AMERICAN TENNIS DOESN’T NEED TO SUCK BY BILL SCANLON , A FORMER ATP # 9 IN THE WORLD , ADIOS PATRICK

Written by: on 14th December 2014
AMERICAN TENNIS DOESN'T NEED TO SUCK BY BILL SCANLON , A FORMER ATP # 9 IN THE WORLD , ADIOS PATRICK  |
Photo by Alejandro Gonzalez

 

Editors note. : this was written and circulating recently. Prior to Patricks resignation. We needed approval to post it. We just got it. So here it is.

FYI on social media we picked this up : Bob Lutz a former Top Tenner in Singles and doubles remarked. “I like P macs statement that he always looked at his job as a full time job . Maybe he should go back to Stanford and find out the definition of full time ” ( Patrick worked 10 days a month. )

 

 

If I Wanted to Keep American Tennis Down

By Bill Scanlon

 

Last year, my partner and I formed Advantage USA Tennis, a non-profit to help support and promote American tennis. Just for fun, we imagined what we might do if our goal was, instead, to keep American tennis in the dumps.

 

Here are some of our crazy and entertaining ideas. Obviously, no one would ever actually do them, but just imagine….

 

First, we’d formally establish a “system” and make sure that every player has to learn the exact same way. That way, if faced with polar opposites like Sampras and Agassi, we could guarantee that one or the other will be shut down.

 

Next, centralize all the training into one location. Make sure that the players are only exposed to one teaching philosophy and a very few teachers.

 

At the junior level, we’d reduce the number of national tournaments. There are too damn many opportunities for kids to get excited about tennis. We need most of them to be discouraged and moving on to other sports.

 

Unfortunately, some players will still show promise. We’d identify these potential champions (threats) early – offer financial incentives to get them into our system. Get them to leave whatever environment has helped them develop thus far. They must relocate to the central training center and conform to the system.

 

Once we have the players in the system:

 

Remove the parents. Their love and passionate support could nurture and motivate, potentially causing a player to believe that he could become a champion. Strong parental (or family) influence must not be allowed, as it could result in a future Connors, Agassi, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, McEnroe, Chang, Bryan Brothers, Williams Sisters, Evert, Sharapova, Graf, Hingis, Seles, Jaeger, Pierce, etc.

 

Also, remove any coach (or major influence) who has had previous success with the player. Strong, loyal, one-on-one bonds could result in a future Borg, Vilas, Federer, Sampras, Lendl, Becker, Edberg, Roddick, Navratilova, Austin, Davenport, etc.

 

Coaches should be assigned, shared, and changed often. Allow no personal bonding, continuity, or individual loyalty because these could encourage and motivate the players. It could also build confidence and unacceptable levels of self esteem. Ideally, a coach should be assigned to a male and female player simultaneously, on separate tours.

 

Coaches (especially former top-ten players) should be required to teach conformity by the system. Allowing their personal experience and individual knowledge could lead to unacceptable progress.

 

Finally, once the system has achieved the goal (American tennis sucks), it’s time to build an even bigger central training center and an even bigger system to perpetuate the problem.

 

 

Bill Scanlon is an American former ATP #9 who thinks that American tennis doesn’t need to suck. If you agree, please repost, send this to at least three people, and join us at AdvantageUSATennis.org.

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