Smashing time at Bollettieri’s

Tennis juniors have had a great times playing and seeing former world beaters recently. The Legends tournament last week at the Ritz-Carlton gave the kids an opportunity to rub shoulders with greats from recent past and five youngsters also had the good fortune to spend a week intensive training at the world renowned Nick Bollettieri IMG Tennis academy in Florida.

Ritz-Carlton head coach Thomas Neuert led the group. “Team Cayman had a great time, lots of fun and many productive hours on-court,” he said. “I am very proud of each player for being so motivated and giving their best every day.”

Josh Bolland said: “When I went to IMG Academies, it was my first time and I was really excited. On our first day we met many different people from all over the world and at many different levels of play.

“The coaches were very nice and it was a great experience. I have learned a lot of new things. The facilities at Bollettieri Tennis Academy are amazing and if I had the opportunity to come back, I would without thinking.”

Nicholas Polloni said: “At IMG Academies it is a very big experience for me. I had a great time at Bollettieri’s. They taught me a lot of new things and challenged me daily. The coaches were fun to train with and most of them re-membered me from my last time at Bollettieri’s, which was last year. I learnt to hit the ball harder on my ground strokes and serve and would love to come back soon.”

Thomas Wolfe said it was a great experience. “The coaches are fantastic and I learned many new ways to improve my game. We were lucky to get a chance to play with Nick Bollettieri, the founder of the academy. Those days were my greatest tennis learning experience. The facilities are magnificent. Although the camp is challenging, it is a great experience and I would definitely return if I get the opportunity.”

Alex Leonard said: “My game has improved a lot and I have learned new effective techniques in match play. All the tennis coaches are friendly and have one thing in mind and that is to better my game.

The facility is amazing and has over 60 tennis courts and even a place to take an ice bath, which is a must after six-plus hours of tennis a day.”

William Hayward said: “Everyone I met was friendly and welcoming. The early training sessions with Nick Bollettieri were hard. We had to wake up at 5am for a 5:45am start, which I think my eyes were hardly open while doing some live ball drilling. But it was definitely the highlight of my week, to get the chance to train with Nick.”