The meeting started today (Friday) and ends on Sunday with local coaches, Wellington Sibanda, Kelebogile Monnayoo, and Tolamo Marebola, attending. The BTA president, Oaitse Thipe, told MmegiSport that the conference's objective is to share the latest coaching trends and knowledge with top coaches from around the world. Sibanda, who is based at the BMC Tennis Club in Maun, said the meeting is a refresher and they will benchmark on some new coaching ideas. “Otherwise what we are going to learn we will come back and share with fellow coaches to develop tennis to the next level,” Sibanda said.
The Maun BMC Tennis Club offers BTA junior development programmes. Monnayoo has been coaching the national Under-12 and Under-14 girls' teams while Marebola is based at Moeng College, which is a junior tennis initiative centre, which receives equipment from the BTA. The first day of the conference kicked off with regional and education updates by Riaan Kruger (ITF development officer - Africa). Thipe said the rest of the programme would see coaches taken through on and off the court presentations by various experts. Nick Vets from Belgium is presenting on creating a universe of exercises for players under eight on day one of the conference.
He will also focus on the serve plan for recreational players. Pieter Joubert from South Africa will present on creating an ‘On Task’ training environment while Joanette Kruger (South Africa) is expected to take coaches through her presentation on player pathway-retaining girls in tennis Under-14 and Under 16. A tennis coach from Estonia, Aleksander Jürgens, will present on creating a competitive mindset while Peter Boer (South Africa) will focus on the Hit and Turn (HIT), a tennis-specific aerobic capacity test that is validated and reliable. Irena Chichmarova of the Belarus Tennis Federation will conclude the day with her presentation on girls' tennis, the difference between boys and girls. She will also present an active warm-up at the tennis practice adjustable for any age on day two. Kirsty Elliot will focus on an integrated approach to physical and technical development in junior tennis from ABCs to performance players while Kgotso Matshego's presentation will be on technology in wheelchair tennis equipment and how it impacts performance. Andre de Beer's topic is on the good to great, George Oyoo will take the attendants through tactical training for 14 and under players during competition and Roxanne Clarke will tackle emotional competencies for players 14 and under. Rosemary Owino is presenting on Transforming Tennis in Africa: Innovative Approaches to Holistic Player Development.
