Real time, i used to be a regular on here and gained many plaudits for my satire and brasseye humour, however due to universtiy and work commitments i find it hard to make the time now,

most people on here are ok and some such as knight and santoro have good banter

but within the btnet there is te btnet fun police who are lead by officer johhny lad and james, they seek to crack down on all things funny.

johnnylad is the most serious person in the world,and on many occasions my jokes and point blank attacks have reduced him to tears.

Salmon wrote:

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Surely people are ignoring the most objectionable part of Vandenburg's post? Why McD's????? It's rubbish. Everything tastes the same and there's almost nothing for vegetarians.

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yes good point, though i am not actually a fan of fastfood, i do find the footlong sub of the day often a good choice, think KFC has down the pan in recent years.

djlovesyou wrote:

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Vandenburg wrote:

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i new someone once who wanted to be a tennis player, but they wernt from the home counties and tere parents did not vote conservative so thus he was not allowed to play tennis,
the stupid elitetism that stops people playing tennis is also present on this forum.

 

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What actually stopped him from playing? Did they get the police around to stop him or something?

 

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No even worse than the police DJ, the english upper classes. We can put x amount of money into coaches and tennis but the main problem with tennis in the UK is that its a elite sport. Do you not find it amazing that sweden with a population of 10m has produced 4 different grand slam singles winners in the last 30years plus soldering and bjorkman who aint too bad either. The reason is because not to do with coaches or money its because in sweden anyone can play tennis weather you are king gustav or a pouper on te streets, the other point of sweden which is also of importance is that there is less of a class system in sweden,theres the royal family and then everyone else is equal. there is no exclusive tennis clubs in the home counties etc like in england.

djlovesyou wrote:

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It's too easy to blame the 'upper classes'.

What's actually stopping these people from playing tennis though? How did someone like Katie O'Brien (Not from a 'poor' family, but brought up in Hull and played at Hessle tennis club as a kid, which is not remotely posh) make it to where she has?

The likes of Anne and Bally are hardly 'upper class toffs' either. How do you explain their performances. Heather Watson comes across as a normal kid from a normal family too.

Don't mistake being well behaved and speaking like an adult with being a 'posh toff'.

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I was going to say much the same. I find all this talk of class very boring and irrelevant - as far as I can tell, it's much less of an issue in the UK these days than many people (especially those outside GB stuck with the old stereotypes) believe, if still a convenient scapegoat for anyone who doesn't make it. If someone is good enough and determined enough, they'll find a way.

A lot of the players seen as 'working class heroes' by some (if indeed they are 'working class' at all) clearly haven't had the determination required. That doesn't mean I agree with players like Evo being hung out to dry in front of the media by the LTA, but they do need to find that determination (or be helped to find it) from somewhere if they are ever going to make the most of their talent.

I don't know much (or care much) about which 'class' the top GB players belong to, but I can't think of many that could be described as 'upper class' and someone like James Ward, the son of a taxi driver (I couldn't even tell you if taxi drivers are 'working class' these days, but just the other day he was described as a working class kid) is a very good example of what can be achieved with supportive parents (which any budding sports star probably needs) and lots of determination.

Tennis in America is a rich man's sport I am afraid....my son has two 2 hour group lessons a month and one tourney a month. I wish I had the money to allow him more time on court and the luxury of private lessons....he goes up on court against kids who have just hit with their coach or who have their coach watch their matches so they can critique their game etc.....at times I think it is unfair, but as I have said to my son many times, there is nothing we can do you just have to put everything into the time you do have on the court although not sure how much an 11 year old understands of that....

Talking about his time on the court....check out the results of his last tourney just finished yesterday....he beat the #1 & 2 seed, both kids ranked in the top 50 12s in this section (5 USA States).....He also beat the kid who won the consolation draw.....he is also half English....wonder if there is a way to get some of these coaches and money pumped mentioned above....lol

Sorry to boast...but hey he is my boy....here is his draw:

http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=92484&E=4

Montana Doug wrote:

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Oh and on Boggo....who cares.....he has worked hard and been slated enough....may he play as long as he is able and wishes and then may he move onto the next stage of his life with his head held high!

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Very well put ... and well done to your son

 

The problem for tennis in Britain is not that it is (or isn't) an elitist sport but rather that it is not the most high profile sport. If a child is sporty they are far more likely to concentrate on football/rugby/cricket/many other sports above tennis.

Personally I think this is largely due to what sports are on offer at school and easy to play, tennis is something that you might get one pe lesson a year on but during the summer athletics, rounders, even swimming (for those schools with access to a pool) take precedence and during the winter tennis isn't even an option. Moreover, a group of friends who feel like running around are far more likely to choose a sport like football which can be easily played anywhere rather than tennis which is limited to maximum of 4 players and requires far more specialist equipment than a big enough ball and a couple of jumpers.

This is by far the biggest hurdle to GB having more players (and the more there are the more likely to have top flight talents). "class" might allow a child slightly more access to opportunities to play tennis but that is equally true of all other sports, none of which are free to pursue at a professional level.

As for the original premise of this thread Boggo and all tennis players should play for as long as they continue to enjoy their work and I shall support them whilst they do so

And congrats to your son Montana, I was just thinking the other day that we hadn't had an update on his progress for a while :)