I begin this blog as a conversation with all parents who care about their children and their dreams about being noticed in the land mined world of tennis academies and sport academies alike. As a reasonable and responsible adult and after a few years of navigating the rapids of that world, I did not unfortunately understand the dynamics of the shady operators who pray upon parents and their children at these academies.
Since this realization, I came across Andre Agassi's book Open and it then validated everything I suspected and eventually experienced from Florida to California. Agassi's refers to cheaters who were willing to trade off morality for the high of winning at all costs, for example, he talks about how Jeff Tarango had no qualms about cheating him at age 10 by pretending that the "ball was out." Thus, forever relinquishing his integrity for the sake of winning and the almighty rankings.
Those who are not the true pros resort to creating "Tennis Clinics" as cash cow generating cesspools into which innocent and benevolent parents fall into the deep quagmire of having to discern between what is real and what is fantasy. The game is presented as a wholesome all American clean game on hard courts which are simply pawns to the shylocks of this world who do not even provide anything apart from eventual heartbreak, much less a workable education to truly fall back on. Many of these children keep quiet and let it go on in order to continue the dream.
Many children from overseas travel to the United States for training. From coast to coast, children are put in the direct care and custody of academies that are merely looking to maximize their revenue. While the child's tennis skills may improve somewhat, due to rigorous practices lasting long hours, they do so at a great expense. Forced to grow up quickly, the student athletes are exposed to matters, often times too mature for them, living in the dorms. The athletes develop a laissez-faire attitude to their education, as tennis becomes the priority.
The living conditions at these academies are particularly alarming. One would think for the steep tuition prices charged, the student athletes would live in an appropriate dorm situation. In my experience with sports academies, this is not the case. Unsafe, building-code violations run rampant in these unmaintained, unhygienic, filthy dorms. The "dorm parents" are another troubling problem entirely. Sometimes verbally abusive, and frequently ill equipped to deal with problems that arise, these dorm Moms are completely unqualified to supervise the children in their care, which often can lead to drug abuse, pre-adolescent sex, alcohol abuse and many other unsavory behaviors which can happen in any setting due to proximity of pubescent young boys and girls. The serious establishments have stringent oversight and rules in order to make sure that the safety and character of their wards are protected.
It is standard for staff members to be hired without the most cursory background checks, because there is no governing body and standards to monitor these operations as they typically do not come under the department of either private or public education. Make no mistake, this is a revenue generating business; therefore, I should like to take this opportunity to close this blog with poise and grace and want to be clear that this is not in anyway to be an indictment of all academies or institutions which harbor such facilities. Today's children are encouraged to win at all costs, the word "Second" is for them to be seen as "losers". The fun of the game is taken out of them. Is that fair to these children? Quoting a tennis master "any life can be damaged by the wrong words from the right person's lips. Conversely, any life can be healed by the right words from the right person's lips."