Pelti plans coaching team to groom juniors

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)