Guyanese International Tennis Federation (ITF) expert Bill Adams, who lives abroad, is currently here as part of an ITF regional consultative initiative aimed at building strong regional bodies for the development of the sport.
Adams arrived in Guyana on Wednesday following similar visits to St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Suriname. He immediately got on the ground to determine the local association’s pitfalls with a view of providing the necessary support to remedy those inadequacies.
“We have some issues in the Caribbean about the development of tennis since we are geographically challenged and challenged in many other different areas,” Adams told media on Friday at the National Racquet Centre.
Proposing solutions, he added: “We need a lot of structure and organisation from the various tennis associations and things to motivate the kids. We have some issues where our youth reach into the teens and they are not motivated. We need to keep them around.”
Adams, who is on his third official visit to Guyana since leaving in 1969, further noted that he is specifically working with the Guyana Tennis Association on areas including player development and the exposure of coaches. He is also hammering out details for the ITF to fund the construction of a home for tennis. He disclosed that the ITF is eager to support the local body regarding the latter. However, securing land has been the main issue over the years.
Adams is a certified professional coach who currently teaches tennis in the United States. He also worked in Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Germany, and Italy. He is widely known for coaching former world number one female player Naomi Osaka in her early years.
