Description
When I gave my presentation last September to Patrick's board and workers, 36 of them, I said they all had to dedicate their lives, 365 days a year, to the development of players. But to succeed, they must utilize all the resources of the United States, all the coaches, all the college coaches. The USTA cannot go to a location where the pro has worked with a student for five or six years and has dedicated his life and monies and then say, "It's my student now." The USTA can't do that.
The purpose is to give all the coaches around the world who are interested in tennis the chance to learn from the coaches on the pro tours. Most of our national presidents are coaches on tour and are really involved in professional tennis. For example, the German tennis federation has their courses, but we are not at all concurrent with them. They teach the base, and we specialize in explaining about life on tour and training on tour.
Coaches and players can benefit in every country with expert, experienced GPTCA coaches through the courses we provide them. In the States, Jean Philippe Fleurian is the national president. He is originally French but he has lived in Florida a long time. I’ve known Jean Philippe for a long time, and he’s been interested in participating in this organization in the States and in Canada. He has a good tennis network because he was on the pro tour for a long time, and he’s still involved with the tour. He also created a great concept for kids, starting as young as 3 years old.