Nigeria Content Online

When the junior tennis national team boards the plane to Botswana tomorrow, they will be going to the Southern African country to once again prove to the rest of Africa that Nigeria is rising again in the game.

Twenty years ago, Nigeria sat comfortably at the pinnacle of tennis on the continent but things went awry.

Now it seems that the ‘giant’ of Africa is rising again to take up her position as the leader in the sport. The team of six players and two coaches has four male and two female players who have vowed that they will be giving an early Easter present to Nigerians.

Sarah Adegoke, who will play in the 14 and under category said at their practice venue in Lagos on Thursday that:

“We have to make sure that we come out tops in Botswana; we are definitely going to surprise a lot of people.

The Ibadan-based player also added that the tours of Ghana and Togo have prepared her for the trip to Botswana.

“In Ghana, we showed the stuff we were made of but now even though the games will be harder and tougher, we are prepared for the challenges ahead.” She also spoke on her West African nemesis, Ghanaian, Elizabeth Archimpong, who defeated her in the finals of the Ghana competition.

“I do not know what happens to me when I meet Elizabeth – it just seems that I forget my game and get all jittery and nervous and that was what happened in Winneba.”

This view was corroborated by her coach, Mohammed Ubale, who said he has been working on mental toughness for his young players.

“We have had times in the past when the players have frozen on the big stage but that has to do with tour experience and the team has some tours under their belt now. Going for more competitions is the only way to prepare these kids – there is no other way.”

The team, after their triumph in Ghana had gone on a two-week programme to Togo where the Nigerian team also came out tops, a development that helped this team prepare very well for their Botswana expedition.

Tough task

Bulus Husseini, a former national player who has had coaching stints in the United States of America said the coach has a lot of work to prepare the team for the task ahead. He says the South Africans and the North Africans always have a mental toughness about them that the Nigerians must copy:

“The coach should work on the players’ fitness, skills, tactical awareness, perseverance, mental toughness and psychological fitness” and he also added that “the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) needs to work much harder by introducing a lot of junior tournaments” like the NNPC/Chevron Junior Masters tournament which ends today (Sunday) which at the moment are almost non-existent, Husseini said.

He continued: “The NTF should have regular meetings and many junior and senior tournaments should be introduced to offer the players much exposure. Presently we have about four senior and one junior functional tournaments in our yearly calendar; these are grossly inadequate compared to the situation three decades ago”, Husseini said.

After the championship

Most of the players that will be representing the country have had their future brightened by plans designed to help achieve the goal of producing tennis players who will improve to later on play on the ATP and WTA circuits.

Samuel Omoile, who is one of the players representing the country in Botswana, is on his way to the famed Sanchez Vicario tennis academy in Barcelona, on account of the NNPC/Chevron initiative. He has been admitted for a three-year programme and that will culminate with him turning pro in 2014.

“I have to make sure that this opportunity does not pass me by. I want to be one of the best players in the world like Roger Federer,” Omoile said.

For him to get that dream on the road, he must first beat the best juniors that other African countries have to offer and that quest will start on Tuesday in Gaborone.

The Nigerian team was camped in Lagos and the male players used the 12th NNPC/Chevron tournament to prepare adequately for Botswana. The two girls – Sarah Adegoke and Afolarin Akosile trained with their male counterparts for the one week that they were in Lagos. The team is billed to depart for Gaborone, Botswana by 11pm, Sunday night aboard South Africa Airways.

The tournament had to be moved to Botswana from Egypt where it was originally slated on account of the political upheaval that swept the country in February. The competition will end on April 8, 2011.