This story by the Sun-Sentinel's Charlie Bricker has been out for over a week, and the direction of the current Player Development model was a topic of discussion in several conversations I had with coaches and players in Tulsa.
If Kantarian is taking control, and hiring an "elite" Player Development head to report to him, and not the USTA board, it does indeed represent a change in the USTA's thinking, which has been steadily moving toward hands-on development and away from facilitation.
Bricker mentions Jim Courier as his first choice, but when he declines, Bricker throws out the names of Pat McEnroe, Todd Martin, Billie Jean King and Paul Annacone, saying:
Whoever it is will have a pro tennis playing background and be dynamic enough to make some tough decisions without worrying about offending anyone, because the future of U.S. tennis does not look good after a year in which not one American man reached the final of any of the four Grand Slams.
I'm not sure why having a pro tennis playing background is necessary, and as far as making tough decisions without worrying about offending anyone, well, Craig Tiley has certainly done that in his first two-plus years in Australia. And although I would support Patrick McEnroe for the job with no reservations, I am not exactly sure why there needs to be a straight line between the Davis Cup and development, as Butch Buchholz says and Bricker seconds.
Speaking of Australia, (or maybe it's just on my mind because my credential application is due next week), here's a link to a story on the "other" Australian junior, Mark Verryth. Linda Pearce of The Age is one of my favorite reporters and this profile of Verryth illustrates why. She can ask tough questions and get answers that reveal her subjects, but she never seems mean-spirited and she resists the urge to pile on the expectations. (For the metrically challenged Americans among us, 198 centimeters is about 6-foot-6).
I've received the names of the eight boys who the USTA has accepted into the Residency Program at Boca Raton; I'm waiting for the list of girls, but if I don't receive them tomorrow, I'll just post the boys.
If Kantarian is taking control, and hiring an "elite" Player Development head to report to him, and not the USTA board, it does indeed represent a change in the USTA's thinking, which has been steadily moving toward hands-on development and away from facilitation.
Bricker mentions Jim Courier as his first choice, but when he declines, Bricker throws out the names of Pat McEnroe, Todd Martin, Billie Jean King and Paul Annacone, saying:
Whoever it is will have a pro tennis playing background and be dynamic enough to make some tough decisions without worrying about offending anyone, because the future of U.S. tennis does not look good after a year in which not one American man reached the final of any of the four Grand Slams.
I'm not sure why having a pro tennis playing background is necessary, and as far as making tough decisions without worrying about offending anyone, well, Craig Tiley has certainly done that in his first two-plus years in Australia. And although I would support Patrick McEnroe for the job with no reservations, I am not exactly sure why there needs to be a straight line between the Davis Cup and development, as Butch Buchholz says and Bricker seconds.
Speaking of Australia, (or maybe it's just on my mind because my credential application is due next week), here's a link to a story on the "other" Australian junior, Mark Verryth. Linda Pearce of The Age is one of my favorite reporters and this profile of Verryth illustrates why. She can ask tough questions and get answers that reveal her subjects, but she never seems mean-spirited and she resists the urge to pile on the expectations. (For the metrically challenged Americans among us, 198 centimeters is about 6-foot-6).
I've received the names of the eight boys who the USTA has accepted into the Residency Program at Boca Raton; I'm waiting for the list of girls, but if I don't receive them tomorrow, I'll just post the boys.
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