The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER spending the past two decades in the United States, Sandy Reid is now back home and he’s hoping to make a contribution to the future growth and development of the of the junior programme in the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association.

Reid, who grew up in the era of legendary Roger Smith when tennis was flourishing in Grand Bahama, has returned from Orlando, Florida, where he was a coach in a number of programmes. Through his efforts, Reid said he was able to get a number of players on scholarships to schools such as Duke, University of Florida and Appalachian State.

“Since I got back, I noticed that there’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” Reid said. “The kids that I’ve been working with have the basic skills, but the biggest problem is their mental game and not enough match play. When they go up against the international players who come here or the college kids when they come home, they don’t know how to construct their points and how to finish it off.

“Also, looking at their fitness level, they have a lot of work to do. I don’t think a lot of them are where they need to be physically.”

In the last month, Reid has been working with a number of the junior tennis players at the National Tennis Centre. His first official job was to work with captain Neil Mactaggart as a coach on the Bahamas boys and girls teams that competed at the IC North American Junior Tennis Challenge which wrapped up on Monday.

This week, Reid is assisting tournament director Kevin Major Sr in organising the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s Giorgio Baldacci Open Tennis Tournament that will conclude on Saturday.

Once the tournament is finished, Reid said he will be engaging the local players in a vigorous training session that will include developing their fitness and performing in match play. Additionally, Reid said he will be conducting a series of seminars to instruct the players on how to develop their game.

For the players he will get to work with, Reid said he intends to push them along the same path as the Americans where they can earn “athletic scholarships” to universities and colleges. The only criteria, he said, is that they will have to produce a respectable grade point average (GPA).

“A lof of colleges and universities are looking for international kids in tennis because the American kids are very lazy,” he said. “So they are looking for kids who are hungry and hopefully we will have some hungry kids here who can take advantage of the opportunities available to them.”

Looking at the Bahamas’ ability to win just one match - boys doubles - played in the IC Tournament against the United States of America, Mexico and Barbados, Reid said the only difference he noticed in their game was the lack of tournament play.

“We need to hold more tournaments here and we have to take the kids away to more tournaments,” he said. “We also need a gym. We desperately need a gym because all of the kids from the other countries are stronger and faster and they can stay on the court longer.

“Their mental game is a lot higher than our kids because they are playing more. We are just as talented as they are, or even more talented. But again, our players like the discipline with their training. I also watch the international kids come off the court from playing a hour and-a-half match and they go right back on the court or they stay on the court and they continue to practice.”

For the local players to get better, Reid said it’s going to be imperative for the players to be more disciplined in practice before and after their matches. With the training regimen that he intends to put in place, Reid is confident that he can change the mentality of some, if not all of the players he will get to work with.