Tennis Ponders Development of Prodigies

If the potion for Michael Chang’s rapid development and startling tennis success could be bottled and sold, many juniors and their parents would be running to drug stores.

But as most aficionados know, 17-year-old Americans do not win the French Open every day, and there is no such thing as a quick way of creating elite tennis players.

Stan Smith, a former U.S. Open champion and now a U.S. Tennis Assn. coach, said Chang possesses several ingredients that most juniors could only dream about and never buy.

“Michael had tremendous quickness and a very good mind,” Smith said. “He was also much more mature than most people are at his age, and he has great courage--which is what pulled him through the French Open.”

Chang’s model for success is not one Smith advises the average junior to copy.

“I would not encourage kids to turn pro at that age,” said Smith, referring to Chang’s decision at 15. “I still believe he is an exception.”

So why do so many tennis parents push their sons and daughters to the physical and emotional limit?

Why do they sometimes spend more than their budget can afford in search of largely unrealistic and unattainable goals?

Many teaching pros say parents are attempting to satisfy their egos or reach a status they were never quite able to in their athletic careers.

Carol Plunkett, head women’s coach at San Diego State, says a little parent involvement is healthy.

“You need that to have an outstanding athlete,” she said. “Telling a kid to play tennis for a certain amount of hours is no different than a parent setting aside an hour for piano or violin lessons.”

Curt Condon, teaching pro at the Vista Tennis Club, said Chang and some of the other young stars such as Andre Agassi and Aaron Krickstein have enjoyed success at early ages because of their upbringing. And there may be another one at tournaments such as this week’s USTA Boys’ 12s championships at Morley Field.

“The good ones are a product of their environment,” Condon said. “Look at the fathers of McEnroe (lawyer), Chang (biochemist). Those people have a certain formula, and they stick with it. They’ve taught their kids to sacrifice.”

But not every junior has the hands and anticipation of McEnroe, the quickness of Chang or the ground strokes of Krickstein. Yet many tennis parents believe it is essential for their Jimmy or Chrissy to practice ground strokes five hours a day while their friends are going to dances, the beach or playing other sports.

According to Angel Lopez, head pro at San Diego Racquet and Tennis Club, a junior must be atypical to burst onto the pro tennis scene the way Chang did.

“Michael had the coaching, the talent, but most importantly, the single-mindedness,” Lopez said. “He was not one to go to the beach or to the dances.”

Could there ever be another Michael Chang in the San Diego area?

“It could happen again,” Lopez said. “Michael had a tremendous amount of drive. San Diego has a lot of distractions. A kid’s almost got to take it like a business to succeed. You can’t steer away from that goal.”

Some parents and coaches look for results at younger and younger ages, putting more and more pressure on adolescents. All this has finally struck a nerve with the USTA, which is the reason for the downfall of the national 12s competition. This week’s tournament in San Diego will be the last of its kind.

Beginning in 1990, the USTA will sponsor zonal team competitions with less emphasis put on rankings and results. They believe this will help to eliminate the temptation of many juniors to win points by playing strictly a baseline game, thus creating more of a serve-and-volley game.

“We’re attempting to create a more-team oriented environment,” said Pam Hartman, assistant to the director of player development for the USTA. “A lot of kids were more concerned about winning and improving their ranking than their game. It’s no secret that that’s not the way to a successful tennis career.”

Plunkett said she agrees with the steps the USTA is taking to curb burnout.

“There’s not a correlation with a player’s early success to how well they do down the line,” she said. “The USTA’s approach to better game development will give us greater players in the future.”

Condon is also a strong supporter of the USTA’s new philosophy.

“If I had my way, I’d do whatever it takes to get round-robin tournaments in the 12s, 14s and 16s with no national rankings,” Condon said. “It’s going to allow a player to have excellent competition, and if they get beat, it’s a learning process.”

But Jim Hillman, the director of development for the Southern California Tennis Assn., is not so sure eliminating the 12s is the answer to developing more well-rounded players. The SCTA will thus keep its 12s rankings.

“My concerns are that we’re competing with other sports,” Hillman said. “A player has to know how he’s progressing, and the rankings do that.”

Since turning 10, James Conda, now the No. 1-ranked 14-year-old in San Diego and Southern California, has not steered away from his goal of playing college and professional tennis. Ultimately, said Conda’s father, Nick, James would like to enjoy the same success as Chang.

But Nick Conda said he has tried to keep James’ dream of being the next Michael Chang in perspective.

“James wants to follow in Michael’s footsteps, but it’s a long shot,” Nick Conda said. “Michael was 100% tennis. I don’t think I want to do that to James.”

Steve Dawson, Conda’s coach at the Mission Hills YMCA, said he is careful not to overwork his young star.

“I make him take a few days off,” Dawson said. “I tell him to go to the beach and have some fun. My philosophy is: Train hard on the court, have fun off it. By my way of thinking, your whole life is not tennis.”

But Dawson admits that Conda will eventually have to become more serious about tennis if he is move his game to the next level.

“James still treats tennis like a game,” Dawson said. “In order to go to the next step, he has to turn it into a sport.”

Dawson said it’s too early to tell, but Conda has the potential to be another Chang.

“He’s the best I’ve ever coached,” Dawson said. “He has an all-court game that’s more versatile than Chang.”

Said James: “I admire Chang, but I play my own style. I come to the net more than he does.”

That aggressive style paid off for Conda this week in Shreveport, La., where he reached the fourth round of the USTA national hard court tournament.

Nick Conda said that lately, he has been trying to find a medium for his son. He wants to see James succeed, but not at the cost of his happiness.

“At this age, James loves the game,” Conda said. “I never push my kids. It’s up to them. Before every (national) tournament, we ask him if he wants to play the tournament. All I can do is guide him. I tell him, ‘If you feel that you don’t want to play anymore, quit.’

“I’ve seen parents who are more involved in the game than the kids. I think the kids have enough pressure on themselves, the parents don’t need to add to it.”

“If I feel tired, I just take a rest,” James said. “I’m not planning on getting burned out.”

Although Nick Conda has stayed away from instructing his son on the court, he has been at the forefront of managing James’ career off the court.

Four years ago, Nick Conda realized his son might be something special, so he began to get tennis experts involved .

Since that time, Nick has picked up the tab for tennis lessons, summer trips to national tournaments and arranged for James’ transfer to tennis powerhouse La Jolla High School.

Although the USTA gives James spending money for national tournaments because of his high ranking, his father is required to pay for air fare and hotel rooms.

“Financially, it puts a strain on my budget,” said Nick, whose family lives in Bonita.

“I’ve been trying to get James away from peer pressure--drugs and so forth. The game of tennis has steered him away from that.”

Ditta Huber is another local junior on the rise. Only 14, Huber is ranked first in San Diego in the girls’ 18s, and she is among the top 10 16-year-olds in Southern California. Huber upset Leslie Hakala, a two-time All-American from Brigham Young, in the final of the Industry Hills tournament this summer.

Dawson, who has worked with Huber, said she possesses many of the same attributes that led to Chang’s rapid rise.

“She doesn’t socialize with other kids, and she’s very goal-oriented,” Dawson said.

But even with the impressive results this summer, Huber said her plans do not include professional tennis.

“I’d like to play college tennis for Stanford,” said Huber, who will be an eighth grader at Palo Verde Christian High School in the fall.

Huber said she understands how talented juniors like Angelica Gavaldon, a 15-year-old at Our Lady Peace who participated in the recent Great American Bank women’s tournament, might be tempted to turn pro.

“It’s hard for some of the kids,” Huber said. “They’re so good that they have to get the competition somewhere. But then if they fail, they don’t really have anything else. I don’t know if tennis is worth ruining your whole life over.”

Curt Condon, the Vista pro, said that philosophy seems obvious but sometimes is not followed by the fanatical tennis parent.

“People are so short-sighted,” he said. “They’ve got to see the big picture. Through (the early years), you should be working towards improvement--short-term goals. I believe in developing the whole person. Only 30 women make $100,000 a year. But this is America, and we’re all looking for the pie-in-the sky.”