Getting the basics right

ONE OF the lacuna in Indian tennis coaching system is the lack of an uniform approach and this aspect, is reflected in the quality of coaching that is being imparted in various tennis clinics and schools in the country.

In order to bring about a standardisation of coaching system, the All India Tennis Association over the past decade has been conducting coaches clinics at Level I and Level II in a few select centres with the ITF materials and the step is a positive one, aimed as it is, to raise the overall quality of coaching in the country.

The Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association, under the aegis of the AITA hosted a Level I coaches clinic at the KSLTA Stadium here from September 2 to 8 supervised by the ITF certified tutors, Sunil Yajaman and Manoj Vaidya. Sunil Yajaman, besides being a qualified coach, is also the Development Officer of the AITA.Sunil was pleased with the response to the clinic. ``I would rate this as one of the best that AITA had conducted over the past decade. We had 37 coaches from all over the country, from Delhi, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, who showed total involvement with the programme. This reflects the desire of the Indian coaches to learn more and keep improving their methods."

The course content covered a wide range of subjects which included technique, tactics, sports science, nutrition and diet. It was basically meant for those coaches who were training the beginners and intermediate players. ``The idea is to give the coaches the right perspective about getting the basics right, so that they in turn train the wards the right way,'' said Sunil.

Besides theory and on court training, the coaches took written tests at the end. An additional input provided was improving communication skills. ``A coach may be brilliant with ideas but if he doesn't know how to put them across to his players, his knowledge is simply of no use,'' said Sunil.

The KSLTA not only provided the venue for the clinic, but it also went a step further by getting experts from SAI (South) Centre, to address the coaches. ``We had SAI professionals, like physiotherapists, Sports Medicine experts sharing their insights with us. We are grateful to Mr. C. S. Sunder Raju, the KSLTA Secretary for taking the initiative,'' said Sunil Yajaman.

Sunil felt that the coaching clinics should have a broad spectrum. ``In the past, it was all about improving technical quality as to how to improve the strokes, etc. But in modern coaching, there cannot be a set pattern. Even strokes are not hit with a particular grip and so much leeway has been given for improvisation. And ITF programmes have assimilated as many new elements as possible to give a multi faceted touch to the programmes."

Sunil said that the International Tennis Federation was pleased with the way, the AITA had been conducting the clinics. ``The programme was devised by European Tennis Union,'' he said.

Before assuming charge at the AITA early this year, Sunil Yajaman was a professional coach with stints in Chennai, Bangalore and Ahmedabad and he loves his new role. ``It is a challenging task for me. I am closely looking at ways to improve the lot of juniors and streamline tennis development and tournament programme,'' he said.

The tennis scenario, he felt is bright. ``Unlike in the past, there are lot of Indian players, both men and women, who are in the ranking lists, though not pretty high. But they are there, thanks to number of ITF events we have at home now and larger participation in the tournament abroad", said Sunil.

Outlining some of the AITA's on-going and future programmes, Sunil said that the National body wants to bring about a qualitative change in the talent base in the country. ``We have in place several programmes like the Future Kids programme, Mini tennis programme, which are aimed at getting children involved in the game at a very young age. We have targeted schools to provide the impetus in this direction. We are looking at creating a base where atleast 50,000 kids begin playing the game and even 10 per cent of them stay on and train with higher goals of becoming full-fledged players, it will be worth the shot,'' said Sunil Yajaman.

AITA also has plans of setting up a full fledged tennis Academy in Delhi. ``This is one of the pet projects of Mr. Anil Khanna, the AITA Secretary, and it should go a long way in helping our talented juniors,'' said Yajaman.

Another notable scheme is the TAP - the Tennis Advancement Programme - in which the AITA plans to adopt 15 to 17 juniors all over the country and help them train in one place and arrange for their participation in tournaments abroad. ``What our kids lacked so far is the opportunity of playing more International tournaments and we are looking at ways to set that right. We have enough tourneys for seniors at home now, satellites, challengers and lot of other events. But kids need better opportunities,'' he said.

Funding its ambitious programmes is now a major task for the AITA, though it is one of the National associations, which are better off financially. ``We wish to bring in more corporate players and the AITA has been holding discussions with the members of the Confederation of Indian Industries and get them involved with the sponsorship of the game in the country,'' he said.

One of the most visible factors of the junior tennis in the country is a quick fade out. Often, the number of kids who drop out of the game exceed the ones who take up the game, due to academic pressure and other constraints.

But then, this is an individual game and the choices rest with the individuals. Sunil Yajaman acknowledging that point, however attributes that patience as an important factor. ``This is a game where you don't become a star overnight. It needs a lot of training, hard work and a lot of patience. The initial desire to become a good tennis player, should always be there and the juniors need to push themselves, and for those who do, they can count on AITA's support,''said Sunil Yajaman.

KALYAN ASHOK

Bangalore

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