Filipino coaches laud ITF confab

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino coaches hailed the 15th International Tennis Federation Asian regional coaches conference which ended Sunday night at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority in Zambales.

‘’I felt like making an ace everytime I hear the lecture of world class speakers,’’ said Carlos Veniegas Jr., long-time coach and Physical Education teacher from the Gumaca National High School tennis team in Quezon province, who joined the top guns of Philippine tennis in the week-long seminar.

Elite coaches Martin Misa, Roland Kraut and Chris Cuarto said the seminar opened their eyes to modern approaches on coaching.

‘’It was such a joy listening to the speakers. I learn a lot of new things,’’ said Misa, who noted that even the speakers interacted with each other and open to new ideas.

Kraut and Cuarto, who like Misa hold the honor of reaching Level 2 in the ITF standard of coaching, said the seminar will play a crucial role as the country seeks to discover and train future stars.

Among the speakers who drew raves from the 87 participants representing 17 nations, including host Philippines, were ITF development officer Frank Couraud, ITF research officer Miguel Crespo, ITF development officer Suresh Menon, Robert Ballard, Brenden Sharp, Doug McCurdy, Pancho Alvarino, Benidikt Linder, Ranil Harshana, Paul Sindhunata and Travis Atkinson.

 ‘The result of this conference is amazing and unbelievable,’’ said Couraud during the festive closing ceremonies at the Traveller’s Hotel.

Couraud also praised the organizers headed by Filipino-Indian businessman and Philippine Sportswriters Association awardee Ajay Pathak for ensuring that the seminar will be a huge success.

Topics like the importance of doubles in the modern game, systematic identification of talents for national associations, agility and general quickness, sharpening the technique of tournament players, coordination, tennis drills, prevention of injuries, using on-line media tools to help coaching, performance criteria, etc. were discucced in the seminar.

‘Filipino coaches have the enthusiasm and spirit to learn new things,’’ said Crespo, while Menon, a former Malaysian Davis Cupper, stressed the importance of infrastructure in the development of tennis.

Philippine Tennis Association president Julito Villanueva and executive vice-president and Parañaque Representative Edwin Olivarez attended the closing ceremonies. They thanked the ITF headed Francesco Ricci Bitti and the Asian Tennis Federation under Anil Khanna for their support.

Filipino coaches laud ITF confab

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino coaches hailed the 15th International Tennis Federation Asian regional coaches conference which ended Sunday night at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority in Zambales.

‘’I felt like making an ace everytime I hear the lecture of world class speakers,’’ said Carlos Veniegas Jr., long-time coach and Physical Education teacher from the Gumaca National High School tennis team in Quezon province, who joined the top guns of Philippine tennis in the week-long seminar.

Elite coaches Martin Misa, Roland Kraut and Chris Cuarto said the seminar opened their eyes to modern approaches on coaching.

‘’It was such a joy listening to the speakers. I learn a lot of new things,’’ said Misa, who noted that even the speakers interacted with each other and open to new ideas.

Kraut and Cuarto, who like Misa hold the honor of reaching Level 2 in the ITF standard of coaching, said the seminar will play a crucial role as the country seeks to discover and train future stars.

Among the speakers who drew raves from the 87 participants representing 17 nations, including host Philippines, were ITF development officer Frank Couraud, ITF research officer Miguel Crespo, ITF development officer Suresh Menon, Robert Ballard, Brenden Sharp, Doug McCurdy, Pancho Alvarino, Benidikt Linder, Ranil Harshana, Paul Sindhunata and Travis Atkinson.

 ‘The result of this conference is amazing and unbelievable,’’ said Couraud during the festive closing ceremonies at the Traveller’s Hotel.

Couraud also praised the organizers headed by Filipino-Indian businessman and Philippine Sportswriters Association awardee Ajay Pathak for ensuring that the seminar will be a huge success.

Topics like the importance of doubles in the modern game, systematic identification of talents for national associations, agility and general quickness, sharpening the technique of tournament players, coordination, tennis drills, prevention of injuries, using on-line media tools to help coaching, performance criteria, etc. were discucced in the seminar.

‘Filipino coaches have the enthusiasm and spirit to learn new things,’’ said Crespo, while Menon, a former Malaysian Davis Cupper, stressed the importance of infrastructure in the development of tennis.

Philippine Tennis Association president Julito Villanueva and executive vice-president and Parañaque Representative Edwin Olivarez attended the closing ceremonies. They thanked the ITF headed Francesco Ricci Bitti and the Asian Tennis Federation under Anil Khanna for their support.