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Paulo shows the way!
This year has ended with a couple of encouraging pieces of sports news. Lee Childs
and James Nelson have been declared world junior doubles champions by the International Tennis Federation.
It's great news for British tennis, especially coming at a time when Greg Rusedski is making
discouraging noises about his future Davis Cup involvement.
It's not often that football shows tennis the way on the subject of sportsmanship, but have you
detected a subtle change in the attitude of professional football players recently? It was
highlighted for me when West Ham's Paolo Di Canio sportingly spurned the opportunity to score a
goal against Everton when the opposing goalkeeper was in distress with an injury.
It was an incident that has brought a welcome improvement to football's often tarnished image,
and one which will hopefully influence players in other sports, including tennis, which is
currently in the dock on account of the unsporting behaviour of Spanish supporters during the
Davis Cup Final.
Dave Winship (28 December 2000)
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Embracing the small clubs
There is a great deal in the LTA's Club Vision which is to be commended. The perception of club
tennis as restrictive and inaccessible will alter if clubs adopt recommendations such as
dispensing with all-white clothing policies and playing-in tests.
Distribution of the LTA's annual £10 million investment will depend on the willingness of clubs
to make these sort of changes. Quite right too. The LTA's Chief Executive, Roger Draper, warns
"...we will only invest in clubs that are capable of change. Clubs that don't or won't change will
either be struggling along in 10 years' time or be out of business altogether. We will not use our
resources to prop up mediocrity".
Prospective club members will be encouraged to expect modern facilities, the provision of a
comprehensive junior development programme and fully qualified coaches. Larger clubs should
meet these expectations with an appropriate change of attitude. However, if accessibility is
truly one of the objectives of the strategy, then the role of smaller clubs is also particularly
significant. My concern is that these clubs, with their limited resources and their reliance on
volunteers, will have to compromise and such compromise will leave them out in the cold.
Encouragingly, Mr Draper has promised that "smaller neighbourhood clubs will still have a vital
role to play, and we intend to embrace everyone willing to create a new culture". In years to come,
Club Vision will be judged by the scope, as well as the warmth, of this embrace.
Dave Winship (6 November 2000)
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On and off the bandwagon
British tennis is struggling to derive the expected benefit from
the success of Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski. Setting aside the LTA's
Indoor Tennis Initiative which was in progress before their emergence,
there is no proliferation of new and upgraded facilities. Terrestrial
television has embraced our efforts in the Davis Cup, but very little
else. Coverage of the sport in local newspapers continues to be
marginal at best (non-existent in some cases).
It is true that Henman and Rusedski have not yet matched the level of
achievement attained by the likes of Borg and Becker, two players who
demonstrably stimulated the development of tennis in their respective
countries. Unfortunately, if they allow themselves to be affected by
the recent media backlash, such achievements may continue to elude
the British pair.
The Davis Cup reverse at the hands of Ecuador has aggravated a
temporary blip in their progress this year, prompting the British media
to respond with "doom and gloom" speculation. The players must be
bewildered by the barrage of explanations for their perceived
inadequacies. Eager as we are to demonstrate affinity and jump onto
the bandwagon when things are going well, it seems we are inclined to
clamber off pretty damned quickly when the going gets tough.
Doubtless Tim and Greg accept that such criticism and ridicule goes
with the territory, and doubtless they have developed the appropriate
thickness of skin. They are only human, however, and you do hope that
those closest to them have insulated them from some of this and
administered the required doses of sympathy and encouragement. To be
honest, we all have a vested interest in this country to get behind
Tim and Greg and stay behind them. If they succeed, the media will
benefit from it, British tennis will benefit from it and the sport
itself will get a shot in the arm. Let's run back after that wagon
and get pushing!
Dave Winship (3 November 2000)
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Coaches are not enough!
The LTA's Club Vision campaign is a welcome recognition of the
important role of the tennis club in the development of British tennis.
If the stated objective to "make the game accessible to a greater
number of people, especially youngsters" is to be achieved, there needs
to be a re-evaluation of the role of the smaller club in relation to
its junior membership. The LTA is right to urge a change of culture,
but it is important to look beyond this and consider the actual service
provided.
Larger clubs are usually in a position to draw upon the services of one
or more licensed coaches to provide a programme of coaching and
activities. Typically, although coach-sharing is a theoretical option,
smaller clubs do not have this luxury and will have to deploy suitable
volunteers to fulfil the Club Vision requirements. If the role of
these 'junior organisers' is properly recognised by the LTA and by the
clubs, this need not be a cause for concern. Juniors do not necessarily
need a lot of technical coaching (and their parents can not necessarily
afford it). What they need is an environment where they can take part
in tennis-related games and activities with the emphasis very much on
competition and enjoyment.
I hope the LTA recognise the importance of the 'junior organiser' by
offering a subsidised course and educational material (book/video/etc)
detailing suitable games and activities (as well as guidance on
safety, etc).
I hope the clubs back this up, not only by setting aside appropriate
court time, but also by allowing the organiser to derive some
performance-related profit from their efforts. These payments could
take the form of a percentage of the junior subscriptions (or perhaps
the LTA should determine performance criteria and subsidise the cost).
Patrice Hagelauer's ambition of a broader base of young players is
achievable, but coaches can not achieve it on their own and the new
(or revamped) role of the 'junior organiser' must come to the fore.
Dave Winship (1 September 2000)
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Come on you Brits!!
When we shout encouragement to Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski, Arvind Parmar
and the other Brits at Wimbledon next week, some of us may feel
an uncomfortable pang of self-reproach.
Recent events in Belgium involving English football fans have prompted
us perhaps to re-appraise our patriotism, lest we be identified in some
way with the shameful behaviour of those who sought to assert their
chauvinism so unacceptably in Charleroi and Brussels.
The flag of St George sits extremely uneasily on the shoulders of those
snarling, beer-fuelled hooligans who shattered the peace of Belgian
streets in the name of our country.
Patriotism, in more acceptable manifestations, is an honourable
instinct which instills in us a quiet pride in ourselves and in our
fellow countrymen. It comforts us with a sense of belonging and
continuity. Embracing the culture and history and traditions of one's
country helps to define us and inspire us. It is the very stuff of
civilisation.
We will try to forget the disgraceful scenes of last weekend and we
will enjoy and admire and respect the skills and endeavour of
all next week's visiting opponents. But we will paint Union Jacks on our
faces, wave our flags and shout - COME ON YOU BRITS!!
Dave Winship (22 June 2000)
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Saluting the Florida warrior!
Jim Courier's retirement from the ATP Tour prompts some reflection on
his contribution to tennis over the last decade.
Greatly respected for his work ethic and physical intensity, Courier
was world No. 1 in 1992 and reached the final in each of the four
Grand Slams (winning 2 French and 2 Australian titles). John McEnroe,
the U.S. Davis Cup Captain, recently paid tribute to his influence on
other players on the ATP Tour: "He forced everybody on tour to
re-evaluate their training system, to work harder."
Tennis fans everywhere will remember him for his fierce forehand and
fighting spirit. In Britain, we recall with a mixture of chagrin and
admiration his resolute performance in the 1999 Davis Cup tie, when his
adrenaline-charged surge swung the deciding rubber in favour of the
United States.
You don't see many chapters entitled 'How to be gutsy' in the coaching
manuals. The fact is, qualities like that are not easy to teach and
not easy to acquire, but it's great to witness them!
As one of sport's great fighters, Jim Courier, we salute you!
Dave Winship (23 May 2000)
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Take two? No thanks!
Last weekend, I was playing in a NCL match and encountered my pet hate!
Several times!
On a number of occasions (including one or two "big" points), our
opponents declared that they were not sure whether a ball landing
close to a line on their side of the court was "good" or not. In an
apparent gesture of sporting generosity, they decided that we should
"take two" and replay the point.
Another variation on this theme cropped up when one of our opponents
called a ball out, but his partner called it in. Yet again, we were
invited to accept the supposedly sporting offer to "take two".
When I finally (and politely) told them that they might consider
giving us the benefit of the doubt on these calls, they seemed very put
out and showed their true colours by embarking on a new tactic of making
rank bad calls!
Let's be clear about it - there is nothing sporting about asking
an opponent to replay a point when you are unsure of your call. If
you are in doubt, the benefit of your doubt should surely be given to your
opponent, and if you think it generous to offer to play a let in these
circumstances, please stop deluding yourself and think again!
If you cannot call a ball out with certainty, then the ethics of the
game dictate that the ball be deemed "good". Much better to continue
a rally when a ball might have been out than to stop play and attempt
to hoodwink your opponent into accepting an offer which actually does
them no favours at all.
Dave Winship (22 May 2000)
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On the LTA Cup trail?
Well, Play Tennis 2000 came around and the sun shone and we all had a pretty
good time. Most of those who turned up, however, were existing members.
So what happened to those actually targeted by the promotion?
All right, the promotion wasn't great - ask anyone who is not a tennis
club member if they heard anything about it! Clearly, the promotion
failed to reach some potential players and it failed to excite others.
My feeling is that no amount of Play Tennis promotion could overcome
the general perception of tennis clubs as sleepy, anachronistic,
clique-ridden institutions, impatient to bolt the gate as soon as the
T-shirts are gone and the Play Tennis circus packs up.
It's a perception that will persist until something radical is done to
make club tennis exciting in its own right. I'd like to see the LTA
Play Tennis funds diverted into the establishment and promotion of a
high-profile national club doubles knockout competition (yes, doubles!
- it's what we play at clubs!). The annual competition would progress from
a county phase to a regional phase and then a national phase. Rounds would
be played on a particular date (like the FA Cup).
The LTA would have to be brave enough to commit sufficient resources
during the launch to attract serious media attention and, of course, ACE
magazine would have to cut back on Pat Rafter and Anna Kournikova and
devote considerable coverage to the competition, encompassing the small
clubs as well as the larger ones (especially in the early rounds of the
competition).
The "LTA Cup" would reach its climax with a high-profile (hopefully
televised) final at a suitable venue (the All England Club?).
If the LTA has money to spend on promoting the sport, why not spend
it on something that may encourage all club players, young and old, to
dream that this year his or her club could get all the way to Wimbledon?
Dave Winship (12 May 2000)
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Drugs in sport - ignorance is not innocence!
There's been a recent tendency in the British media to sympathise with
athletes who have fallen foul of anti-doping programmes, most notably
where positive nandrolone tests have been involved. When Petr Korda
failed his drug test at Wimbledon in 1998, media reaction, in Britain
at least, was unsympathetic. Recent cases, however, have involved
high-profile British athletes and the change of stance is therefore
not really surprising.
I think it's fairly clear that the athletes involved were not
intentionally cheating and I certainly would not accuse them of it.
Intention, however, is not the issue, and this is where the public
have been misled. Assuring us that they did not know how nandrolone
could possibly have got into their bodies, athletes have been used
by the media to imply that the scientists and bureaucrats have got
it all wrong. Inevitably, this has led to (successful) demands for an
investigation into nandrolone, presumably in the hope of establishing
that large quantities of the substance can be produced "innocently".
The result of this has been a perceived "blurring" of the rules, and
an increased danger that young athletes will be tempted to risk food
supplements and so on, in the expectation that resultant levels of nandrolone
will soon be officially excused.
It is the clear responsibility of all sports organisations to hammer
home the message that athletes are completely responsible for
everything that gets into their bodies. There can be no innocence
based on ignorance in this matter, and those who claim not to know how
a banned substance got into their bodies must be treated the same as
those who deliberately cheat.
Dave Winship (5 April 2000)
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Don't give up on British tennis, David!
So David Lloyd and the LTA are going their separate ways again. David's reluctance to don the
cloak of diplomacy always seemed likely to find him stripped of the Davis Cup captaincy.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but yesterday's announcement is probably less surprising
than his initial appointment.
The knee-jerk reaction is to sympathise with David on the basis of his own assertion that he
was open and honest in his dealings with people, that he never said anything that was untrue
and that, above all, he was successful. It's superfluous to pay tribute to the contribution
David Lloyd has made to British tennis. He has barked at it, ruffled its feathers and helped in
no small way to get the thing off the ground. And it's been well overdue.
However, you also have to consider the feelings of up-and-coming players like Jamie Delgado
and Arvind Parmar who were criticised by David Lloyd for their lack of fitness after the recent
tie against the Czech Republic. Such criticism may have been justified, but the public domain
was probably not the best place for it.
At the end of the day, David Lloyd follows a different agenda from that of the LTA. He always has.
British tennis can find a way of benefiting from both. It must!
Dave Winship (29 February 2000)
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So, is sport good for us?
Frankly, clubs and sporting organisations often neglect their responsibilities concerning
avoidance of injury, both in terms of providing a safe environment and in terms of educating
people about the importance of warming up, stretching, warming down, etc.
Nevertheless, sport is good for us - generally speaking. On balance, the health benefits outweigh
the health risks. At the very least, regular exercise ensures we improve our cardiovascular
systems. Sport certainly attracts many people who are motivated primarily by the desire to improve
their physical conditioning, but it attracts many others by providing opportunities for social
interaction.
Competition encourages individuals to excel and forge ahead of a peer group. And many disapprove
of this. Our education system seems to disapprove of it. But is it really such a bad thing? Surely it
can't be so bad as long as the group responds and takes up the chase. And here, surely, is the underrated contribution that sport makes to society. It encourages those virtues and qualities
which enhance humanity as a whole, as well as those which enhance just the individual.
So, what are those qualities and virtues?
Participation, loyalty and teamwork are attributes which spring immediately to mind, embracing as
they do even the least competitive players. The rewards, in life as in sport, for endurance,
determination and sheer guts are potentially great, as are those derived from plain patience and
hard work. Sportsmen and sportswomen learn how to deal with winning and losing, learn
self-discipline, learn to be fair - and much more!
So, is competition good for us? You bet it is! Competition is not the antithesis of civilised
society that our education system would have us believe. When we harness it correctly, it pulls
us all along in the quest for greater human achievement.
Dave Winship (8 February 2000)
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Where do all the juniors go?
Patrice Hagelauer, the LTA's Performance Director, wants to increase the numbers playing tennis
at grass roots level and thereby build a base on which he can build his performance structure.
Pointing a finger at tennis clubs in general, Hagelauer warns that a change in culture is needed.
"In France, 80 per cent of the clubs have a junior programme and a good one", he says. "Here in
Britain, it's probably less than five per cent. .... If the clubs are not putting in the effort
that's needed, then the war is lost. It's finished."
He asks, "Do the clubs, with their volunteers and officials, really care about the juniors or do
they want to keep the club exclusively for adults with the idea it should be a social set-up?".
Our club boasts a comprehensive junior programme and our junior membership is more than double
the senior membership. If Mr Hagelauer were to point his finger at specific clubs, ours would not
be among them.
Can we congratulate ourselves and simply mutter about the guilty clubs?
No, we can't!
Although the junior section flourishes and the kids enjoy their Saturday Club and
their free coaching, what happens when they reach their late teens and take those first nervous
steps into senior territory? Where are the 100+ juniors of 8-9 years ago? Why haven't we got 100+
senior/intermediate members in their early twenties? Where have they gone?
OK, we may have got the base right, but clearly there's more work to do to ensure a seamless
transition from junior to senior tennis.
Where do the juniors go? What do you think can be done to stop the exodus?
Dave Winship (15 December 1999)
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To whose advantage is the "no-ad" rule?
I recently played a match where the "no-ad" scoring system was applied. This is where a
sudden-death game point is played at deuce.
In various tournaments around the world, experimentation with the no-ad rule has proved
sufficiently successful to suggest it might be applied to the pro game. This
is, of course, particularly attractive to television companies (particularly in America where
there is much more tennis coverage than over here in the UK), because it shortens the
length of matches and consequently makes scheduling easier.
Another advantage is a scoring system (first to 4 points, i.e. 1, 2, 3, game) which is much easier
for novice players (and spectators) to understand. It also reduces the big server's advantage,
because the suggested rule change allows the receiver to choose which side the server serves from at
3-3 (or deuce, in "old money").
Those that oppose it believe that the change favours the weaker player (on the basis that the longer
a match lasts, the more likely it is that the better player will win).
My own feeling is that the tactical opportunity presented to the receiver (choice of sides at 3-3)
adds a special spice to the game and is worth serious consideration for this reason alone.
Shorter matches are also attractive at every level of play, particularly in club league matches.
In fact, I think adoption of the no-ad rule would be better than the recent summer league ruling
whereby the first and second round rubbers consist of just two sets (giving rise to unsatisfactory
draws).
What do you think? Would you like to see the no-ad rule apply to your club matches?
Dave Winship (5 December 1999)
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Everyone step back - it's the AGM!
We all know that some members never go to the club's Annual General Meeting
because they don't want to get "roped in" as the next Treasurer or Match
Secretary or whatever. Those who are brave enough to attend know that the cry for volunteers
will go up and will be greeted by the usual wall of silence.
Individuals are eventually prompted and the perennial excuses issue forth: "I've done my bit
for the Club!", "I'd like to, but I just don't have the time these days!", etc, etc.
These days, traditional reticence is exacerbated by the "pressures of modern life" -
long working hours, both partners working, etc, etc. Perhaps there's also a market-place culture
emerging. Members pay their subscriptions in order to use the facilities and play tennis (and no
more!).
It's not a problem that's unique to this particular club. Many other clubs up and down the
country doubtless face the same, increasingly difficult problem of filling vacancies on their
committees. At our own meeting later this month, the seats vacated by the current Chairperson,
Membership Secretary, Junior Organiser and Minutes Secretary all await the wall of silence.
You could apply strict business criteria to clubs like ours and view them as anachronistic
vestiges of old England - an England of village communities, an England of village greens and
the village pub and the village fete. But although the nature of the communities has changed,
the traditional local pub is surviving competition from the new theme pubs proliferating in the
town centres. And the popularity of the local tennis club is surviving competition from the LTA
Indoor Initiative, David Lloyd, et al! It's surviving because - well, because some things are
worth saving! Specifically, it's surviving because of its volunteers. They are the lifeblood.
Don't stay away from the AGM this year! Don't sit on your hands!
Tennis clubs can not exist without volunteers!
Dave Winship (11 November 1999)
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