daniel chigunwe
Collin Matiza
Sports Editor
JULIUS Mashonganyika, a Zimbabwean Professional Tennis Coach and the first-ever black to become a USPTA Elite Professional mentor, recently attended The All-England Lawn Tennis Club-Grass Court Seminar in London, England.
Speaking to Zimpapers Sports from his base in Leesburg, Virginia, in the United States yesterday, Mashonganyika said he was very excited about attending the AELTC grass court seminar where he was the only coach of colour.
“I have acquired more knowledge on how to manage grass court facilities,” Mashonganyika said.
The grass court seminar was last held about four years ago due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
The grass court seminar, which is designed for those responsible for facilities management, covers all practical aspects including facilities management, court maintenance and research.
“We had a presentation on the Wimbledon Qualifiers. We toured the Wimbledon grounds and learnt about using different machines such as mower set up and turf appearance, controlling turf pests and sprayer technology, application of different fertilizers and monitoring of the weather patterns using new technologies.
“The AELTC Wimbledon Park Project was our last topic discussed on the agenda on our last day of the Wimbledon Grass Court Seminar.
“They are going to give back to the community by building a new tennis facility on the park which is adjacent to the Wimbledon Championships Stadium,” Mashonganyika said.
Seven grass courts will be available for the local community use from the end of The Championships until the end of the grass court season for use by:
Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative (WJTI)
AELTC junior community tennis programme
A community tennis experience where local residents will be invited to come and play on the courts for free.
Mashonganyika is a leader in coaching tennis. He is a holder of tennis teaching credentials with the USTA, ITF, USPTA, PTR and other organizations, including USTA High Performance Coaching Program.
He attended the International Tennis Federation-ITF Coaching Education Pro-grams-ITF Mini Tennis course, ITF Play Tennis course, ITF School Tennis Initiative Teachers Workshop, ITF Coaching Beginner and Intermediate Players course and the ITF Coaching Advanced Players course.
The Zimbabwean coach was once employed as a Development Tennis Coach by Tennis Zimbabwe.
Currently he is the Tennis Director at Loudoun County School Tennis Initiative in Leesburg, Virginia, USA. Also, he is a USPTA Specialist in Competitive Player Development, 3 PTR Education and Certification Pathways (Junior Development, Adult Development, Performance) and has coached the game in Zimbabwe, South Africa and United States.
He oversees the Junior Tennis Initiative (JTI) in Loudoun County, Virginia, a national school tennis initiative of excellence whose mission is to promote and develop the growth of tennis.
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