Nick Bollettieri, whose academy in Bradenton, FL, trained some of America’s greatest tennis players, died the other day at the age of 91.
One summer in the ’90s I spent a weekend at his academy for the purpose of writing a travel story for the Sun-Sentinel. He had opened it up to weekend players like myself, with teachers overseeing a seemingly endless succession of drills. Bollettieri was a former Marine and much of his method was based on training and attitude. His goal was not to turn out graceful players but to produce winners, which he did with astounding regularity. The red-stained sneakers that Andre Agassi wore to win his first French Open were proudly displayed in a glass case.
On Sunday, during one of the drills, my calf muscle cramped and I had to bow out. So to all his other accomplishments, Nick Bollettieri could add the fact that he gave me my first leg cramp.
