Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy to provide strong infrastructure and guidance

 

by Shrutee K/DNS

 

4^th March 2016: Announcing the launch of the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy (RBTA) on his 36^th Birthday, the Kodava seemed to have found the perfect celebration. With the academy formally launching in April 2016, Rohan inaugurated the academy with a three-day weekend clinic where he himself played coach, mentor and guide for several young children between the ages of 4 & 14 years. Rohan Bopanna's long association with the sport has made him realize the need for a well-rounded tennis academy in India that would be committed to the nurturing and development of the sport at the grass roots.

 

"Throughout my playing career I have always taken the opportunity of interacting with coaches and academies across the world, this experience helped me gain a better understanding of the approach that is required to build stronger, more committed players. Having learnt and played the game in India, where the focus is mainly on developing tennis skills, unlike abroad where I saw there was an equal focus on both fitness and tennis skills. I realized that there was a gap in our training and methodology which hampered the growth and abilities of our talent and that fitness was a key component in developing talent from a young age . My endeavour and focus while conceptualizing the academy was clear, I wanted to create a truly international coaching experience which developed players to their complete potential while encouraging them to play the game and have fun while doing so" Said Rohan Bopanna, who re-iterated that the academy was not built to develop a Grand-Slam champion in the immediate future but to get children from a young age focused on fitness and the sport while equipping them with a strong foundation to build successful sporting careers upon.

 

Situated in the bustling suburb of Yelahanka, RBTA offers 4 high-quality clay courts equipped with a mini-tennis option, a cinder track for training and a host of exclusive fitness training equipment.

 

South African former tennis legend, Olympic Silver Medalist and French Open winner, Pietie Norval, who plays the role of Mentor-Coach will guide the coaching team. A Global Professional Tennis Coach Association - Level A coach, he has served as coach of the South African junior national tennis team and trained several leading past and present international players. He has also worked extensively with school and tertiary institutions, developing and improving their sport environment and early child development programs. He has leveraged his decade long experience in coaching children in Africa to create a strong developmental program for RBTA, in consultation with Rohan. He will make regular visits to the academy to ensure that the resident coaching team is delivering a truly international standard training program.

 

"Our curriculum is focused on prioritizing fitness for the child enrolled in the program to ensure that they are fit for any sport that they may chose to participate in, in the future. The curriculum is focused on developing overall fitness, building a strong foundation in techniques and tips on leveraging their game for match play success." Shared Mr. Norval.  Mr. Norval will be joined by a team of certified coaches who share a common vision and are enthusiastic about overall sport development in India.

 

RBTA will also offer students focused fitness development sessions designed and managed by experienced fitness coach Dr. Yash Pandey, who has worked with several international sposrtmen as well as the Indian Davis Cup team, the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Sheffield United Football Club academy (UK) and the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital. Dr. Pandey has developed a unique fitness program specifically for young children. At RBTA the fitness program for kids in the 4-9 age group will focus more on the development of neuro-motor coordination, flexibility, hand-eye coordination and balance, helping build the fitness base. For children between 9-14 years the focus will be on tennis specific physical requirements like speed, agility, sideways movement and endurance. The academy will open in the second week of April and will offer an extensive range of programs for children between 4 and 14 years. For more details on the programs and other information on the academy please log on to www.rohanbopannatennis.com.