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Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2013.55.9 B |
Object Name |
Video Recording |
Title |
Robert "Bob" Bedard Interview |
Interview Summary / Résumé d'entrevue |
Robert Bedard, Order of Sport recipient, inducted in 1996, born in St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, talks about his tennis career. Robert explains that he started playing tennis at age 15 but had already gained athletic skills from playing other sports throughout childhood. He recounts how he received a scholarship from UCLA, where he honed his skills. Robert talks about playing on clay and grass courts and recalls playing at Wimbledon. Robert describes his wins at the 1957 Italian Open and the 1957 Canadian Open and how he played for the Davis Cup for nine years. Robert talks about his teaching career after retiring from tennis and the transferrable skills he gained from sport, including concentration, perseverance, and discipline. Robert explains that you learn from both winning and losing and what it meant to represent Canada on the international stage. Robert talks about the financial and cultural aspect of tennis and the importance of people participating in sport, regardless of their competitiveness. Entrevue avec Robert Bédard, 3 août 2006. MP4 numérisé à partir d'une DVCAM 40 Advanced ME de Sony. Temps de visionnement : 00:56:03. Robert Bédard, récipiendaire de l'Ordre du sport, a été intronisé en 1996 et est né à Saint-Hyacinthe, au Québec. Il parle de sa carrière de tennis. Robert explique qu'il a commencé à jouer au tennis à l'âge de 15 ans, mais qu'il possédait déjà des habiletés athlétiques, acquises en jouant à d'autres sports pendant son enfance. Il relate comment il a reçu une bourse d'études de la UCLA (Université de la Californie à Los Angeles), où il a perfectionné ses habiletés. Robert parle de son expérience sur les surfaces d'argile et de pelouse et se rappelle quand il a joué à Wimbledon. Robert décrit ses victoires à l'Open d'Italie et à l'Open du Canada en 1957 en plus de parler des neuf années qu'il a passées à jouer dans la Coupe Davis. Robert parle de sa carrière d'enseignement, commencée à la suite de sa retraite du tennis. Il explique comment ses expériences en tennis lui ont permis de développer des compétences utiles pour son nouveau métier, notamment la concentration, la persévérance et la discipline. Robert explique qu'on apprend autant en gagnant qu'en perdant et parle de ce que cela signifie de représenter le Canada sur la scène internationale. Robert parle des aspects financiers et culturels du tennis et de l'importance pour les gens de participer dans le sport, peu importe leur niveau de compétition. |
Scope & Content |
Robert Bedard interview, 3 August 2006, digitized MP4 from Sony 40 Advanced ME DVCAM. Two tapes with a total viewing time of 00:56.03. 1 of 2: 01:52First picked up a tennis racquet at age 15, 2 years later was playing in tournaments; played hockey, baseball, basketball and handball in school, so he was not starting from scratch 03:31Why did he start tennis so late? There were few tennis courts in Sherbrook, he did not have a racquet until someone gave him one 04:14When you were a kid, who were your sports heroes? Bob Feller, in baseball, first person to throw a ball at 100 mph 04:45Entered 3 tournaments before 18, he had athletic ability but no strokes; was given a scholarship to UCLA for 6 months where he learned to play the game, learned how to go to the net; then was selected for the Davis Cup team 06:48Already a grad from Loyola University; was also at the New York Rangers camp for ice hockey; mother wanted him to played tennis as it was a more gentlemanly sport; didn't think he would have made it in the NHL, had the ability but was not "mean enough", played in the provincial league 9:02Talks about the Davis Cup team, he and Paul Willie being the youngest players; first match was in Montreal; At age 21 was playing on the circuit in Florida for 3 months and Europe for 3 months; coaches were unknown, learned by watching and listening to the coach in UCLA to get tips; eventually had a very good serve, learned to slice a backhand, main asset was anticipation, from playing other sports, (11:45) "goes both ways - anticipation of what the other person is going to do and where you should put the ball so you don't get in trouble" 13:03Learned to play on clay courts, learned how to play on grass in England 14:24Talks about playing in England, being part of the Slazenger team (tennis equipment company) and playing in a series of tournaments they sponsored; talks about playing Wimbledon - it being equal in money for the players; (16:30) the atmosphere was something else, "you are there to play tennis and you want to play your best because everyone wants to see you at your best"; the other Canadian player in 1954 was Lorne Main; also played in the mixed double with his wife; (18:07) first match was in Court 23 and played Eduardo Aragon from Paraguay and Gardner Forbes in 2nd match; played Lew Hoad in 3rd match 23:02Talks about his amateur status; the tournament circuit included the USA, the Caribbean and Europe; the Americans organized him for their circuit, the rest he had to organize for himself 24:31There were no world rankings at that time although the British newspaper would try to rank the players; he was among the top 20 players at that time 25:04They were not allowed prize money, they did get money for their expenses; Germany would give prizes such as a trophy or suitcase 26:00Talks about Jaraslov Drobny, who also played ice hockey for Czechoslovakia 28:14Best victory: the very first year in Europe, the Italian championship; also the finals of the Canadian championships in 1957 29:40Talks about playing Lew Hoad; did quite well against him but felt he could beat anyone 31:18Talks about playing Bill Tilden when Bill was 60 years old in a Davis match, Tilden played to the guy's strength until after several sets he no longer had that strength, that was his strategy 32:09Played for the Davis cup for 9 years straight, last one in Quebec City; "you could not get to that level unless you worked hard all the time. I was ready to do that". 34:04Talks about career after tennis - monitor for public parks and taught tennis, Dow Brewery as a special agent and coach of Sherbrook hockey team; had his BA and taught French in an English high school in Quebec 37:21What are some of the skills you acquired from playing sports that you can apply to your life or your career after sports? Sports are a preparation for anything, self-confidence and self-discipline; (37:44) "If you are successful in a facet of life, you are probably going to be successful in others, because you have acquired that self-confidence, some skills and you are going to transfer them, you can do well anytime you want to. Concentration, perseverance and self-discipline might be the 3 key words here." 38:40Did you learn more from winning or losing? "You gain much more by losing. First of all, whether you do it consciously or not, you look at what have done, you try to decide whether you could have done it better, was it my opponent who overcame one of my weaknesses or is it me who didn't concentrate well enough or that did not prepare well enough. Can I do something a bit differently next time? All that comes into it. And by losing you will become much better. Winning, you have to learn how to win too because that respect for the opponent, humility, those are difficult virtues to acquire, but by losing you become a better person and a better player." 40:00"Before you play you try to determine whether you have prepared properly - physically, emotionally, look after all aspects before you get on a court" 2 of 2; 00.08Life lessons learned: self-discipline, honesty, humility, courage, perseverance, respect 00:50Playing for Canada: when you represent your country, you don't want to let your country down, so focused 00:20Tells a funny story 5:11Derived more enjoyment from the game after he retired, winning and losing is not as important, not as serious, when playing it was all business, no time for anything but tennis 6:24Was there a cultural diversity? You had to be rich to play tennis, had to belong to a club, so mainly white/WASP, little diversity 7:11About participating in sport "I think everybody should participate, whether it's on a competitive level or not. First of all, you feel good about yourself. Everybody must try to feel they are in shape - for self-confidence and probably self-discipline too. 8:44On mental toughness - "The most difficult thing in sport, and you see it every week if you watch TV, when it's tight you see the weaker guy mentally make a mistake. Most matches are determined by who is the toughest. And that's in life, the same thing. If you are going to be successful, whatever you do, you got to be mentally tough. 9:51For casual players, should they still play sports even if they don't have a massive desire to win? "No matter what you do, you want to get better. We want to improve. You are going to get better by putting some effort into it. 10:40Talks about the two racquets |
Date |
2006/08/03 |
People |
Bedard, Robert Drobny, Jaroslav Hoad, Lew Tillden, Bill |
Search Terms |
Wimbledon Robert Bedard Interview Tennis Davis Cup Federation Cup Selection 1959 Pan-American Games Canadian Open Singles Doubles Mixed Doubles Athlete Educator |