The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

A group of tennis instructors from the Lyford Cay Club, led by former Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) president Derron Donaldson, took the time out to share their expertise with a group of youngsters during a clinic at the park in Flamingo Gardens on Saturday.

The event, sponsored by Bristol Cellars, provided an opportunity for the professionals to not only give back to the community but at the same time,

Donaldson, along with Larikah Russell and Owen Forbes, conducted the clinic and provided tennis gear, while Bristol distributed refreshments, including drinks and hot dogs for the participants. Also in attendance was Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr Daniel Johnson.

“We plan to do something like that at least once a month with the kids,” Donaldson said.

“We saw a lot of talented kids and so we want to keep them enthusiastic and off the streets. We want to give them something constructive to do so that they can keep off the streets.”

Donaldson, who also serves as a vice president of the Bahamas Olympic Committee, said the response was quite what they had anticipated.

“We started off with about 10 kids, but we easily ended up with about 35 kids on the court,” he said. “It was good and the kids were enthusiastic about it. We didn’t stop them from playing. Some kids were in slippers, some were in jeans and although it wasn’t tennis attire, the interest was there. They came basically as they were.

“We realise that some kids basically don’t own a tennis racquet or can’t afford to have a tennis outfit, so when we go back out there, we hope to carry some tennis bags, some tennis racquets and some pairs of tennis and tennis shirts because we want to totally give back because out of those 25 children who came out, we were able to keep someone out of trouble.”

With this being the start of what he anticipates will become a monthly venture, Donaldson said they are hoping that more sporting bodies will come out and lend their support to the local communities and not at the various sites where the associations and federations host their activities.

“I think if we can do more to hit those parks where the kids can just walk out to the clinic and the activities that we put on, I believe that we can definitely save some lives,” Donaldson said.

“Not only that, I think this will be a good opportunity for us to get some of the children involved in the sport.”