As soon as upon a time, there was a younger man who lived in Togo, a small West African nation flanked by Ghana and Benin.
Like all his pals, the younger man needed to be nice on the soccer discipline, however his coach informed him he didn’t play nicely sufficient along with his left foot.
So the younger man turned to tennis.
Within the a long time since then, Sam Aliassime has handed his love of tennis on to his son—now a card-carrying member of the ATP High 10—and constructed an acclaimed tennis academy at hand the torch to so many younger gamers from right here and overseas.
Portrait of a father and mentor.
Finest foot ahead
“In Africa, everybody performs soccer. Each time you see a boy, you see a ball. In my household, we have been 11 boys, and since my father ran a resort with a tennis courtroom, all of us performed a bit of tennis. However nothing was extra essential than that soccer ball,” recalled Sam Aliassime.
“In soccer, I couldn’t dribble or do a lot with my left foot. I at all times shot and acquired passes with my proper. My coach mentioned ‘Sam, overlook a couple of profession in soccer. You’re not ok along with your left foot.’ I used to be discouraged, however then I took up tennis full time.”
The remainder, as they are saying, is historical past. I couldn’t assist however ask Sam if he’s ever had the possibility to inform the coach how his commentary ignited an unbridled ardour that helped form one of many world’s high gamers.
“I by no means noticed him once more,” Sam mentioned with a smile. “If I ever stumble upon him in Togo, I’ll be completely satisfied to let him know and pat him on the again for being sincere with me.”
His fast anecdote leads him to a different one which’s as amusing as it’s attention-grabbing. As a result of the whole lot’s linked.
“A bit like I did in soccer, I had a weak point in tennis: my backhand. When he was very younger, Félix realized I didn’t have backhand and began beating me. That’s once I started telling him that, if he needed to play tennis, he needed to be good in each facet of the sport. So I put the whole lot in place for him to develop backhand. And, oddly sufficient, when Félix began out at Tennis Canada’s Nationwide Coaching Centre, his backhand was higher than his forehand. That didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s from my obsession with my left foot,” he mentioned with a wink.
Learn additionally: Household First with the Auger-Aliassime Clan
When he was round 18 years outdated and nonetheless a scholar, Sam was already operating his personal tennis academy and eager to study extra. “There was no web to search for ideas. So when French cooperants got here to Togo on vacation, I’d get just a few French tennis magazines with some teaching recommendation. That’s how I ready for my classes.”
Not like his celebrity son, Sam Aliassime by no means competed in main tournaments.
“Oh no!” he exclaimed. “Even after we performed on the nationwide stage in Togo, we thought we have been superb, however we weren’t. Right this moment, it’s attention-grabbing to return as a result of once I meet gamers who assume they will flip professional, I inform them they’ve work to do. And that’s what I’m targeted on.”
From dream to actuality
In some ways, the shortage of profitable African gamers is what motivates Sam within the big enterprise he launched in 2022 in Togo and Côte d’Ivoire to assist younger Africans stay on the continent as an alternative of getting to relocate to make their tennis goals a actuality.
“Someday, Félix and I have been speaking. A variety of gamers of African origin have been profitable within the US, Canada and Europe. Why aren’t there any from the continent? So, I went to see what’s happening—and particularly what’s not happening. Every thing’s in place, however there’s no construction. I mentioned to myself I’d attempt to apply over there what I put in place right here,” he defined.
It’s what I’ve dubbed the Aliassime Technique.
“We’ve got to take the construction right here and adapt it to African realities after which set objectives for the subsequent ten years. Beginning in 2023, we’re going to attempt to give 1,000 African youngsters between the ages of six and eight the chance to start out enjoying tennis inside a system to make sure their long-term progress. Whether or not it’s in tennis or in soccer, the kids are naturally expert, coordinated and athletic. However when it comes to technique, they’ve the whole lot to study. There’s work to do.”
Sam Aliassime is targeted on individuals, not infrastructure. Constructing courts isn’t a part of his plan as a result of there are sufficient courts in Africa. However don’t ask in the event that they’re principally clay courts.
“I smile as a result of the Fédération Française de Tennis just lately despatched me a doc entitled La Francophonie du Tennis: Réalisations et views [translation: The Francophonie of tennis: achievements and perspectives] a couple of undertaking it launched in 2021. The federation acquired in contact with me when it heard about my initiatives in Africa, saying it didn’t know how one can make issues occur there. I learn by it and noticed the plan was to construct plenty of clay courts. Pay attention, persons are struggling to seek out ingesting water. Overlook about clay courts. The upkeep alone is a waste of water,” he mentioned, bringing issues again to actuality.
Group Africa
Sam Aliassime has enlisted plenty of supporters. He entails the coaches at his academy, the individuals in his son’s entourage and even, not directly, Tennis Canada.
It began in October 2022 when he travelled to the Ivorian capital of Abidjan to evaluate about 20 younger gamers from completely different international locations.
“I evaluated them and chosen six promising gamers, 5 ladies and a boy, who began working with coaches and coaching. However I can’t spend months in Côte d’Ivoire following their progress, so I considered bringing them right here, to Canada,” he defined.
“We filed their visa functions in June. The six children, who’re throughout 12 years outdated, will spend six months coaching on the Academy to achieve a stage excessive sufficient to play in tournaments at house. They’ll compete for six weeks, return house to their households for every week after which compete once more for an additional six weeks. They usually’ll try this for 2 years.”
When he was in Abidjan final October, Sam was touched by the kids’s willpower. They’d go as much as him and say “Mr. Aliassime, I need to be a champion.” Their phrases undoubtedly heightened his motivation.
“My dream is to see certainly one of them enter the High 100 on the junior circuit. They’ve the potential, they’ve the guts they usually’re hungry. They need to play. It actually warmed my coronary heart to see children who’re able to combat and succeed.”
Learn additionally: Sam Aliassime: A Ardour Can Be Shared
It’s at present February 2023. When will a Togolese or an African participant be part of the WTA or ATP world rankings?
“I imagine it’ll occur. In ten years.”
Though there’s been little or no media protection surrounding his involvement, Félix Auger-Aliassime has made a tangible monetary contribution to his father’s undertaking.
“The choice course of value about 8,000 euros [C$11,500]. I can’t afford that, so he helped out,” Sam informed the Journal de Québec newspaper on January 9. He additionally confirmed that Félix had signed the letters despatched to the Canadian embassy to assist the younger gamers’ visa functions.
Sam’s daughter Malika handles the executive aspect of issues. Félix’s coach Frédéric Fontang and bodily coach Nicolas Perrotte will journey to Africa to talk to native gamers and coaches.
Félix is definitely concerned in quite a few different initiatives in Togo along with the African tennis academies. Learn extra about that right here.
Black Historical past Month
Since final yr, Félix Auger-Aliassime has been featured within the Breaking Boundaries in Black Tennis part of the Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame web site, which turns a highlight on gamers who’ve helped tear down racial boundaries within the sport.
Whereas he’s proud that his son has turn out to be a world-famous tennis participant and position mannequin, Sam is discreet on the topic.
“To be sincere, personally, I don’t purchase into that very a lot. Typically I ponder if I’m Black or not. In my thoughts, I’m Canadian, and I don’t see the distinction,” he mentioned.
“Over the previous two years, I’ve began taking an curiosity within the problem, and I’ve mentioned it with the youngsters. Can we dwell with out highlighting these occasions and be equals? Trying again awakens painful recollections. Right this moment, when you take a boy like Félix, the way in which he sees issues, he doesn’t say he’s Black. He says he’s Canadian. Personally, I discover it veers into one thing detrimental all too usually. When individuals ask me if there’s racism right here, I by no means need to get into that as a result of, as a Togolese man who got here to Canada, I used to be welcomed. So I’m not particularly eager about that.”
Nonetheless, Sam Aliassime acknowledges that issues have modified. For the higher. And that progress comes with examples.
“Once I arrived at this membership, right here, in Québec, I used to be the one Black individual. Right this moment, there are such a lot of Black children who play tennis and who imagine as a result of they noticed Félix do it. And it’s the identical in Montréal. There are Black individuals who get in contact with me, they usually’re beginning to imagine, too. However it doesn’t should be about Black historical past. They simply want a mannequin, like Tennis Canada has been as some of the open tennis federations. It put issues in place and mentioned ‘Come, you’re Canadian.’ The federal government and organizations like Tennis Canada show how open the nation is. That’s why Black children look to Félix. Now, everybody believes. And I can inform you a similar goes for coaches.”
