You Can Get There From Here: Part 1

[johnyandell]

Let's get your thoughts on Barry Buss' latest article, "You Can Get There From Here: Part 1"

[ten1050]

This story reminded me of Agassi’s book, “Open.” Abusive father and teenage angst amongst a field of tennis dreams.

[barrybuss]

Thank you. Surprisingly, I never read Open until probably 10 years after it was published but a lot of it hit home. The junior tennis experience from the tennis boom with an overbearing parent is a surprisingly rich genre. Who knew there were so many of us! I have to admit the biggest gift from telling my story so has been how deeply so many other aspiring tennis players connected with it, helping bring a lit understanding to situations often painted black or whitewashed entirely. It's just not that simple. It was all love, just messy father-son love from different generations, with people ill-equipped for all the dynamics can deliver. Anyway, thank you all for reading my stuff and a particularly fond thank you to John for giving me my first break as a writer some dozen years ago. Appreciate you all!!

[carlpro]

Man is this honest, well written and on point. Obviously, this dynamic isn’t unique to tennis but in my experience it is to common at the elite junior level. Very tough sledding for a teenager when there isn’t a safe place to lick your wounds or celebrate your accomplishments. It really brings into question why one should play tennis. Thanks for writing.

[barrybuss]

Thx Carlpro..It was a different era back then, nobody knew much about much, whether it be alcoholism, addiction, mood disorders and certainly the downsides of being an overbearing tennis parent. It was 40 years ago. The driving force behind my current work is what happens if a kid like me rolls in to town today, all kinds of talent, all kinds of problems, on and off the court. Are the safeguards in place to keep young promising lives like my own from spiraling out of control? I'm not sure there are to be honest. We've never known more, we've never been more aware, yet as a society, we're falling farther and farther behind on a seemingly daily basis. Are we not doing the right things or just not enough of them? It all starts with acknowledging how stressful the elite tennis life can be. Its demanding for all parties. My takeaway is if you're going to subject your child to such a stressful experience, as a parent you better really have your act together. But if you really had your act together, you'd likely not subject your kid to such a tenuous existence. And around and around we go. The dialectical contortions of the mind, all leading to non-conclusions.. Thx for reading my work though!!