The million dollar question is: are you a teacher or a coach?
I specialized in the initial training of tennis players between the ages of 8 and 17.
When analyzing sport, it must be taken into account that they are people from different social and economic contexts.
– What are the differences?
American children and young people have an impeccable educational structure. Schools, from an early age, give great importance to sports development and offer them all kinds of possibilities so that they can carry them out.
In this regard, Diego Varela commented: in Argentina, to go to a good school, children are in class between 8 to 9 hours a day, which makes free time for sports scarce. So to train as a tennis player they have to do without educational training. They must choose between sports or education. Of
In this way, in Argentina we train tennis players who, in general, are not
intellectually prepared and only have as their objective access to professional sports.
And he added: as we know, this funnel is very small and moving away from that goal frustrates many young people who, during the development of their training, suffer more than they enjoy.
-In Argentina when you are born they give you a soccer ball, the other sports
They are almost elitist.
In the United States you have greater opportunities with sports. Those who practice a discipline in an outstanding manner are rewarded and admired. All levels of tennis have some reward. There is always a goal within reach.
From an early age, young people and families are clear about the objective of Universities. They prepare to achieve and develop the highest possible level from a young age. For Argentine players playing Roland Garros is a dream,
For most Americans that dream is called Harvard, Stanford, Yale, etc.
-For an Argentine to go to study in the United States is a chimera. Is very
expensive
Of course, on the path to that almost unattainable dream, they have other options that are attractive, great opportunities at prestigious universities that, in addition to developing their academic growth, allow them to continue evolving athletically at the highest level.
Universities are no longer an obstacle to tennis growth. On the contrary, they are a tool that collaborates with the evolution of tennis players.
The competitiveness is great. The coaches are very good and also in the free months they encourage the kids to participate in the junior and professional circuits.
The result is that the majority of male players who transcend the ATP circuit are trained in Universities with academic degrees included.
In Argentina, this option from American Universities was well received in recent years, but it is still an option when the attempt to become a professional player is frustrated.
So young people enter the University that they can, because the preparation was not adequate. They did not take the time that kids in the United States take to prepare and choose a university. They did not have the necessary 4 years of good
academic results in high school, because they did not have enough time to study. They did not meet the different University coaches to define who was going to accompany them in that important part of the training.
–There is a big difference when it comes to competing. The American plays, the agent suffers but at the same time leaves his life in each ball
Argentine kids, by choosing the roughest path, develop a greater sense of effort, because everything is complicated. Since they were children, many of them suffer separation from their families because in their places of origin they cannot compete as they should, the economic situation does not help.
In training they have the desire to reach the top, which the American does not have to the same extent. Maybe because of what we talked about previously.
The Argentine tennis player has a fragile structure, while the American has 200 new tennis balls available on each tennis court in his academy. In Argentina, each court only has three used balls. In short, in the US, they have everything they need to train and grow professionally.
In one of the best clubs in Buenos Aires, where I was Director of the Academy, I had to worry about the materials, the administration, the coaches’ salaries, the players’ tournament calendar, the talks with the parents, the doctors, etc…
While the American Academy has those responsible for administration, an accountant, a manager, etc…
The result is that as a Saviano Academy coach, my layout on the court is more productive and efficient.
–Everything has its pros and cons, they say that to beat an Argentinian you have to give up your life. They are more seasoned and have few skills.
In the USA every weekend there are tournaments for different levels and ages. In Florida you will find the best Academies, excellent weather and the largest number of tournaments.
The Interclub system is replaced by Intercollegiate competitions that have different levels. But in high school they already have training for each sport, and their team competitions.
The School rewards those who participate in sports and that makes many young people interested in doing so.
They understand what is coming to them at Universities. Obviously, in order to participate, you must have appropriate academic behavior that enables you to do so.
The Interclub in Argentina is outdated and must be renewed.
-It cannot be compared because Argentina is a country with clubs and the USA is different
The Argentine Tennis Association only hopes for the efforts of the boys and their families.
In such a way that the clubs are the ones harmed, since it is very difficult to convince children with this system to participate and dedicate themselves to traveling alone, without the greatest sense of teamwork and with no social exchange to practice this solitary sport. .
–What happened to tennis. It was the 5th most important sport and today it is behind 15th.
The problem is the lack of idols. There is no Connors, Agassi, Sampras, McEnroe, Chris Evert.
The last ones were the Williamses. However, in this last year, according to statistics
reliable, one and a half million people are new tennis players.
–In Argentina Vilas caused a huge explosion. There are about 3 million who practice it, however in recent times many boys go to football or rugby and girls to hockey, and women’s football has grown.
Yes, that is a problem of recent times. Girls have more fun in team sports. They are more friendly and it is also happening in the boys, lately.
–The Argentine and the South American in general have a lot of talent for sports.
Argentines in general move better, even though in the USA they train every day on different surfaces with total naturalness.
In the tactical aspect, the Argentines are more mischievous and detect the virtues and defects of their rivals more quickly.
–Why do Americans score so well?
The reason is cultural. They play with their hands, we with our feet. They give us a soccer ball, they give them a football or a baseball.
Mechanically the throwing motion is similar for all three sports. Serving is like throwing a baseball or football. It’s that simple. And they also play on hard surfaces where service pays more dividends.
But also in the USA greater importance is given to technical details than to strategic ones. Everything happens to them by hitting the ball well. On the other hand, when we play on clay we must think more to win points and we give greater importance to tactics and strategy.
Likewise, the coaches make parents very involved in all the teachings they impart to their children.
It is very common to see parents as intermediaries of the bond between teachers and players. In that type of relationship, that much-needed trust between coach and player is lost.
Many times it is the parents who command their children’s careers, and the coaches are just a link in that team.
While tennis is an individual sport where it requires all the time of decision-making, this system does not help rapid tennis maturity.
With all this panorama and these differences, it remains for the coach to build and take the best from each system. Take advantage of all the virtues that competition and organization offer, and transmit that typical desire of the Argentine player, his motivation and his ambition with which he forges his formative stage by training to the maximum every day.
-The talk is coming to an end. We could spend hours talking about tennis with Diego Varela, his passion for tennis has no limits.
About Diego Varela
Diego Varela, renowned Argentine coach who coached great players in the history of Argentine tennis, such as: Agustin Calleri, Guillermo Coria, Franco Squillari, among others. For more than 25 years he directed the Racket Club Academy, he continues to strengthen his professional growth.
He was hired as Head Coach of Saviano Tennis High Performance in Miami, Florida, a tennis center considered among
the Top 3 in the United States where, among others, Michael Chang, Jim Courier, Sloane Stephens and Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) trained.
Contact Diego Varela:
IG: @Diego Varela
Email: [email protected]
by CEDOC
