MIAMI — The headline on a Miami Herald article from Aug. 7, 1983, read: “Courting Fame: Nick Bollettieri Says His Grueling Tennis School Is the Wave of the Future for All Sports. He May be Right. But is it Right for the Kids?”
The story, written by Steve Sonsky, began like this:
“Imagine in the wildest Disney dreams of your childhood the perfect escape from parents and schoolhouse drudgery: They send you to a place where everyone is tanned and pretty and algebra is of little consequence so long as you can count to 40 by 10s and 15s. You do little but play outdoors all day long, and dreams of fairytale stardom and worldwide fame are encouraged and nurtured, and your only end is to become the very best person in the whole world at this game you’re playing, and you have lots of friends there and they all have the same interests as you.
