Search youtube under “tennis prodigy” and the second video in the queue is this one, of little Jan Silva.
The video mentions how Jan has been playing since he was a little over a year old, and how he’s “based” at a private tennis academy in France. Now, anyone familiar with the story of Andre Agassi‘s ambivalent relationship with his tennis education and those who provided it (or anyone who’s read David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, which can maybe be called the Best Tennis Novel Ever, since there really aren’t that many others laying claim to the title) will recoil just a bit at the word “academy” – which brings up a key question in grooming a “prodigy,” whether in tennis, soccer, golf, or whatever: how much do you push the young’un?
Key question notwithstanding, Little Jan looks to have the talent and the ambition. If he can keep this up for 15 years or so, he’ll be on the cusp of the big leagues and – who knows? – ready to take a crack at being the Best Player in the World. And since almost 150,000 people have already watched this video, his name will already be familiar.
{ 5 comments }
