NETS ‘Train the Volunteers Program’: Providing Children with a Confidence Boost!

The Nadal Education and Tennis School (NETS) was set up to bring the sport of tennis to the marginalised and underprivileged strata of society in Anantapur district, in rural Andhra Pradesh, India. It has constantly worked towards developing the sport of tennis at the grassroots, while simultaneously developing the lives and character of the children who often face constraints due to poverty and lack of education stemming from their rural background.

One such endeavour was the ‘Train the Volunteers’ programme that gave the children the opportunity to open up to the idea of teaching tennis to others. The programme was held at the Rural Development Trust’s (RDT) Anantapur Sports Village (ASV) campus, in which the tables had been turned, as children at the NETS took centre court to prepare a session and teach the RDT volunteers some tennis skills.

This was the brainchild of NETS tennis coordinator Xisco Mercadal, who used this session to help the children break their bonds of shyness and fear. He said “I look forward to having these sessions every weekend from now on, as they help in three aspects. First, the kids will interact with new individuals and thus develop more in confidence and inter-personal skills; second, they will develop leadership skills and improve on their knowledge of tennis while being better prepared as future tennis coaches; third, it gives RDT’s Spanish volunteers an opportunity to learn tennis while interacting with these children.”

The children that led the sessions were the most senior of the 170 children training at the NETS, and are all AITA (All Indian Tennis Association) registered players. As many as five boys and three girls meticulously planned every detail of each of their sessions for about 25 RDT volunteers, and each individual was in charge of teaching a specific skill of tennis to their assigned volunteers. They taught the volunteers tennis skills like the forehand, backhand, lob, volley and service, while also mixing it up with some fun games to keep the volunteers on their toes.

The sessions ended with the children playing rallies with their team of volunteers, not forgetting to put up a show of trick shots that they refer to as RAFA TRICKS,  and finishing the evening on a high by taking a few selfies.

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