“You can observe a lot by watching” –Yogi Berra.
I have felt apologetic to the people I coached in my “pre-Leighton” career.
We had good teams and kids early, but I really had no “body of knowledge,”
or thorough concept of what to suggest. Having a background in other
sports helped me make common sense decisions, and I was developing an
eye for how to help. Still Leighton provided the base to expand on.
I began to see things that I hadn’t been aware of, and a great new source
of learning emerged. I was seeing things my own players did or didn’t do
properly. Other teams provided examples. And while I hardly know about
the upper echelon of tennis, I now see things the pros were doing that
helped. Television brought the great players right into my living room.
And tennis fits television like a glove: Borg, Connors, McEnroe, the U.S.
Open, Wimbledon, Billie Jean vs. Bobby Riggs, etc.