Munro College hosts pickleball coaching clinic

In a landmark partnership with the United States Professional Tennis/Pickleball Registry (USPTR), Munro College tennis team took a significant stride in the realm of pickleball tennis coaching by hosting a USPTR/USPPR (US Professional Pickleball Registry) Level One Coach Certification event recently on the school campus.

Pickleball is a game resembling tennis in which players use paddles to hit a perforated plastic ball over a net, and in a bid to enhance the quality of pickleball coaching in Jamaica, the certification programme saw 17 participants with diverse coaching backgrounds getting hands-on coaching from veteran USPTR coach Jack Busby who took the coaches through a rigorous training regimen aimed at elevating their skills to meet internationally recognised standards.

Beyond merely advancing the careers of coaches, this initiative holds immense promise for the future of tennis in Jamaica. By ensuring coaches adhere to global best practices, young players stand to benefit from high-quality, standardised training, fostering their development and competitiveness on the international stage.

Busby was pleased to introduce the sport to the coaches as he believes pickleball will take off tremendously on the island.

“Pickleball is a global sport that is fast growing and Jamaica with their natural talent can excel in the sport, however, the right training is needed and so we are here to impart the knowledge so that more and more kids can get into the game.”

Kirk Radaway, manager of the Munro College tennis programme was delighted that his institution was able to pioneer this initiative.

“As the manager of the Munro tennis team, I have realised that there is immense talent and enthusiasm within the team and also across the island. But, working with the team I also realised that several factors will prohibit players from maximising their full potential,” Radaway said.

With a junior tennis event slated for the first week of July, Radaway was keen to ramp up the coaching programme which will benefit the players.

“The first factor is the proper training and certification of our local coaches. The international certifications are usually expensive and prove to be prohibitive. We therefore embarked on bringing the certification course to Jamaica and giving access to all local coaches to gain their USPTR/USPPR Level 1 certification. Special thanks to Robert and Karl Hale and coach Jack Busby,” Radaway said.