Meet the Lawn Tennis Team!
Guyana Chronicle
August 15, 2003
GUYANA will be represented at the Under-14 Caribbean tennis Championships in St Vincent by a three-member team.
The team, under the guide of former national player Debbie Bunbury, comprises Alice Alli, Ezra Sue-Ho and Jeremy Miller.
The players will depart from Guyana on August 25 for the annual championships that serve off on Tuesday, August 26, and conclude on the August 31.
Guyana have had a good measure of success at the tournament over the past few years that they have participated. Some of the top players are now on scholarships in colleges abroad.
Today, Chronicle Sport features the players.
ALICE ALLI
Now 13 years of age, she hopes to achieve the top position at the tournament but also knows she will have to work hard for it.
The St Stanislaus College lower school student has been playing the game for the past four years and will be competing in the championships for the second year.
She finished in the eighth position in 2002 of a field of 16 juniors.
Alice feels confident with her forehand shot and says her serve is ‘quite alright’.
She is expecting to do a much better job since she holds fast to Debbie’s motto “You Give 100%, you get 100%”.
When Bunbury is out of the country she trains with her standing coach ‘Dexter’ at the National Park or the Non Pariel Court, opposite the Government Technical Institute (GTI).
Alice is hoping that the training she describes as ‘hard’ will pay off when she takes to the court.
ESRA SUE-HO
Born March 22, 1989, the 14-year-old has had seven years of play and is no stranger to the championships. He has competed on two previous occasions.
He placed eighth last year a marked improvement from his eighteenth placing in 2000 of a field of twenty-six players.
Like Alli, he is one of the better players of the forehand stroke, but says he has a pretty reliable backhand. Ezra notes that he’s still working on his first serve but settles in with the second, which he usually gets on target.
Off-season, the Mae’s student trains with his father Rawle Sue-Ho at the Castellani and Non Pariel courts and is confident that he will make it into the top six, but will be much happier with the top one position.
JEREMY MILLER
The baby of the group, Jeremy is only eleven years of age and will be attending the St Joseph High School come September.
Though the youngest he has been playing tennis for the past six years and has done a good job in his local tournaments.
He says this tournament, his first Caribbean, is for exposure but he is still expecting to give it his all.
Like his team members, he plays most of his shots with the forehand and says his backhand is ‘alright’.
The slimy built Jeremy says he only trains once per week with his mom Paulette Powell at Castellani court, since she works Monday to Saturday.
No doubt, the training he is receiving right now is very beneficial to him despite the fact he says it is a hard process.
He is hoping that Ms Bunbury will continue to work with him for his future development.
COACH DEBBIE BUNBURY
A former national player, she’s represented Guyana on a number of occasions. Her main focus as she explained is to work with the top juniors in the country whenever she is around.
Debbie has been named national coach for the team and has been working along with the players for the past three weeks at the Cara Inn tennis court, Pere Street Kitty.
Bunbary is also a Medal Of Service recipient and has coached players such as Rebecca Mitchell and Marvin Hinds who won the championship in 1998.
She is expecting the players to all give of their best when the time arrives.
