New tennis school hopes to break old shackles

Press, 11 February 1981, Page 22

New tennis school hopes to break old shackles

By

JOHN BROOKS

A dramatic and ambitious scheme aimed at wrenching’ New Zealand tennis away from Australian influences is about to be launched in Christchurch — and it is not a peevish reaction to underarm bowling at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The men behind this quiet revolution are Onny Parun, the long-standing and lion-hearted New Zealand representative, and Neil McAffer, a former national junior champion who has had extensive coaching experience in Spain and West Germany in the last 11 years.

They have formed a partnership to run a tennis school bearing their names; it will be established initially in Christchurch, and it is hoped that it will spread throughout New Zealand.

McAffer intends. to settle in Christchurch and get the school under way; Parun’s contribution will become more apparent next year when he ends his international playing career.

“Our style of coaching is going to be different,” Parun promised in Christchurch last week-end. “We want to get away from the Continental grip and promote the Eastern way of thinking, which means grip changing. We believe that you have to be a grip changer to hit the heavy top-spin stuff these days.”

Australian tennis was still regarded as big brother in New Zealand. “That is a thing of the past but reputations take a long time to die,” he said. McAffer said the school’s aim would be to depart from fast court techniques, Australian style. Tennis, he observed, had undergone a 100 per cent change-about in the last six years. “The old serve and vojley game has gone, be-

cause of the current predominance of slower surfaces,” Parun said. “Today the ground, stroke players such as Borg, Vilas and Connors are dominant.

“Borg and Vilas both change their grips from forehand to backhand, which illustrates our point; slower surfaces give them time to change. We believe the style of future champions will be built around grip changing.” And on the subject of future champions, the Pa ru n-McAffer school hopes to develop some “beauties,” although it will embrace people of all ages in its classes, with special emphasis on making the game socially enjoyable

and attractive for the 30-year-olds and abbve. “Neil will be especially on the look-out for budding champions,” Parun said. “We are trying to change the type of thinking that has dominated New Zealand tennis for years. I believe that after the present Davis Cup players have had their day, our next leading player should be in the top 10 in the world. That’s what we should aim for; but we have got to have a programme. It is not going to happen by accident.”

The partners believe that the champion of the

future will have to play all the year round from the age of 12. Parun reflected that he had gone overseas at. the age of 18, and that had been far too late.

“I believe you should get them as young as possible and develop them carefully,” he said. “At the age of 14 or 15, they could get Australian experience, and at 17 head for Europe, where I could help them. By the time they are 19 thev should be climbing up the world rankings.”

But an essential ingredient in this rich mixture was the availability, of indoor facilities, McAffer said. It was disappointing that New Zealand had no indoor sta-

dium designated exclusively fo r tennis; the city of’ Philadelphia, for instance, possessed 20. ? “We think the provision of such’;- facilities would benefit the game in the long term,” , he said. The school will be launched in about two weeks at Wilding Park, although McAffer signified his readiness to operate at club courts as well. “Wilding Park is a fantastic facility, but it is not used, enough,” he said. “We would like to use the hard courts over and over.” McAffer said the school would use modern equipment. -such as ball machines and a video recorder, and employ top grade. players as instructors. They would be schooled in the PdrunMcAffer way of thinking, and vtould be cultivated in

the art of talent-spotting. Parun and McAffer. who were Slazenger Shield team-mates for Wellington in their teen-age years, are emphatic that their tennis school will not be -a nine-day wonder. “It is not going to be easy to start with, but it is definitely not going to be a temporary thing,” Parun said. “We are going to guts it out. the way Onny plays his matches,” McAffer grinned.