Pelti plans coaching team to groom juniors

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) will set up a coaching team next month to help national coach Deddy Prasetyo groom juniors for the country's tennis development.

Deddy said on Tuesday that he would hire four assisting coaches and would concentrate only on coaching national team members. Deddy is being observed by American consultant Bill Tym, a former tennis program director at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee.

"When I'm concentrating on the national team, our juniors automatically get less attention. The four assistants will help handle them. They must have dedication, have mastered sports science and be professional," he said.

Tennis observer Benny Mailili had a different idea on grooming the national team and urged Pelti to hire a foreign coach.

"Our national coaches only concentrate on national players, who don't join the team, and juniors," he said, adding that Pelti only concentrates on top level players without considering development at the grass roots.

"Deddy previously said that at a certain level, he could no longer take the players to international tournaments. That's why we need a foreign coach like Austrian coach Gebhard Gritsch," he said.

Indonesia won five gold medals at the 19th Southeast Asian Games, thanks to Gritsch who prepared the players for about nine months.

Benny, who is also a Pelti spokesman, said he would present his idea to chairman Tanri Abeng, hopefully this week.

Deddy and Tym are observing two women and seven men players. They are Wynne Prakusya and Liza Andriyani on the women's side and Andrian Raturandang, Febi Widhiyanto, Suwandi, Edy Kusdaryanto, Hendri Susilo Pramono, Eko Kurniawan and Ferza Gautama on the men's.

Tym, who is reportedly receiving US$15,000 as a consultant, is observing Indonesia's Davis Cup team -- comprising Febi, Suwandi, Edy and Hendri -- from March 31 to April 10.

Indonesia lost to the Philippines 1-4 last weekend for the first time in 13 years. Some Pelti officials blamed Indonesia's loss on a lack of competitions.

Febi said that Tym had evaluated his performance during the Davis Cup and said he must improve his concentration during matches.

"Technically, we are of equal quality to the Filipinos but I couldn't concentrate on the game because of the mental pressure of wanting to win too much. I must work harder on my serve and spin variation," said the 19-year-old player.

In an effort to increase his form, Febi will compete in two legs of the $15,000 Indonesian Future from April 19 to May 2 here.

He will then fly to Australia to compete in four legs of $10,000 satellites from May 17 to June 17.

Benny said Febi failed to cope with the stress of competing in the Davis Cup due to his absence from the competitive court.

"Febi lost his ball control and ball sense because he has been absent from competition for 18 months. He doesn't have the killer instinct which only can be achieved from competitions," he said.

He also said that Febi and Hendri must be groomed together in singles and doubles.

"They both have different characteristics. Febi is a speed and power player while Hendri is a serve-and-volley player," he said.

Indonesia's best hope in women's singles, Wynne, said Tym had given her advise on improving her volley, escaping the competitive pressure and putting pressure on her opponent.

"He taught me how to cope with stress during a match. He's really nice and patient when coaching me," she said. (yan)