TENNIS : Pepperdine Coach Fox Finds Fault With Parents’ Instruction of Kids

Pepperdine men’s tennis co-Coach Allen Fox has a message for parents who are thinking of coaching their children: Think again.

“More kids have been ruined by a parent as a coach than have been helped,” Fox said.

Fox, 51, a former tour player and Davis Cup team member, holds a doctorate in psychology from UCLA and has written several articles on the subject of coaching one’s child.

“There’s a big difference between pushing your child to achieve in school and pushing the child in sport,” he said. “Sports is a pastime--it’s for fun.

“The parent becomes too involved and doesn’t know where his interest ends and the kid’s begins.”

Fox, entering his 13th year as coach at Pepperdine, said the negative effects of a parent’s coaching his child can be early burnout for the athlete, incorrect instruction and the ruining of one or more family relationships.

“When a coach criticizes you, that’s one thing. But the coach you can leave--the parent you can’t,” he said.

Fox acknowledges that there are exceptions to his rule. He cited the success of several parent-child teams, such as those involving Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Jimmy Connors, and Jennifer Capriati.

“Capriati’s parents do a good job with her,” said Fox. “You can tell she’s well-balanced and stable and gets lots of love. Her dad coaches her without attacking her. You look at her face and you can tell she’s happy.

“But there is no good documentation on the parents who coached their kid and ruined them, because those kids obviously didn’t get far,” he added.

“If the kid really likes the game, he’ll get good anyway. If a kid has the potential to be a champion, they’ll develop anyway on their own--they can do it without coaching,” Fox said.

Fox, who is writing a book on the mechanics of tennis, also wrote “If I’m the Better Player, Why Can’t I Win?” a book published in 1979 that has sold more than 20,000 copies.

Over the last 20 years, Fox has seen tennis players gain more attention and prestige, but thinks tennis has lost some of its integrity in the process.

“There’s much more money and glory now,” Fox said. “Parents look at tennis as a way to get into show business.

“The growth in tennis has been a negative, really, to most players--it has led them astray. (Players) have given up school and their education, family values and life in order to pursue this potential they have in tennis,” he said. “What if they don’t make it?”

Teens in tournaments: Nine Valley-area teen-agers took part in the U. S. Tennis Assn. national championships last week. They are Natasha Pospich of Woodland Hills, Meilin Tu of Northridge, Gary Potter of Thousand Oaks, Darren Potkey of Ventura, Derek Pope of Ojai, Staci Jellen of Calabasas, Molly White of Camarillo, and brothers Mike and Bob Bryan of Camarillo.

The team of Pope and John Roddick of Austin, Texas, was defeated in the boys’ 14-and-under doubles final Saturday in San Antonio. Pope and Roddick went down in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4, to Scott Humphrey of Alamo, Texas, and B.J. Stearn of New City, N.Y.

In girls’ 18-and-under doubles, Pospich and partner Laura Richards of Vista lost to Rachel and Rebecca Jensen of Norcross, Ga., 6-2, 6-4, in quarterfinal action at San Jose.

Pospich was easily beaten, 6-1, 6-1, in the fourth round of singles competition last week by Lisa Raymond of Wayne, Pa., who went on to defeat her next three opponents in straight sets to earn the title.

Tu came back from a 6-0 loss in the first set of her fourth-round match against Karen Miller of Trenton, N.J., to win, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2. But Tu was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the girls’ 14-and-under division by Tracy Kotseos of Winter Springs, Fla., 7-5, 6-2.

Add tournaments: The 15th tournament of the junior circuit K-Swiss Summer Grand Prix began Monday and will conclude today at Cal State Northridge. The 21-tournament series will culminate in the 11th Masters Championships in North Hollywood. The top eight point earners from all tournaments in each of five age divisions will advance to the championships.

Many current and former pro tour players have left their mark on this Grand Prix series. Debbie Graham of Fountain Valley, who was defeated by Martina Navratilova in straight sets Tuesday in the second round of the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles in Manhattan Beach, won the 12-and-under division title in 1982. Graham, 19, who played for Stanford this year, is the 1990 NCAA singles champion.

Team Tennis playoffs: Sectional playoffs for the USTA/Volvo Team Tennis League start today and continue through Sunday at Los Caballeros Sports Village in Fountain Valley. Eight of the 56 Southern California teams are from the Ventura County area.

Winning teams in each division will advance to the national championships in October. More than 750 Valley-area residents took part in the league this season.

Camarillo event: The Cabrillo Racquet Club in Camarillo is playing host to the Wilson/Eagle Tennis Fest on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Five tennis pros will provide instruction and a radar gun will be used to clock the speed of serves.