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August 2008
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 CENTRE COURT : Coaching Clinic at UWI Campus courtsFrom the 12th to the 20th July at the UWI Sport and Physical Education Centre (SPEC) Tennis Facility, 28 tennis players participated in a Level I Coaching Programme of the International Tennis Federation. (I.T.F). Conducted by Anthony Jeremiah who is the ITF’s Technical coordinator of the English speaking Caribbean, the clinic is part of an initiative of the Tennis Association of Trinidad & Tobago (T.A.T.T. ) the national tennis association ––to aggressively bring more coaches into the game, certify those who have been coaching and thus increase the quantity and the quality of the game. TATT and SPEC also had a PLAY TENNIS workshop introducing the basic rudiments of coaching.Lawn Tennis may not be the most popular of games locally and it is certainly played by a relatively small number of persons, yet it is has been growing in popularity. Up to a couple of decades ago Lawn Tennis was a fairly exclusive sport, but with the advent of the City Council’s Public Courts on the Princes Building grounds, the game became more accessible to individuals not affiliated with a particular club. The clientele of the game changed. By purchasing a ticket from the Town Hall on Frederick Street for the princely sum of $3.00 it was possible to book a court for an hour, and coaches tutoring young players became a common sight. The tennis landscape remains quite promising as two comparatively new facilities have been constructed. Number one is the fine facility at UWI ( under the management of the Sport and Physical Education Centre at St Augustine) which has four hard courts, and ancillary services including a pavilion, changing rooms, toilets, conference and meeting rooms. More importantly it is proessionally serviced and staffed. The second is the nearly complete Public Courts constructed on the George V Grounds. These facilities may increase the number of tennis players minimally, but what is much more significant are the programmes, like the Level 1 Coaching Programme, that are being introduced. Michael Cooper, the President of T.A.T.T. is very aware of the value of coaching in the development of any sport. Advised by the technical committee of the organization, a National Development Programme for tennis has been designed. Lennox Francis is the National Head Coach, he was assisted by regional coaches- Dale Boyce in the South, Rafeek Mohammed, Larry Yearwood and Burton Cole in the North, with Prakash Gannes in the East. Curtis Gonzales is the coordinator of the schools tennis programme. Many of the top national players attended the Level 1 Certificate Programme. Yohansey Williams, Richard Chung, Tyler Myers, Louis Villarroel, Stuart Perkins and many others were there signalling their commitment to Tennis. It is the combined efforts of the University, Government, National Organization and the players that augers well for the future of the game. (MW) |
