Former tennis player and captain of the Jamaica Davis Cup team, Errol Campbell says he is pleased with the growth of the sport locally after seeing over 120 participants in his eight-year unbroken, free tennis clinic held at TheUniversity of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus recently.

Campbell, a returning resident who was based in the United States, has conducted this free tennis camp annually as a means of giving something back to the community of August Town and its environs, where he grew up.Campbell, with the assistance of Noel Rutherford and Peter Campbell, also former national players, as well as Maurice Hardy, Victor Rutherford and David Sanguinetti, have played an integral part in the administration of this year’s event.As a youngster while living in August Town, Campbell played the role of a ball boy and took an interest in the sport while watching and interacting with professional tennis players.“My presence at the UWI tennis court was routine as a young boy playing the role of a ball boy watching former Jamaican and Caribbean player Professor Mervin Morris, who was influential in my development to the highest level.“I climbed the ladder from a ball boy to an internationally recognised player representing my country with pride, and I felt that I should do something to discover players from the community of August Town and its environs and extend my services, to ensure that others follow my footsteps and excel while escaping the poverty syndrome,” he said.“Since the start of these yearly camps I have, with the assistance of Helping Hands, discovered forty-five youngsters with outstanding potential. They have been placed in a development programme for the past two years and I am impressed with the significant progress that they have made so far.”Campbell went on to commend the UWI Sports Department for the great help it has given to the programme, adding that there are solid kids on the ground that can be developed to the likes of Roland Phillips, Dustin Brown, Blaise Bicknell and Stephen Quaynor, to name a few.“It is indeed a pleasure for me to help these kids and watch them master the sports just as I did during my glory days playing tennis in Jamaica and abroad, “Campbell said.The daily activities include a variety of fun games, fitness sessions, the introduction of basic tennis skills, and daily motivational sessions. The camp culminated with a tournament involving all participants.—Beverly Melbourne