THE Rebel Tennis team has once more returned from a tournament in Trinidad, where they launched the Club’s official track suit with a cache of trophies.
Although these were fewer than on previous occasions, Coach Andre Erskine said he was “extremely satisfied” with the team’s performances at the recently concluded Royal Bank Junior Tennis tournament.

And playing in his second regional tournament, the coach himself earned the winner’s trophy in the Men’s Open Division category.
“I didn’t want to play; it was the players who persuaded me,” he said, smiling at the memory. Several team members made it to the semis and quarter-finals in their various categories.

First-timer Hayden Chan won the Boys’ Under-10 Division Two category, while Micah McAllister reached the semi-finals. Akeel Semple took the Senior Boys’ trophy, and Jessica Grannum won the Junior Girls’. Isabella Grannum also managed to reach the semis, playing in her first overseas Under-12 competition, and Michael Fordyce made the semis in the Boys’ Under-10.

And, raising her game significantly, Mikaila Pierre landed the runner-up position in the Senior Girls’ category. Denzel Luthers, Gerald Scotland, and Christian Younge all gave worthy performances, with Gerald and Denzel teaming up to reach the Men’s Open.
Nathan De Nobrega put in sterling performances, playing in three categories plus doubles. He was runner-up in the Boys’ Under-14 and reached the quarter-finals in the Under-16 and the Men’s Open.

As the coach explained, most of these players were required to advance to a higher level, having already won in their given categories in previous tournaments. For this reason, he said this was “one of the most successful tournaments where all of the players over performed”.
He recounted how members had packed schedules, in some instances competing until after midnight, and then were required to rise early the next morning and “do it all over again”.

“They fought tirelessly,” said the coach of this Club, which boasts most of the country’s top players. He also had words of gratitude for the Grove/Diamond community, where the Club is located, for their support of fund-raising efforts, which saw members in pairs and groups on the streets selling raffle tickets.
Some of the top players attend the National Tennis Academy when they can, and Coach Erskine hopes that the absence of others will not be one of the factors preventing the Club as a whole, from getting help from the powers that be.

Right now, the Club generally raises its funds for equipment, travel, accommodation and other expenses. And, a planned trip, for which the Club has been busily raising funds, had to be postponed owing to the death of a parent of one of the Club’s star players.
Yet, Denzel Luthers, the young man in question, not only did well during the Trinidad tournament, but was back on the practice courts in the Diamond GBTI compound. Coach Erskine expressed his thanks to the bank for allowing the Club to use its Tennis courts.

But he also pointed out the disadvantages faced by players who do not have the favourable conditions enjoyed by their competitors.
However, he put it all in perspective by saying, “It’s not only about them coming home with a trophy, but about how they performed”. Kudos to this dedicated coach, who goes ‘above and beyond’ to ensure his Club’s success, even using the proceeds from a car he recently sold to help finance team travel overseas. As with many other sporting groups, this Club is in dire need of sponsorship, so that its talented players can achieve the heights of which they are clearly capable.