Youngsters urged to join social league
"Tennis can be enjoyed by everyone, even those who are not competitive."
A local tennis veteran has called on the youth to also join the social side of tennis.
Mr Bill Basterfield, the chairperson of the Jeppe Quondam Tennis Club, said the youth focuses mainly on competing and playing overseas.
He made this plea on Saturday during social tennis matches which were played at the Jeppe Quondam tennis courts.
“There is nothing wrong with being competitive. But there is a space for those who do not want to play intense competition and those who want to relax while sharpening their skills.
“Tennis can be enjoyed by everyone, even those who are not competitive. In our club we try not to classify our members based on their performance. We encourage everyone to enjoy the benefit of social tennis. We also have professional coaches who train children and adults,” he said.
Mr Basterfield said tennis clinics takes place on Monday to Saturday mornings.
Mr Basterfield urged tennis coaches to also encourage left handed players.
“I went through that during my school days. I sometimes still do. My coaches wanted to change my game until they saw that they could not do anything about it, then they let me be. They believe that you have to hold a racket in a certain way. That made me an unorthodox player. I have a very cut serve. I cut my serve to the right and I have a team mate who is also a left handed. He cuts his serve to the left,” he said.
He said it is not easy to play against a left handed player.
“In our recent game, our opponents said my left handed team mate and I were a terrible combination as my serves were crossing one way and my team mate’s serve was crossing another way.
“But we won the league because of that combination. Left handed players are unorthodox. They are hard to read,” Mr Basterfield said.
He said he started playing at Bedfordview Primary School and moved to the now defunct YMCA.
He said playing tennis gives one a workout and enjoyment.
