Thursday, December 26, 2013

Tennis in Ahmedabad, my time with Coach Alex Gomes

Back in Bangalore, I always loved watching my colleagues play tennis from 5th Floor of my multinational company’s office. My company has multiple tennis courts but last time I tried my hand with racket I was hitting cricket shots with tennis ball, I was wasting opponent’s time in the court waiting for my return. So I never dared to enter the tennis court again in Bangalore…
Luckily working from home in Ahmedabad for few months, away from my office I decided to brush my tennis skills at local club. I went to close by ” Sree Tennis Academy”  behind Karnavati club (on SG Highway). Short distance from “Satellite” was important for me to avoid wasting time in travel every morning.
I met Coach Alex Gomes (alexgomesee@gmail.com) ; I was really impressed with his professional attitude toward game and respect for the students. He spoke good English and was quite considerate to develop a quick learning plan for my short duration stay in Ahmedabad. Since his evening was fully packed with training young kids looking for tennis career, I picked up an early morning slot.
Coach Alex Gomes son is a professional tennis player, as an affectionate father he has walked shoulder to shoulder with his son and seen him mature as a professional tennis player working with best coaches in country. The practical experience from this journey is reflected in his coaching style and his tips.
He recommended Forehand, Backhand, Serve and Volley for my short term learning plan. Since my left hand was weak, he recommended me a single handed backhand which I hit with so much confidence nowadays. He focused a lot on my footwork as I have become a lead foot sitting in front of computer.
I am very happy that I spend my time learning quality tennis from Coach Alex Gomes. He has imbibed the reference points for each tennis stroke in me with regular practice. This is very important to avoid tennis injuries and also would help me to progress naturally in his absence in Bangalore.
I am very excited to go back to Bangalore and play in corporate tennis tournaments. I would also like to play this game regularly to keep me fit in spite of my busy work schedule.
Thanks to Coach Gomes, let’s see how my colleagues react to my new strokes back in Bangalore!
Cheers

Sanjay