DEVELOPMENT EVENTS

·         11 - 20 November ITF National Level 1 Coaches Course - Minna, Nigeria

·         19 November - 1 December ITF/OS Regional Level 3 Coaches Course - Itajai, Brazil

WORLDWIDE COACHES CONFERENCE

Record Attendance at ITF Worldwide Coaches Conference by BNP Paribas

Six hundred and seventy-nine coaches from over 110 countries participated in this year's Worldwide Coaches Conference by BNP Paribas which concluded last Tuesday in Valencia, Spain.

The five-day conference brought together leading experts in the area of Coaches Education, player performance and sport science to present on the latest developments in these fields. Key presentations included Bruce Elliott and Machar Reid (AUS) presenting on biomechanics; Alex Corretja questioned whether tennis is a team or individual sport; and Francisco Roig, who works with Rafael Nadal, gave a practical demonstration of working with elite performance players.

The conference was opened on Friday evening by ITF President, Francesco Ricci Bitti, RFET President, Jose Luis Escanuela, Joaquin Garcia, President of the Valencia Federation, Andres Sanzol, Director of the RFET Coaches Commission, and Ismail el Shafei, member of the ITF Board of Directors and Coaches Commission Chairman. During the Opening Ceremony, Ricci Bitti and El Shafei presented ITF Awards for Services to the Game to Ivan Molina of Colombia and Frank van Fraayenhoven of the Netherlands.

Apart from listening to presentations from world renowned experts, participants enjoyed a social programme including an opening cocktail party, a closing dinner at the Alameda Palace and tickets to the Open Valencia 500 ATP tournament.

Alberto Riba, RFET General Manager, commented, "It has been a great pleasure for the RFET to host for the third time this Worldwide Coaches Conference as part of our centenary celebrations. It is gratifying to see that over the years more and more coaches want to attend the conference to keep updated on the latest developments in coaching."

COACHES COURSES IN AFRICA

Kenya hosts East African Regional Coaches Conference

The biennial East African Regional Coaches Conference came to close on Friday at the Nairobi Sports Club in Nairobi. Thirty-eight coaches from seven East African nations including the local host Kenya attended the conference. The main speakers were Dermot Sweeney from Zambia, Mike Barrell from England and Prince Madema from Zimbabwe who were supported by speakers from the region and Kenya.

The conference had a dual theme: Play and Stay and advanced strategy and tactics. The objective of the conference was to educate coaches on the importance of training players under the age of ten, which is in line with the new ITF programme - tennis 10s. Other topics included advanced technique, mental training on court, physical training and tactical training for top junior players.

This conference was funded by Olympic Solidarity through the National Olympic Committee of Kenya. The Chairman of the Kenya Lawn Tennis Association (KLTA), Patrick Gichira praised both NOCK and the ITF for their continued support of coaches' education. He encouraged the coaches and reminded them that they are the engine and back-bone of the various development programs in their respective nations.

Proceedings came to close with encouraging words from the former chairman of the KLTA, Jim Davies, who commented, "Bringing all coaches together is good since it gives coaches an opportunity to share information and address the problems of the region collectively."

COACHES COURSES IN ASIA

Play and Stay launched in India

The ITF has recently launched its 'Tennis...Play and Stay' campaign in India in a bid to attract even more of its 1.1 billion population to tennis. The ITF teamed up with the All India Tennis Association to host Play Tennis coaches and tutors courses at the Maharashtra Tennis Association facility in Mumbai on 11-15 November.

The three-day Play Tennis coaches course is designed to train coaches, teachers and volunteers in how to work with starter players. The aim is to ensure that coaches can organise activities that allow starter players to play and enjoy the game from the first lesson, as well as running appropriate competitions and understanding the different red, orange and green stages.

Following the coaches course, seven of the top coaches in India remained for a two-day tutor training course to enable them to deliver the Play Tennis coaches course themselves in the future.

James Newman, ITF Play and Stay Coordinator, said: "The potential for the development of Play and Stay in India is massive. However two crucial aspects that must be fulfilled are the ongoing education of coaches and teachers working at this level, and good access to affordable slower red, orange and green balls. I am hopeful that this first step in education will be repeated with many more coaches courses nationwide, and that the clear demand for slower balls within such a huge market is fulfilled by the relevant manufacturers and distributers."

For further information visit www.tennisplayandstay.com. For information on Play and Stay in India, visit the All India Tennis Association website: www.aitatennis.com.

Bangladesh hosts Level 1 Coaches Course

The National Tennis Centre of the Bangladesh Tennis Federation (BTF) in Dhaka was the venue for a 10-day OS/ITF Level 1 Coaches course which attracted twenty-four candidates from different parts of the country. The participants not only comprised good male players but also current Davis Cup players and probables for the team, thereby making the course very special due to their keenness to learn new techniques.

Kawaljeet Singh, the ITF course expert from India, conducted the Play Tennis course during the first three days where candidates enjoyed the new concept of "Serve-Rally-Score". Candidates were keen to experience the new, easy and fun drills for introducing tennis to beginner and starter players.

"With the help of this course I can teach better drills to beginner and starter player allowing them to play tennis from day one. Attending the Level 1 course I have another dream to be a good coach," commented Ranjan Ram, a Davis Cup player.

At the certification ceremony, organized by the BTF at the beautiful restaurant "Koyla", Md. Shariar Alam, President of the Bangladesh Tennis Federation welcomed chief guest, Mohammed Anisur Rehman Dy., Secretary General of the Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) along with other officials from the BOA. Mr. Ishtiaq Ahmed, newly elected General Secretary of the BTF, thanked Olympic Solidarity and the International Tennis Federation for bringing the course to Bangladesh and for their support to the game of tennis. Recognition was also given to all those responsible for the smooth organization of the course, especially Md. Motiur Rehman "Julius", who not only coordinated the course but also helped as interpreter, starting each day with his new slogan "Age no bar - tennis khelo baar baar" which means in Bangla "No age bar and play tennis again and again!"

NEWS FROM NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS

USTA High Performance Coaching Newsletters

If you are interested in receiving the USTA High performance coaching newsletter, click the following link www.usta.com/hpcnewsletter.

Junior Tennis Ambassador

A Junior Tennis Ambassador website is currently being organized and was launched in April, 2009. To date, approximately sixty children have been videoed giving sophisticated tennis tips. In addition to many Southern Californians, children from seven other states are participating, as well as some youngsters from Australia, Germany and Vietnam. These tips will be available to tennis enthusiasts worldwide. The site is the idea of Vic Braden and is being designed by Tennis Pedia.com. The tips generally have a more scientific basis than what we see on the tennis channel. Mentors for the scientific tips are: physicist, Dr. Howard Brody, University of Pennsylvania, biomechanist, Dr. Gideon Ariel, exercise physiologist, Dr. Michael Bergeron, motor learning, Dr. Richard Schmidt, neuroscience, Dr. Daniel Amen, Professor Howard Zelaznik, Purdue University and psychology, Vic Braden. The website is a free educational effort to show the wonderful talents of young tennis players and youn g tennis coaches. It's also hoped that the website will encourage more students to increase their interest in science and math.

3rd Hispanic Coaches Workshop

3rd Hispanic Coaches Workshop in the United States, Pembroke Pines, FL November 20th, 2009 "How Hispanic Coaches can impact tennis development in the United States"

Target: Oriented to the Hispanic Coaches of South Florida

Goal: To create more options of education for Hispanic Coaches in their own language.

Theme of Workshop: "How Hispanic Coaches can impact tennis development in the United States". The workshop will address topics related to both, High Performance and Recreational Tennis; Coaching Philosophy and Marketing.

Dates: Friday November 20th, all day Seminar (8:30 am to 6pm)

Venue: Pembroke Isles, 1400 NW 169th Ave. Pembroke Pines, FL 33028. Ph: 954 804 9056 www.gtctennis.com

LINKS

ITF Coaching:http://www.itftennis.com/coaching/
ITN:http://www.itftennis.com/itn/
ITF Development:http://www.itftennis.com/development/
ITF Tennis...Play and Stay website:http://www.tennisplayandstay.com
ITF Tennis iCoach website:http://www.tennisicoach.com
ITF Store:https://store.itftennis.com
ITF Junior Tennis School:http://www.itfjuniortennisschool.com/