andre... then they show Nick writing a letter and mailing it to Andre (which I assume is some sort of apology letter...) I don't think he read that one but I may be wrong.. and then in the credits for dramatic effect they say andre never replied...
 
big ted said:
I'll have to watch it again but I think u were right the first time? from what I remember Nick reads a letter from Andre... then they show Nick writing a letter and mailing it to Andre (which I assume is some sort of apology letter...) I don't think he read that one but I may be wrong.. and then in the credits for dramatic effect they say andre never replied...
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you're right! that's how it is! i will blame it on my kids keeping me sleep-deprived but it was probably my lack of listening comprehension. ask my wife! ;D
 
Just watched this documentary. Really really good! So interesting all the Agassi/Becker stuff. Well worth a watch!
 
vandre said:
by this time i've had a chance to watch the nick bollettieri doc "love means zero". i was struck by a couple of things in no particular order:

1. does this seem like an extending of the olive branch to andre to anyone else? if so, why now?
2. man, nick b is old but do you think he has something else (healthwise) going on?
3. i had forgotten about the rain delay during the second set of the 91 french open men's final but when i watched the match in 91 i though "it's weird nick's doing an interview right now".

***i don't think this is a spoiler but it might be to some...



4. i have wondered what exactly caused the split between nick and andre. it was nice to finally hear how each side must have viewed the other in the wake of the 92 wimbledon title. in a crazy sort of way, andre winning that title seemed like the final nail in coffin.


have you seen it yet? what did you think?
Click to expand...
By far the Stupidest decision ever made by Nick to stop coaching Agassi after he won Wimbledon. and not even meeting with Andrea to tell him first in person. Poor Pathetic excuse to say Andrea's family didn't want him coaching andrea anymore. Agassi would have kept him around for a while, at least til one more major. and he would have him few million for his academy.
 
Nostradamus said:
By far the Stupidest decision ever made by Nick to stop coaching Agassi after he won Wimbledon.
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I think that's the problem I have with the documentary is that it insinuates this but in reality bollietteri dropped him a year later when agassi gained 20-30lbs, his wrist was on the fritz, and his ranking went down a year later.. his career was in jeopardy, he wasn't practicing, he was dating Barbra Streisand, changed his serve, etc.. all the while courier became #1 in the world... Bollietteri prob thought he was done and saw better opportunities and ended up coaching Becker 6-8 mo later...
I'm glad he dropped him tho because I don't think agassi would have won nearly as much as he did if he didn't learn how to play from Brad Gilbert...
 
big ted said:
I think that's the problem I have with the documentary is that it insinuates this but in reality bollietteri dropped him a year later when agassi gained 20-30lbs, his wrist was on the fritz, and his ranking went down a year later.. his career was in jeopardy, he wasn't practicing, he was dating Barbra Streisand, changed his serve, etc.. all the while courier became #1 in the world... Bollietteri prob thought he was done and saw better opportunities and ended up coaching Becker 6-8 mo later...
I'm glad he dropped him tho because I don't think agassi would have won nearly as much as he did if he didn't learn how to play from Brad Gilbert...
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Agree, Gilbert was God sent for Agassi. they were a perfect fit, albeit, brad was more of a chatting buddie....lol
 
marc45 said:
wish I could, don't get Showtime...would like spoilers :)
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1. The director has a hard time getting nick to "turn off" his "media face/ voice".
2. nick makes some statements which imply his family had "connections" or "juice".
3. nick's right hand guy (julio moros) seemed to disagree about contracts. julio thought that players (he mentioned agassi, seles, courier by name) should have signed a contract to compensate the academy from any of their future prize money.
4. it was very difficult to tell that kathleen horvath and carling bassett were actually talking about the same story from different sides. each of them would say something which seemed like an attempt at empathy towards the other but would turn into boasting ("i could see where that would make her mad because i did it so quickly"/ "she was like a little sister. she couldn't hold her own against me"). i get it. you probably couldn't be a professional tennis player without having a great deal of self-esteem but it was obvious to me; maybe that's just me?
5. martin blackman and jim courier pretty much confirmed what many of us have suspected: bollettieri's was like lord of the flies with tennis racquets.
6. fritz nau and jim courier strike me the most honest people in this movie but maybe that was just me.
7. andre's camp wasn't happy about nick's coaching job during the rain delay of the 91 french open final.
8. courier was extremely mad at nick for siding with andre during their 3rd round match at the french.
9. nick has the worst case of selective memory i have ever seen. he never remembers anyone leaving the academy. when he's asked he says stuff like "i just react. i don't dwell into these things. nick does not look back. nick just looks forward."
10. nick has a thing for referring to himself in the third person. did you see that coming?
11. nick tries to motivate the director of the film.
12. nick regrets resigning as andre's coach via letter. he thinks he'd still have some sort of relationship with andre if he had resigned in person.
13. nick: "hey, in life baby, if you don't do wrong, you'll never reach the top of the mountain".
14. nick started coaching/ teaching tennis because he had to find a way to support his wife and child. he started teaching on 2 courts with mesh nets.
15. when asked by the director about whether he should feel guilty about his uncle tricking/ coercing the mayor the mayor into building more tennis courts, nick says "i got the courts. why should i think about it".
16. nick states the aforementioned uncle was later killed (decapitated) in an garbage- collecting accident.
17. fritz nau states andre and nick had "the strongest coach-student bond he's ever seen".
18. nick has been married 8 times. one of his wives forced nick to choose between her and andre (andre won).
19. there was much made of andre's lack of practice before the 1990 french open final. personally i don't think much of it in retrospect because he won wimbledon in 92 even though be barely saw any grass before the tournament started.
20. when nick and andre split, andre claims that nick said that he would never coach any of andre's rivals. fritz nau said "that sounds like something nick would say".
21. nick started coaching boris becker in the fall 93.
22. when becker asked nick how to beat agassi, nick told him he "had to break the mind of andre agassi to beat him" which becker did by flirting with brooke shields during their 95 wimbledon semifinal.
23. fritz nau thought nick made plenty of money and gained a bunch of fame from andre. julio moros did not.
24. fritz nau actually opened nick's resignation letter sent to andre. usa today actually ran the story that nick and andre were splitting before andre got the letter.
25. andre said nick was "insignificant" after beating becker at the lipton (with nick coaching becker).
26. nick doesn't want to be remembered for hurting a young person.
 
big ted said:
I think that's the problem I have with the documentary is that it insinuates this but in reality bollietteri dropped him a year later when agassi gained 20-30lbs, his wrist was on the fritz, and his ranking went down a year later.. his career was in jeopardy, he wasn't practicing, he was dating Barbra Streisand, changed his serve, etc.. all the while courier became #1 in the world... Bollietteri prob thought he was done and saw better opportunities and ended up coaching Becker 6-8 mo later...
I'm glad he dropped him tho because I don't think agassi would have won nearly as much as he did if he didn't learn how to play from Brad Gilbert...
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nytimes has an article stating the split happened in 93, which would have put it during the sprinkle donut, babs, "more aerodynamic on the court" phase.
between bollettieri and gilbert, i seem to remember pancho gonzales (who was married to andre's sister rita) traveling with him for just a couple of tournaments.
 
vandre said:
nytimes has an article stating the split happened in 93, which would have put it during the sprinkle donut, babs, "more aerodynamic on the court" phase.
between bollettieri and gilbert, i seem to remember pancho gonzales (who was married to andre's sister rita) traveling with him for just a couple of tournaments.
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yea I think it happened after 93 Wimbledon when he showed up fat, unprepared, and with an abbreviated serve because of his wrist... He still took sampras to 5 sets in the qtrs tho.. Then in the summer hardcourt tournaments he hired Pancho Segura, connors' old coach, which didn't seem to help much...
 
big ted said:
yea I think it happened after 93 Wimbledon when he showed up fat, unprepared, and with an abbreviated serve because of his wrist... He still took sampras to 5 sets in the qtrs tho.. Then in the summer hardcourt tournaments he hired Pancho Segura, connors' old coach, which didn't seem to help much...
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thank you. that was the pancho i was thinking of.

do you remember andre blaming the cortizone injections he got in his wrist for making him look "puffy" back then?
 
vandre said:
do you remember andre blaming the cortizone injections he got in his wrist for making him look "puffy" back then?
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yes I think I remember that! then at the us open when he lost 1st rnd to enqvist, commentator mcenroe called him out on it and said he needed to lay off the donuts...lol
 
In this documentary, Bollettieri admits, “I don’t know half of what most coaches know in the world about pronation, turning your hips and shoulders, the dynamics of the stroke, centrifugal force, I don’t know one...****, I don’t know anything about that.”


If he knew that he wasn’t qualified to teach these things, then why did he step on a tennis court and tell people how to hit the ball at the rate of $900 per hour?

Another important tangential issue is why then did the USPTA give him their “highest, most esteemed” category of membership? USPTA certified him as a Master Professional!

I just can’t imagine someone like Federer or Laver ever sitting down with the man in private to have a meaningful, intelligent, and robust discussion about the finer aspects of the game. Based on what he just admitted about himself, he would be in way over his head with these guys.

Another thing he shamelessly said in the documentary was that “if you don’t do wrong, you’ll never reach the top of the mountain!” Does he really expect parents to believe that he is and has been a great role model for their children after saying that?
 
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SDRIA said:
I
If he knew that he wasn’t qualified to teach these things, then why did he step on a tennis court and tell people how to hit the ball at the rate of $900 per hour?
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Because he was and still is a supreme Salesman!

The supreme Salesman does not sell to you, he helps you to buy from him :)
 
Karma Tennis said:
Because he was and still is a supreme Salesman!

The supreme Salesman does not sell to you, he helps you to buy from him :)
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Perhaps, then, a business school should give him an honorary degree in marketing, but, given what he just admitted about his lack of knowledge and understanding of important aspects of the game, do you think that the USPTA should have certified him as a USPTA Master Professional?
 
SDRIA said:
In this documentary, Bollettieri admits, “I don’t know half of what most coaches know in the world about pronation, turning your hips and shoulders, the dynamics of the stroke, centrifugal force, I don’t know one...****, I don’t know anything about that.”


If he knew that he wasn’t qualified to teach these things, then why did he step on a tennis court and tell people how to hit the ball at the rate of $900 per hour?

Another important tangential issue is why then did the USPTA give him their “highest, most esteemed” category of membership? USPTA certified him as a Master Professional!

I just can’t imagine someone like Federer or Laver ever sitting down with the man in private to have a meaningful, intelligent, and robust discussion about the finer aspects of the game. Based on what he just admitted about himself, he would be in way over his head with these guys.

Another thing he shamelessly said in the documentary was that “if you don’t do wrong, you’ll never reach the top of the mountain!” Does he really expect parents to believe that he is and has been a great role model for their children after saying that?
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You must not live in the real world. Parents kept sending their kids to his academy, even though he did what he did to that one girl(Kathryn Bowman? could be wrong on the name). Parents like this see Agassi, Sharapova, Seles. They don't see anything else. They came from his academy so my kid will go there and see the same result.

At the same time, the first part is a bit of a crutch. It isn't about being able to say "turn your shoulders this much", it's about getting a kid to hit a forehand. Some kids respond to the mechanical instruction, some don't. You can end up in the same place even if you can't necessarily explain in scientific detail how you got there.
 
vandre said:
22. when becker asked nick how to beat agassi, nick told him he "had to break the mind of andre agassi to beat him" which becker did by flirting with brooke shields during their 95 wimbledon semifinal.
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Wait. whatttt
 
Bluefan75 said:
You must not live in the real world. Parents kept sending their kids to his academy, even though he did what he did to that one girl(Kathryn Bowman? could be wrong on the name). Parents like this see Agassi, Sharapova, Seles. They don't see anything else. They came from his academy so my kid will go there and see the same result.

At the same time, the first part is a bit of a crutch. It isn't about being able to say "turn your shoulders this much", it's about getting a kid to hit a forehand. Some kids respond to the mechanical instruction, some don't. You can end up in the same place even if you can't necessarily explain in scientific detail how you got there.
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But at $900 an hour, I want the works!
 
SDRIA said:
If he knew that he wasn’t qualified to teach these things, then why did he step on a tennis court and tell people how to hit the ball at the rate of $900 per hour?

Another thing he shamelessly said in the documentary was that “if you don’t do wrong, you’ll never reach the top of the mountain!” Does he really expect parents to believe that he is and has been a great role model for their children after saying that?
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this is what great about America. No one put a gun to your head and make you do this. If we people can afford to pay $900/hour, more power to them.
 
SDRIA said:
Perhaps, then, a business school should give him an honorary degree in marketing, but, given what he just admitted about his lack of knowledge and understanding of important aspects of the game, do you think that the USPTA should have certified him as a USPTA Master Professional?
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Most Business School Qualifications aren't worth the paper they are written on.

Nick doesn't need any Honourary Degrees. He has a Degree in Philosophy, plenty of money, and an incredible amount of influence in the Field he loves.

The USPTA certified him on the basis of his "Real World" RESULTS. Every Certification should be provided on the basis of "Real World" Results. Unfortunately, most are not, and once again aren't worth the paper they are written on.
 
Karma Tennis said:
Most Business School Qualifications aren't worth the paper they are written on.

Nick doesn't need any Honourary Degrees. He has a Degree in Philosophy, plenty of money, and an incredible amount of influence in the Field he loves.

The USPTA certified him on the basis of his "Real World" RESULTS. Every Certification should be provided on the basis of "Real World" Results. Unfortunately, most are not, and once again aren't worth the paper they are written on.
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You are wrong. It looks like you didn’t even bother reading the USPTA requirements for certification before responding. The USPTA does not certify someone as a Master Professional, their “highest, most esteemed” category, based on “Real world” results. Their website clearly explains how they certify, and there is nothing there about certifying based on “Real world” results. Here, see for yourself:

https://usptafindapro.com/default.aspx?MenuItemID=2169&MenuGroup=HOME

As you can see, he needs to have passed an exam on Elite stroke analysis, so how in the world did that happen?

Now, if by “Real world” results you mean the players who came through his academy are the reason why he should be given a Master Professional rating, then you’re wrong again! It is well understood in the industry, from sports agents to coaches, how important one star athlete can bring in the business and a steady flow of other great players from every corner of the planet. All you need is one to set things in motion, and things will take off provided you are prepared for growth and keep yourself in the spotlight. Everyone knows that. And, IMO, that’s exactly what happened to Nick when he got Andre.
 
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SDRIA said:
You are wrong. It looks like you didn’t even bother reading the USPTA requirements for certification before responding. The USPTA does not certify someone as a Master Professional, their “highest, most esteemed” category, based on “Real world” results. Their website clearly explains how they certify, and there is nothing there about certifying based on “Real world” results. Here, see for yourself:

https://usptafindapro.com/default.aspx?MenuItemID=2169&MenuGroup=HOME

As you can see, he needs to have passed an exam on Elite stroke analysis, so how in the world did that happen?

Now, if by “Real world” results you mean the players who came through his academy are the reason why he should be given a Master Professional rating, then you’re wrong again! It is well understood in the industry, from sports agents to coaches, how important one star athlete can bring in the business and a steady flow of other great players from every corner of the planet. All you need is one to set things in motion, and things will take off provided you are prepared for growth and keep yourself in the spotlight. Everyone knows that. And, IMO, that’s exactly what happened to Nick when he got Andre.
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There is a reason why Nick Saban gets paid $11M/year for coaching the Crimson Tide Football program to 5 national title in 10 years and you and I are not. I don't think the U. of Alabama care about Saban's certification, do you? Most of the so called "certified" USPTA professionals are useless anyway.
 
i think bollietteri could have just as easily opened a golf academy and be just as successful.
his talent is motivating people, getting the right people around him, and the mental aspects...
note i dont believe he ever made or claimed to make a champion from scratch...
his recruits were some of the best in their country to begin with when he got them..
not to say he didnt learn alot about tennis along the way thru the process tho..
 
After seeing this documentary, I think Becker has it right when he said Nick doesn't know anything about tennis or can't beat anyone at tennis but what Nick really is a Life Coach! Can't believe Nick only picked up a tennis racquet only in college. Nick has to be one of the world's greatest marketers since PT Barnum. Surprised Nick didn't make the kids sign agreements that promised him a percentage of their tennis earnings after they left the academy to become a pro tennis player. That would have made him a billionaire and not become bankrupt forcing him to sell his academy to IMG. Is it me or did anyone else get the feeling the mafia was involved after Nick mentioning that his cousin was the mayor of the town in Florida and his uncle ran the garbage business in the town and that his uncle died of a "garbage disposal" accident. Who knows maybe the Columbos or the Gambinos skimmed millions off Nick forcing him into debt. :)

Overall it went too much into the relationship between Agassi and Bolleterri. We all know Nick is greedy and when he used up Andre and thought he was finished, he left to find the next big whale. I was more interested in seeing the other 99% of students who went to his academies. What ever happened to the ones who went and who couldn't cut it as a pro and now were stuck with a horrible education and limited skills in the real world. It does mention Blackman, Carling Basset and Horvath but would have liked to see more on their stories and others.
 
Karma Tennis said:
You are either very young, or very inexperienced in the ways of "life" and / or Business!

As Andre used to say .... "IMAGE IS EVERYTHING!"
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You don’t seem to understand that Bollettieri, with his very own mouth, just destroyed his own image and took the USPTA and others who have been touting him as a great coach along with him. I don’t know about you, but there are many good people who love and care about tennis and its future and who would like to hear answers to the questions that this documentary raises about the integrity of the sport and potential reasons for its decline, especially in the US.
 
big ted said:
i think bollietteri could have just as easily opened a golf academy and be just as successful.
his talent is motivating people, getting the right people around him, and the mental aspects...
note i dont believe he ever made or claimed to make a champion from scratch...
his recruits were some of the best in their country to begin with when he got them..
not to say he didnt learn alot about tennis along the way thru the process tho..
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Are you saying that Bollettieri runs an academy for unmotivated athletes? Is that his niche? Motivating the unmotivated athlete? So what can he personally offer to highly talented self-motivated tennis players?
 
SDRIA said:
You don’t seem to understand that Bollettieri, with his very own mouth, just destroyed his own image and took the USPTA and others who have been touting him as a great coach along with him. I don’t know about you, but there are many good people who love and care about tennis and its future and who would like to hear answers to the questions that this documentary raises about the integrity of the sport and potential reasons for its decline, especially in the US.
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Please. Bollettieriis just putting on a show. And if you think words on in a film are going to wreck the image of some coaching association, especially with all that is going on in coaching circles, you really have lived a sheltered life and have no idea what the real world is like.

You're acting like this was some sort of deposition or testimony to Congress. It was a film. For all we know, a lot of crap got edited out.

If you take life too seriously, you'll never get out of it alive.
 
Bluefan75 said:
Please. Bollettieriis just putting on a show. And if you think words on in a film are going to wreck the image of some coaching association, especially with all that is going on in coaching circles, you really have lived a sheltered life and have no idea what the real world is like.

You're acting like this was some sort of deposition or testimony to Congress. It was a film. For all we know, a lot of crap got edited out.

If you take life too seriously, you'll never get out of it alive.
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Too seriously? Tell that to the parents who spent all that money on his exorbitant hourly rate believing that Bollettieri knew how to teach their kids how to hit the ball and now are hearing for the first time something different. If you’re not outraged by this, then you’re part of the problem.

And if you don’t understand how “words on film” have gotten so many people in big trouble, then you’re the one living a sheltered life and have no idea what the real world is like.
 
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SDRIA said:
Too seriously? Tell that to the parents who spent all that money on his exorbitant hourly rate believing that Bollettieri knew how to teach their kids how to hit the ball and now are hearing for the first time something different. If you’re not outraged by this, then you’re part of the problem.

And if you don’t understand how “words on film” have gotten so many people in big trouble, then you’re the one living a sheltered life and have no idea what the real world is like.
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They didn't send their kids to him to learn how to hit strokes. Lots of people who have strokes who made no money at tennis. They sent them there to be successful tennis pros, grand slam champions. And how do you know this is the first time those parents are hearing that?

The ones who have a beef with him are those like Horvath where he just up and dumped them. I highly doubt there are many, if any, that are saying "I can't believe he couldn't get little Johnny to understand you need 45% flexion at this point in the forehand, and pronation at 60% of your power just before contact."

I understand how words on film have gotten many people in trouble. But those are things that actually matter. We're talking about tennis. An old tennis coach. Whom nobody had a gun to their head to hire. To say this film has impugned all of the USPTA by his statements in this film suggest you either have an axe to grind with Bolletieri(and I mean personally, not just "I hate that he did insert crime here), or you are overly dramatizing things. You're acting like something that is quite inconsequential is very important.
 
SDRIA said:
You don’t seem to understand that Bollettieri, with his very own mouth, just destroyed his own image and took the USPTA and others who have been touting him as a great coach along with him. I don’t know about you, but there are many good people who love and care about tennis and its future and who would like to hear answers to the questions that this documentary raises about the integrity of the sport and potential reasons for its decline, especially in the US.
Click to expand...

@SDRIA, I'm sorry but you have absolutely no idea about what you are saying.

Integrity of the sport? Potential reasons for it's decline?

Are you living in some sort of 1950s LA LA Land? Professional sport is about one thing and one thing only .... MONEY !!!!

SDRIA said:
Too seriously? Tell that to the parents who spent all that money on his exorbitant hourly rate believing that Bollettieri knew how to teach their kids how to hit the ball and now are hearing for the first time something different.
Click to expand...

Being a Parent means a whole lot more than sending children to some so called expert with the hope they are going to end up financially better off.

BEING A PARENT ACTUALLY MEANS doing your own home-work and taking a huge interest in your child's development in all aspects of their lives. Any person who blindly spends bucket-loads of money on a child's development without taking an active interest in that actual development deserves everything they get (or don't get).

And guess what, if as a parent, you do not understand things, then it is your responsibility to actually take the time to learn. The smart and caring parents actually do this. And guess what ... very few of them end up disappointed or out of pocket too much.

Bolletierri is a very clever Salesman. Good Luck to him.

There is a saying ... "There is a sucker born every minute!" Very apt in this instance.

There is another saying ... "Throwing money at a problem usually makes it worse!".
 
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