Ball pickers turned coaches

Chris DHAMBARAGE

TENNIS: They have something in common having joined the Sri Lanka Tennis Association as ball pickers or tennis markers. But as time passed their lives have completely changed and are presently rated as some of the top tennis coaches in the country.

For Upul Priyantha, K. A. Sudarshana, S. P. Prasanna and Wasantha Chandraratne it has been a long hard journey where they have reached a point from where they could look back with great satisfaction and emotion.

All four are actively involved in coaching at the SLTA in various age groups and they are determined to continue with their duties in an attempt to promote the game on a grand scale.

They have just launched their career as professional tennis coaches and are willing to sacrifice their time and energy for the betterment of the game.

The four players who started their career in a humble way have being willing to learn from the beginning and are very much grateful to President of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association Suresh Subramaniam, vice president Arjan Perera and the Chief Executive Officer Lionel Almeida.

Thirty seven year old Upul Priyantha is a qualified level one coach and has successfully got through the level two practical examination.

His next ambition is to follow the level two theory examination which will be a tremendous boost in his attempt to reach the highest standard.

Priyantha was associated at the Trans Asia Hotel for more than ten years and was able to build up a good relationship with some of the top ranked senior and junior squash players during that time.

He was admired by his superiors for his honesty and commitment and was also selected to represent Trans Asia Hotel at the Travel Trade and Mercantile tennis championships.

Priyantha has also provided his services to his alma mater Isipatana College as a full time tennis coach in addition to his assistance to the Kelaniya University tennis team and another private class at the Colombo residence.

He is presently in charge of the intermediate batch at the SLTA where over one hundred girls and boys who gather daily for coaching.

Priyantha had the opportunity of touring China in 2001, New Delhi in 2004 and Thailand in 2006 for the Asian Coaches Workshop.

He also accompanied the Sri Lanka under 14 tennis team during their tour of Thailand in 2005. Priyantha's future plans are to prepare a talented junior squad in an attempt to produce at least one world class player.

Thirty six year old K. A. Sudarshana is an old boy of Badrawathie MMV Polhengoda. He is in charge of the advanced class batch of players at the SLTA where some of the promising youngsters are training to reach the top.

Among his students is the sixteen year old talented Jithmi Jayawickrema who is Sri Lanka's number one women's ranked player.

Sudarshan had the opportunity of participating in the Asian Coaches Workshop in Thailand this year and has been associated with the SLTA for the last two years.

Despite not having played the game at school he has made steady progress since his entry into the SLTA and also participated in the over 35 event at the national championships.

Sudarshana had earlier made his presence felt as a player in the Travel Trade and Colombo Open Championships while representing the Trans Asia Hotel.

Thirty nine year old S. P. Prasanna is an old boy of Badrawathie MMV Polhengoda and is a qualified level one coach. He is in charge of the advanced beginners and adults batch where nearly one hundred players are striving to reach the top.

Prasanna joined the SLTA in 2001 as a tennis marker and has come a long way since then having participated in two Asian Coaches Workshop in New Delhi (2004) and Thailand (2006).

But his most significant moment was when he accompanied the Sri Lanka under 14 team as coach during their tour to Myanmar for the ITF junior championships.

The six member Sri Lanka boys and girls under 14 team performed extremely well to clinch the overall championship ahead of ten other Asian countries and Amith Muttiah was also selected as the most outstanding player at this competition.

Prasanna is also planning to introduce a weekend junior tennis programme at the SLTA in December which is certain to benefit a number of up and coming players in addition to his classes as the advanced beginners head coach.

Twenty four year old Wasantha Chandraratne is an old boy of Lumbini MV and Badrawathie MMV Polhengoda.

He had earlier participated in the doubles events while representing the JAIC Hilton in the Travel Trade championships. He joined the SLTA in 1993 following a successful stint at the Colombo Swimming Club.

Chandraratne had the opportunity of participating at the recent Asian Coaches Workshop in Pune, India and his future plans are to promote the game in a big way in an attempt to reach higher standards.