The biographical feature film "King Richard", released last year, tells us the story of the growth process of Venus Williams and Serena Williams, the tennis diva sisters, and how Richard Williams, the enlightenment coach who plays Yan Father and Warm Dad, plans to cultivate two sisters.
In fact, documentaries about Venus Williams and Serena Williams, in 2012's "Little Williams: All the Way" and 2016's "Venus and Serena", have directors detailing how the two sisters challenged the professional tennis world and balanced the game and life. However, "King Richard" switches to a new perspective, from the perspective of a father and an enlightenment coach, talking about the importance of the surrounding environment and supporters, which is very resonant for me who has been with athletes for a long time.
After watching the movie on New Year's Eve, I summarized the qualities I saw from my father Richard, how did he use 3 "no" to bring out the 2 world champions of the Williams sisters?
No one will plan to fail, only fail without a plan
Before Venus Williams and Serena Williams were born, His father, Richard, had written a 78-page plan and decided to make both of his daughters professional tennis players. Seeing this, I think this dad is really crazy, but looking back, it is not crazy enough, why should the world notice us? Crazy enough, can two world champions appear in one home?
Williams began devilish training from the age of 4, and the play depicts that no matter whether it is windy, rainy, holidays, children must go to the stadium to practice, and even half-sisters have to go to the stadium to help pick up balls and write homework on the court, causing neighbors to complain about child abuse and let the police come to the home to "persuade". But the father was still quite insistent, and all this was in his "plan":
I don't mind you saying I'm tough on my daughter, do you know why? Because as it is, it is our job to make sure they don't go astray.
Richard knew that in order to get rid of the discrimination of skin color and the black slums, life could only be flipped through professional sports on the world stage. Therefore, whether inside or outside the field, his encouragement, encouragement and enlightenment on the road of life for his daughter all tell the powerful power of the family behind an athlete.
Napoleon, author of "Thinking to Get Rich". Hill said, "No one plans to fail, only failure without a plan." The plan comes from existing problems, and the problem is regarded as an opportunity, and the plan is clearly implemented "smartly" in order to smell the market and catch a big fish. Faced with the pressure of money and the challenge of not finding a coach, Richard will also be worried and afraid, but he is more concerned about whether he has done the basic skills of tennis well. He believes that as long as you follow the plan, choose the right path, and do it steadily, everything can be mastered.
As soon as the movie opens, Richard is seen rummaging through the trash cans by the tennis court, hoping to find a tennis ball for her daughter to practice without causing a burden on the family. While practicing at the dilapidated park court, her daughter is teased by a jerk, and Richard is beaten and does not fight back, protecting her daughter's safety first. These images all emphasize that how much pain you can endure depends on how big a plan you have in mind.
It's no shame not to sign an agent, no one knows your worth better than you
After Williams won 17 U.S. junior tennis titles at the age of 12, his agents began to come in and threatened to induce: "We are surprised that you can get to where you are now, and then it is up to us, Great Williams needs a bigger stage." 」 "The window of opportunity is fleeting, everyone wants to have this opportunity, everyone signs first, and comes up according to the rules of the game." 」 Fathers do not want their children to lose their childhood and only compete all their lives.
In the real world, Richard is indeed a controversial existence, whether it is pointing fingers at coaches, being critical of brokerage firms, aggressive remarks about the media, or overprotecting his children, which has attracted a lot of lashing. Some people think Richard is stubborn, but I see that Richard is never afraid to challenge authority and established rules, he has high expectations of his daughter, and does not let go easily.
The clip of Richard's conversation with several clubs and agencies in the film is worth pondering. The first is when Rick Macci is about to sign a Florida contract with Richard, Richard turns around and pulls out another pre-agreed contract, asking for the whole family to be brought over, and housing and work, and finally succeeds in getting what he wants. The second was the signing of sports brand Nike the night before Williams' first professional game at the US Open, and the agent told them: "We take your daughter very seriously, and if we can, we hope to sign your daughter right away." With a $3 million signing, and all the merchandise sponsorships, we wanted to build a series of brands around Great Williams. Our offer is already interesting enough, you think about it. But let me also tell you that the validity of this contract is until you play tomorrow, and you can use this evening's time to consider."
In fact, the value of sports agents is a service that is a gap between information and knowledge, and his father Richard asked a key question:
He didn't watch her play at all, so why could he give such a contract? My daughter has been working hard for more than 10 years, and the first sponsorship proposal that comes to the door, do I have to agree to it? He doesn't even know which opponent my daughter will be on tomorrow's lottery, so is it really good to give such a price?
For white supremacy tennis in the '90s, all coaches wanted to get commercial value to their players quickly, not to mention Williams, who was African-American. But only a coach who is a father knows what his daughter is worth.
There is also a scene in the film that conveys Richard's values, which impresses me. Williams was eating by the pool at the tennis club after training, and as soon as Richard saw them, he immediately asked, "Where is the food I brought for you?" The two girls wondered, there is a lot of free food to eat here, isn't it the same? Then Richard said, "Nothing is free, there's always someone to pay for." There is no such thing as a free lunch." （Never take anything from anybody for free. Everything in this place got hooks in it.) Richard, who had risen from scratch, knew exactly what these merchants wanted. Kids are innocent, but in the business world, no one knows your worth better than you do, unless you sell it cheaply.
Regarding brokerage contracts, there are always better conditions. Only athletes who know how to think, believe in their own value, and cherish feathers will not become toys in the commercial market. Controlling this market with your strengths in turn is something every athlete should learn. Williams signed Reebok for 12 million dollars nine months after finishing runner-up in her first professional game at the U.S. Open, when she was 15 years old.
It's still glorious not to win, because there are still many things to learn in life
The time and space background chosen by the film is not the mature period when Williams has dominated the major tennis opens one after another, but in 1997, when they were still young girls, Williams made his first appearance in the US Open as a non-seeded player, losing to the world's number one "Swiss talented girl" Singis at that time. David told his father, "I'm sorry, I didn't live up to what you expected of me." Richard answered her wisely:
You played with the world number one player for 2 hours, you made her knees tremble and you were fully utilized. If you don't respect your efforts now, you will never get respect. The whole world knows you're a champion and you have to look up and walk out the court because I've never been so proud of being a guy.
Father Richard's "tennis star plan" for his two daughters finally came true. But what he plans the most is to let them grow into complete people, with children's lives and sports majors. Richard required his daughters to take at least an A in school, to be fluent in different languages, and their families were committed to public welfare and became idols for many black American children. The emergence of Williams, big and small, changed the situation in the world tennis world, whether it is singles or doubles, between 1999 and 2010, almost all professional championships were Williams' family.
"The next step you're going to take is not just yourself, but all the young black girls in the world." In the play, Richard tearfully confesses to Williams' father and daughter, full of wisdom and ideals. Being able to become world-class exemplar athletes has never only been outstanding in the professional sports field, but also their off-field attitude and Olympic spirit from the inside out, which truly shapes a good athlete. And the basis of these cultivations comes from their king father, Richard, who had "nothing" in the past.