By Nancy McShea

      The influence of the local teaching pro extends to the heart of the junior game in U.S. tennis; they launch hundreds of professional tennis careers, yet you read about few of them. Pros introduce children to the game, share the excitement of their first junior ranking and raise them to a competitive level of play. Then suddently, these pros often fade into obscurity as prestigious tennis camps claim responsibility for training these same youngsters.

      These dedicated teaching pros can be categorized. They all work hard, and they're constantly on display. You see them at every major tournament. Some project a celebrity image, dressed in status tennis attire or business suits to enhance their credibility. They're usually hovering around the parents of big winners whose children they coach. Occasionally, you may see a few such pros around the same set of parents. These pros are heavy hitters, up-front performers, sales-oriented types.

      In contrast, you might miss the pro who quietly watches all the kids, the winners and the losers alike. Stewart Becker, chairman of the Junior Council of Eastern Tennis Association, immediately comes to mind. Stew teaches from the heart and has a natural instinct for treating kids as people, not just evaluating them as potential commodities. He helps them grow and he finds creative ways to renew a student's interest when confidence wanes and their games seem stale. He focuses on the fascination and logic of tennis. Stew has been known to make a group of students kneel down at the baseline to serve in an awkward position. His purpose was to stress the arm motion in the serve.

      Stew Becker has been a major influence on the junior game in the east for many years, having successfully taught more than one hundred sectionally and nationally ranked junior and college players. He guides them toward college regardless of their rankings, and then if they choose, they can always reach for the pros after they graduate.

      It is impressive to note how Stew's students have fared in colleges, and the following is a sampling of the efforts of some of Stew's students. Larry Scott is currently a junior at Harvard University where he is captain of the team and plays No. 1 singles and doubles. He was ranked in the top 10 nationally as a junior. Danny Solomon is captain of the tennis team at Yale University where he is a pre-med major. Randy Vigmostad, was ranked No. 1 in the ETA boys' 18s, played for the University of Arizona, and is now on the satellite circuit. Stew gave Randy his first tennis lesson on his eighth birthday. Evan Ratner played No. 1 for Columbia University and is now starting on the satellite circuit. Rick Elstein graduated from Adelphi University and manages the Syosset Tennis Academy on Long Island. Tom Fehrs is head pro at the Tower Tennis Club in Roslyn, N. Y. and the Tam O'Shanter Country Club. Bill Annear graduated from Miami (Ohio) University and runs a tennis program in Denver, Colo. Tom Annear, who has posted victories over pros Paul Annacone and Eric Korita, graduated from the University of Wisconsin and is now a media buyer for Ted Bates Advertising in New York City. Linda Oechsle, ranked in the top 20 nationally several times, is now a top player at the University of California/Berkeley. Tina Oechsle, winner of the ETA sportsmanship award along with sister Linda, played for Northwestern University for four years. Kevin McGuire is the head pro at Match Point Tennis Club in Commack, N.Y. Kerri Reiter, Glenn Solomon and Douglas Livingston are all top-ranked nationally in the juniors today.

      Pros like Stew are the core of the ETA. They organize the game, run the tournaments and keep tennis in the mainstream. They love it and a few of them get rich, but most of them don't. Others who deserve recognition for their work on the grass roots level include Lawrence Staritsky, of the Hemstead Lake Indoors in Hempstead, N.Y.; Lawrence Kleger, of the Harbour Point Racquet and Yacht Club in Freeport, N.Y.; Laurie Tenney of Tower Tennis in Roslyn, N.Y. and the pros at the Port Washington Tennis Academy in Port Washington, N.Y., particularly Viorel Marcu, Bob Binns, Paddy McCrary, Barbara Goldman, Gigi Edelberg and Chuck Huch.