Delville residents Loyiso Matsha and Sizo Sonqishe are the two coaches at the Ekurhuleni Tennis School of Excellence, in Delville.
Matsha is the founder and head coach of the club and seems to have great plans for it.
Although the club hasn’t been involved in national or international competitions, it has participated in internal monthly tournaments.
“This is an expensive individual sport; it is not easy to get sponsorship as the institutions that we have approached prefer sponsoring teams rather than individuals,” Matsha said.
He explained that every player has to pay, individually, to participate in national tournaments.
Matsha is a professional tennis coach, registered with the national body of Tennis South Africa (TSA) and has been coaching since 1991.
One of his proud moments is a recent trip to California, in the United States of America, where he accompanied a 12-year-old junior tennis player, Kevin Dlamini.
The aim of the trip was for Dlamini to be assessed and trained by competent tennis authorities at the Weil Tennis Academy in Ojai.
Weil is a prestigious academy that has produced world renowned players like Russian professional Vera Zvonareva and many others.
Dlamini’s trip was sponsored by the Barnyard Theatre.
The youngster started playing tennis in 2009, at the age of eight, at the Yeoville tennis courts.
Dlamini has two other coaches who assist him in different areas of his training.
Matsha is also Dlamini’s teacher at Queens High School.
Dlamini is known to excel in both academics and sporting achievements, which is what Matsha instils in his players.
“One of my goals is to build a tennis academy where, although the students will be taught the game of tennis, they will also understand that education and sports go together, they have to be able to balance both,” he said.
Sonqishe started with the club early last year and enjoys coaching and guiding the children.
“I started playing the game at an early age and, although I didn’t make it to the professional level, I would like to do all I can to help upcoming tennis players excel and reach their full potential,” he said.
The club has added tennis clinics and mini-tennis to its programme for 2014.
These will run mainly during school holidays and they are aimed at instilling full knowledge of the game.
The club is also looking for sponsorship and would appreciate any form of help.
People interested in joining the club are more than welcome; it currently has 12 members.
“I place more emphasis on quality than quantity, so I am content with the number of people in the club, but if more people are interested, the doors are open,” Matsha said.
Training is held at the Germiston Stadium and practise times are:
- Â Thursday: 4pm-5pm
- Â Saturday: 10am- midday
- Â Sunday: 3.30pm- 5pm
For more information call Matsha on 071 381 6226.
