Tennis coach lends a helping hand to kids in Diepsloot
DAINFERN– This is one tennis coach's story to help those in need.
In a bid to give back to the disadvantaged children of Diepsloot, tennis coach Allon Rock gives his time to teach them how to play tennis.
“It came about in two ways. I put in a proposal at the end of last year to start a tennis development programme at the Reddam House and this year I have been speaking to Grade 4 teacher, Brenda Fernandes who initiated contact with a sports club in Diepsloot called Bopelong Sports Club who have had children come to the school this year to do soccer at the school,” Rock explained.
He highlighted that what he had done for Mandela Day was coach 17, 14 and 13-year- olds for 67 minutes as well as to introduce them to the sport. “With that initiative, I aimed to get them interested in an ongoing programme. What I noticed was that the children involved loved every minute of the experience hence I spoke to the school about a weekly programme where they would come to the tennis grounds and receive coaching from myself for free.”
Rock explained that his challenge was that the school currently had only one school bus which cannot fetch and drop the children on a weekly basis as it can only do so once a month until they get a second bus, which might only be from next year. “The problem with that is that once a month is not enough for any children wanting to learn how to play a very technically demanding sport like tennis. Once a week is a minimum requirement, so I am appealing to residents of the Fourways area who might want to get involved and sponsor this initiative in any way that they possibly can to get these amazing children to Reddam weekly and also possibly get us old rackets and equipment for them to use.”
He mentioned that the plan was for each age group to have a one-hour session starting at 2pm and ending at 4pm each Tuesday. “I believe that these children will benefit from learning how to play tennis as this sport is athletic and is a sport for life. Once they’ve learnt how to play properly they’ll be able to play up until a late stage in life..”
Rock shared that the children will learn essential life skills like discipline and commitment when they learn it. “Tennis will open their eyes to hopefully other avenues in life and give them options with regard to a career in coaching. They will also be able to meet people from different backgrounds through tennis.”
He expressed that during the recent Mandela Day, he already had the privilege to meet a 19-year-old young man who is the club’s assistant manager. He matriculated in 2016 and wished to study tourism management at a university but didn’t have the means to do so. “After finding out about this, I contacted someone I know in the tourism industry about a bursary for the young man and I am waiting on that to happen. So this would not have happened had I not gotten involved in starting something like this.
“If you can’t help other people what is the point of anything?”
What other sports help children to be dedicated and disciplined? Share your views on the Fourways Review Facebook page
