Papa Ogrinya's tennis dream for son,Austin

''That was why I started teaching him the rudiments of the game from the age of four.  Teaching Austin how to play tennis was a tough thing to do.  This was because the boy, like many of his peer group went for the game of football.

''Football, you'll agree with me, is much more simplier for the child because they could play the game with any round object and even on the streets.  Teaching the child could be one hell of a task to perform by a father. 

''Perhaps that's why the saying that Physicians can't cure themselves.  It was as if I was asking or should I say, forcing him to do what he didn't want to do ... I mean, what he was not prepared to be part of at all.

''Gradually however, I pulled him off  streets soccer.  I bought him tennis canvas, T-shirt, shorts, stockings, and then the racquet.  Then, each time I went to the club to play, I took him along with me.  Soon, he began to develop interest in tennis. 

''Step by step, and stage by stage, my boy started growing to love and play the game.  First the grip, then the focus, then the steps, the balance.  Gradually, he learnt the drives, serves, the returns, the shuttles, and all other aspects of the game.

''Today, at nine, Austin looks like he is going and prepared to make a name for himself and for me.  Iam not yet a fulfilled man.  The boy still has a lot to learn and I know that, that means many more challenges for me as the father and coach. 

''He is one person, who hates loosing and when he thought the boy, I mean his opponent, was winning, he lost his cool and eventually, the first set 3-6.  He had the psychological warfare of no supporters on the one hand, and the fear of loosing, on the other.  I had to beat all these off him for the two other sets... and he won at the end of the day.

''He's been to some local tournaments but, this is his first major tournament and since he has been able to scale through, I can now feel strongly that, there will be a bright  light at the end of the tunnel for us afterall.''

It has not been a bed of roses for papa Ogrinya and child.  Smooth as the narration of the Coach might sound, there is one big snag that is bugging the father and coach of Austin...a bug strong enough to scuttle his whole plan and smash his life-long dream.

That is the non- availability of sponsors for his child.  ''There are no sponsors at all.  After a tournament like this, when next do we hope to have another?  The boy trains regularly but no tournaments to try his hands on.  That is a big BUG!'' Papa Ogrinya laments.

''From now on, I'll be featuring him in Under-14s tournaments so that he could toughen his game...the speed, grips, strokes, smashes, and all that.  Let the sponsors come and we are ready for a deal.  We want to go places like the Williams sisters and other top tennis players all over the world.''