Resaul is top performer at the ITF/COTECC U-12 Development Championships

Aug 03, 2017 Sports, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....pment-championships/

Guyana boys place 3rd

Vadeanand Resaul of Sheltez Tennis club was the spark for the future of Guyana’s tennis at the pre-qualifying rounds of the ITF/COTECC Under-12 Development Championships held recently at the National Racquet Centre, Trinidad. Two teams of three boys; Devine Jeremiah Kalekyezi, Vadeanand Resaul, Wayne Baker and three girls Sekai Akilah Jones, Monisha Amba Persaud, Rashida Hardy represented Guyana in our 10th participation at the tournament.

Playing as the #2 seed for Guyana, Resaul emerged as the top performer with 3 of 4 singles wins and 2 of 4 doubles wins with Baker. As if to signal his intention, he won the first match of the tournament and immediately caught the attention of coaches with his consistent focus on and off court and emotional outbursts at pivotal points in a game. He prevailed in tough matches even when there was much pressure playing against a Trinidadian for his final singles match. The #1 seed, Ugandan Devine Jeremiah Kalekyezi was a strong favourite, but managed to secure only 2 of 4 singles wins. It was clear that Kalekyezi never really overcame his nervousness as he followed suit into other player’s tactics such as two mega rallies of over 100 balls each in the final singles match against a Trinidadian top player.

At the end of the third day, Guyana’s boys’ team were favoured for one of the two top spots and this boosted their confidence. But they fell short to place 3rd of 10 countries barely missing that opportunity to move onwards to play in the finals in Guatemala during August. Their captain and coach Shelly Daly was the head coach in the team’s preparation and she was ecstatic since Resaul, she said is the most confident player that her club has experienced in years and he usually executes on court one hundred percent as planned. “He is mentally the toughest and is highly motivated,” she said.

The six players, many of whom are products of their school mini–tennis programme, were all coached by Daly and she is confident that Guyana has a bright future in tennis with the current crop of young players. Sekai Akilah Jones the #1 seed of the girls’ team lost all 5 of her singles matches, but her partnership with the young Rashida Hardy produced 2 wins. The surprise performance came from #2 seed Monisha Amba Persaud who showed strong signs of mental strength and patience with long rallies in her matches even enduring a match of 3 hours and 45 minutes to come out as the victor against a Barbadian. She won 2 of her 5 singles matches.

The GLTA Vice President and girls team captain, Grace McCalman, felt that the girls were pressured to quickly to adapt to the pristine environment of multiple courts but they practiced often and were disciplined enough to fight bravely against the odds visibly improving each day. All players learned significant lessons from the tournament which is ITF’s premier development tournament to determine how nations are preparing the next generation players.

The revised approach to the tournament defined four sub regions of which Guyana falls into sub-region 4 excluding Central American territories. This was a welcomed move along with the Davis Cup Format for 3 member teams. The recently commissioned National Tennis Centre of Trinidad, which accommodates 12 tennis courts including four indoor courts and one stadium court, hosts the office of the Committee of Sub Region 4. The President of the Tennis Association of Trinidad & Tobago Mr. Hayden Mitchell is also the President of Sub Region 4. During the visit Ms. McCalman in her capacity as GLTA executive member sought to collaborate with Trinidad officials for specific categories of players to participate in limited competitions in Guyana to stimulate interest for development of the sport locally. It has been a year and three months that the GLTA waits the signing of an MOU with the National Sports Commission to jumpstart the process of developing eight international standard courts at the National Racquet Centre for an improved training programme and the hosting of international tournaments. In order to facilitate coaches conducting high performance programmes, the GLTA continues to depend on the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry for provision of adequate facilities, a kind gesture for which the executive is grateful.