Knock on effects

[Tony Gillott]

Ten years ago Alton closed and with it the Tennis Crew hung up their racquets.

The knock on effect is that 10 years later for the first time since 1922 the USA have had no male tennis players in the last 16 at Wimbledon.
Where is the next Agazzi, the next Mark Spitz, the next Carl Lewis.
With Camps closing and numbers declining where will the champions of tomorrow come from?

Seriously, I believe that Camps have been very important in the development of the sporting youth of America and I believe that it is directly related.

I am sure that you all have your own thoughts on this.
Regards
Tony G


tonygillott@yahoo.co.uk

[KenWarshaw]

There is a cause-effect relationship somewhere out there that explains the early exits of the elite American tennis "stars", and it is probably true that a little portion of it is due to the decline of quality summer camps like Alton. But at the risk of sounding like a republican, isn't there a bigger problem here? While camps provide a welcome retreat from video games, gender issues, drugs, and parental inefficiencies during the summer, the unfortunate truth is that boys and girls have to go home at the end of August. So with or without camps, it is the suburban drudgery of September-May that have the most impact of a child's life.

With parents working too much, underqualified teachers (that's a generalization, of course), and the irresponsibility of the film, television, and music industries it seems as if a good portion of the kids have lost focus.

I have coached high school rugby for the past three years and there are still many parents that I have not yet met. Can you imagine that, 3 years on the same team and your coach hasn't met your dad? Look no further than that to figure out why the Wimbeldom finals will be sans Americain.

Ken

kwarshaw@linwoodcom.com