NAMIBIA’S professional tennis coach, Elizma Nortje, recently attended a high-profile coaching course in Turkey where she rubbed shoulders with about 300 other participants from 100 nations.
The coaches’ workshop was the 14th annual course offered by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and was held from October 17 to 23. Nortjé told The Namibian Sport recently that the course was presented by the world’s best coaches, technical directors and sports psychologists, including former number-one-ranked tennis star Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who was also the youngest woman to play the coveted French Open Grand Slam.She said the theme for the workshop was ‘Quality Coaching for the Future’, and the ideals and lessons learnt in Turkey will help advance the sport in Namibia.”Particularly relevant to tennis in Namibia were seminars that focused on the combination of technical skills, physical training and tactical values on the different learning states of a player,” she said.She said that as the talent pool in Namibian tennis develops, seminars that focused on training of elite players would be useful in the future.”Mental toughness is imperative on the court and the seminars at the workshops highlighted the practical applications for on-court visualisation,” she added.Nortjé, a former number-one-ranked player in Namibia, said she was ready to share the experience and knowledge gained at the event with Namibian players.She is currently coaching some of the country’s top players and is also involved in the development of the game at the junior level.Among the participants at the workshop were Steven Martens, the technical director of Flemish Tennis Association, who has worked with top-ranked players such as Justin Henin-Hardene, Kim Clijsters and Xavier Malisse.Luis Brugera, who runs one of the top tennis academies in Spain and who has worked with world-class players such as his son, Sergi Brugera (two time French Open champion), was also present.* The ITF’s involvement in competitions extends from top professional events such as the Olympic Tennis Event and the four Grand Slams – the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open – to the entry-level ITF Men’s Satellite and Futures Circuit and the ITF Women’s Circuit.There are also many ITF tournaments and team events for juniors, seniors and wheelchair tennis players.Nortjé told The Namibian Sport recently that the course was presented by the world’s best coaches, technical directors and sports psychologists, including former number-one-ranked tennis star Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who was also the youngest woman to play the coveted French Open Grand Slam.She said the theme for the workshop was ‘Quality Coaching for the Future’, and the ideals and lessons learnt in Turkey will help advance the sport in Namibia.”Particularly relevant to tennis in Namibia were seminars that focused on the combination of technical skills, physical training and tactical values on the different learning states of a player,” she said.She said that as the talent pool in Namibian tennis develops, seminars that focused on training of elite players would be useful in the future.”Mental toughness is imperative on the court and the seminars at the workshops highlighted the practical applications for on-court visualisation,” she added.Nortjé, a former number-one-ranked player in Namibia, said she was ready to share the experience and knowledge gained at the event with Namibian players.She is currently coaching some of the country’s top players and is also involved in the development of the game at the junior level.Among the participants at the workshop were Steven Martens, the technical director of Flemish Tennis Association, who has worked with top-ranked players such as Justin Henin-Hardene, Kim Clijsters and Xavier Malisse.Luis Brugera, who runs one of the top tennis academies in Spain and who has worked with world-class players such as his son, Sergi Brugera (two time French Open champion), was also present.* The ITF’s involvement in competitions extends from top professional events such as the Olympic Tennis Event and the four Grand Slams – the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open – to the entry-level ITF Men’s Satellite and Futures Circuit and the ITF Women’s Circuit.There are also many ITF tournaments and team events for juniors, seniors and wheelchair tennis players.
