Parents do an incredible job of raising up their children with the goal of making them great and much better people than them. They set an example for their kids to follow in their footsteps. My dad was a professional tennis player in Uganda who traveled to many nations while representing his country in various international tennis competitions. He won lots of medals and trophies which were decorated in our home’s sitting room.
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He desired me and my sister to walk in his footsteps by becoming professional tennis players. He trained us intensely on a daily basis. He encouraged us to work harder as we pursue a tennis career.
Once upon a time, he told me a story of how he managed to succeed in his tennis career. He was an Illiterate. He never had the opportunity to go through school as his father never supported his education.
Luckily enough he grew up near a tennis sports club called Lugogo tennis club, a place which he could frequent because he desired to learn the sport and also make a living through it. While at lugogo he worked as a ball boy, collecting tennis balls for the white guests who were playing the sport.
Some white guy was moved with compassion for him and decided to coach him. He trained him consistently until my dad fully learned the sport and started participating in the various tennis tournaments in the country.
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This improved his game greatly and eventually became Uganda’s top-seeded player. He was always the selected player to go abroad and represent the nation in different international tennis tournaments.
He had video recordings of some of the tennis matches that he had played. He showed them to us as he continued motivating us to play the sport.
One day he told me that, “my Son if you want to board planes like me and travel the world, you must play tennis.” The tennis sport had really impacted his life. He had remarkable results and he became my inspiration.
From a very humble background and in a hopeless situation he emerged as a great man in the nation through the use of his God-given gift and talent of Tennis. Unfortunately, he died at an early age of 31 after a long time illness that he was battling with. I will always leave to remember him for his great passion, love, and legacy he built in the tennis fraternity of Uganda.