Sports Fathers Make Children Stars
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Genius is made by 99 percent perspiration and only 1 percent inspiration.
That maxim is likely no exception for athletes.
But for many of them, an X-factor in their rise to stardom seems to be the presence of a sports father.
Sports fathers are people like Earl Woods, Richard Williams, Yuri Sharapova and the fathers of numerous Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) players from South Korea, who are commonly known as ``Golf Daddies.''
They helped their children develop into some of the biggest names in sports, like top-ranked golfer Tiger Woods, Grand Slam-winning tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, and World Golf Hall of Famer Pak Se-ri, along with other LPGA standouts, such as Kim Mi-hyun and Han Hee-won.
Something these athletes have in common is that their fathers persuaded them to begin their careers at an early age, taught them in person and still influence them even as they've blossomed into top-tier players.
Without their fathers around, the world of sports might be entirely different. Instead of these players achieving success, you might see Phil Mickelson dominating the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA), Belgium's Justin Henin sweeping the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour or Choi Kyoung-ju putting his name on the record as the only South Korean golfer to win a tour event in the United States.
Earl Woods, a former athlete and U.S. Army serviceman, introduced his son Tiger to golf when he was 9 months old and registered him in a golf academy at 18 months. As Tiger grew older, his father educated him with physical and mental drills.
Tiger Woods credited his father's hard training in his biography written by John Strege.
Shortly after Earl Woods died on May 3 2006, Tiger didn't make the cut at the U.S. Open for the first time in his career because he was overwhelmed with grief from his father's absence, although Tiger has since regained his top form.
Richard Williams took his daughters Venus and Serena to tennis courts during their childhood in the Los Angeles area, even though neighbors ridiculed him because they were a black family playing a sport played mostly by white people.
But as a result of their father's guidance, the Williams sisters have conquered women's tennis, winning major tournaments and eliminating the sport's racial stereotypes. Venus has won six Grand Slam singles championships, while Serena has won two singles titles. In addition, they've lifted Grand Slam doubles trophies six times.
Like Williams, Yuri Sharapova is a significant influence in his daughter's tennis career. He gave a tennis racket to Maria when she was 4 and moved her from Russia to Florida when she was 7.
These days, he can be found in the stands whenever Sharapova plays, while she has won three Grand Slam tournaments in her career.
Pak Joon-cheol is famous for training his daughter Se-ri. When she was growing up, he made her hit golf balls at a driving range in the freezing cold of winter, walk up stairs before school to build strength and spend the night a graveyard to build mental toughness.
As a result, Pak went on to become a pioneer for Korean women's golf, while winning 24 LPGA competitions, including five major titles.
Since making her LPGA debut in 1998, she was always accompanied by her then-47-year-old father on tour events. He served as a manager and spiritual mentor, even coached Pak when she was struggling.
Along with Pak, Kim and Han have survived the LPGA Tour thanks to help from their fathers, who sacrificed themselves by quitting jobs and joining their daughters. They carried caddy bags and offered advice.
``My dad drove a used van for me, and we often had meals with noodles,'' Kim said.
Han, who grew up under opulent circumstances, also suffered with her father in her early career before establishing herself in the LPGA.
But despite these athletes' achievements, players and sports daddies have also faced setbacks.
Richard Williams and his two daughters were sued in 2007, when the father agreed to a contract to have his daughters play in a ``Battle of the Sexes'' match that never took place.
As for Sharapova, Russian national players did not want her to join the Fed Cup team, saying her father's behavior was simply outrageous, nasty and out of control.
Besides, Henin, the world's No. 1-ranked women's tennis player, complained about a gesture by Sharapova's father at this year's Australian Open when he ran a hand across his throat in her quarterfinal loss to Sharapova. The gesture, caught by photographers and on television, was investigated by the WTA, but he was not reprimanded.
The number of trophies South Korea's LPGA contingent gained in 2007 plummeted to four after Koreans won 11 the previous year.
Some point out that Korean players have trouble evolving into the upper level of golfers because their fathers make most of their decisions for them during their junior careers and they cannot lead their own games on the course.
``Players are likely to stop improving on the LPGA Tour, which is beyond fathers' capabilities,'' said Park Kyeong-wook, the father of last year's Rookie of the Year Angela Park.