Player Responsibility– missing link between 'also ran' and 'top gun'

At this time of the year, everyone evaluates 2016 and look for a productive pathway for Sport in the new year. In any Sport, the principal entity is the ‘Player’. True enough, during school years, we are compelled to rely on the administration for direction. Unfortunately, all is not well going on this path after 15. There are many reasons for it and in finding those we have to become ‘crusaders of reform’, than remain as ‘players’. As players, we have ‘responsibility’ more than the systems those permit us to operate. The focus must shift to this.

In a competitive world, recognition comes only to those who find the pathway, accept it and respond to it well.

As players, we have to know what we want, than to follow trends or follow only what is permitted. Often, high-performance is a ‘murky’ area to understand in terms of recognition. In Tennis, today, this means to have a position in international ranking. This achievement in Tennis is equivalent to a graduation in a specialized study which takes around 20 years.

The path is now that long in Tennis too. The age of achieving a top 20 Tennis ranking is around 23 to 25. Considering players take to the game around 7, it happens with enduring 18 years of serious responsibility, dedication and passion for the sport.

This leaves a burning question. Which is the path that leads to be a top 20 player? Going by the number of players who reach this, which is very few, it must be said, it takes more than going to the right place or having the right strokes and game. If this formula sounds like ‘mission-impossible’, then we have to ask the question, "how come we have world rankings to the tune of exceeding two thousand in number in each gender and annually, newcomers are pouring in?" This being a fact, it is not a ‘mission impossible.’

Taking up Tennis is usually for recreation, physical development and character building. Of these three, the first one is easy to achieve, the second being a ‘reward’ and not a gift, is a long and tedious process, and the third comes only with passion and dedication. If there is a fourth, it is the environment where sport is valued. The last means having adequate and appropriate facilities and events in the neighbourhood. This is why players, even from a highly developed country like Japan, have to go to Europe or the USA to find the correct environment.

Rarely, all of these come together. Yet for all, as I have mentioned it a few times before, millions take to Tennis every year. Most do not have the passion and dedication to make the grade. This is the reason behind the ‘mass dropout’ Tennis experiences, and has always been so, even in countries with the best of support.

The financial reward in Tennis, like in a few other sports, is massive. Most of the successful players are millionaires before they are 23. The top 200 in the world go home with more earnings than any decent and recognized profession acquired through an academic stream in a lifetime. This year’s Women’s World No.1 collected prize money in excess of US$ 11 million in one year. One has to add sponsorship and endorsements to this.

However, what we do not know is the number that did not make it. They have spent a lot and lost it. This is the gamble of ‘player development’. To my memory, in the recent past, nationally, a lot of money was invested on players with age group success and all that happened was that, they became coaches before 20.

Being a national effort, one can place the question whether ours is a ‘coach development or player development programme?’ Parents who invest in their children’s development are also subjected to this. The main cause behind it is the lack of player-responsibility. Very few players know where to go next in Tennis. At the moment, East Europeans are the most successful because they know the next step to take. Promoters are people who are conversant with development and have created many good players in the past. Many American academies which played this role are not heard of anymore. Today, with the professional bodies operating and educating the players, the promoter's role is going out of trend. This has left a gap in the development process, as players do not have sufficient lead to bridge this knowledge gap.

At this time of the year, players must add responsibility to their 2017 work list, in Capital letters. The first thing is to understand the ladder toward international recognition and not STAGNATE in age group folly. Age group activities are a merry-go-round, you will get down where you started. At any given time, a player must know what the next goal is, to be recognised as an elite player. This is ‘player responsibility’, and please do not pass the ‘buck’. To every player in development, there is always a threat of being another ‘dropout’. Escape this! ‘Responsibility’ is the catch word.