Lloyd Johnson - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
LLOYD JOHNSON is one of the unsung heroes in the sport of local tennis. Operating from his base at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre, 'Lloydie', as he is popularly known, has been directing and organising tournaments for more than 12 years.
More importantly, he has also been the voice of encou-ragement and support for many youngsters.
'Lloydie' has at times been known to donate the very racquet the occasional needy youngster has used to get his or her start in the game.
As a veteran of the sport, he has seen many changes and still continues to be right in the centre of things, a great driving force continually pushing the game forward. One and One recently caught up with Johnson to have a candid chat about his continued commitment not only to the sport, but to the development of many of the nation's youth.
Q: How long have you been involved in the sport of tennis?
Lloyd Johnson: It has been somewhere in the vicinity of 15 to 20 years, starting with work at Campion College as a member of staff, then working with people like Greg Russell as an assistant, and then graduating to coaching instead of playing. It's been a long time.
Q: Tennis is often seen as an elitist sport by many people in Jamaica. Would you agree with this perspective?
LJ: It used to be so even worldwide, but the ITF has, through several initiatives, changed the whole concept of how tennis is viewed. Now there are programmes like mini tennis at the grass-roots level to encourage more involvement in the sport. Here in Jamaica, Tennis Jamaica took the programme and modified it and so now the sport is a lot more widespread.
Q: Do you think tennis is on the rise in terms of its popularity in Jamaica?
LJ: Most definitely, the tennis administration and the past 10 to 12 years of Ken Morgan's (past) presidency have not been fully recognised by Jamaicans. When he took over the organisation it was $2 million in arrears and had basically no membership. Now a small staff is paid to see to the game's continued development. Another part of his mandate was to spread tennis at the grass roots and the fruits of his labour will be seen in the next few years.
Q: Why do you think it has taken Jamaica so long to have a player performing consistently at the top level?
LJ: It comes down to money. Once you get beyond the junior level it takes anywhere between US$70,000 and US$100,000 per year to develop a world-class player. The structure of tennis is also very different from other sports in terms of the various levels and point ranking systems. So, getting to the qualifying round of a major Grand Slam is extremely difficult. You can't just have one good result, you have to be out there on the daily grind, and that costs money.
Q: What advice would
you give to a young player interested in starting the sport?
LJ: I would tell them to view it as a game for life. It makes me feel good to see kids from various schools who start the game with poor discipline initially, change the way that they carry themselves and eventually begin to do well in school. There are a lot of opportunities for scholarships that can take you abroad, exposing you to various colleges. There are a lot of kids that you do not hear about who have got scholarships and gone on to have a lot of success.
Q: Who were some of your mentors coming up?
LJ: There were many, but I can safely say that Greg Russell, the late Collin Russell and Errol Campbell were people I looked up to. Because of them I got to practise with people like Noel Rutherford, Henrietta Harris and Jason Sharpe. It was great, my focus in school was football, but in the '80s I was not happy with what was happening on the football scene and I decided to move away from that.
Q: Who do you consider to be Jamaica's most successful player of all time?
LJ: I would have to say without a doubt Douglas Burke. He achieved the highest ranking as a Jamaican ever. His highest ranking was 148, he was doing very well on the pro tour before a back injury forced him to retire.
Q: What changes would you like to see occur in the sport locally in, say, the next five years?
LJ: Personally, I would like to see a lot more juniors gain scholarships and play some college tennis. Hopefully, from there they will pick up sponsorship and play on the tour successfully. Then maybe from there we will have another player highly ranked in the world.
Q: What would you say has been your most memorable achievement to date?
LJ: There have been so many. In a nutshell it is to see kids that would not otherwise have even hear about the sport of tennis, pick up a racquet and play the sport for the first time and make a decision then to play it for the rest of their lives. I have seen that in lot of kids ... to assist kids in that regard and see them do well, see them come out as not only good players, but well developed individuals, is a remarkable achievement, and no one could pay me for that.
- Kwesi Mugisa
