By Amajahl Knowles
A WORKSHOP hosted by the BLTA in conjunction with the ITF commenced yesterday at the National Tennis Centre.
John Goede, development officer for the ITF and host of the clinic, made his annual visit to The Bahamas and says that he is optimistic in regards to the local talent here in The Bahamas.
“My job is to inspect the development and progress of junior tennis athletes in the Bahamas, and find areas in which they can improve,” said Goede.
Goede also mentions that during this clinic he will be working with players from the 12-and-under divisions as well as the 13-17.
“There is always talent in the Bahamas, but there needs to be a lot more match play, there needs to be a lot more international tournaments taking place here in the Bahamas, as well as planning in regards to the coaching aspect,” said Goede.
Goede also mentions that he would be travelling to Grand Bahama to host a similar clinic and evaluate prospects on that island as well.
Elwood Donaldson, president of the BLTA, said he welcomes the yearly visit by the ITF regional director because it gives international eyes a view of the wealth of local talent here in the Bahamas.
“Part of his reason in coming here is to talk to the association itself, players, coaches as well as the parents in order to find ways to develop this talent, so we can see the sport expand and grow further,” said Donaldson.
Donaldson also noted the fact that there is a lot of potential here in the Bahamas, but it is not always maximised and it takes a structured programme in co-operation with parents, coaches as well as government funding to truly accomplish this feat.
“We have had a few of our juniors who were very successful in teen competitions within the region in the English-speaking Caribbean, so we have seen great progress,” said Donaldson.
The president also noted that funding has always been an issue with the association as tennis isn’t a “cheap” sport.
“One thing I normally take advantage of is when I speak about tennis I appeal to the friends of tennis and corporate Bahamas in trying to assist, because there is a lot of talent and with assistance we can see results and have our kids do well at international competitions as well as groom players for things such as the Commonwealth Games, CAC Games, Pan-American Games and The Olympics,” said Donaldson.
Donaldson also highlighted one of our local athletes who has been making her name known on the international tennis circuit.
“We had one of our junior athletes, Iesha Sheppard, who toured with some of the best under-16 players in the region and competed against them in Central America in a tournament sponsored by the ITF,” he said.
Donaldson listed a host of other accomplishments, including the girls’ under-14 team winning runners-up at the Regional World Junior Tennis qualifying event and the boys finishing 4th, as well as Michael Major Jr, who won the Lil Mo International tournament last year at the PGA Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Donaldson went on to state that the athletes are currently preparing for the Davis Cup and Fed Cup tournaments and he has seen great growth and progress in the young athletes and hopes that they can keep the momentum going.
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