The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

Promoting health and fitness through the sport of tennis, organisers and instructors at Brajaxba are once again hosting their popular summer camp.

“As an athlete, I had the opportunity to play with many of the top sports teams during my active years, but during summer time we played every day to improve my skills to perform at a higher level,” said Bradley Bain, programme director at Brajaxba Tennis.

Realising that tennis players find themselves in a similar situation, and to help young players focus on their skill development, Mr Bain came up with the idea for the summer camp.

At Brajaxba’s Gym Tennis Club in Winton, the summer camp will run until August 19, from 9am to 1pm, Monday through Friday.

Mr Bain said it is gratifying to watch kids from the ages of four to 17 improve their skill level from beginners to intermediate and advanced levels over their summer vacation.

The camp starts with 45 minutes of fitness; working on a combination of speed, quickness, balance, agility, eye-hand coordination and cross-training. This is then followed by specific drills to work on forehand, backhand, volleys, serves and returns of serves.

The third segment focuses on match play which helps players learn how to play the game by implementing aspects of their daily training into their matches. Instructors note that knowing what to do with the ball in each situation is crucial in developing a top level player.

“Brajaxba Tennis got started out of my love for tennis in 1993 with the focus of developing local tennis talent; to give them the opportunity to attain a college education through tennis,” said Mr Bain.

“I played all the major sports growing up and there were a number of persons who mentored me on my way up the ladder of success to be the best player that I could be.”

He said wanted to give back to the community and began to offer his services to the Tennis Association in 1995 with a single tennis session on Saturday mornings at a private court on Yamacraw Road.

The programme expanded to be also be held on Mondays and Wednesdays, and now to six days a week. Today, Mr Bain is responsible for all programmes offered by Brajaxba Tennis.

He believes the tennis summer camp is important in many ways because while some kids will participate for recreation, true tennis campers take part to improve their overall game.

“They want to be more consistent in the ground strokes, they will make a few technical adjustments in the stroke technique. Some will work to get faster, quicker on the tennis court, while others will want to improve the game tactics and strategy. Summer is a time to grow your game because you are playing every day and working on all aspects of your game,” he said.

When it comes to the health benefits of tennis, Mr Bain said they are numerous, but in a nutshell he said playing tennis helps support a person’s cardiovascular health and gives them more vigour, optimism and self-esteem.

“Tennis players burn more calories than most active sports. Tennis helps with fitness, flexibility, strength, endurance and general body coordination, amongst many others,” he said.

And while the health benefits are not be discounted, and the one of the main goals is to allow the young players to improve their prowess on the court, he said it is also important that see each camper has fun playing the game.

“If they enjoy the game and have fun they will look forward to the next game or practice session. Our advanced players see college in their futures and we have to ensure they have all the skills in their tool box to earn a tennis scholarship. If we want to see more Bahamians going off to college on tennis scholarships, then camp is essential for them to continue their skill development. I have made a commitment to assist and support as many tennis players as I can to attain a free education through tennis. It is important the we create an environment for them to develop their tennis skills, to allow them to compete and play on the international stage. Our camps will be on going for the foreseeable future,” said Mr Bain.

The Brajaxba Tennis programmes operate from the Gym Tennis Club in Winton Meadows. For more information, email brajaxbatennisbahamas@gmail.com or Whatsapp 544-5622 or 357-5580.