The Anguilla Tennis Academy (ATA), on Monday June 6th, received a cheque and tennis supplies from Leviticus Lifestyles & Travel to boost its capabilities.
Kenroy Herbert and Leana Harris of Leviticus Lifestyle & Travel presented the cheque which will go towards two 12-month scholarships as well as 10 rackets to ATA Coach Vallan Hodge.
Mr. Herbert describes himself as someone who played a little tennis at the Anguilla Tennis Academy. “I’ve noticed an increasing number of children becoming involved in competitive and recreational tennis at an early age. I thought to myself… ‘this is awesome’. Children as young as four or five years of age participate and some [of the older ones] being awarded full college scholarships because of the skills that were developed at the Academy. How great is this?”
The ATA is known for developing tennis on the island and secures scholarships for deserving students each year. Mr. Herbert believes that playing tennis is, without doubt, good for the mind and body as it has many physical and psychological health benefits associated with it. “These health benefits are particularly important for a child’s physical, emotional and mental development. However, the human system can be trained and improved at any stage of life, so these health benefits apply to adults and seniors too”, he said.
Kenroy said that upon his observation of the Academy he noticed that some of the kids did not have their own rackets, and had heard that some of them who were really good were unable to attend regularly because of financial constraints. He noted: “I thought that investing in those children’s skills would be a great thing to do. I’m a firm believer in giving children the right tools and opportunities to develop their God given talents. If not, those talents would simply be lost and that would be a very unfortunate situation”. He continued: “Children who play [tennis] develop skills and strategies that will also serve them well in life off the court. They must learn to respond to adversity, adapt to different situations and environments, and deal with stress often compounded when scores are tight or if they’re losing. Both in practice and competitive environments, tennis fosters work ethic, discipline, and sportsmanship in children, and hones their strategic and problem-solving skills”.
Mr. Herbert thanked the founders, coaches and parents who volunteer at the Anguilla Tennis Academy and encouraged them to continue preparing Anguilla’s youths for the future. The students and coaches, in turn, thanked him and Leviticus Lifestyle for generously contributing to the development of the Academy.
