The Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association announced that a boy’s U14 team will be heading off this weekend to compete in the 2022 ITF WORLD JUNIOR TENNIS COMPETITION prequalifying event in El Salvador.
The Team consists of Zach McGuire, Tobiah Goodchild, and Johnny Bart. The players were selected after participating in a week of trials which were held at the W.E.R. Joell Tennis Stadium last month.
BLTA President Michael Wolfe stated, “This event will see some 15 teams from the North/Central American & Caribbean zone compete for spots in a second round of qualifying in Mexico.
We expect the competition to be tough as other nations such as The Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica have entered, to name a few.
For the Bermuda players, it will be their first time carrying the Bermuda flag so it will certainly be an experience both on and off the court, but I do not doubt that they will meet the challenge head-on. We will find out who will be in our group on Sunday when the draw takes place.”
The team will be accompanied by BLTA Coach Neal Towlson. Coach Towlson stated, “I am both excited and honored to be selected as the WJTC 14U coach this year! This will be a new experience for me, as I have a long history of being a participating player, being on the “other side” as a coach will be completely new. I am hoping my past experiences will provide good insight and inspiration for our team!
I am very pleased with the team this year as they performed at a high level during their trial matches, and are bringing excellent attitudes and sportsmanship to this event. I am impressed with the work ethic of the players during training and the motivation to succeed. During the past couple of training sessions, we have been putting an emphasis on doubles matches, as I know all too well it can be the deciding factor in a win or a loss for the team. My goal as a coach is to use my knowledge of the game, and my experience as a player to motivate them to perform at their best and represent Bermuda proudly as I know they will.”
The competition starts February 21st and runs through to February 26th.
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