Tuesday, February 13, 2007 Clinic to teach tennis mentors new methods
IN a country where tennis training methods are most likely hand-me-down from a tennis coach’s coach when he was playing for the age group division, the Goodwill Tennis Tours is like a breath of fresh air.
Philippine Tennis Association regional head John Pages said that the tennis tours will provide the country with internationally recognized tennis programs lifted straight out of the handbook of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA).
The Goodwill Tennis Tours, which will make its stop in Cebu this weekend at the Casino Español de Cebu tennis courts, will be holding a Recreational Coaches Workshop for free.
“The Philippines does not have a systemic program of on-going tennis instruction for tennis trainers. The Philippines depends much on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) to receive on going tennis education, especially for tennis trainers, but the reality is that these tennis programs often bypass the Philippines,” Pages said in an emailed statement.
Long lull
There has been a long lull in updating the Filipino trainers with new methods since the ITF and PTR has not had any tennis program in the country since 2006. Philta on the other hand, the national governing body for tennis, has last updated its workshops link in their website in 2001 yet.
“The result of this is a stagnation of the education and the growth of numbers of tennis trainers,” Pages said.
Because of this, the Goodwill Tennis Tours comes in to fill in the void. The group has been coming over since November 1999.
“We have been in the Philippines on a regular basis and have gone to locations often neglected by the aforementioned tennis organizations,” said Filipino-American organizer Elmer Dolera said.
Specific methods
The team seeks to teach people how to teach tennis by doing the USTA Recreational Coaches Workshop, which is designed for all those who want to teach tennis to children up to intermediate level, using specific methods.
Dolera will be joined by Ted Sayrahder and Kevin Young in the three-day workshop, which is open to tennis coaches, trainers, PE instructors, parents, and players.
The team already did coaches workshops in Camiguin, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao. They will arrive tomorrow from Davao and hold the sessions here, before flying to Manila (Ateneo de Manila University) and Naga City.
The free workshop, supported by the Cebu City government through Councilor Sylvan Jack Jakoselem offers limited slots. For those who are interested, call Ging-Ging Astilla at 416-1122 local 100 for reservations. (MCB)
