Tennis coaches in play, stay initiative
Lawn Tennis Association of Malawi (LTAM) has embarked on capacity building exercise after conducting a four-day Play-and-Stay coaching course.
The course was held at Zomba Gymkhana Club from May 28 to 31 and it attracted 12 participants drawn from the major four tennis zones in the country, namely; Blantyre, Zomba, Lilongwe and Mzuzu.
Junior Tennis Initiative Coordinator, Hackson Methiwa, who also facilitated the International Tennis Federation (ITF) funded course, said successful candidates will undergo advanced training late this year or early next year.
“We will evaluate how the coaches performed during the fundamental training. The idea is to select the best coaches who should undergo level one training. We are unsure when level one training will be held as most of the activities depend on restrictions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the local instructor said.
However, Methiwa said it was important to equip local coaches with skills and knowledge to professionally groom youngsters.
“We value coaches because they are the ones who identify and nurture talent,” he said.
Some of the participants, who included Kelvin Kachepa and Judith Kamanga, hailed LTAM and ITF for organising the course.
“We learnt a lot of things that will help us train youngsters. We will be able to spot talent and improve it,” Kachepa said. LTAM’s Technical Director Thompson Mtengula was also one of the facilitators.
