When Having Fun is the Priority
Magic Bus NGO along with the Wimbledon foundation had organized a coaching clinic for kids who would probably never get the chance to learn to play tennis in their lives. Children, armed with beginner sized tennis racquets, were doing everything but playing serious tennis.
It was just 11 am and the sun was already toasting up the tennis courts at the RK Khanna Tennis stadium in the capital. The sound that usually greets your when you reach the venue, is that of tennis balls being hit by players who practice there every day. This time it was different. There isn't much I could see, thanks to high walls. But some folks were surely having a lot of fun in there.(All the latest Tennis Updates)
When I walked in, more than 200 children were indeed having fun. Magic Bus NGO along with the Wimbledon foundation had organized a coaching clinic for kids who would probably never get the chance to learn to play tennis in their lives. Children, armed with beginner sized tennis racquets, were doing everything but playing serious tennis. And that's exactly why they were there. To have fun. A sentiment that was echoed by the CEO of Magic Bus, Pratik Kumar. "The kids need to just go out & have some fun, shake a leg, make friends and then you can build on more serious issues around and focus on a goal for winning," Kumar told NDTV.
The clinic was headed by Dan Bloxham, the head coach at Wimbledon. While I stood there in the corner itching to hold a racquet and knock a few balls, Dan waved out and called me on to the court. I told him politely that we will do the interaction later & I do not wish to disturb him or the kids, but he insisted that I join in. Ten minutes later, drenched in sweat, I walked up to thank him. "But did you have fun?", he asked. Yes I did, and after very long that too. I was done, but the kids were in no mood to stop. Two hours later when Dan Bloxham decided to call it a day, the children protested as they wanted more.
Former India Davis Cupper Vishal Uppal then came along from the sidelines to play with them. Two hours, in almost 40 degrees, and there was just no sign of stopping. Amazed by the response, Dan called it the craziest tennis clinic he has ever done. He went on say, "Individual sports are good because it means that the player needs to have the confidence to make decision. And in adult life you are confronted with situations, where you have to decide what is right and what is wrong"
Adulthood and decision making was a distant idea for the children attending the clinic, at least at that point. But if any of them do decide to make tennis a career at all, this clinic would certainly prove to be helpful. Tennis coaches from abroad and India are looking forward to more of these in the future.