Tennis workshop

If you are into tennis, then this is for you.

On Friday and Saturday, a workshop for coaches will be held at the Casino Español de Cebu from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:30 to 5 p.m. on both days.

This is a project of the International Tennis Federation and the Philippine Tennis Association. What makes this workshop even better is the fact that two topnotch coaches will be coming over to conduct it. What makes it a lot better still is that the registration fee is only P150.

My cousin and compadre John Pages sent me e-mail early this week about the event and he told me that this is not only open to coaches, but also to trainers, P.E. instructors, and tennis parents.

The coaches that would be conducting the workshop are Suresh Mnon and Chris Cuarto.

Menon used to be the national coach of Indonesia and also Malaysia and is responsible for a two-gold finish for Indonesia in the 1990 Beijing Asian Games.

Cuarto, who once reached as high as the number 4 tennis player of the country, is not only a champion player, but also an ITF level 2 coach. He is currently the coach of the Ateneo men's team.

Don't miss this rare opportunity to hone your coaching skills for a very minimal sum. Contact Ging-ging Astilla at (32)4161122 local 100 for registration and more information.

I have am trying to talk my four-year-old girl into paying tennis when she reaches the right age. I hope she does, but she seems to enjoy football also and has even promised me that she'd take up judo.

I hope she will, but if she decides to take up tennis, volleyball, badminton, football, golf, or judo, that would be fine with me. I'm just a parent, who'd be happy to see my kids get into sports. If they excel then that's a bonus, but who would not hope that his kid would become the best.

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Had we not left the old Atlas Mines in Toledo City when my father got sick, I'd have been playing tennis more than any other sport.

Well, with the reopening Atlas Mines now eagerly anticipated, those of us who spent years of our lives inside the many compounds in Toledo City would probably look back to those days when participation in sports seem very natural for both parents and kids.

Maybe it was because of the fact that during that time (the 70s), going to the recreation centers near the compounds was the closest thing we had to real entertainment.

There were basketball, badminton and tennis courts, bowling, and for me as a very young boy, the best part was probably the canteen that sold huevos and patatas and cold softdrinks among many others.

I'd say that my growing up years inside one of the compounds of the Atlas Mines was a major contributor to my love and interest in sports.

I don't know if I can still whack a tennis ball into the opposing court. But, I'm sure tennis is still something that interests me aside from the players like Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova, and Maria Sharapova.

I hope that those who could learn from the workshop can really take time out this Friday and Saturday.

I also hope that I could find that time too.

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MILESTONE: Belated birthday greetings to my compadre Renato 'Oly' S. Dychangco, Jr., who turned a year older yesterday.

Belated greetings also to my friends Mary Ann Segers (Nov. 3) and Carl Abad Bugarin, the math genius of my class, (Nov. 4).

More power to all of you!