Tennis development clinic held in Soshanguve
The clinic focuses on young aspiring tennis players in the community.
Professional tennis players Ruan Roelofse and Raven Klaasen took time off from training on Tuesday to assist young tennis players in Soshanguve.
The tennis development clinic was held at the Soshanguve tennis academy at Block KK.
Bruce Davidson, of the BLD Group, the marketing wing of Tennis SA (TSA), said the clinic focused on young aspiring tennis players in the community.
“The SA Davis Cup players spent the day with the youngsters, passing their skills on to them and teaching them how the game is played,” said Davidson.
TSA CEO Richard Glover said the clinic was another step towards supporting the national squad programme.
“TSA is committed to putting the right high performance structures in place for our emerging junior players and this clinic is another step in that direction,” said Glover.
“We have a huge amount of natural talent in South Africa and we need to give our elite juniors every chance to succeed.”
The aim of the clinic is to develop the TSA junior high performance squad system; give the junior players exposure to the Davis Cup players and captain; assist in the development of key player competencies; and prepare for key upcoming tournaments, including the African Junior Championships.
The Soshanguve tennis academy, based at the Block K sports complex, uplifts the youth through sports.
The academy was founded in 2015 by Godfrey Mvalo, Mpho Kupa and Nelson Ntsoane, who are all experienced tennis players.
Ntsoane, the academy’s coach, said he was passionate about training the children.
“My motivation for training these young people is to keep them off the streets and make a change.”
Ntsoane said the parents of the children he trained were supportive and showed appreciation for what he was doing.
“I am a tennis player and I was trained by somebody too. I saw a need to pass my skills on to others, especially young people, so they can have a study break and release their stress through tennis,” said Ntsoane.
Training at the academy takes place from 15:30 to 17:30, Monday to Saturday.
Ntsoane said they were trying hard to keep the lessons and use of equipment free, but they were in need of sponsorships and donations of tennis balls and old rackets.
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