tennis, life and a few things in between

Sports Illustrated. 6/13/94
Reported by Richard O’Brien
Edited by JACK MCCALLUM

Richard Williams, the father of two potential superstars in women’s tennis, presents himself as an idealist who has resisted the lure of big money, kept his children away from the pressures of the junior circuit and tried to ward off premature publicity. Williams does deserve some credit for what he has done to protect his daughters, Venus (who turns 14 on June 17) and 12-year-old Serena, from overexposure. Yet Williams undercut his own message last week by appearing on an ABC Nightline segment dressed like a human billboard.
“The reason those kids go out there to play professional tennis, it’s not because the kids want to go, it’s the parents, the coaches, the endorsement companies, and everyone else that’s rushing the kid along to be out there,” Williams told Ted Koppel. At the time, Williams was wearing a cap and vest endorsing PowerBar, an energy food for athletes.
Heidi Johnson, head of tennis promotions for PowerBar, says that Williams does not receive endorsement monies from the company but that “something financial may well work out in the near future.” Adds Johnson, “The girls use our product. We provide PowerBars to them.” Williams also is paid an undisclosed “consultant’s fee” by Reebok, which outfits the family for free. He does, however, do six to eight clinics per year in inner-city venues for Reebok.
Williams also made the point on Nightline that girls who go on the tour too early sometimes miss educational opportunities, ones that his daughters are presumably getting from being home-schooled in their Pompano Beach, Fla., apartment. He then tossed a misdirected dart at Steffi Graf. “I haven’t seen one person yet at that age, 13 or 14, that was ready for life,” Williams said. “We know that Steffi Graf’s education and the way she speaks is not up to par.”
Not up to par in which language, Mr. Williams, her native German or English, which she speaks fluently? Or perhaps you meant Italian, French or Spanish, all of which she is still studying.

The 2013 Brooklyn, Queens & Staten Island — 18 & Over Spring/Summer Season will start end of May.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
~ If you wish to captain a team, please email the appropriate coordinator no later than Tuesday, 7 May 2013.

Your email must include your contact information (for the captains contact list). If you plan to have a co-captain, they must be copied on the email and their contact information provided.

QUEENS:
3.0 Women & Men: @me.com
3.5 Women & Men: @columbia.edu
4.0 Women & Men: @gmail.com

BROOKLYN:
All levels: @metrotennis.com

STATEN ISLAND:
All levels: @metrotennis.com.

• Anyone wishing to captain more than one team in Metro must request approval from the Local League Coordinator. Please submit your request to @metrotennis.com no later than May 3rd.
• All captains must send the coordinator a preliminary roster of players committed to their team no later than May 7th. The roster must includes full names and current USTA rating. If your roster is not submitted by this deadline, your team will be dropped from the schedule.
• The Captain’s meeting will be on May 21st — details will be forwarded to confirmed captains.
• Captain, and co-captains, will be held responsible for the administration of their team for the duration of the season. Teams/Captains that drop out of the league after committing will be penalized.
• First time captains must have the Local League Coordinator’s approval and can only captain one team per season. Detailed requests must be sent to @metrotennis.com and include your tennis background and number of players you have committed to the team.

Thank you for your cooperation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DRA
Local League Coordinator – Metro