Standing on shoulders
In the 12th. century, Bernard of Chartres was credited with the quote, “If I have seen further (than others), it is by standing on the shoulders of others.”
I discovered tennis later than most (age 24) and had miles of ground to make up compared to those who began much earlier.
When I learned that one could become a certified tennis professional in 1975 by attending Van der Meer’s Tennis University, I jumped on the opportunity. To this day, I pay homage to Dennis in lessons every week calling him a tennis savant. He had more corrective methods to help install new and better habits than any professional in memory.
Dennis, like Vic Braden, Welby Van Horn, Tom Stow, and Pancho Segura probably forgot more about teaching tennis than most of us know.
So, I don’t care too much if students roll their eyes when I take 30 seconds to acknowledge these pioneers in our sport…they deserve every bit of credit we can bestow upon them.
Here’s a list of other professionals mentioned in classes each year.
Dr. James Loehr
Jack Groppel
Chet Murphy
Peter Burwash
Robert Lansdorp
Billie Jean King
Gundars Tilmanis
Jim McClennan
Eleanor Tennant
Steve Stefanki
Rick Macci
Leslie Allen
Bob Ryland
Stella Sampras Webster
Brian Gordon
Betty Stove
Jean Hoxie
Tim Gallwey
Delaine Mast
Carlos Goffi
Tony Roche
Louis Cayer
Hana Mandlikova
John Yandell
Virginia Mack
Darren Cahill
Gideon Ariel
Jim Verdieck
Wayne Elderton
Glenn Bassett
Dennis Ralston
Allen Fox
Judy Murray
Nick Bolletierri
Jorge Capestany
Oscar Wagner
Toni Nadal
Harry Hopman
Brad Gilbert
Stella Sampras
Pat Etcheberry
Greg Moran
Pat Docherty
Jeff Greenwall
Dr. Patrick Cohn
Dr. Mark Kovacs
Gavin MacMillan
David Bailey
Bob Brett
Pavel Slozil
Here’s hoping the current crop of tennis teaching professionals pay homage to the giants who helped create the tennis future we enjoy.
Our facility has access to Tennisplayer.net founded by John Yandell and what a terrific resource to stay abreast of new ideas and to explore the genius of those mentioned above.
I only know a couple of professionals who know the work of these legends and would guess that most are familiar with ten or less.
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