Regional tennis coaches conference serves off

THE Tennis Association of TT (TennisTT) has partnered with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Central American and Caribbean Tennis Confederation (COTECC) to host a regional coaches’ conference at the National Racquet Centre in Tacarigua from September 27-29.

Eighty coaches are expected to attend, with local participants making up about half of the cohort. Apart from certified coaches, TennisTT also invited student coaches from the University of TT.

Participants will be exposed to networking opportunities, sharing of best practice, strategies for identifying and nurturing talent as well as education about ITF programmes, initiatives and resources. This conference is supported by Olympic Solidarity.

A TennisTT statement said, “Professional development plays a crucial role in improving the quality of tennis coaching and ensuring the growth and sustainability of the sport.”

Coaches will also benefit from presentations on youth development pathways, building relationships with tennis parents, injury prevention, coach wellbeing, nutrition and hydration and understanding the female player.

TennisTT president Hayden Mitchell said, “The conference builds on the many hours of tennis action at the facility in the past few months and we are pleased to partner with the ITF and COTECC to offer professional development opportunities for local and regional tennis coaches, with the expectation that the education will result in stronger and more resilient athletes on the court.”

US, Canada, Netherlands and TT are some of the countries represented at the conference.

The conference is also being held following the success of the Summer of Tennis tournaments at the Racquet Centre during July/August.