Local tennis players get wake-up call

Local junior players must certainly have been awakened from their slumber, and should now be cognisant that they have to do more if they are to compete internationally.{{more}}

That’s the assessment of President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tennis Association, Anthony Boyea.

“It was a wake-up call for our players. I don’t think that they have seen that level of competition before,” Boyea said.

Boyea is hopeful that the exposure would prick the conscience of the young brigade and jolt them into action.

Boyea, who is also one of the top coaches here, said, “They (the local players) are not playing enough tennis and are not taking part in enough tournaments.”

Drawing a parallel, Boyea spoke of one player who was here for the ITF championship, who practices four hours a day, six days a week.

“Our players don’t even practise four hours per week,” Boyea lamented.

He thumbed the lack of commitment and other “distractions” that hinder the locals’ forward march.

“They are equipped with everything, the latest technology, but they lack commitment,” Boyea said.

To underline this lack of commitment and hunger for the sport, Boyea said that many of Vincentian players did not even take the time to look at the Finals.

“Players have to want it”, Boyea opined. He disclosed that the championship was watched by the tennis coach of Norfolk University of the USA, where Vincentian Lerissa Morris is a student on a tennis scholarship.

Boyea disclosed that Trinidad and Tobago’s Shannel Mohamed impressed the visiting coach, and will soon be on her way to Norfolk.(RT)