As most of the US sits back whining and complaining about the Europeans taking all of their college scholarships, the fact still remains, that coaches want to win and if Europeans are delivering the goods, then they get the job. In this country (US) where all of our children are raised with this entitlement mentality which largely comes from the "trophy children" that we are raising in the elementary schools through Junior High, now void of any true competition, so the children and parents do not get their feelings hurt if their child might lose, or trying to make tennis players out of "underprivileged" children by giving them everything is not the way to raise a champion player or even a human being.

Take it all away, tell the truth, and maybe we will produce some players. Money is never the answer, but if we have spoiled brats whose parents are paying the money for their children to gain some level of tennis by dropping them off to "expert" coaches, even though the so-called coach cannot even demand that their students practice with other children as a prerequisite for even taking lessons is really pretty sad. They just want the money and are secretly happy about their surrogate, "nice guy" parent relationship with their so called "student" as sick as it is for the kid.

Parents would rather drop their kids off at a daycare tennis camp than take them out and set balls to them as well as request that their child actually practice with other children 3 or 4 times per week or tell them that they must hit against the wall for 1 hour per day, run the track (sprints and jogging) or the stairs, do 50 push-ups and 50 sittups each day on their own as a prerequisite for even receiving lessons is a lost art. And the USTA gives away 500 wild cards per year each to men and women players, in over 70 events per year here in the US from $10,000's to Grand Slam events, then what can you expect?

The more we give our children the more they want and it does them no good. "Coaches" take the money and run. What a disgrace as the "coaches" and parents are cheating our children of a real life of dedication and sacrifice in order to achieve a real goal.

I still like the idea of going to college after you are certain you will not crack the top 200 in a reasonable time, say by 20 - 21 years old, after having been out there since you were 14 or 15 years of age and THEN bail out and go to college for Part II of your life. This is what Europe does and this is why they have the best of both worlds--a crack at the pros and then the US scholarship is the consolation/vacation prize. Why criticize and whine and complain about European countries doing it the right way. Time for the US to buck up. College coaches want winners, not whiners!