JOIN US Dan Bloxham is a man who is used to rubbing shoulders with tennis heavyweights as he leads them on to the Centre Court at Wimbledon.
As Master of Ceremonies of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, it is Bloxham’s job to ensure a smooth passage for the players as they walk through to the hallowed turf at SW19, also enuring the championships’ impeccable sense of timing is kept up.
Bloxham also is the head coach at the club and it is this role that has brought the 51-year-old to Bengaluru. The Karnataka Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) concluded a three-day workshop on Wednesday with Bloxham present to oversee the proceedings.
The Englishman, who is on his ninth visit to the country as part of Road to Wimbledon series of under-14 tournaments, identified a few areas where the system could be improved for budding stars.
“In the United Kingdom, we make sure that our best coaches are with the kids when they start out. For example, I train children who are in the three-to-five age group. That will help set a base in terms of their discipline during the formative years,” he said.
“But what happens here (in India) is that kids are exposed to the better coaches only when they are about 12 or 13 years old. It becomes hard to then tinker with their game and attitude,” added Bloxham, also stating that the country did not have a dearth of skilful players.
The man who has seen the rise of World No 1 Andy Murray from close quarters had a word of caution for coaches as well. “If you want the players to have discipline, you need to be disciplined yourself. I walked in today and saw a coach who had forgotten to bring his racquet and had his shoelaces untied. That is unacceptable.”
India had a promising star in Yuki Bhambri, but after winning the junior Australian Open, the 24-year-old has struggled, with injuries also hampering his progress. A more strict regimen and a change in mental make-up is what Bloxham suggested.
“It isn’t easy to win a Grand Slam (junior) so we know he’s a really good player. Maybe a stint in training with the army or something along those lines could help him rediscover his form,” concluded Bloxham.