Phikwe juniors called for national duty

ONALENNA MODIKWA
Staff Writer | Tuesday June 22, 2010 00:00

The duo's coach, Wellington Sibanda, said the players are motivated and will do well. He said most of his players have had a good season which saw one of the country's rising prospects, Innocent Tidimane, win a scholarship to sharpen his skills at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria, South Africa. Sibanda said Tidimane's exploits have raised morale in the club as other players realise that it is possible to pursue their dreams.

Letang and George would be in good shape when they link up with their national teammates as they have been busy preparing for the Botswana Open to be played over the President's Day holiday. Sibanda said other Selebi-Phikwe Tennis Club players are preparing for the tournament  slated for Gaborone. The club is also preparing for the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Under-14 event and a national tournament, both scheduled for August.  Sibanda said the players are hard at work, sharpening their tactical awareness as the tournaments approach.

'The mood is good in our camp, the players are upbeat and the previous performance is a challenge to us to aim high.'But the club has been pegged back by crippling financial challenges as it relies mostly on funds from the Botswana Tennis Association for running its day-to-day activities. Sponsorship from the corporate world has been hard to come by. The club gets players from local schools through BTA's grassroots development programme.