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Might wanna take a look at this thread I started. don_budge has some interesting points about the Swedish fall from tennis grace.
http://www.tennisplayer.net/bulletin...ead.php?t=2451
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton -
Swedish Tennis and and Logistical Demographics
Originally posted by julian1 View PostI start with a question...What is the key to any organization? answer...Its' organization.Originally posted by klacr View Post
To read up on organizations vs. the individual please read..."What Would Machiavelli Do? The Ends Justify the Means" by Stanley Bing then we can begin to talk turkey. This is where I am operating from. The Benevolent Dictator.
I have been dying to do one of those high fallutin' longitudinal examinations ever since I was enlightened about the term. Do you even know what a longitudinal examination is? Ha...what it boils down to is the long and the short of it. It being the subject at hand. Get it? How about that...julian1? bottle? The longitudinal examination reduced to its simplest terms...its lowest common denominator. The LCD. By the simplest of human beings...aka don_budge.
What you have in the decline of Swedish tennis is nothing more than a lack of vision and not using the available resources to accomplish a goal. It's a problem of logistics and demographics. A lack of organization. Much of this lack of foresight and aptitude for vision planning can be attributed to the culture which is one based on sustainability and not one based on great and outlandish success stories.
In this article a couple of reasons are cited for the lack of Swedish impact on the tennis scene today and more than likely it is a combination of things that has virtually rendered the tennis program here today to its current rather abysmal level.
Let me make just a couple of comments about two of the points. The first point being that there are no current players that young Swede's might look up to...the second point being that there are not enough courts. Listen up America...the first point is one that is troubling American tennis as well. Lack of national heroes. The second point is not a problem that American has...but the problem may be to how best utilize them...them being the tennis courts.
More to follow...of course.
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Letter to the Head Honcho of Swedish Tennis...
Hej *****...
I hope that you will forgive me for writing to you in English. I am a dual citizen of the USA and Sweden. Even though I have been living in Sweden for seven and a half years now my Swedish is not all that good and I know that your English is probably better than my Swedish. I got your email address from Jonas Björkman whom I contacted after listening to his dismal evaluation of the Swedish Tennis Program on television from Båstad. I believe I can provide a map that will shoot Sweden back into a world class power in the sport of tennis. It is after all...only a numbers game. The more people you get involved the better the chances of producing good tennis players.
I have been working as a tennis trainer in the small town of Skultorp that is a little south of Skövde. In my life here in Sweden I have also served as a golf trainer at the Knistad Golf Club that lies a bit north of Skövde. As you know, as a result of working as a trainer in these two sports you develop a "critical eye" in the process of trying to teach people to play games that are reliant upon very complex movements and strategies. You learn to criticize without offending your student. This is no easy matter. I want you to know that the advise is offered in the spirit of goodwill and not out of any other motive.
Since I have been working in the tennis here in Sweden it has become apparent that there are some difficulties and perhaps some shortcomings in the Swedish Tennis Program. I would like to respectfully submit my initial appraisal of the problems in my geographic location and the surrounding area.
It seems that historically the best players in this area have been encouraged to go and train in Lidköping at the tennis training facility there. This may of worked in the past but it is apparent to me that this is not working in the present day and the organization of the area tennis needs to be thoughtfully reworked. It doesn’t work because players should not have to leave their homes or communities to live or commute to an area that is geographically undesirable to them. We have some rather serious logistical problems in the Skövde area.
Today it appears that it would be Skövde that should be the center of tennis activity in the area because of its central location. But the Skövde tennis facilities are inadequate for conducting a tennis program that is conducive to producing competitive tennis players or even a medium scale tennis program for recreational purposes.
I would like to submit the following idea to you for your consideration. I don’t believe that there are enough tennis courts in the region to generate interest that is commensurate with the potential interest in the region. For example in the city of Skövde there is one tennis club with four indoor courts and only two outdoor courts and this is very inadequate for an area of this size. The following communities lies in the surrounding areas around Skövde that would justify Skövde being the center of tennis activity in the region: Mariestad, Tibro, Hjo, Tidaholm, Skultorp, Skara, Töreboda, Falköping and even Lidköping. I think that if each of these satellite communities all had a functioning tennis program that they could all converge on Skövde as the center for competitive tennis activity in the region.
There appears to a lack of tennis facilities in general based on my past experience. For instance at our club in Skultorp we have just two indoor courts and two outdoor courts. This is not enough of a facility to hold tournaments or encourage recreational play for that matter. Lack of tennis courts and inadequate facilities in my opinion are the reason for the lack of a Swedish tennis presence in the tennis world. From my past experience Sweden has demonstrated that we are capable of commanding a presence far and above our relatively small population.
Generally speaking...it looks like the whole paradigm of the Swedish Tennis Program needs to be reorganized in order to begin producing a world class program for the future. I have some ideas about the big picture as well as the small pictures as well if you would be interested in discussing them with me. In this case of the Swedish Tennis Program it appears to me that it is a matter of changing enough of the small pictures in order to change the big picture. I only offer this discussion out of profound respect and love for both the game of tennis and the country of Sweden. Thank you very much for your consideration.
Repectfully...
***** ******* aka don_budgeLast edited by don_budge; 11-11-2013, 05:10 AM.Comment
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Don
Question for Don:
See Borg Quotes: "It didn't matter if it was a practice, I wanted to win every single point. I practiced five hours a day and I wanted to win every single point in those five hours."
Could a kid like Borg (and all the others) afford to practice to the extent he did back in the 60's, 70's and early 80's?
Why does everyone complain about a shortage of facilities now?
Weren't they faced with the same issues years ago?Comment
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Logistics...
Logistics...the logical and prudent use of all resources in order to cut down on excessive waste.Originally posted by don_budge View Post
My idea alone will change the face of Swedish tennis. The reply that I got back from ***** basically said to me that they had the situation well under control and didn't need any advise from some know it all American. Famous last words...it is under control. Nothing has changed. Nothing ever will. Swedish tennis is mired in the autumn mud...spinning its wheels.
Any waste is excessive by the way. But in the case of Sweden and probably for the rest of Europe one of the biggest considerations has become use of fuel. Gasoline costs in the neighborhood of eight dollars a gallon.
Transportation is a big time factor when considering what kinds of activities that one does or participates in. For instance...the physical activities of school children are all done with participation in clubs. Unlike the United States where all of the activities are virtually done after school at the school. What a stroke of genius that is.
My idea of the many points of light converging on a logistically sensible location could be applied to the whole of the country. Each center could be competing against the other centers thereby creating a competitive system as well. Teams could even transport by trains which is the economical mode of travel...tickets can be bought for unlimited travel over periods of time. Sometimes things just make too much sense...logistically speaking.
There are virtually no public courts here in Sweden...which means that every time you set foot on a court here you pay. I spent countless hours practicing at my high school tennis courts and it never cost me a dime. There are virtually no outdoor hard courts which effectively shortens your season a month on either end of winter.
To ask if they faced the same issues years ago is a legitimate question but on the other hand...times have changed. Youth has changed. They are no longer willing to a lot of their free time transporting back and forth to go and practice tennis. The present infrastructure does not reflect the current state of the issues but that is rather typical here where change is a long process...and often a painful one.
Another big problem in the Swedish tennis program as it relates to Swedish culture is that there currently there are no Swedish heroes for the young to emulate. Not only that but there is a huge gap between the last Swedish role model and the next on. Robin Söderling is the last Swedish tennis tennis player of any note and he is disappeared inventing tennis ball somewhere. Tennis programs are built so that each age group has another army in the wings ready to take over the mantle. It isn't happening here and the whole thing must be built from scratch now. It will take an architect of the magnitude of Harry Hopman. Know anyone that fits that bill?
At some point you have to realize that it necessary to scrap the old system and create a new one that is tailored to the current state of affairs. Again tennis can serve metaphorically for life...modern life is unmanageable and not sustainable. Not for a majority of people. But that won't be of any concern to our masters in the end. Or their lackeys...the politicians.
The question of Swedish tennis is really a political one in a sense as economically it won't make financial sense these days to try and change the system. It will be cost prohibitive although in the best sense it would be an investment in the youth and family. The same argument could be made in the United States...but nobody wants to listen. These days it is all about making money...or trying to find your next meal.
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My girlfriend, Arabologist and international artist and daughter of a Swedish Supreme Court Judge, wasn't open enough to new ideas either. My new idea was that she feed and support American writers. "You're from another planet," I believe is what she said.Comment
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My read ...
Hypothetically speaking here Don Budge and other readers -- what will it take to make another Swedish Champion?Last edited by hockeyscout; 11-16-2014, 12:08 AM.Comment
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hockeyscout...
Super post! I am giving it some deep thought. But meanwhile...how about that Henrik Stenson? How about that Swedish Golf? Remember Annika Sörenstam? Think about it...Swedish golf. Robin Söderling lamenting that the outdoor tennis season is only four months.
It's a perfect storm in one sense isn't it? I love that term...I was using it the other day when I was describing this one love affair that I had. The Perfect Storm.
More to follow and thanks for the excellent post.
Last edited by don_budge; 11-17-2013, 01:31 PM.Comment
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Its no surprise their is success in Swedish golf for me. Hockey is in the Swedish DNA, so I think it's pretty easy transference to golf. The great Borg was able to take the Swedish hockey habits over to tennis, and the results were spectacular even though the experts of the day hated it.Last edited by hockeyscout; 11-16-2014, 12:09 AM.Comment
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Interesting quote here ...
Stenson credits a long-term approach to his game, rather than finding immediate solutions to ongoing flaws, as the key reason for his renaissance.
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Don't click on these guys--be smart look at the url.Comment
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