- Simba French
- 9 hrs ago
- 0
The Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) is currently hosting a regional camp at the National Tennis Centre (NTC), that features under-14 players from the English-speaking countries in the Confederation of Central America and the Caribbean (COTECC).
The camp is led by expert tutor John Goede, the developmental officer for the Caribbean. There are players from The Bahamas, Curacao, Barbados, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. The camp started on Tuesday and wraps up tomorrow.
“The camp has been very intense and training in match play in preparation for the Junkanoo Bowl event next week. I have a wonderful group and we are going to have a great camp,” Goede said.https://9d7077cdcc14015dc77ead5bf4c1e82d.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
According to him, he has been working on tactics more than any other aspect, as he feels they have the other tools to play the game. They also worked on fitness.
One of the seven Bahamians who is receiving instructions from Goede is Ayai Bethel, who hails from Eleuthera.
“The camp has been teaching me a lot so far and have been loving the training. I learned to hit the ball with more spin to get the ball back on the court, learned about angles, and how to throw the ball high with my serve, among other things,” Bethel said.
He hopes to use what he learned after he finishes the camp and put it into use in actual games.
Keziah Fluonia, who hails from Curacao, is coming off winning the 14-and-under division in the Curacao Junior Masters earlier this month and is enjoying the experience.
“I am learning a lot of things, like how to put my serve in the corner and then return the ball in the other corner, which will make my opponent run more. I liked the aspect of learning to place the ball better. I worked very hard to ensure I have a spot and do my best at this camp,” Fluonia said.
The 13-year-old is enjoying her time in The Bahamas.
Goede said the players are absorbing both the classroom work and the on-the-court work.
“The kids are easy to coach,” Goede said. “They are accepting the information and are very much open. They accept the challenges and I am happy that they can experience this opportunity and go back to their normal life and add it. They can also share it with their friends and probably coaches on how to get performance training on a higher level.”https://9d7077cdcc14015dc77ead5bf4c1e82d.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
President of the BLTA Perry Newton was happy to have the guests and Bahamians receive the opportunity to improve their skills.
All of the participants of the camp will be in action in the Junkanoo Bowl under-14 tournament, which is set for Saturday, November 11 and wraps up on Thursday, November 16. It is a COTECC tournament and will see some 40 junior players in action.