Botswana: Destined for Greater Things

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The Voice (Francistown)

11 March 2008
Posted to the web 11 March 2008

Monnakgotla Mojaki
Francistown

The Botswana Tennis Association's two tennis coaches that recently attended a two-week level II coaching course are back in the country and eagerly await their results. Moses Motate and Ernest Seleke are both level I qualified coaches. If they pass the course they will only be the second and third, respectively, to have a level II certificate.

According to Tennis Development sports officer, Tuelo Serufho, if the two don't make it, that will be a great blow to BTA since there is only one qualified coach for the elite level II course in Botswana. The International Tennis Federation Olympic Solidarity in Pretoria, South Africa conducted the course.

According to Motate the training was one of the most advanced he has ever entered into.

"The whole training was based on how to deal with advanced players, those whose aspirations to play professionally. We were doing biomechanics, which is basically how to condition and move one's body. The study of a tennis player's movement, as well as eye ball coordination, is the most important at this level," Motate told Voice Sports upon his return.

Motate is considering being a professional tennis coach, and is busy on the courts to get the hang of it.

"At the moment, while awaiting my results I am doing volunteer work for beginners, intermediate and our tournament players. I work with players at under 16 and 18. Three times in a week I work with the real beginners where we do mini-tennis where we do the basics like racket handling and coordination, which takes quite a long time to achieve. A beginner should get used to the basics before attempting to progress to serious tennis on the playing courts."

Being a product of the Botswana National Sports Council scholarship and having acquired a Degree in Human Movement Science through the elite programme, Motate also engages in private tennis tuition to make ends meet. "I have about six young players, and some adults, that I coach privately. I am also a product of private tutoring. Jonathan Greasley, who is currently at the University of Botswana student centre, groomed me. He is a gifted mentor,"

Although the two coaches are clear products of BTA, Motate has been done a great favour by the Botswana Defence Force facilities where he was helped by one German coach who was in an exchange programme there before being well groomed by Jonathan Nyathi and BTA's own Sibanda who has helped train quite a lot of upcoming tennis stars in the country.

Seleke is himself a product of the Selibe Phikwe courts, and has developed into one of the best level I coaches, having excelled in the course held in Botswana last year. The two-week programme drew 17 participants, including those from Malawi, Swaziland, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

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