The Guyana Lawn Tennis Association’s (GLTA) national junior team will learn how to be mentally tough from one of this country’s most accomplished players Dr. Ian McDonald.
Dr. McDonald has agreed to share his knowledge with the young players based upon a request from president of GLTA Christopher Ram.
Dr. Mc Donald will speak to the young players at the Cosmos Sports Club on Thomas Lands this evening from 5pm.
A release from secretary of the GLTA, Grace Mc Calman noted that Dr. Mc Donald was “a former national tennis champion who captained Cambridge University and played at the illustrious Wimbledon Grand Slam Tournament during the 1950s.”
The presentation by Dr. Mc Donald comes during the first week of a nine-week pilot training programme for the country’s top U14 players.
Some 12 juniors drawn from Georgetown and Berbice were selected as possibles for the World Junior Tennis Championships.
The release stated that the players will be exposed to a full range of training and the final selection based on pre-set criteria will be made on March 20.
“This pilot activity paves the way towards a better structured training programme for the National Junior `A’ Squad with the involvement of more coaches.
“Special emphasis has been placed on specific activities for the young players to improve on technique, tactic and mental toughness which have been boosted with access to the GBTI tennis facility for some of the sessions,” the release added.
Other prominent sports and fitness officials such as Dr. Steve Surujbally and Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) general secretary Godfrey Munroe will make contributions to the programme, the release stated.
“The association believes that with the few resources that are available in sports in Guyana, we should develop programmes that encourage sharing of resources towards the benefit of our young players and expresses heartfelt thanks to all the individuals who have offered their services towards the training programme,” the release ended.