PHILIPPINE tennis has a bright future. That’s what Ivy League coaches from three US NCAA Division I schools said after conducting a camp in Manila to train and identify local talent with potential to get scholarships into top universities.
Twenty young tennis players were given the rare opportunity at the DreamBig Gold Series Tennis Camp at the Manila Polo Club on January 11 and 12 to learn from the Ivy League tennis coaches and undergo extensive, hands-on training that gave them a taste of how US colleges run their programs.
Ezequiel Gils of Rice University Athletics, Rob Raines of Cornell University and Jesse Frieder from Boston University saw huge potential in the 20 young netters who joined the camp—not just to improve their game but, more importantl—to get the opportunity to be scouted by foreign coaches who could provide them the chance to study and hone their game in US schools.
DreamBig Events, headed by its Founder/CEO Akshay Maliwal, has been bringing the best coaches from US schools to Asia, including Manila, to give young Asian athletes a once-in-a-lifetime experience to get all-important training and the opportunity to network with world-class coaches through the tennis camps. The camps give them a chance to get access into top US academic colleges and play college tennis there as student athlete recruits—a chance that is hard to come by if they were to do it on their own.
In the recent Gold Series Camp, the young netters impressed the coaches with their eagerness to learn. Boston U Coach Jesse Frieder said “The students here are very coachable, which leads me to believe that were they to end up in any of our teams, we could help them reach that ceiling because they’re open to feedback.”
Coach Rob Raine was also pleasantly surprised with the Filipino talents. “The Philippines was not in my radar as a place to find tennis talent. I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on the Philippines. It’s a place a lot of coaches are missing out on. And it’s certainly a place that I’ll keep in mind when recruiting.”
“The level’s great. Talent is everywhere. I’ve seen a lot of players that can play at a really high level [here] if they just commit to spending time on the court and practicing. The talent is here for sure and DreamBig is really providing something special. A chance to talk with college coaches in the US is very hard to come by in Asia. In the US, it’s really common to go to tennis camps. So to bring that service across the ocean really closes the gap,” continued Coach Rob.
Boston U Coach Jesse laid down what he and most international coaches are looking for in young players. “I look for millions of things. I look for a high level [of play] so you can potentially win a lot for our team. I look for potential that a player’s game [will] improve. We look for players who haven’t yet played their best tennis. Players who have a ton of potential. The ceiling is really high for them. That with hard work, good coaching and good team culture, we can help them reach that ceiling. I also look for really strong character—those who are really disciplined, who are kind to each other, who are empathetic, and who are incredibly competitive. Who are going to do so many things before they lose a set, a point, a match, whatever it is beyond tennis and academics, because those are kind of prerequisites. I look for players who are good people. I want to be excited to spend the next four years with [them].”
The coaches were particularly impressed with the country’s up and coming tennis sensation Sebastien Lhuillier who participated in the camp. According to the coaches, the 16-year-old son of former Olympian Bea Lucero, showed potential to play in the division 1 level.
“He hits the ball very nicely and has a nice technique. He hits a heavy ball, which is something I look for at the Division 1 level. Physicality and fitness are so important. It’s so easy to lose to somebody because they hit the ball harder than you because they’re bigger than you are. But he hits a heavy ball and we want to see him consistently beating players who are ranked higher than he is, winning three-set matches and proving to us that he’s really tough and really gritty. Frankly, we want to see him in millions of matches because it makes the UTR [Universal Tennis Ranking] more accurate and it makes you a tougher tennis player. We want players in our team who are tough, who are not scared of pressure and not scared of the moment. But I think he has a ton of potential overall,” Coach Jesse said.
Does the Philippines have a chance to produce a world-class tennis player? “Absolutely,” said Coach Jesse. “The talent exists. It’s how it’s cultivated. It’s the infrastructure of facilities, of coaching, of money to fund that player’s career. Based on what I saw today, it’s totally possible. But so much of it is the infrastructure to support it.
“I think if you want to be top 10 in the world, you have to be supremely talented. Outside of that, people who work the hardest, who are the most disciplined, who go to the gym the most, who practice buckets of serves the most are generally the most confident. You gain confidence from preparation. If you prepare well, you gain confidence, The more confident player generally wins,” Coach Jesse concluded.
DreamBig Founder/CEO Maliwal said DreamBig will bring in more camps in tennis, golf and soccer to help local talents achieve their personal dreams and the country’s own: to have Filipino players compete and win in the international stage.