Bollettieri’s 86 and still going strong
Legend Bollettieri still striving to give opportunities to children
Nick Bollettieri has been a tennis coach for the past six decades and has churned out stars like Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, Boris Becker, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Anna Kournikova. The 86-year-old is no longer interested in churning out champions. “I want to help children who have no hope to be part of a sport for life. And also to see a child go home with a smile and say ‘I want to come back’. I’ve had champions. Now, I want to give opportunities to children,” he said. And that’s exactly what he did when he worked under the scorching sun to coach, motivate and mentor about 150 aspiring Malaysian juniors and 30 coaches during the #TraintoWin tennis workshop at the National Tennis Centre in Jalan Duta yesterday.
KUALA LUMPUR: At the ripe old age of 86, one would expect tennis coaching legend Nick Bollettieri to sit back and relax.
But American Bollettieri is not your regular octogenarian.
He was hard at work under the scorching sun coaching, motivating and mentoring about 150 aspiring Malaysian juniors and 30 coaches during the #TraintoWin tennis workshop at the National Tennis Centre in Jalan Duta yesterday.
The workshop was organised by Bollettieri’s former student, former national No. 1 V. Selvam together with Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia and Malaysia Stadium Board.
Selvam is now the head coach of the Duta International Tennis Academy.
So what is it that drives Bollettieri on despite having achieved tremendous success as a coach over the last six decades?
His answer is simple and profound.
“I want to help children who have no hope to be part of a sport for life. And also to see a child go home with a smile and say ‘I want to come back’.
“I’ve had champions. Now, I want to help countries and people to give opportunities to children,” said Bollettieri, whose famous Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida has churned many top stars over the years.
He has coached 10 players who have gone on to become world number ones, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles and Boris Becker.
He has also worked with Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Venus Williams and continues to be active in mentoring young talent, having more recently worked with Japanese star Kei Nishikori and American Ryan Harrison among others.
In 2014, Bollettieri was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
“What is also important is to develop the character of young boys and girls. The world today is upside down with teens being involved in drugs, alcohol and violence. We can build these young children’s self-esteem through sports,” he said.
Thanks to his passion and vast knowledge and expertise on the sport, it did not take Bollettieri long to sum up what was needed to inject new life into Malaysia’s ailing tennis landscape.
“Today, I was able to see a lot of young talents. You need to develop a system. Nick Bollettieri will not be here without a dedicated staff and a system,” he explained.
“And the system starts by helping the coaches first. It’s about teaching the early techniques to children on improving the grips, swings and movement.
“I saw that 99% of the children hit the ball okay but they don’t know how to get to the next ball. That’s called the recovery step. So, the coaches need help in these area.”
Bollettieri also pointed out that he had discovered an unpolished diamond among the 150 juniors who turned up for his workshop.
He said: “She is 18 years old and she is darn good. I took a video of her. For the greater good, I will try to get a scholarship for her (in the academy in Florida). She is one of the best out there today – more than the game, she has the right attitude.”
The girl he was talking about was Sabah’s Nursharneem Imann Shamsuddin.
Bollettieri, who also spoke at length about the roles of coaches, parents, leaders and many others, related his own childhood experience as a parting advice to everyone.
“I’ve had my share of successes and failures over the last 60 years. Look, if I took off my pants right now, there’ll be blue and black marks on each side from falling down. My daddy used to tell me that it was not how you fall but how you get back up and keep doing it again and again until you get it right.
“To build a system will take time, it will not happen overnight.
“I’ve made it work. I’ve not accepted failures,” said Bollettieri, who thanked Selvam and his team for spending endless hours to put the workshop together.