Good Heart | Tennis pros driving ambitious tennis project out west

WESTERN BUREAU:            

A growing collaboration between two tennis professionals, Jamaica’s Kevin Simms and Canadian Chris Ancrum, is poised to revive tennis at the Broughton Primary School in Westmoreland and other schools in the parish.

In addition to renovating the deteriorating tennis court at Broughton and establishing a charity to support the sport’s development, the duo, who hosted a tennis clinic that drew overwhelming excitement from students, is now exploring ways to grow the sport.

 “The next step for that court is to try to clean up the surface and get the surface to be a little bit better because, right now, it's quite rocky and rough,” Ancrum told GoodHeart. “And I know they're also trying to fix the drainage because, right now, when it rains, it funnels right onto the court in one spot. So, it damages it each time it rains.”

Ancrum added that local tennis professionals are hoping to establish regular training sessions for students. “I think also they're planning on having a clinic almost every second Tuesday,” he said. “A group of tennis pros are going to head out and try to work with the kids to try to find some kids that are keen and to get the interest for those that would like to try the sport.”

Ancrum, who travelled from Montreal, Canada, said he was stunned by the students' enthusiasm and by the presence of a tennis court at a rural primary school. “We don't have an elementary school with a court anywhere in the city,” Ancrum said. “To have a tennis court in a rural school, basically in the middle of nowhere, and to have that opportunity for these kids, for their physical well-being, for their mental health, I think is incredible.”

He praised Simms’ efforts to expose children to the sport, saying that this initiative was “unheard of”. “At one point, we had over 50 people on the court,” Ancrum recalled. “The kids were so excited. It was so much fun.”

While all students are being encouraged to participate, Simms said the programme will also seek to identify talented youngsters who could potentially advance further in the sport. “We're not really putting aside the kids that are not as talented, because we want to keep all the kids active,” Simms explained. “But we also have to set up some kind of programme to [put] the ones [who have great] ability, that can go further, in a [different] kind of setting.”

The initiative has already begun receiving support from members of the Canadian tennis community. During the recent visit, Ancrum donated visors, hats, headbands, toys, and made a monetary contribution to assist with the project.

 “I brought down 12 visors and five hats and headbands,” he said. “We also donated a small amount of money, CDN$300, to help with the fence and just to get the ball rolling a little bit, just to try to get things started, because you have to start somewhere.”

Plans are now underway to establish a registered charity that would allow supporters overseas to make official donations toward the project.

“It would be in the school’s name,” Simms explained. “But it would be a good step to do that, because then [getting] help would be much easier.”

  Ancrum said many Canadians have already expressed interest in supporting the initiative, but prefer donating through a registered charity system.

 “Almost everybody always asks, ‘Is there a registered charity? Because I could give more if it's a registered charity,’” he said. “I think that's a very important step because then it's not just local anymore. It becomes more international.”

 According to Ancrum, repairing and resurfacing the court will require significant funding, but he believes the effort is worthwhile. “That tennis court will be something that everybody will look at in awe,” he said. “To have an elementary school in Jamaica, in the middle of nowhere, with a tennis court, with their roof half blown off ... this is unbelievable.”

Both men believe the project could eventually expand beyond one school and help establish a stronger tennis culture in Jamaica. “Another thing we'd like to do is probably go around to schools in the area and see if there are other schools with an area that can actually fit another tennis court,” said Simms.

He noted that some schools in the Little London area could potentially be considered because of their available space.

 Despite the challenges ahead, Simms remains optimistic about the future of the programme. “The kids are very enthusiastic about the programme,” he said. “And some of the kids are really, really, really talented.”

Ancrum echoed those sentiments, saying the collaboration between Jamaica and Canada has the potential to grow steadily over time. “Once the funding comes in, I don't see why it would stop,” he said. “If we all stay focused and we all push forward, I really think this could develop. It will take years, but every year I think we can get stronger and stronger.”