BY MARGARET FISHER
For Salt Spring Tennis Association
The Salt Spring Tennis Association (SSTA) has seen a busy and successful year of junior tennis activity under coach Mukul Karthikeyan.
When Karthikeyan arrived on Salt Spring a year ago, he stated that his primary goal was to develop a successful junior tennis program. Throughout the year, Karthikeyan offered clinics to adult players of all levels, with many of us greatly benefitting from his coaching. But before and after school and on weekends, his seemingly indefatigable energy was directed toward the juniors.
This summer he ran several junior tennis camps, with 48 Salt Spring kids participating. Youth of varying ages and abilities enjoyed the fast-paced drills and games, making great progress and having fun while learning.
Additionally, a high-performance junior camp ran throughout the summer with 18 top juniors aged 10 to 17 years participating, including three local teens.
One of these juniors, Mansino Snell, won the U14 boys provincial championships held at Bear Mountain and will be off to represent B.C. at the national championships.
I think Karthikeyan’s goal of developing a successful junior program has been met; indeed, he has close to 60 juniors currently training with him.
After-school tennis will start up again in September with all kids welcome to join in.
Information can be obtained by emailing Karthikeyan at coaching@saltspringtennis.ca.