"Camera Man"
Remembrance...
Mark Winters
John Yandell was "Camera Man" ... that was my take when I first met him ever so long ago... It may have been the annual men's professional event held at UCLA, or Charlie Pasarell and Raymond Moore's desert spectacular then it could have been in New York at the US Open.
Having been a long-time tennis journalist, I was used to seeing writers join the corp. Yandell was different. He was a journalist, but he wasn't carrying a notebook... He used a video camera to determine what was taking place when it came to stroke production. He analyzed the mechanics of the top players and a host of others... his monthly insights, combined with those provided by a group of esteemed teaching professionals, offered an assessment of the shot making dynamics that were taking place.
He took the risk of establishing tennisplayer, a unique method of looking at tennis (and no I am not playing with words). It was visionary because it went beyond the way the game had been taught in the past. He bucked tradition. He persisted... Now in its 20th year, the online publication has become an inspiring success... because he believed... He was a pioneer.
Instructors, journalists for that matter, anxious to discover a new approach or story angle only needed to talk with him. Discussions were "out of the box..." informative. He was expansive... frighteningly bright, adventurous and fun to be around.
When I learned that he passed away in early February, I was stunned. Once the shock of no longer being able to have in depth exchanges wore off, I realized how fortunate I had been to have shared time with him.
Long a fan of fishing, I will remember how he was always searching for new streams ... And how much the tennis community benefited from his discoveries...
RIP... "Camera Man".
