Top juniors score with tennis sessions for Brac youngsters
(CNS Local Life): Three of Cayman’s top junior tennis players recently travelled to Cayman Brac to take part in an ongoing programme to teach the sport to primary students. Willow Wilkinson, Oskar Bjuroe and Zach Jackson joined local tennis pro Neil Fernandez on the trip, under an initiative run by the Tennis Federation of the Cayman Islands.
The visit marked the first time in the seven years of the programme, which has been sponsored by Walkers since its inception, that young tennis players from Grand Cayman have participated.
The goal of this initiative is to enable PE teachers on Cayman Brac, with the aid of a professional coach, to introduce and teach tennis to the students on a regular basis, a press release said. The success of the programme can be measured by the interest and gradual improvement of the skill of the students.
The first part of the day involved the trio from Grand Cayman playing for the Brac youngsters. Fernandez said when the students saw them play, “not only did it spark a great deal of interest among them, but it also clearly inspired many of them”, adding it “made them realise that they, too, could perhaps play tennis to a high standard one day”.
After the exhibition, the primary students were divided into three groups –reception and Year 1; Years 2 and 3; and Years 4 and 5. Each was then subdivided so that Wilkinson, Bjuroe and Jackson could take on their own mini-groups.
Each group worked on different strokes, with the children rotated to enable all the youngsters to get a chance to practise each stroke. Towards the end of each session, Fernandez organised skills tests and games.
Noting the day went very smoothly, Fernandez also thanked PE teacher Lavender Bryan for her help.
Category: Primary School, Schools, Sports, Tennis
Good job Willow, Oskar and Zach! Proud of you.