Top juniors help with Cayman Brac school tennis programme

A trio of top junior tennis players in the Cayman Islands had the opportunity to give back when they assisted with teaching the sport they love so dearly to primary school players in Cayman Brac this month.

Willow Wilkinson, Oskar Bjuroe, and Zach Jackson joined Ritz-Carlton-Cayman Islands tennis pro, Neil Fernandez, for the coaching sessions at West End Primary School sponsored by Walkers.

“The goal of this initiative is to engage the teachers, specifically the PE teachers, from Cayman Brac, with the aid of a professional coach, to introduce and continuously teach tennis to the students on a regular basis,” Fernandez explained.

He added that the programme showcases success as measured by the interest and gradual improvement of the skill of the students.

“It was really great for Willow, Oskar and Zach to join me on the trip,” Fernandez said. “We started our day by letting the three junior players play mini tennis. The moment the students came out of their classes, their eyes were fixed on the three older players who were there to coach them. Not only did it spark a great deal of interest among them, but it also clearly inspired many of them and made them realise that they too could perhaps play tennis to a high standard one day.” 

The students were then divided into three, which allowed each of the top juniors to take responsibility of a group.

“Each group worked on different strokes, and I would rotate them after some time, so that all the primary students would have their chance to get to work on each stroke. Towards the end of each session I gathered everyone to do some skills test and fun games. 

“At the end of the day, we left the students with sweat and smiles on their faces! With the help of PE teacher, Ms. Lavender Bryan, the day went very smoothly,” Fernandez said.

He expressed gratitude to the Tennis Federation of the Cayman Islands for regularly promoting this programme and to Walkers for their support.

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