Does Tennis Need Inspirational Speeches?

Autobiographical Note

Growing up in Kentucky, I have had the chance to see two quite demonstrative and intense coaches in John Calipari and Rick Pitino.  Each man can sell snake oil quite well.  Pitino was even called “the exorcist” by a friend due to his animated court-side demeanor resembling some form of possession.

The Hyper-Intense Coach

In many team sports and in even more films, one often finds a hyper-intense coach inspiring his team to win via a pre-game talk.

There have been some good coaching speeches in real life and in film:

1. “Peace by Inches”  from Any Given Sunday (see above)
2. Miracle

There have been some scary speeches:

1. Last Play – uh …  (see above)
2. I am a champion – Rip the heart from my enemy and leave it bleeding on the ground … ’nuff said I guess (see below)  

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