Toni Nadal blasts technology for influencing kids' development
In a column for El Pais, Rafael Nadal's uncle, Toni, criticized the new generation and he stressed that being stricter with younger players like he did with his nephew back in the day, could be a solution. "I caused more satisfaction than pleasure and I always put the pressure on him", said Toni. "We live in a technological world where it seems we solve things through new methods. You have bio mecanics study, statistics... But the truth is that the kids are worse than before. When we came in the professional tour, the best guys in the world were 20-21 years old, and now the best ones, after all this knowledge and innovation that came through, are older. Something lacked. Kids matured later, they got too protected and you wanted them to be overly organized. I said it many times: what's good for a professional player is not necessarily good for a kid who is shaping up. You have values that help you in improving and others that make you struggle. In the Academy, understanding that the world changes and that you have certain things that changed through technology, the most important things do not change."
Toni also praised the athletes' consistency: "Who manages to stay at the top after achieving his goals, are the people that used their opportunities, because they were able to face difficulties. All of us knows how to lose, because, in the end, everyone loses. The question is losing bad or well. When you understand the sport as a personal fight, you consider losses as a shame. People who get offended by losses were not well educated. Losses are just losses."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2Gc9CnK
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