Roy Emerson

[klacr]

Coming back from a weekend up In Michigan. Gave a presentation to some current Professional Tennis Management Students at Ferris State University as well as some alumni and faculty. The keynote Speaker was Roy Emerson. I actually got to spend quite a bit of time with him on Friday Night as well during a cocktail reception where he was surprised by my arcane tennis trivia knowledge. We hit it off well and played off each other's personalities like a comedy duo.

But the most impressive thing about The 76 Year old Roy Emerson...that mind. He's still as sharp as a tack. really sharp, its scary. He also managed to absolutely toy and
embarrass a few players on the court with his skills. Not surprised he's that skilled...he only won 28 Grand Slam Titles (Singles and Doubles). Remarkably humble with a wicked sense of humor.

I attached a picture we took just before he went on court to deliver a presentation and showcase his skills. My apologies for my appearance. As I said, I have a face for Radio.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Little and Large

Some coaches get all the luck! Now tell me, is he small or are you big.

[klacr]

Some coaches get all the luck! Now tell me, is he small or are you big.

He's listed as 6 feet tall.

Not my fault...I ate my fruits and vegetables as a kid.

I actually received an amazing compliment from him (at least I took it as such), Mr. Emerson commented on my height and said I was a very big man and if he had me as a partner back in the day, he never would have lost. Although he was being kind, I was stunned and incredibly humbled by it all. I told him as much magic as he still has left in him we would still have a chance today. he laughed and said, "You're right, with those broad shoulders, you can carry me".

It was truly a wonderful experience. Still in awe and very aware of how fortunate I am.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Lucky chappy

Yes, you are lucky to meet and chat with such a fine player.

You have a great face, Kyle. I'll wager you're a popular fellow. You'd be wasted on the radio.

[DougEng]

Coming back from a weekend up In Michigan. Gave a presentation to some current Professional Tennis Management Students at Ferris State University as well as some alumni and faculty. The keynote Speaker was Roy Emerson. I actually got to spend quite a bit of time with him on Friday Night as well during a cocktail reception where he was surprised by my arcane tennis trivia knowledge. We hit it off well and played off each other's personalities like a comedy duo.

But the most impressive thing about The 76 Year old Roy Emerson...that mind. He's still as sharp as a tack. really sharp, its scary. He also managed to absolutely toy and
embarrass a few players on the court with his skills. Not surprised he's that skilled...he only won 28 Grand Slam Titles (Singles and Doubles). Remarkably humble with a wicked sense of humor.

I attached a picture we took just before he went on court to deliver a presentation and showcase his skills. My apologies for my appearance. As I said, I have a face for Radio.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Glad you had a blast, Kyle!
And you met Kimm K. and maybe Chad B. too?

Maybe I'll make my way back down to a USPTA Florida meeting next year.

Best,
Doug

[don_budge]

Part 1: To Kyle...regards your "new" friend Roy Emerson

Coming back from a weekend up In Michigan. Gave a presentation to some current Professional Tennis Management Students at Ferris State University as well as some alumni and faculty. The keynote Speaker was Roy Emerson. I actually got to spend quite a bit of time with him on Friday Night as well during a cocktail reception where he was surprised by my arcane tennis trivia knowledge. We hit it off well and played off each other's personalities like a comedy duo.

But the most impressive thing about The 76 Year old Roy Emerson...that mind. He's still as sharp as a tack. really sharp, its scary. He also managed to absolutely toy and
embarrass a few players on the court with his skills. Not surprised he's that skilled...he only won 28 Grand Slam Titles (Singles and Doubles). Remarkably humble with a wicked sense of humor.

I attached a picture we took just before he went on court to deliver a presentation and showcase his skills. My apologies for my appearance. As I said, I have a face for Radio.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Thanks for sharing Kid Lacroix...you know what I like about you? Just about everything. You're generous...you like to share your good fortunes with others so that it might serve as an example. Good for you...good for us. That new friend of yours is 76 years old and "as sharp as a tack"...gives some of us here on the forum hope for a few more relatively good years. Age is a state of mind. A year is the number of days that it takes the earth to go around the sun. Some say that you are only as old as you feel...I say you are only as old as the woman you feel! Philosophy aside.

What a priceless moment...a priceless experience. You are connected my man. To the legend of Classic Tennis. I felt that in you anyways. Did you ask him what he thought about the equipment these days? Probably not. You were too busy engaging. That's another thing about you...you are engaged. You engaged with "Emmo". These old timers have some stories to tell. Tennis history. Rooted in tradition. Gone forever.

I picked up on that comment...the "shameless plug" you called it. Why not? Look at bottle...he makes no bones about it. Bless you both. But anyways...about this Roy Emerson fellow. He's quite a character you know...you know first hand. I would dearly like to meet him...to shake his hand. Ask him for an autograph "for my friend Stotty". A legend from the legendary days of tennis. They don't make them like that anymore...not since "Image is Everything". In my book substance is everything...I guess that is another reason that I like you.

But anyways...there I go again..."but anyways"...always repeating myself. This tennis coach that I met over here in Sweden who's name is Rolf Almgreen lent me a book that is called Tennis For the Bloody Fun of It which is basically written based on the authors experience with Rod Laver and Roy Emerson and the tennis camp that they were running and managing back in 1973. Rolf is 74 years old and did a stint in Australia where he learned to greatly respect the Aussie tennis. He is the one who is helping me with the continental gripped backhand. I would like to share what the author had to say in the introduction. His name is Barry Tarshis.

Introduction by Barry Tarshis (Part 1)...Tennis For the Bloody Fun of It.

When word first got out about two years ago that Rod Laver and Roy Emerson were conducting tennis camps for adults, a lot of people were suspicious. And not without good reason. It was the practice among many resorts at the time...and still is, to some extent...to hire “name” players as window dressing. Then to plaster their brochures and magazine ads with photographs of the tennis star, never mind that he or she is actually there as often as Colonel Sanders visits each Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet. And even if Laver and Emerson were exceptions, there was still a question of whether players of thier stature could possibly relate to and identify with the average hacker. No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t smell right.

The reason I mention this is that I happened to be as skeptical as anybody about this whole business...so much so that in the latter part of 1973, I published an article in Tennis Magazine berating the bandying of name players in the tennis resort field. The article prompted an indignant response from the vice-president of Laver-Emerson Tennis Holidays, Mike Narracott, who was upset by the fact that I hadn’t singled out his company as an exception. “Come to one of our camps and see for yourself,” he challenged me. “You’ll be surprised.”

Well I accepted the challenge and I was surprised. In December of 1973 passing through Texas on a magazine assignment, I paid a visit to a resort development called April sound, there to get a personal look at the Laver-Emerson Tennis Holiday operations in action. It was a revelation. Not only was Roy Emerson himself supervising and taking an active role in all six hours of the daily instruction he was doing a bang-up job of connecting with the campers. What’s more, he seemed to be having the time of his life in the process and his exuberance had a sunny effect on everybody, even struggling beginners. Where were you, Roy Emerson, I couldn’t help but wonder, when I started playing tennis.

It would be a nice touch to say here that the idea for Tennis for the Bloody Fun of It originated in a mystical moment when Roy was working on my backhand, but it didn’t happen that way. Not exactly, anyway.

To be continued...

[don_budge]

Part 2: Fun, Fun, Fun...if you are not having fun...

During hell week at Ohio University for the Beta Theta Pi fraternity in 1976, the members kept chanting into our (the pledges) ears..."Fun, fun, fun...if you are not having fun it's your own fucking fault!"

Introduction by Barry Tarshis (part 2)...Tennis For the Bloody Fun of It.

What happened was I wrote an article...part factual, part fantasy...for Tennis Magazine describing how it felt to be a hacker receiving instruction from a two time Wimbledon winner. Roy like the article. So did Rod. And so did Mike Narracott whom I first met at a press conference in New York that summer. It was at that press conference, in fact, that I mentioned to Mike my feeling that the Laver-Emerson approach to learning tennis, exemplified by what I had seen at April Sound, would make a great book. Narracott’s response was brief and to the point. “Let’s do it.”

So much for beginnings. When all the details of the contract had been finalized between all the participants in the book and the publisher, Quadrangle, the one thing we all agreed upon...particularly our editor at Quadrangle, Jon Segal...was that we didn’t want to produce “just another tennis book.” Heaven knows, there is no lack of tennis instruction books on the market today. There are books that tell you how to play tennis, how to play better tennis, how to play better than better at tennis, how to beat your grandmother at tennis, how to achieve nirvana at tennis, ad infinitum. Remarkable though, few if any of these books has much to say about the sheer bloody fun of it, which is what everybody connected with Rod Laver and Roy Emerson today considers the most important aspect of the game.

So that became our theme. Fun. Our goal was to introduce tennis in a way that celebrated the joy of the game and to avoid the bloodless tone that creeps into so many tennis instruction books...a tone that usually makes learning a backhand as mechanical as, say, installing a screen door.

It wasn’t an easy task. More than simply presenting a technique for learning tennis we were aiming, above all, for an attitude. This meant that simply getting 12 hours of Rod and Roy on tape wouldn’t do the job. Indeed, much of the material in this book came not so much from the scheduled tape sessions as from conversations and situations that took place far from the tennis court. It’s hard to estimate the exact amount of time I spent with each man. There was a week at Pinehurst, when Rod was heading up the instructional program and a week in Houston with Roy. There was an afternoon in Philadelphia, during the U.S. Indoor Championships. There were a couple of days in Las Vegas...disappointing in light of Rod’s loss to Jimmy Connors. There were a happier three days not long after in Hartford, where Rod and Roy were part of the victorious Australian team in the Aetna World Cup. There were a number of lengthy phone conversations. And there was a final weekend in Palmetto Dunes, South Carolina, to which the Laver-Emerson organization had invited all the players who’d won tournaments at the individual Tennis Holidays.

When tennis playing friends heard what I was up to there was a predictable amount of ribbing, the gist of which was that with my tennis game, I should be paying and not receiving money for this sort of assignment. My reaction usually was to remind whoever was doing the ribbing that there was a lot more than met the eye in an assignment like this. Deep down, though, I knew I wasn’t telling the truth. The fact is, it was great fun researching the book and mainly because Rod and Roy were delightful to work with. Other writers I know who have worked with athletes on books of this nature have sour memories of the collaboration. With me, it’s just the opposite. I can’t remember enjoying an assignment more.

To be continued...

[don_budge]

1984 at Ferris State...

I just noticed in the picture of you and Roy Emerson...Women's Tennis Champions 1984. Another sign...I am on the case. Don't worry everyone. Never fear...don_budge is here! And you are there!

[klacr]

Glad you had a blast, Kyle!
And you met Kimm K. and maybe Chad B. too?

Maybe I'll make my way back down to a USPTA Florida meeting next year.

Best,
Doug

Doug,

I went to school with Chad and have worked with him on various projects. I've known him for over 12 years and he has been one of my closest friends.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[klacr]

I just noticed in the picture of you and Roy Emerson...Women's Tennis Champions 1984. Another sign...I am on the case. Don't worry everyone. Never fear...don_budge is here! And you are there!

don_budge,

Yes, Ferris State is correct.

As for my Roy Emerson encounter, I had about 3 hours during a cocktail reception to pick his brain. We shared some laughs and became inseparable.

I asked him many questions and he asked me many questions as well.

What I learned...

Roger Federer is his favorite tennis player and he makes no bones about his love and admiration for federer's game. He's the only player of today Emerson enjoys watching

Emerson hopes and prays serve and volley is not dead.

As for the toughest player Emerson ever faced...Everyone. Everyone was good.

Lew Hoad was in fact, as good as everyone said he was...when he was on and motivated to play.

Art Larsen was another great player that could have been even better if he actually trained.

Harry Hopman was as great a coach as anyone. If you tossed your racquet, get ready to run 10 miles and then come back and be ready to hold onto your racquet.

He'd get mistaken for Mal Anderson and reaped the benefits. After one important tourney Roy was confused for Mal but still accepted free drinks after fans wanted to treat the "winner". haha

Emerson loves Gstaad.

Emerson hangs out and plays golf with Rod Laver.

Emerson is not a huge fan of Bernard Tomic's. Doesnt mind his inconsistent results as he's young, but does mind he'll lose in a match without giving 100%. Wants to see blood on his knees and elbows when Tomic walks off court after a loss, some sign that he was trying.

Emerson loves the slice


Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton



Emerson

[stotty]

Emerson on Hoad

Interesting Emerson's comment about Hoad. Hoad is the player who most interests me, and so little quality footage of his game is available. I'd have been quizzing him all evening to know stuff about Hoad.

I read a biography of Hoad's but it was so gushing I couldn't take it seriously. Not like Frank Deford's biography on Tilden, which was warts and all.

[bottle]

Another bad biography, auto-biography, actually, is Vic Seixas'. But when one sees him in that 1954 Davis Cup film you posted, who cares? The best self-expression is in the person's tennis strokes, and maybe that's the way it should always be-- for a true tennis person.

This thread is rich, so beautiful. I thought about going to the talks but it didn't work out. But what a great report, Kyle!

[GeoffWilliams]

Kyle is not a guy you want to cross with that bruiser look! Ha, ha.

[klacr]

Kyle is not a guy you want to cross with that bruiser look! Ha, ha.

Geoff,

I have no need to be a bruiser, No napoleon complex here. I'm a lover, not a fighter.

but if there is a questionable line call in a match I have been known to approach the net and stick the chest out a little extra for full effect.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[klacr]

Another bad biography, auto-biography, actually, is Vic Seixas'. But when one sees him in that 1954 Davis Cup film you posted, who cares? The best self-expression is in the person's tennis strokes, and maybe that's the way it should always be-- for a true tennis person.

This thread is rich, so beautiful. I thought about going to the talks but it didn't work out. But what a great report, Kyle!

Glad you approve bottle.

I figured I'd share it with you guys as some of you have a greater appreciation for tennis legends.

One more note I forgot to mention about Emerson. At one point during the cocktail reception, he asked a handful of students which grand slam they would most prefer to win. One brown noser said Australian open, hoping to get on Emerson's good side. Two said the the US Open. Roy Gasped. One bright young man exclaimed Wimbledon. Roy smiled and said "Absolutely". He then went on to state, and I'm paraphrasing here..."Really, the US Open. How can you handle that with all the noise? That's not atmosphere. Playing at Wimbledon, in all whites, with the crowd so respectful and silent, is the greatest ambiance and atmosphere a tennis player could ever experience"

Emerson was everything you'd expect him to be and more. Just a great guy.

attached is a picture of he and I leading a round table discussion with students. Actually, he was doing the leading. I was supposed to moderate but he made my job easy as everything out of his mouth was brilliant and engaging. At the time thuis picture was taken, I believe Mr. Emerson was talking about playing on different surfaces. Clay, grass, Hard courts and Indoor wood.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton