Tag Archives: Jack Kramer

Episode 115: Hit the Ball as Hard as You Can | Larry Welborn

One of the first guests I had on my podcast was David Kramer, the oldest son of Jack Kramer, one of the world’s most famous tennis players of all time.

One of the questions I was most excited to ask David was what advice did his father give him and he didn’t have a very clear answer.  I remember talking with my Dad after the interview telling him that I was a little bit disappointed about not getting a little nugget or a pearl of wisdom from the late Jack Kramer.

My Dad told me it wasn’t as easy as I thought it should be and then he asked me what I would say if somebody asked me, and I wasn’t sure what I would say.

In anticipation of this interview I was eager to see what my dad would when I asked him what piece of advice he would give to his children and here’s what he said:

“Hit the ball as hard as you can.”

Larry Welborn recently retired after a 43-year career as the legal affairs reporter for the Orange County Register, in which he covered many high-profile cases but showed a high level of enthusiasm and dedication in every story he covered.

Hit the Ball as Hard as You Can Larry Welborn Zeb Welborn

Larry & Zeb Welborn

Since 1981, Welborn has also been the chairman and president of CSPA, which is preparing for its 64th-annual high school journalism workshop on the campus of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Larry Welborn knew hew wanted to become a journalist at an early age.  At the time, Larry liked two things, he liked baseball and he liked to read.  A book he read as a child, The Freshman Backstop, encouraged him to combine his two loves and become a journalist who wrote about baseball.

In High School he enrolled in journalism classes and he began to write.  A mentor of his, Ralph Alexander took him under his wing and encouraged Larry to pursue his career in journalism and helped him along the way.

Some of Larry’s most famous trial cases were:

  • the Manson Murder Trial
  • the Rodney James Alcala Serial Murder Trials
  • the Nick Adenhart DUI Trial
  • the 2 Fullerton Police Officer’s Beating of a Young Man
Larry, Annie, and Zeb Welborn Hit the Ball as Hard as You Can

Larry, Annie, and Zeb Welborn

Success Quotes:

  • The last line of the story is the one that readers remember.
  • Hit the ball as hard as you can.
  • Success is having a family who loves you, friends who care about you, colleagues who respect you, acquaintances who know you and the knowledge you lived your life caring about other people.  That you loved well, were loved, took care of your family, gave back to society and had fun.
  • Success on a daily basis is being prepared to do the best you can and doing it the right way with consideration to others.

Awards:

Larry Welborn has received numerous awards during his career, but two of the most memorable awards for him was the Sky Dunlap Award by the Orange County Press Club, and recently the California Attorney’s for Criminal Justice honored him with the Journalism Integrity Award.

Thank you for everything Dad.

The Welborn Family - Hit the Ball as Hard as You Can

Welborn Family

 

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Episode #14: Build Your Business with Friendliness and Hospitality | David Kramer from Los Serranos Country Club

Teaser: David Kramer discusses the importance of friendliness and hospitality to help build your business. His passion and devotion to his craft shine through as he’s able to demonstrate how being kind and hospital has helped his business grow.

Thank you for visiting the Defining Success Podcast. Please download, subscribe and rate our podcast on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909 Thanks for listening!

 

David Kramer from Los Serranos Country Club - Build Your Business

David Kramer from Los Serranos Country Club

Recap:

The son of tennis legend, Jack Kramer, David is the Senior Vice President of Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills, CA which recently won the 2012 Golf Course of the Year by the California Golf Course Owner’s Association. He’s a lover of golf, tennis, sports, and recreation, but most importantly, he’s a lover of people.

David got his first set of golf clubs when he was 10 or 11 and he was fortunate enough to play golf 3 or 4 times a week when he accompanied his father on a trip to play in the Davis Cup in Australia. His father then got involved with Los Serranos Country Club of which David became a part in.

As a young man, David was interested in all kinds of sports and he was able to play any sport he wanted to. David worked at Los Serranos Country Club when he was 13 and 14 years old. He became General Manager in 1997 and was Assistant General Manager in 1992. He worked as a tennis professional and helped manage some tennis colleges and schools and has been very fortunate to be involved in recreation his entire life.

David talked about his dad, Jack who was a great father and a great parent. Jack lived a charmed life and he did what he loved to do and he became the top tennis player from 1947 to 1954 and after that he gave back to the game in a variety of different capacities. But his greatest accomplishment was that he wanted to make tennis more available to the public.

The best place to transfer values is through the family where there is love for that tradition or profession.

David still communicates with friends that he met in the second grade and his group of friends still have a large impact in his life today. In 1965, there were 51 people who graduated in his class and he still communicates on a regular basis with close to 25 of them. He’s been able to share a lot of experiences, stories and ideals with his childhood friends.

The advice David would give to someone who wanted to start a goal would be to work hard to become a better person and to grow as a person. And if you work hard at becoming a better person you will become better in business.

David and Andrew Kramer at St. Andrews Golf Course - Build Your Business

David and Andrew Kramer at St. Andrews Golf Course.

David loved working at Los Serranos Country Club because, as he says, “People come happy,” and he was just happy sharing and participating with the people who visited his golf course. He feels very fortunate doing something that he really enjoys and he truly feels that he’s living his passion.

You really have to find out what your duty is and what your skills are that you can use to deliver the goods. If you’re struggling at work then you’re probably not doing what you’re supposed to do.

Golfers have been coming to Los Serranos since 1925 and in 2012, Los Serranos Country Club was recognized as the Golf Course of the Year by the California Golf Course Owner’s Association for their contribution to the game. They are very involved in the community, youth, service organizations and their ability to manage a golf course to provide championship conditions at reasonable prices and provide valuable services to the members.

David feels success is a culmination of factors that basically comes in to finding the “sweet spot.” Meaning that when you’re doing great things and helping others a person can be successful. He advises others to use friendliness and hospitality in order to build your business.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

  • How can being friendly and hospitable help your business?
  • Do you think family has a role in the professions we choose?

Links to Great Stuff:

  • Los Serranos Country Club – “Set amidst 300 lush acres on the historic Don Lugo Spanish Land Grant and convenient to Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, Los Serranos Country Club offers an unparalleled Country Club experience at affordable prices. The two 18 hole golf courses are certain to appeal to players of all levels and ages. The world class facilities include championship golf, full practice areas, golf school and lessons, new Kids Course, and an award winning Clubhouse that features our elegant Montebello Ballroom, restaurant & lounge in the Racquet Room, locker room ammenities and Golf Shop. Los Serranos Golf & Country Club is the perfect complete Country Club experience for the entire family.”
  • 19th Hole Media – With 19th Hole Media, we’re trying to grow the game of golf.  Many golf courses are behind the times when it comes to marketing the game and we’re trying to build it at a grass roots level by helping golf courses develop a strong online presence for their business in order to attract more customers and encourage more golfers to visit their golf course and to do so more often.
  • Welborn Social Media

Success Quotes:

  • “Hospitality and friendliness comes from within.”
  • “The world is my family.”
  • “It’s good to know who you are. It’s good to know where you’ve come from. And it’s good to know where you’d like to go.”
  • “If you learn to love something as much as your mother and father loved something, that’s a great place to start.”

Special Requests:

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Episode #7 – Listen and Be a Great Teacher | Vic Braden from VicBraden.com

Teaser: Vic Braden is one of the most famous tennis coaches of all time and has written over five books on the subject. As tennis legend, Jack Kramer, once 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.” Be sure to listen to the story of Vic Braden when he lost to Bobby Riggs while he was tied to an elephant.

Thank you for visiting the Defining Success Podcast.  Please download, subscribe and rate our podcast on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909 Thanks for listening!

Vic Braden

Vic Braden

Recap: 

One of the things Vic enjoyed most about playing tennis was that it gave him an opportunity early on to travel to different places.

Being a good coach is being a good listener and knowing what you’re teaching.   Most coaches talk to much and listen to little.

Vic has been involved in so many things and one of the things he’s most proud of is teaching blind children how to hit a tennis ball and Vic would call out a number and these children were able to play tennis.  Vic loves working with special needs children.

Vic’s biggest concern was that he cared very little about money and didn’t save much because he was too busy helping others.

One thing that Vic thought helped him the most was being a licensed psychologist and the skills he learned as a psychologist has helped him to become a great coach. You need to study how the brain works and why concentration levels vary.  A person would have to be willing to do a lot of research.

Students can find answers to anything they want and when parents have a problem with their computer now a days they ask their 8 year old student to fix it.  Vic recently began putting students who showed interest in tennis and they taught them how to be tennis coaches.  Not only do these young children teach better than most coaches, but their game begins to develop stronger because they are paying attention to detail.

Vic would like you to share his story with others.  He started junior medical ambassadors as doctors are training students about the danger of diabetes and obesity and they teach classrooms about the those dangers and Vic will be making a movie of it that will be available to schools across the way.

If you’re interested in helping Vic Braden to help fund his programs to help students across the United States please visit VicBraden.com and share this podcast episode with your family and friends.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

  • What is the best way for students to learn?

Links to Great Stuff:

  • VicBraden.com – “I feel lucky to have played a small part in the sports world. Looking for creative ways to help people play their chosen sport better, and sooner, has provided me with plenty of excitement and new knowledge. Though I still feel we’re in the “Stone Ages” on many fronts, that will change because there are so many fine researchers generating new projects. In addition, there is evidence that the many disciplines involved in understanding sport are beginning to cooperate on a much higher level….”
  • Vic Braden Books – Vic Braden has written over five books on coaching tennis and continues to be an advocate for the game and the youth who play it.
  • Welborn Media

Success Quotes

  • “I’ve never seen a little elephant who liked playing tennis . . . He would move with Bobby as though he played doubles with Bobby all his life.” – Vic Braden
  • “I have never played an elephant.” – Anita Bryant
  • “Success is when you’re happy with what you’re doing and happy with the results.” – Vic Braden

Special Requests

Vic Braden

Vic Braden

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