Thirty day sabbatical! Countdown to March 26th, 2014!

[hockeyscout]

Now, down to work, over and out.

[10splayer]

I think I will try some new things at the courts, spend more time with my MMA fighters, hunt a bear, fishing more, see if I can once and for all break my habit of chewing Skoal and get down to the task of kid number three! In 30 days I will post videos, and you all can see where we're at. It will be spring in 30 days, so the balls will be a bit more lively then they are in the dead of winter

Now, down to work, over and out.

Even "the little one" probably knows you lost our little bet. However, I will not ask you to honor the 30 day banishment term...

[10splayer]

The little one has the good sense to certain trolls, and so do I.

You seem to think athletes just walk onto planet earth as superior beings.

Sorry, it doesn't work that way.

The guys like Micheal Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon worked their tails off. You don't get a 48 inch vertical without serious work, and Jordan put it in, and had the right people develop it. I reviewed each guy for you, explained their backgrounds, named the coaches and mentors each used, and you're don't believe it. Name any great athlete, and their was a magical development storm behind it, good people, innovation, science, motivation, uncles, aunts, family and a host of other unique factors and you just don't get it. Really, whatever guy. I guess you have inside knowledge on every athletes circumstances. Wow. I kind of know the stories off all these guys, cause I have read all their autobiographies, and tried to learn how to model a program. I can talk on any world class athlete, and I have done my homework. I'm just not throwing theories at a wall. Read my posts on Jordan, and particularly on Hakeem Olajuwon. They did it right.

You make me feel so bad inside.

[stotty]

Why wait 30 days? Don't do the whole 1000 takes thing with the video camera. Just upload where she is in the game right now...showing her groundies and serve...maybe playing a few points as well.

I have an eight year old student who is the best in the locality for his age. I will upload clips of him next week when I see him. I would like some second opinions from the coaches on the forum on his forehand. He's decent and well worth a look.

No need to build these things up out of all proportion. These kids are just eight and starting out. No one expects perfection and nor should they...relax.

Look, to lighten things up here is me playing with my kid a while back. His name is Marco and we are just pottering about having fun...enjoy.

https://vimeo.com/120741648

[klacr]

Why wait 30 days? Don't do the whole 1000 takes thing with the video camera. Just upload where she is in the game right now...showing her groundies and serve...maybe playing a few points as well.

I have an eight year old student who is the best in the locality for his age. I will upload clips of him next week when I see him. I would like some second opinions from the coaches on the forum on his forehand. He's decent and well worth a look.

No need to build these things up out of all proportion. These kids are just eight and starting out. No one expects perfection and nor should they...relax.

Look, to lighten things up here is me playing with my kid a while back. His name is Marco and we are just pottering about having fun...enjoy.

https://vimeo.com/120741648

I love that court Stotty! The red clay and the vegetation around it.
Kid looks like he is into it. He is engaged the whole time and even at the end wants to hit that one extra ball in his way behind his back. Love kids like Marco.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Stotty...

Look, to lighten things up here is me playing with my kid a while back. His name is Marco and we are just pottering about having fun...enjoy.

https://vimeo.com/120741648

Cool…it figures.

[stotty]

licensedcoach, my young one says she wants to post in 30 days. Its a big deal for her to post on this site. She has a lot of fun reading the feedback, and laughed when one posted wrote "Yikes, and she is a girl!"

Looking forward to seeing what a top British kid plays like at this age.

We've seen the top Czech, Russian and Ukraine kids to this point, and the big time American kid Gabby Price (the nine year old American prodigy) who Rick Macci says is further along athletically than Jennifer Capriati.

Her is Gabby Price's video BTW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i-eH1qbXRA

You see, you are misinterpreting me already. Read again. He is not a top British kid, just the best in the locality...a radius of say 50 miles, at most. Try to keep you feet on the ground in this thread and avoid drifting off into fantasy land. Just load a couple of clips and off we go...easy peasy lemon and squeezy.

Gabby Price may come to something or she may come to nothing. No one knows. There is no crystal ball. Talent by itself is no guarantee of anything...predictions are impossible in this business.

[tennis_chiro]

Alarms going off!!!

...
We've seen the top Czech, Russian and Ukraine kids to this point, and the big time American kid Gabby Price (the nine year old American prodigy) who Rick Macci says is further along athletically than Jennifer Capriati.

Her is Gabby Price's video BTW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i-eH1qbXRA

When I see something like this, for a nine-year-old, all kinds of bells and whistles go off in my head. What I see is all kinds of inappropriate pressure on this kid. On top of that, I infer a completely inappropriate sense of entitlement that they are foisting upon her. You have to compete and you have to learn to win, and I can't put my finger on exactly what I don't like about this whole thing, but the alarm bells are ringing like crazy. Like the Supreme Court justice said, I can't define it, but I know it when I see it. There's just something about this whole thing that kind of reminds me of the stories about Jon Bennet Ramsey (obviously a whole different level of trajedy, but the Ramsey's would have said the way she was brought up was just fine, and had nothing to do with the fact she was killed, and they might be right that it had nothing to do with her murder, but the whole lifestyle felt awful to me).

We don't have national rankings for 10's or 8's and under in the US. I often wonder if we should have them for 12's. Kids need to learn fundamentals without the pressure to achieve. They need to focus more on process goals and less on outcome goals. They need to play multiple sports and develop all their coordination and give their young growing bodies a chance to recover from the overuse strain of individual sports before that strain becomes a chronic overuse injury and weakness.

Give kids a chance to be kids.

don

[hockeyscout]

When I see something like this, for a nine-year-old, all kinds of bells and whistles go off in my head. What I see is all kinds of inappropriate pressure on this kid. On top of that, I infer a completely inappropriate sense of entitlement that they are foisting upon her. You have to compete and you have to learn to win, and I can't put my finger on exactly what I don't like about this whole thing, but the alarm bells are ringing like crazy. Like the Supreme Court justice said, I can't define it, but I know it when I see it. There's just something about this whole thing that kind of reminds me of the stories about Jon Bennet Ramsey (obviously a whole different level of trajedy, but the Ramsey's would have said the way she was brought up was just fine, and had nothing to do with the fact she was killed, and they might be right that it had nothing to do with her murder, but the whole lifestyle felt awful to me). We don't have national rankings for 10's or 8's and under in the US. I often wonder if we should have them for 12's. Kids need to learn fundamentals without the pressure to achieve. They need to focus more on process goals and less on outcome goals. They need to play multiple sports and develop all their coordination and give their young growing bodies a chance to recover from the overuse strain of individual sports before that strain becomes a chronic overuse injury and weakness. Give kids a chance to be kids.
don

Well, for some reason Rick Macci and Marc Price (a veteran tennis coach, and a former D1 player dad) feel it is appropriate for this player.

I agree with you on one point, I like what Richard Williams did in pulling his girl completely out of the system, developing them against men - top range hitting partners and staying off the tournament circuit.

The old Russian system would not let kids play tournaments for 3-5 years, and it sure developed some dandies.

Every athlete is different I guess.

I don't know the circumstances of what they are doing, so hard to say if it is right or wrong. Results will tell the story I guess.

Hopefully the family makes good choices and doesn't get the kid involved in an academy like the one Capriati was involved in where instructors were having sex with students, providing drugs, alcohol and ruining what could have been the best player of all-time.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/smashed-1600274.html

The best two quotes from the story come from these two veteran parents:

Michael and Jane Levin are more emphatic about the matter. Mrs Levin says, "I always assumed from what I heard and what I knew about child prodigies that Capriati was headed for trouble. I thought she was too indulged, had too many cars and so forth. I now see it wasn't Jennifer or her family's fault. It was the tennis academy's."

Mr Levin says: "Given what we know now we wouldn't send Marc to Palmer. I would have no trust or faith in any tennis academy."

Interesting reading, and who knows the whole truth, however, the optics look very bad their and its interesting the USTA never did an investigation after that story popped up in the British media or followed up with anyone.

[stotty]

Locally, I thought you meant UK. Anyways, with the great British Tennis Association, all its cash, facilities, training, certification and coaches who teach world class fundamentals he should be pretty darned good, so we can't wait to see it! I've got huge expectations!

Wow, your sure putting words in my mouth now. Trust me, my feet are firmly on the ground. Fantasy land is guys who talk like they know something about the game, yet are not developing talent. Fantasy land is the smart ass investment broker telling me how to make money when he makes $50,000 a year, has got all his answers from a text book and didn't do it the hard way like me.

And FYI, my young one makes all of her choices, decided when she wants to post, how much she wants to post and I already stated this to you.

You can't force her to post tomorrow, or just post two clips, she will do what she wants, and when she wants. That's my girl. She runs her own practices now, and tells the hitting partners what to do. Its great she is managing people. I always tell her, "Be the boss, and own the business."

And, no, she's got no talent. She laughs at people who say that to her because she knows better. However, she is passionate, loves to play and wants to be a player in the worst way and has earned it the right way.

No one steps out of bed and makes it. There is a lot that goes into academic, sports and business development, and certain people make it for certain specific reasons.

Stay grounded at least for this thread. You need to walk the walk and not talk the talk. You can talk the hind legs off a donkey. I think we all know that by now!

I will show you the way (or try at least!) on how to post a clip of a kid so you can see all the terrific help from others that will follow. It's harmless...nothing to be afraid of.

No more fantasies or going off on tangents, save that for your other threads. Stay grounded here...just do it, baby!

[gzhpcu]

Wonder how long the moratorium will last...

[GeoffWilliams]

It's a scummy thing to criticize and taunt the father of a child who loves the game because he's trying new things you don't agree with. Especially when the child is making her own coaching choices and decisions based on her own will and sense of what works for her own soul.


The odds of anyone making world class are several million against one. In her case, it's different. Anyone want to give me odds on a bet? 12 years from now she's in the top hundred in the world is the bet.

[10splayer]

It's a scummy thing to criticize and taunt the father of a child who loves the game because he's trying new things you don't agree with. Especially when the child is making her own coaching choices and decisions based on her own will and sense of what works for her own soul.


The odds of anyone making world class are several million against one. In her case, it's different. Anyone want to give me odds on a bet? 12 years from now she's in the top hundred in the world is the bet.

Well that's not how it went down. But he's not here to speak for himself, so lets just drop it.

[don_budge]

Scummy and crummy things…Human Behavior and Flattery

It's a scummy thing to criticize and taunt the father of a child who loves the game because he's trying new things you don't agree with. Especially when the child is making her own coaching choices and decisions based on her own will and sense of what works for her own soul.


The odds of anyone making world class are several million against one. In her case, it's different. Anyone want to give me odds on a bet? 12 years from now she's in the top hundred in the world is the bet.

Well that's not how it went down.

No…that's not how it went down. Not even reasonably close.


I hate to say it…but I predicted the "unholy alliance" between GeoffWilliams and hockeyscout. Not that there is anything even slightly "wrong" with that. I like to see a couple of fellows buddy up as much as the next guy. You see how I am…refusing to actually use such a judgemental word. Not that there aren't any limits. In this case the agenda seems to a bit skewed. That's all. I don't want that to be misconstrued as a criticism either…it's merely an observation. My own…in fact.

A scummy thing? Criticize and taunt? The father of a child who loves the game because he's trying new things you don't agree with? Especially when the child is making her own coaching choices and decisions based on her own will and sense of what works for her own soul? You are kidding right?

Nobody wants to bet on her success (speaking of ethics) any more than they want to physically fight with the father. Nobody cares…except obviously you…as somehow you seem to have some kind of vested interest. Have you sold your soul to the devil…or some lesser act of hopelessness? Flattery will get you everywhere…make it 60 days. What the hell? Or reappear tomorrow. Who cares?

The upcoming video? Marginally interested. Especially with all of the self build up and hype. Roger Federer's play yesterday against Novak Djokovic (the current #1 and #2 players in the world) was infinitely more interesting and relevant to anyone remotely connected to the real world of tennis than any eight year old could possibly be. Except for maybe the father of the eight year old. There was a lot to be gleaned from the Dubai final in terms of tennis knowledge, information and speculation. But I'm human…curious by nature. Let's have a look at the little tyke.

I wonder if I will be taken to task by the thought police for the word tyke. Is it racist? Misogynist? Sexist? Predatory? Fucked up in general? All of the above? Whoopeeeee……!!!!!!

[GeoffWilliams]

At least you aren't posting videos proving the williams sisters are men.