At any given time at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy we have students attending from over 72 different countries from socioeconomic groups that range from those on full scholarship to those of incredible wealth. As diverse as the group is there are certain key traits we look for in indentifying future champions.
After 50 plus years of coaching I can say with confidence that I have seen and worked with just about every makeup of player at one time or another. With few exceptions, I have found the following to be true:
- Motivation is a by-product of genuine hunger.
- Parents have the distinct ability to sabotage their children’s chances of achieving their highest level of performance (and, often do).
- Champions are born, not made.
Let me break these down a little bit further…
People often bring their 10, 11, 12 year olds to me and request that I “motivate” them. Usually when this happens, I have a child standing in front of me that either (a) doesn’t really want to play tennis, (b) doesn’t have the natural talent it will take, (c) doesn’t have the heart of a Champion, or (d) all of the above.
So, the question then becomes “what can I do for this child?”. At best, I can build up their level of confidence – which may or may not result in a more motivated child. The worst-case scenario (for the parent anyway) is when I am completely honest with them about their child’s slim chances of becoming a “successful” professional player.
When I met first met my wife she knew very little about sports and even less about tennis in particular. One day she asked me if rich kids ever become top professionals. Up until then I hadn’t ever really given it much thought… but in going over past players in my mind, I realized that the answer to her question was in fact, “no”. A fact that I believe is true for most professional sports.
To become a top player in the world takes a tremendous amount of time and huge sacrifices, including a “normal” childhood. Champions spend the majority of their youth fine-tuning their bodies and their skills on the court… this is true for the vast majority of competitive sports.
So for kids of affluence who are pretty much guaranteed a college education and in some cases a high-paying job in the family business, the incentive to spend 7 to 8 hours a day honing their tennis game is far less than for a child who comes from limited resources and whose only real “chance” to rise above the crowd is to push themselves to their physical limits on a daily basis.
If you were to “grow” a champion, the following might be helpful “gardening” advice…
If motivation is the plant, then a genuine “hunger for more” is the seed. Self-sacrifice, desire, and deprivation are the water, sun and food that are needed to successfully germinate and help motivation grow. It will be their level of self-discipline, self-respect and the strength of their support team that will get them through the storms (on the court and off) that lay before them, and it will be their quest to be the very best they can be that will make them rise above those around them.
It’s easy to see why there are so few world class professional athletes, or world class anything for that matter… not only do you have to have some natural talent, the willingness to sacrifice all for your goal, and a strong support system… you also must have the heart of a lion. The majority of players have at least one of these traits, several have two maybe three of them, and then you have a very, very small number of players who have them all… those are the ones who become Champions at whatever they pursue.
