Free annual tennis camp for children begins tomorrow

Sport

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Former national lawn tennis player Errol Campbell will be in the island conducting a six-day training camp as he continues to give back and develop the sport he loves so much.Campbell, who played, captained and coached the Jamaican team, is currently the senior tennis coach at Midtown Tennis Club in New York, and has been doing this for the last four years.The free training camp begins tomorrow and concludes on Saturday at the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) tennis courts between 10:00 am and 2: 00 pm daily.As an added bonus this year and to round off the six-day camp, there will be an exhibition match on Saturday at 2:00 pm, featuring five former national representatives — and Victor Rutherford, Errol and Peter Campbell and Kenneth Lawson.Errol Campbell, who now lives and works in New York City, started playing tennis and learning his trade by making his own board racquet and playing tennis with his wall.Along with his brothers and a few other children, they got summer jobs as ball boys at the very same UWI tennis courts where they did the honours for the likes of Michael Manley, Eric Bell, Carlyle Dunkley, Barclay Ewart, and Dick Pixley.The beneficiaries of the annual tennis camp are all children from the August Town area, and as Campbell says: “They just show up every year, learn tennis, enjoy themselves and have a ball in the process.”

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Free annual tennis camp for children begins tomorrow

KBC Learning Tennis Academy launched

Sport

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

KBC Learning Sports has launched Jamaica’s first real tennis academy — the first programme to combine accredited online academic study with certified tennis training.The KBC Learning Tennis Academy with USPTR coach LLockett McGregor at Liguanea Club launched last Thursday is now accepting students for the September term.The KBC Learning Tennis Academy is unique to Jamaica and similar to other overseas programmes with one difference — all the academics are online. The curriculum is developed to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) standard providing graduates with a US high school diploma, SAT scores, and good tennis skills, making them eligible for full US college tennis scholarships and local college entrance. Aspiring tennis players can now pursue their tennis and their high school education locally.“The KBC Learning Tennis Academy is not focused on creating tennis champions,” explains USPTR certified coach McGregor. “We are developing competent and competitive tournament players who, with strong academics, will be eligible to take up the many tennis scholarships for team players, particularly girls, that are available in colleges and universities.”KBC Learning graduates Siquenia Sinclair and Shantal Blackwood, both high-ranking Jamaica tennis juniors, are now playing on scholarships at Shorter University, Georgia, and Florida A&M, respectively.At the launch, both players detailed their successful completion of their first year at college, noting their appreciation to KBC Learning.KBC Learning has been delivering online education since 2003 and is approved by the Ministry of Education as a home school. The KBC Learning Tennis curriculum has been developed to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) standards for admission to Division One and Division Two colleges.The Tennis Academy will operate in three terms, mirroring traditional schools. Each day students will have four hours of on-line academics at KBC Learning and four hours of tennis with LLockett McGregor and his professional team at Liguanea Club.“Our graduates have benefited from college admissions and scholarships as a direct result of a combination of academic preparation and sports training managed by KBC Learning,” explained KBC Learning Academic Director Angela Bennett.“In 2012, five KBC Learning graduates gained access and scholarships to local and overseas colleges. In addition, several current students are working towards gaining college scholarships using sports as a vehicle.”Each student will have an individual academic learning plan based on identified learning needs. KBC Learning will administer a diagnostic academic assessment and evaluate the results to determine each student’s strengths and weaknesses prior to acceptance and placement with a selected on-line school. Teachers are online, while subject matter experts are available at KBC Learning to guide and monitor students as they work online.KBC Learning’s association with tennis has grown out of an early partnership with The Scholarship Fund. The programme was developed when KBC Learning occupied space at Tennis Jamaica and offered academic services to some of the country’s outstanding junior players. KBC Learning has also developed strong associations with tennis college coaches in the USA.

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KBC Learning Tennis Academy launched