By Tamica Garnett
President of the Guyana Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA), Christopher Ram yesterday delivered words of inspiration to the remaining six tennis players prior to their departure for St Vincent and the Grenadines where they are scheduled to participate in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior Championships.
Addressing the audience of team members, parents and coach, Shelly-Daly Ramdyhan at his Ram and McRae Chartered Accounts office on Waterloo Street, Ram reminded the players that they were among the best that Guyana has to offer.
He advised them to remember that tennis was more than just about physical capabilities stating that it also depended on one’s mental capabilities.
“You are our representatives; you are our best at this stage.
“Remember the part of the training we did dealing with temperament and strategy, because tennis is a lot in the head, but of course it is in the feet and the arms and the whole body movement,” the GLTA boss declared.
Citing the recent performances of the Guyana rugby and cricket teams as guiding examples, Ram urged the players to strive to show the great magnitude of capabilities growing in Guyana.
“We want you to go out there and really fight for every single point. The GLTA has, with the support of parents, put a lot of time, effort and resources into tennis and particularly junior tennis. All of you know that,” Ram said.
He told the players of the great discipline, both on and off the court, that travelling GLTA teams in the past had displayed and urged the present contingent not to diverge from this pattern.
“One thing our players have gotten great credit and praise conduct both on and off the court and I would like to ask you to keep that up. Respect the decision of the officials, respect your coach and play as a team, even when it is an individual game,” he said.
The players will be joined in SVG by Krystal and Benedict Sukra and Aruna Ramrattan who will be travelling from St Lucia, fresh off of participating in the first leg of the three tournament circuit.
The trio participated in the Coca Cola ITF Junior Tennis Tournament held from 9 – 13 August but lost in the first round of the tournament.
Noting this downfall, Ram declared that the association has already taken note and will be working assiduously to “rethink” the situation and assess the necessary “redirection” that needs to be taken.
“We are going to St Vincent and we are reasonably well represented, but we are doing this send off on a day when it is reported in the media how badly our top players are doing. Krystal and Aruna could probably soon become national champions and they get knocked out at very early stages.
“But we recognize that it is going to take some more effort, tennis has been in the doldrums for some time and we have to rethink things. We, the coaches, the parents and I, need to talk as to where we may have gone wrong this year and what redirection we need to consider,” he said.
Ram challenged the contenders to take their game up a notch from their best.
“I know you will try your best, but we need you to do better than your best. The best has not worked so far and if the best is not working it means you have to take it one notch further up. When you come back we want you to bring positive results, we want you headlined as champions returning in glory,” Ram stated.
“So you go with our best wishes, our encouragement, our expectations and our hopes. Don’t let us down, don’t let Guyana down, don’t let your parents down, don’t let your colleagues down and as you go out there, enjoy yourselves learn, and come back a more rounded person.”
