Pandemic forces Tuks tennis coach to readjust and work harder
"The pandemic for me carried a strong message of never seeing limitations around me but rather the opportunities that come with each situation in life. "
Student head coach and assistant academy tennis coach at TuksTennis Blaise Izungu says he had to adjust his year plans and set new goals following the Covid-19 pandemic.
In early 2020, he was appointed tournament director of USSA Tennis; however, the pandemic hit and Izungu said he had to re-adjust.
“The pandemic for me carried a strong message of never seeing limitations around me but rather the opportunities that come with each situation in life.
“I had to adjust my year plans and set new goals that are more achievable in this global situation. At the club level, the flow of activities was disrupted severely affecting finances, coaching programmes and competitions.
“On the other hand, this gave us new perspectives for the year 2021, to never run out of ways of moving forward with tennis as a whole internally and beyond,” he said.
As a student coach, Izungu’s main responsibilities include assisting in planning programmes, promoting the sport, innovating for improvement, coaching to build players and evaluating players’ performance.
Izungu said his main focus was giving an excellent platform for students of all levels (beginner to high performance) to get the exposure and experience of tennis.
“The privilege to be among the people carrying the vision of university tennis to its fulfilment and the opportunity to have a share of responsibility in the organisation were an honour for me. I always have a great joy serving players and university representatives, making every USSA event memorable for them,” Izungu said.
He said being part of the TuksSport was a life-changing experience.
“The driving energy of the TuksSport family is remarkable and its impact upon the athletes and staff is life-changing. Thanks to every person making TuksSport such an amazing place to be part of, thanks to my closest team for the support and the passion that you inspire,” he said.
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