Mashonganyika’s star rises

Waukegan in Illinois, United States, wrote the USPTA examination on April 15 and passed it with flying colours.
The examination covered the following topics: teaching skills, playing skills, business and programming, history of tennis, equipment and restringing, Dynamic (NTRP) National Tennis Rating Programme, court maintenance, little tennis, USPTA history, professional conduct and rules.
And Mashonganyika, a product of Albert Nhamoyebonde’s Mufakose Tennis Coaching Agency here in Harare, emerged from the examination with a Professional Rating, making him one of the most qualified coaches from this country and in Africa.
Mashonganyika started playing tennis at the age of 10 at Mufakose Tennis Coaching Agency in Mufakose under the guidance of the agency’s director, Nhamoyebonde.
He also received further tennis lessons through the Coca Cola Junior Development programme at Tendayi Primary School in Mufakose with the help of Lazarus Manjoro, Richmore Murape, Shepherd Manyumbu, the late Matthew Kapuya, Vigil Magorimbo and Claudio Murape.
Mashonganyika later became an assistant coach at Mufakose Tennis Coaching Agency and was responsible of their junior development programme for a very long period of time.
During his playing days at Mufakose High 2, Mashonganyika was the top seed and the team captain and he represented the school during the inter-schools competitions and helped them to win a number of trophies and shields.
In 1995 to 1997, Mashonganyika went to work for the Mashonaland Tennis Board under Tennis Zimbabwe as a development coach under its chairman Cosmas Chandisarewa.
He also played in the First League for Mufakose Tennis Club which was the first all blacks team to play in the league from 1992 to 1996.
Mashonganyika later joined the White Rhinos Tennis Club under its chairman the late Kid Maregedze and played number one in the singles and number one in the doubles from 1997 to 2004 in the Harare Tennis League and helped the army club to be promoted to play in the Third League.
He was then employed by White Rhinos Tennis Club under the Army School of Sports as the head of tennis development from 1998 to 2008.
Apart from playing tennis for White Rhinos, Mashonganyika was the secretary-general of the Tennis Coaches Association of Zimbabwe (TCAZ) from 2003 to 2008.
He then went to work at Champs Tennis Academy as a professional coach in Cape Town, South Africa, from 2009 to 2010.
That was before Mashonganyika moved to upgrade his coaching skills from top tennis coaches in the United States in March 2010.
Mashonganyika has got a strong passion and enthusiasm for both playing and coaching tennis from beginners to advanced players.
He is currently working as a professional tennis coach in the Midwest Tennis Programmes in Illinois, United States, and is a holder of several tennis coaching courses which includes the PTR Adult and Junior Development Professional, PTR Performance Instructor, ITF Coaching Course, USTA Coaching Courses, and the USPTA Professional, which he has just passed.
Mashonganyika told The Herald from his base in Illinois this week that he wants to help more tennis players from Zimbabwe to obtain some tennis scholarships in United States and to revive tennis in this country.
“I am now going to enroll for the Master of Tennis Programme which is the highest qualification in the world of tennis,” said Mashonganyika, who became a member of the USPTA in August 2011.