UGLY PARENT SYNDROME 8 ( A COACHING VIEW )

 I wrote this chapter around the same time as the 'Posse'. There were two things that really disappointed me about junior tennis and in fact still do at some Senior tournaments though it is on a much smaller scale. Ugly Parent Syndrome is alive and well, unfortunately.

UGLY PARENT SYNDROME

Tough subject this one but why not tackle it head on ? This is the situation in life that is rather embarrassing in junior sport yet it rears it's ugly head regularly , especially in Tennis , so why is this ? Easy one to answer ; Tennis is the game , as is golf , that parents who didn't perhaps 'make it' either in life or their preferred sport , can finally have 'bragging rights' that has their surname written all over it .(Team Sports unless you are a standout, don't quite have the same effect).

I often wonder whether the name has anything to do with sport , personally I wasn't 'gifted' in my choice of first or last names , Sweden's Joachim Johanssen was always going to be a tennis professional , if he failed at that , racing car driving would've been his other option . Back to the headline; There needs to be an 'Odd's Book' given to each and every parent who's child takes up the game of Tennis with the headline 'One in A million'......
When I trained full time for nearly two years in Queensland I saw a thing or two regarding talent and when I toured  Europe in '91 I saw it on an even bigger scale , it was outrageous , as Redfoo would say 'Ridiculous'. (He's a singer with weird lyrics). 
The art of Tennis is just that ,an art , maybe the toughest individual sport in the world that requires the player to be not only technically brilliant , but mentally and physically brilliant at the same time . As a coach of the sport you see many examples of 'my kid has what it takes , I want you to make her a champion' , that's a big call. It's like 'Santa Claus' , what are the chances??

Nick Bollettieri trained Andre Agassi , Brad Gilbert made Andre a Champion with his tactical mind and views on the game , Andre's Father though was the person who taught him to play .

So if there is a Tennis Coach out there who can do all of these things with a budding junior talent of the game of Tennis then I would love to meet him . Each 'Coach' knows his limitations , some have a talent in certain areas of the game yet lack in others , having the talent to do all of the above is a 'gift'. Rafa's Uncle Tony may just be this man but let's put Rafa into perspective. Carlos Moya took  a young 14-15 year old Rafa under his wing and hit with him regularly which took his game to an unbelievably high level , Uncle Tony reaped the benefits of Moya's tuition .

More than one element is responsible for a future Champion of the game , 'real coaches' are aware of this fact and have a realistic view on the whole process . The other side of the coin is 'ugly parents' who sit behind the court watching their child play and offer the occasional remark to the unlucky opponent trying to upset them enough to 'give in' to their 'prodigy' . 'Come on buddy that was inside the line ' or 'if you call a close one out again.... 

Ugly Parent syndrome is in all aspects of junior sport however tennis seems to breed them more than most. Why ? It's the reward factor I believe as a tennis champion as a son or daughter is a parents' talking point like no other and some will go to extreme measures to help their kids win. 

We have probably all seen 'that' parent walk through the gate at a junior tennis tournament with their child and cringe because you just know that this person is not someone who sets a great example as far as ethics are concerned. That same parent will sit behind their child's court and offer advice, discreetly of course and not all the time to their own 'prodigy'.

Ugly parent syndrome will always be part of tennis, fact of life and nature of the sport however we can only hope that the child rises above it all. We can only hope that the child creates their own destiny in life, one that does not have their 'ugly parent' written all over it.