Tennis Academy To Extend Programme To Public Schools For Future Championship

Kazeem Akande

HTE Tennis Academy has declared its readiness to introduce its tennis development programme, ‘Catch-Them-Young’, to public schools in Lagos State.

Henry Shedrack, Proprietor of the Academy, gave the indication on Friday during the annual inter-school tennis championship held at Italian International School, Lekki, Lagos.

He said the academy was aiming at ensuring that children were groomed to become globally competitive tennis players in the future, regardless of their background.

Shedrack added that the academy would soon extend the ‘Catch-Them-Young’ competition to public schools to discover more talents.

He said that 20 schools were invited for the 2024 competition, but only a few could make it due to the ongoing exams and tests in their various schools.

According to him, the number of kids who came this year is almost the same as last year.

“We are happy to have this number and more parents who came to encourage their children.

“We are preparing them well for future tennis competitions. Very soon, they will dominate the tennis game with their present encouraging performances,” he said.

Shedrack explained that the academy was putting more effort into promoting tennis in the country by introducing the game to the kids at their formative ages.

According to him, all of them here are winners because they will all go home with medals each to encourage them for more effort and performance in the future where the winners will be attached with prizes.

Also, Benson Ishicheli, the Captain of Davis Cup, Nigerian Tennis Federation, noted that the competition had been a wonderful channel through which talents could be discovered.

According to him, the children have been showcasing their skills and so far, it has been fun.

“The future is very bright from what I have seen so far. Some parents have started enquiring about how their kids can grow in the game.

“They are already making contacts with some of the coaches for their kids to have sessions with them, for them to grow, and to be well-trained

“We are looking at doing the holiday programme. Train them for a week or two, then go into the competition,” he said.

Moroti Showemimo, an eight-year-old winner in his category, thanked God for giving him the opportunity to win the game.

Showemimo said that though he was well prepared for the competition but was told not to be over confident to win.

He also thanked the organisers for giving him and the other children the opportunity to showcase their talents in tennis. (NAN)