Born in Zimbabwe, Aaron Mpofu moved to England in 2002. The Newcastle based tennis coach aims to increase participation of the sport in deprived areas.
Whilst playing social tennis as an adult, Mpofu was enthused by the number of children grabbing rackets to play on their court whilst him and his tennis partner had a break. Aaron believed they had potential to become better players and receive tennis training. So at the age of 28 he decided to enrol in a local coaching course to become a qualified coach with the aim to help the young players achieve their potential.
From Tennis Zimbabwe to the Davis Cup Legacy Programme, Aaron has always been involved in tennis in deprived areas. Majority of the children are unaware of what the Davis Cup is, so creating an awareness of the world’s most prestigious team tennis competition is hopefully going to be the catalyst to inspire them and get them involved. This may be through spectating first but the ultimate goal will be giving them the chance to have a go through the Tennis For Kids programme.
Developing and promoting sport in primary schools through campaigns such as the Tennis For Free programme, including free coaching and equipment will hopefully encourage them to continue playing.
Aaron aims to “see more children from deprived areas getting involved in the sport either by being spectator’s, administrators or players.”
Following the 6 week free coaching the aim is to encourage them into local programmes, which will enable these youngsters to develop their skills further.
With Stefan Edberg as his role model, and Wimbledon as his favourite tournament to watch, Aaron, believes his passion for the sport will show through his training sessions, and gain the approach and professionalism like Edberg!
Aaron’s first session started Saturday 16th April 10am and will run another sessions starting Saturday 21st May 11:30am. For more information please visit https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/tennisforkids.