Vic Braden

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Vic Braden
Country  United States
Born (1929-08-02) August 2, 1929
Monroe, Michigan
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Turned pro 1952
Retired 1955

Victor Kenneth Braden, Jr. (born August 2, 1929) is an American tennis player, instructor and television broadcaster for the sport.[1][2]

Biography

Braden was one of eight children born to Victor (1904-1973) and Mildred (née Mayes) Braden (1906-1968); both were natives of Claiborne County, Tennessee.[3]

Introduced to tennis at age 12, he became good enough to earn invites to play in River Forest, Illinois and in Milwaukee. He told Sports Illustrated in a 1976 interview that he once hitch hiked to Detroit to watch Don Budge play Bobby Riggs because he wanted to learn how Budge hit his backhand.

Braden went to Kalamazoo College,[4] where he was captain of the tennis team, and won the league title in singles.[5] He was awarded an honorary degree by his alma mater in 2008.[6]

Career

Braden played professionally after graduating from Kalamazoo College in 1951 while serving as assistant basketball coach at the University of Toledo. Among those he played with on the tour were Jimmy Evert (father of Chris Evert) and George Richey (father of Cliff and Nancy Richey).[7] After obtaining a master's degree in psychology at UCLA and Cal State,[8] Braden joined Jack Kramer on Kramer's pro tour. He and Kramer later founded The Jack Kramer Club, where Braden served as the head tennis pro and developed the "tennis college" concept.[9] In 1986, Kramer said, "One Vic Braden is worth a lot of champions in helping the sport. The [John] McEnroes, [Bjorn] Borgs, [Jimmy] Connors, they've been great. But I don't think any one of them has created the interest in the sport Vic has."[10]

Professional accomplishments[11]

Awards

  • Contributing Most to Tennis in America (USTA)
  • Orange County Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award (Sportswriter)[13]
  • Coach of the Year Award (USPTA).
  • ATP Children's Tennis Award.[14]
  • Faculty Emeritus Award[15]
  • USTA Midwest Tennis Hall of Fame[15]
  • International Tennis Hall of Fame Tennis Educational Merit Award (1974)

Videos

  • Vic Braden's 70 Minutes with Big Jake and Pancho Video[16]
  • Vic Braden's Biomechanics of Tennis Video
  • Vic Braden's Strategy Video
  • Vic Braden's The Backhand
  • Vic Braden's The Forehand
  • Vic Braden's The Serve

Vocational highlights

Licensed psychologist (California), author, sports educator and researcher, cinematographer, videographer, sports, television commentator.

Books authored

He has authored five books with Bill Bruns whom he met in 1973.[17]

  • Braden, Vic; Bill Bruns (1977). Vic Braden's Tennis for the Future. ISBN 978-0-316-10511-8. 
  • Braden, Vic; Bill Bruns (1982). Teaching Children Tennis the Vic Braden Way. ISBN 978-0-316-10512-5. [18]
  • Braden, Vic; Bill Bruns (1990). Vic Braden's Quick Fixes: Expert Cures for Common Tennis Problems. Little Brown & Co (P). ISBN 978-0-316-10515-6. 
  • Braden, Vic; Robert Wool (1994). Vic Braden's Mental Tennis: How to Psych Yourself to a Winning Game. Little Brown & Co. ISBN 978-0-316-10517-0. 
  • Braden, Vic; Bill Bruns (1996). Vic Braden's Laugh and Win at Doubles. Little Brown & Co (T). p. 179. ISBN 978-0-316-10519-4. 
  • Braden, Vic; Bill Bruns (1998). Tennis 2000: Strokes, Strategy, and Psychology for a Lifetime. Little Brown & Co (P). p. 284. ISBN 978-0-316-10503-3. 
  • Sportsathon! (1986). Co-authored with L. Phillips.
  • If I'm Only 22, How Come I'm 82?—Tennis Is More than Just a Sport. (2012)[19]

Books: Other

  • Wrote foreword: High Tech Tennis (1992). By Jack L. Groppel.
  • Credited as photographer: Championship Tennis by the Experts: How to Play Championship Tennis.[20]

Featured in print media

See also

References

  1. ↑ Williams, Paige (2006-10-29). "Vic Braden's Mental Mojo Experience". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-11-12. 
  2. ↑ "Author:Vic Braden". isbndb.com. Retrieved 2008-11-12. 
  3. ↑ "Victor Braden, Sr." Find a Grave 3 July 2011
  4. ↑ "Kalamazoo College Celebrates 175th Anniversary". Kalamazoo College. 2008-04-04. Retrieved 2008-11-12. 
  5. ↑ "Champions List:1950". MIAA. Retrieved 2008-11-13. 
  6. ↑ "Honorary Degree List". Kalamazoo College. Retrieved 2008-11-12. 
  7. ↑ "'Problem Solving Can Be Beautiful'" SI.com 3 July 2011
  8. ↑ http://www.newspaperarchive.com/SiteMap/FreePdfPreview.aspx?img=100592086 Wisconsin State Journal, May 5, 1975
  9. ↑ "Club Profile" The Jack Kramer Club 3 July 2011
  10. ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/1986-08-25/sports/sp-16153_1_vic-braden/2 Los Angeles Times, August 25, 1986
  11. ↑ Vic Braden Tennis College site
  12. ↑ http://www.psych.ucla.edu/center-and-programs/clinic UCLA Psychology Clinic
  13. ↑ "Orange County Roundup". Los Angeles Times. September 27, 1985. Retrieved 2008-11-05. 
  14. ↑ "Problem Solving Can Be Beautiful". Sports Illustrated. May 10, 1976. Retrieved 2008-11-12. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 USTA
  16. ↑ Garrison Sports Videos
  17. ↑ Joe Jares (March 25, 1996). "Two pros on winning at doubles". Daily News (Los Angeles, CA). Retrieved 2008-11-05. 
  18. ↑ Arnold Schechter (1980-12-15). "Vic Braden's Way Of Making Tennis A Love Game Among The Younger Set". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2008-11-05. 
  19. ↑ http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=tennis-m/misc/braden/index.htm The Sports Network
  20. ↑ Paul Assaiante, Vic Braden: Championship Tennis by the Experts: How to Play Championship Tennis. Leisure Press, 1981, ISBN 978-0-918438-23-2
  21. ↑ Jaroff, Leon (1989-10-16). "Teaching Tennis to Toads Vic Braden, Coach Extraordinaire, Uses Humor and Physics to Show Nonstars How to Improve Their Moves on the court". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2008-11-05. 

External links

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