Johannesburg, South Africa – Members of the Dutch junior tennis team decided to visit Soweto and share some tennis knowledge with the young aspiring players of the Arthur Ashe Tennis Centre development programme last week.
The tennis team travelled to South Africa to participate in the two week International Tennis Federation NWU PUKKE/RVTA ITF 1 and 2 held in Potchefstroom in February and early March.
Other than passing on tennis skills to the enthusiastic youngsters, the Dutch players donated some tennis apparel to the junior players that they had collected in The Netherlands prior to making their trip to South Africa.
Dutch Coach Chris Vermeeren said it was important in the development of junior players that they conducted clinics like the one in Soweto and reached out to players who had less opportunities than they had. “Before we left for South Africa I gathered the players together and briefed them on South Africa and the history of the country and diversity of the population and culture. Then I contacted Tennis South Africa (TSA) and asked whether doing a clinic in Soweto would be possible. TSA welcomed the idea and gave it full support. The Dutch players then decided to collect tennis apparel and hand it out at the clinic, their own initiative, which was good to see.”
The Dutch team also visited the historical Hector Pietersen Memorial, Nelson Mandela’s house on Vilakazi Street and the FNB Soccer Stadium (Official FIFA 2010 World Cup stadium) as part of their Soweto tour.