At the same club where I played (above story) there was this other kid. Super talented. By 13, basically unbeatable.Cuckoo4Coco wrote: ↑Thu Jul 07, 2022 6:34 pm ...
Sometimes when these big events come along and I get to watch these Juniors play the thought comes into my head "What If". What if, I took that path to attend an academy and become a Junior player. Would I be one of these girls in London right now playing at Wimbledon? It crosses my mind. I practice a lot and feel I give a lot to my training as these girls probably do every single day. I just ask myself sometimes what is it extra that they do to be able to get where they are? Does it take hiring one of these super high profile tennis coaches or going to an academy? Does it take being home schooled or doing online school or even school at an academy? How do some of these young girls get endorsements? i know how I get my equipment and that is from my grandpa, but how do they get all this stuff? How do they get the money to travel to all these places? I wonder about all of this stuff. Maybe this is something I should ask my coach. My coach is a pretty successful local coach, but not like a high profile coach. He is successfully leading me on the path to a bright future in college, but as a kid these thoughts do enter my head.
Then his DAD (not him) decided he was going to be a pro. He dropped from school, and was at the club training, day in, day out. Not two hours, the full day. He seemed to be very much into it, and he was, I repeat, very talented. He had a name that was very similar to one of the top players in the world at the time (former #1), so it was easy to follow any sort of success.
He never made it past the challenger level. And I wonder what else he did, because his education was basically non-existent, in a continent in which having a College Degree guarantees nothing, but NOT having a college degree guarantees you will never make it anywhere (maybe you can become a businessman).
It is easy to see, for example, the Williams Sisters and get all caught up in that story. But people fail to see the other side, because that story does not get turned into a movie, is of no interest. There must be many, many young players that looked like future stars, and then, they met the other future stars, and so on. Remember: a pro will play for roughly a decade. But, at best, there will be 10 WImbledon winners in a decade (by definition). The number of players that will make it is minute. For every Serena (i.e. only one) there are thousands that somebody thought "she will make it" and then didn't.
Your plan is solid. IF you have the talent for the pros, you will be spotted once you get to your college. Remember that the US system produces good players. Collins, Brady, many others. If you will be bound for Wimbledon in 2026, your college coach will see that. If not, you will come out of college with a degree, hopefully in a field you will enjoy, and will have a lovely, professional life.
On top of being one very, very, very good tennis player.