Pete Sampras and the
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Pete's impeccable two step volleys were among the best ever. |
When we talk about the development of Pete Sampras, it is well known that Robert Lansdorp and Pete Fischer were critical in helping Sampras develop his groundstrokes and his serve. Another great Southern California coach, Larry Easley, also deserves acknowledgement in the development of Pete's volleys and attacking-style movement.
I know the role Larry played because I witnessed it first hand. In college I had the pleasure of playing for Larry at Long Beach State in the 1980s. Larry had been the head pro at the Jack Kramer club before he was at Long Beach State, where Sampras and also Pete Fischer were members. Fischer would take Sampras to 4 different coaches every week for different parts of his game and Larry was his volley coach.
Sampras would be at our team practices on Friday doing drills with the team and staying after to work on his volley. We could all see the talent in Pete and it certainly was not a surprise to me what he did in tennis. You could see it on the court even at that age. I used to introduce him to people around campus saying this is Pete Sampras, he'll win the US Open one day. When he won the Open for the first time, our basketball coach called me saying "That was the kid, wasn't it?"
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