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MBABANE – After the ‘Stay and Play’ introductory tennis course held a forthnight ago, Mhlume Tennis Club Coach Gabi Mkhabela has started implementing new and effective playing tactics on her players.
Mkhabela was among the 28 tennis coaches who were privileged to be empowered by Kenyan tennis expert coach George Oyo. The latter conducted a two-week basic tennis training course at the Swaziland Building Society (SBS) Tennis Centre at Lobamba. Upon competition, the 28 coaches were awarded with certificates of excellence in an event held at the Malkerns Sports and Country Club. Going forward, the coaches are expected to progress to Level I Coaching Course in February next year and be qualified in their field.
Communication
Mkhabela stressed the importance of good communication skills, especially when teaching beginner players who need to master the basics skills and technical language of the sport.
“This course was of paramount importance to me because I got to learn about communication skills for coaching beginner players. It’s true that I learnt that before with the regional development officer Tapiwa Masunga, while she was here some few years ago but this time we went deeper into it by not only learning in class with George but also doing some practice on the field. We also went in depth, looking at when to introduce the red, orange and green balls to players,” Mkhabela said.
The Mhlume Tennis Club coach, who is also a tennis player, added
COACH OF THE WEEK:
The Malawian gaffer steered Nsingizini Hotspurs to their maiden elite football league title in less than six months since joining them. This accolade will also go to his assistant Thobias Ntuli, who assembled the champions, who joined them after promoting Seven Dreams into the premier league.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
He is our deserving star Player of the Week as the national Under-23 player inspired the Shiselweni-based side to its first ever trophy in local elite football. He was named the Player of the Tournament.
NSINGIZINI DOMINATE TEAM OF THE WEEK:
Nsingizini Hotspurs were on top of their game as they were crowned champions of the MoMo Cup on Sunday at Somhlolo National Stadium and their players swept the boards. They were the best team on the day and a majority of their players made it to the team of the week.
TEAM OF THE WEEK:
Sibusiso Dlamini (N. Hotspurs) Wenzile Lushaba (N. Hotspurs) Mncedisi ‘Mphotho’ Dlamini (N. Hotspurs) Pius Baffour (N. Hotspurs) Menzi Simelane (M. Pirates) Philani Mkhonto(M. Highlanders) Malibongwe Malinga (M. Pirates) Mbongeni Magagula (M. Pirates) Kitwe Kazadi (M. Pirates) Thubelihle Mavuso (N. Hotspurs) Sibonelelo ‘Maswidi’ Mhlanga (Rangers) that participating in the course positively impacted her approach to the game and taught her how to groom players and tackle their individual skills and weaknesses.
“After my graduation, I have developed a new strategy of coaching. This time I’m tackling every player’s problem gradually; if the player has a problem in serving, I first sort out the grip he or she is using before going to tossing the ball and the stance. I break it up in stages and by so doing it becomes easier for the player not to repeat their mistakes. I have also started training every morning from 4:30am to 6am; practising my forehand, backhand, serves and volleys in preparation for the Level 1 course next year,” she said.
Eswatini Tennis Association (ETA), during the graduation, implored the coaches to impact the knowledge gained from the introductory and refresher course to their various clubs across the country for the purpose of developing tennis across the four regions of Eswatini.
The course was one of ETA’s development programmes that qualified them for a sponsorship of about E500 000 (US$30 000) which they received from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and theAssociation of the National Olympic Committee (ANOC) after a third application for sponsorship was endorsed by the Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA). Applications for sponsorships are open to all associations as announced by EOCGA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Maxwell Jele.