Tennis

Leave kids alone, says top coach

By Yu Yilei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-15 09:23

Carlos Rodriguez, personal coach of Belgium's Justine Henin, sits in the stands during the Fed Cup World Group play-off tennis match between Belgium and Estoniain in Hasselt April 25, 2010. [Agencies]

Beijing - A top-notch tennis coach has suggested that overprotective Chinese parents leave their children alone while they are being trained into potential stars of the future.

Carlos Rodriguez, the coach of former world No 1 and seven-time Grand Slam winner Justine Henin, was in Beijing last week to conduct a summer tennis clinic for Chinese children at Potter's Wheel International Tennis Center in Beijing, which hosts the Chinese branch of Henin's 6th Sense Tennis Academy.

He found Chinese parents were following their youngsters all over the place and tried to control everything - on and off the court.

"To play tennis you need to let the kids do more and make sacrifices," Rodriguez said. "We are here to push them (the children) to go through the difficulties. That's something they have to learn."

Most families in China have only one child due to the family-planning strategy and that is apparently increasing the chances of more spoiled children.

Many have been labeled "little emperors" for the love and treats lavished upon them.

Rodriguez believes that is a big obstacle for them to overcome and mature on the tennis court.

"Now the kids who play tennis come from wealthy families. They are too spoiled. When you ask them to make sacrifices to play tennis, it's not always easy to achieve."

And the "controlling" parents make things worse.

"They sometimes feel their kids are not training in a fashion they deserve to be," Rodriguez said. "We know how things work. We are the professionals on the court. They (the parents) do not to stay there. They need to leave the players and coaches to do their work.

Ding Ding, head of the Potter's Wheel International Tennis Center, agrees.

"That's the good thing about the academy. We are trying to set up a standard professional model to train future tennis stars.

"We know how things work."

The clinic attracted more than 80 Chinese youngsters. It is a joint effort from the 6th Sense Tennis Academy and Potter's Wheel International Tennis Center to discover and nurture more talent in China.