“You’ve got the next female Michael Jordan on your hands” Rick Macci’s impactful words to King Richard on seeing Venus and Serena Williams play for the first time
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Rick Macci with Serena and Venus Williams
A FirstSportz exclusive with Serena and Venus Williams’ childhood coach, Rick Macci.
Question: You look fresh and young. Had a good morning?
Answer: My day starts at 3 in the morning. I get up at 3 every morning for the last 25 years and I’ve my routine. I start teaching at 6 in the morning till 10 and now have come here home to help you out and do a great interview.
Question: I was watching one of your past interviews where you were giving some details on how you met Serena and Venus. It was probably the first time you went down to see a budding tennis player. What made you take that decision?
Answer: First off, great question. It was 1991 and I get a phone call from a guy named Richard Williams I had heard of Venus a few months earlier because she was in the New York Times. But I never went and saw a player. They either came to the academy or I saw them at a junior tournament. Richard Williams, a really nice guy, cracking jokes all the time. I knew nothing about Compton- only the riots and stuff. Remember, this was the early 90s. He says, ‘Rick I promise if you come and visit us I won’t let you get shot.’
And by that time Jennifer[Capriati] was gone, she was already a Top 10 player and I don’t know why, I have no idea what made me go out there and take a look. I was maybe curious, it was May and I wasn’t as busy, it just seemed like all the dots connected. I reach 50 hours 7 days a week but still, it just worked. I was curious and I’m probably the only human being on earth that says Compton, California is the best vacation they ever took in their life. So I went out there, that night, Richard, Orcene, Venus, and Serena they come to the hotel just like yesterday. Very close-knit family and Richard pulls out a piece of paper and starts grilling me like I was in a deposition.
I was like who is this guy? But I wasn’t offended, I kinda respected it because he was thinking ‘I want to let a guy in my circle. I want a father figure, a role model, and someone who has been there done that.’ We talked for 2 hours and then he tells me he’ll pick me up tomorrow at 7 am and we go to East Compton Hills Country club. And when I sit in the bus, there’s a harpoon sticking up when I say right into my buttock. And then I’m like what’s in god name am I doing in Compton? 15 minutes into the ride, I was like this is a strange place for a country club. There are about 20 guys playing Basketball. People are smoking, drinking, and passed out in the grass. We get out of the fan and people are calling, Hey King Richard! They called him King Richard in 1991 and I’m going ‘This is weird stuff’. We go across the basketball court where it parts like the Red sea. We go on to the tennis court – You and me, we wouldn’t play on it that’s how crazy it was. I had a box of Wilson balls shipped there so we could train.
Rick Macci on how Venus and Serena were better than Jennifer Capriati
Rick continues: Remember, I had Jennifer Capriati, from age 10-13. At 12, she won the National Girls hard court and clay court titles. That was in 1998, a record that still stands today. That’s insane. So my blueprint for greatness was still stronger than anybody else. Plus she had amazing fundamentals. So yeah, I’m out there- VW and me, arms, legs, hair flying, beads flying out her hair and I’m like what am I doing in Compton? I saw some athleticism but I didn’t see anything, we did that for an hour and I didn’t see anything.
Now I said let’s play competitive points and this is when the whole landscape changed? They started popping the popcorn. The feet got moving like a maniac but there was something inside both of them. There was a rage. There was a burning desire to get to the ball that I never saw. Even if the ball was so far away, they would run for it and I’m going this is crazy stuff. Big, Strong, Fast, Agile but when I said Game on, everything changed! Whereas in the drills, they were sloppy, and right then and there, it freaked me out. It was more about Venus. I tell Richard, you’ve got the next female Michael Jordan on your hands. He puts his arm around me and goes, no brother, I’ve got the next two.
Then Venus says ‘Daddy, can I go to the bathroom? Venus goes out of the gate, walks on her hands for 5 feet, does backward cartwheels, and I was like Whoaa, I was thinking not only these two girls could be No.1 in the world with the right coaching and financial help, they can transcend the sport because tennis hasn’t seen an athlete like this. But it wasn’t going to be easy and I could be wrong, so four months later, they selected me as their coach, and as they say, the rest is history.
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)