More Nigerian tennis coaches will soon be certified by the global body of the sport as the ITF National Level 1 Coaches Course holds in Port Harcourt from March 1-9 at the board room of the Port Harcourt Club, Old GRA.
The programme which is expected to attract dozens of coaches from state sports councils, higher educational institutions, as well as public and private clubs, is coming less than a month after it was held in Lagos where about forty Nigerian coaches and two Ghanaians were certified.
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| Some Nigerian coaches recently bagged ITF coaching certificates in Lagos. |
A board member of the Nigeria Tennis Federation, Isaac Uzorma, who is sponsoring the programme, said the need to have the programme in the south-south zone is important due to the dearth of professional tennis coaches in Nigeria despite the popularity of the sport.
He stated that very few of the coaches in the zone, which he is representing in the Federation, were unable to attend the one held in Lagos and as such have decided to bring it to their doorstep noting this is the first time such a course will be held in Rivers state.
He said: “We have lots of good coaches here in the South South zone but we know that sports keep evolving and we can’t be left out of modern-day techniques regarding the coaching aspect of the game.
“This is my way of appreciating the zone for giving me the chance to represent them at the board.”
Uzorma, who is also the chairman of the Rivers State Tennis Association stated that the programme will be conducted by Nigeria’s ITF Instructor, Rotimi Akinloye, and is designed to help Nigerian coaches to be updated with the current coaching methodology.