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Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
DECORATED tennis coach Julius Mashonganyika has added another feather in his portfolio after graduating with the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) Wimbledon Performance Coaching Program in London, England last week.
The avid coach was part of a group that has been described as enthusiastic by facilitators of the course.
As part of the drills, they did a combination classroom and match observation at Roehampton ITF Juniors-J300 Roehampton LTA Junior International Roehampton.
The PTR Wimbledon Performance Coaching Program was facilitated by Anne Pankhurst, a former Director of Coach Education for The Lawn Tennis Association in England.
Another internationally-acclaimed tutor Oivind Sorvald of Norway was also part of the tutors.
He is a director of High Performance and Coach Education for the Norwegian Tennis Association (NTF) and coaches Casper Ruud who is ranked number 4 in the world. “We had a great experience observing matches of some of the top ITF junior boys and girls in the world of tennis. “With all the vast knowledge of tennis I have acquired as a player and a coach, I’m going to give back to the tennis community by conducting coach workshops in rural and urban areas to promote the development of tennis,” said Mashonganyika.
“Tennis is a lifetime sport for all. Tennis knowledge is very powerful. I give all credit to my mentors at Mufakose Tennis Coaching Agency including the director of Tennis Albert Nhamoyebonde and some senior coaches who include Lazarus Manjoro, Richmore Murape, Shepherd Manyumbu, the late Matthew Kapuya, Virgil Magorimbo, former Davis Cup non-playing captain Coach Claudio Murape and Nelson Marondera”.
Mashonganyika said he is now equipped to train tennis players from grassroots up to the professional level.
He said there is so much talent in Zimbabwe which needs to be nurtured.
“I am taking it upon myself to scout for talent and develop it.
“We are sitting on international medals by folding our hands. We have to challenge ourselves and groom more tennis players,” he said. “I believe that we can win a lot of international tournaments with proper grooming of players”.
Online Reporter