Parenting & Family Quote by Guy Forget

Forget is quietly dismantling one of sport's laziest hierarchies: that greatness on the court automatically equals greatness in the coaching box. The line lands because it sounds like a simple compliment, then swerves into a value statement about how expertise is actually built. His coach "was not a great player" is the kind of admission athletes rarely volunteer, since it pokes at the myth that credibility is earned only through trophies. Forget doesn't apologize for it; he makes it the point.

The detail that matters is the timeline. Teaching "kids and juniors" reads, in tennis culture, as the unglamorous circuit: early mornings, repetition, fundamentals, parents on the sidelines. Forget frames that work as an apprenticeship. By 50, the coach is "great" not by athletic peak but by accumulated insight, patience, and pattern recognition. It's a different arc of excellence, one measured in other people's progress.

There's also a subtle redistribution of authorship. Forget credits this coach with helping him reach the top five in the world, yet keeps the coach's playing resume off the pedestal. The subtext is that elite performance is a team product, and that the sport's obsession with pedigree can blind it to the craftspeople who actually manufacture consistency under pressure.

Contextually, it reflects a broader modern sports shift: specialization, sports science, and communication skills can outmuscle pure legend status. Forget is arguing, in the plainest language, for earned authority over inherited aura.