I bet this sent crazy tennis parents in a spin and running to the birth certificates just to double check.I am amazed still how many parents gauge the success of their child by results achieved locally.Yes Crazy tennis parents are alive and well in New Zealand.Knowing a few (way too many) the real tennis equation is does the child really want to put in the sacrifices, dedication and hard work.Mostly these factors are parental driven and that is why many fail.Oh the other thing is the parents bank balance, sadly in this sport the money factor is important and for me ..too many spoilt kids are kept in the sport for the wrong reasons and too many "gutsy" juniors are lost to the sport because of the money factor.
Marina cannot get any help from the governing bodies so how is the "average Joe blow" going to survive...they are not and end up lost to other sports. I did keep an eye on the Junior Fed and Davis Cup results and New Zealand fielded a team in the Fed Cup team At Worlds.I have to ask this question why on earth did the New Zealand Number 1 not go to this event electing to play low grade ITF'S, ...instead part time players with little match play were included.And if you want to check their playing records go to Configure rankings and see how many recent matches they had under the belt before being selected for this event.There has to be a good reason!Tennis New Zealand has publicly remained silent but there are rumours , one would expect any funding allocated to elite players would warrant availability to these events.I know there are always two sides to the story so lets hear it.
Rubin Statham made a return to Davis Cup play,good to see him back in the fold and hopefully it was on his terms not TNZ that he played.I am always amazed at the continual overlooking of strong coaches and administrators for position of note and "yes" guys and girls getting positions that they are truly not worthy of. I have said it time and time again tennis in this country is being run by an elitist body with many of them having way too much time on their hands. We do not cater for the masses ...the time comes when juniors and parents say the cost and the elitism is way too much to continue in the sport.
I was related a story from a coach why a junior was playing tennis.The father said they played golf and tennis because of the status of people playing and to enhance his future,whoops little did this parent know some people in the tennis circle you need to stay real clear of.Here is the link to the Marina story LINK
Posts
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteWhere have you been? NZ Tennis hasn't changed it's management style since your absence. The recently introduced Hot Shots programme is indicative of an organisation that lacks direction. Hot Shots has been very successful in Aussie, but there are major gaps in the NZ interpretation. I hate saying this being a Kiwi Coach but the Aussies should be running it!. NZ Tennis seems intent is promoting Mums , Dads and Teenagers as Coaches , there are plenty of excellent Coaches out there looking for work without using amateurs .Coaches[ barring the arse lickers] have had a gutsful of the way Tennis is being run in this Country, there needs to be change in the Management of the Sport, I live in hope!, Regards Trevor Auckland.
The big change that has to take place is to value the good Coaches we have in NZ, Administrators 'that unfortunately are top of the food chain! And like a lot of other sports they are pretty incompetent.
ReplyDeleteHi Steve
ReplyDeleteThere isn't any elite funding except for the Europe trip. And that still costs. If there was, she would have gone to mexico.
Tracy
That's incredible for such a major event no funding! Now with the new pathway were TNZ are throwing all their eggs into one basket naming 4 elite players 3 of which are 12-14 and one with no major results in ITF juniors events, then what happens to a player like paige ,who I would of thought would of been named along with others.To me its a slap in the face to the older juniors who TNZ do not consider elite.I could list a lot of reasons why you would not name 12-14 year olds as your top elite juniors and I may cover this in a blog.Thanks for your comment.
ReplyDelete