The first 'Dollar Day' training session was a huge success, leaving the executive members in the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) looking forward to next Saturday. More than 60 kids showed up to the BLTA's National Tennis Centre, to participate in the 'Dollar Day' training, designed to teach interested persons the game of tennis. BLTA President Derron Donaldson was very pleased with the turnout and is expecting more kids, as training continues.
He said: "The goal is to ensure that everyone in the country, especially the kids, pick up a racket and step on the tennis court at least once. We are so pleased with the turnout, and as the program continues, I am sure more persons will catch on. The 'Dollar Day' training is an inexpensive way of bringing the game to the community. So many people believe that tennis is expensive, and in some way it is, but we want to move away from that. We want people to come out and play even if they don't have money."
Donaldson was assisted by the BLTA's National Director Bradley Bain, and Ricardo Demeritte. Bain is in charge of the 'Play and Stay' program, and Demeritte as well as national team player Larikah Russell, contributes. The 'Dollar Day' training was also used a mini fundraiser, as well as a promotional event for the BLTA. It is the hope of the executive members to attract more persons to the sport, especially at the beginner's stage. These players will make full use of the Mark Knowles 'Play and Stay' courts, that will be constructed on the western side of the tennis facility.
Demeritte said: "We were really blown away by the amount of kids who turned out. For the first day we were expecting maybe between 10-20 kids but we had almost 70 kids. It shows that a lot of kids and parents are interested in learning tennis." The event was used to teach all the kids the basic skills of tennis such as hand-eye coordination, volleying and ground strokes. At the training sessions, the kids bonded and made new friends, as most of the drills were done in teams.
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