that the hopes you’re heaping on your child’s shoulders really do represent their dreams, not yours?), evaluation from a professional coach is a must. You can’t automatically assume your child is going to be a world-beater. Alex Corretja, a former French Open finalist and now part-time coach to Andy Murray, is not so worried about the physical aspects. “Not at nine or ten,” says the Spaniard. “You never know how they will develop physically.” “The first thing I look for is attitude.
I want to see a look in their eyes that tells me they are focused and deter- mined to succeed. I want kids who are fast learners; who can understand what you’re telling them and can adjust their game quickly. And I want to see how fast the ball comes off their rackets.
they backing off? I didn’t know Lleyton was going to turn into the speedster he became, but I saw a kid who always got to the ball and was determined to get it back.”
Youthful enthusiasm, however, does need to be handled with care. Parents must be aware of the tendency to en- courage children to play too much. Agassi’s horror stories of being made to play six or seven hours a day, six days a week are stomach-churning. Happily, there are better examples
of how to do it—Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle, who has coached him since the age of four, is one of them. Tennis did not become young Rafa’s entire life. “He played other sports,” said Toni. “I think that is important
“I was lucky. He wasn’t the sort of kid you needed to tell something to twice” TONI NADAL
Kids who have natural timing generate exceptional speed early on.” Darren Cahill, who started working with Lleyton Hewitt when the future Wimbledon champion was 12, and who was with Agassi during the last years of his career, says speed, footwork, at- titude and athleticism are all important factors. But, he adds: “I always look to see how well they track the ball. Do they have an instinctive feel of where it’s going off their opponent’s racket? Do they move towards the ball or are
when they are young. Maybe because of my brother [Miguel Nadal played for Barcelona and Spain], Rafa really loved football and played regularly until he was 13. After that we had to make a decision to concentrate full- time on tennis.”
Read more in the July issue of Reader’s Digest
july 2010 READER’S DIGEST . JULY ’10
VICTOR FRAILE/ALAMY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26