Group hopes camps spur more Central O'ahu programs
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
Pat Cash and Gavin Hopper invite those "serious" about tennis to the Central O'ahu Regional Park's Tennis Complex over spring break.
Cash, a Wimbledon champion, and Hopper, whose students include Monica Seles, Mark Philippoussis, Iva Majoli and Tommy Haas, will be on-court for the camps March 22 to 27.
The Hawai'i-Pacific Tennis Foundation, which manages and maintains the complex, hopes it is a preview of much more to come.
The Cash-Hopper "Serious Play" International Tennis Academy opened in 2001 on the Gold Coast of Australia. Youths from around the world have trained at the academy, which is now searching for sites to open international bureaus.
Central O'ahu Regional Park is a part-time option as Cash-Hopper looks to push into what it believes is "the untapped" Asia-Pacific region, with hopes of establishing a high performance center.
Cash-Hopper had a junior clinic here in December. Next week, juniors and high performance players are invited to two day camps that will showcase the Cash-Hopper emphasis on combining "sport science with the discipline of hard work."
The first camp, for those 15 and older, is Monday to Wednesday. The second, for those 14 and younger, is Thursday to Saturday. Camps include morning and afternoon sessions and lunch. Cost is $375 for members and $400 for others.
An Adult Fantasy Camp also will be offered Monday to Friday, from 5 to 7 each night. Cost for instruction and the Saturday banquet is $450 for Hawai'i-Pacific Tennis Foundation members and $500 for others.
To reserve a spot, email the foundation at dav@hawaiitennis.org or call 677-1334.
Based just on the cost, Cash and Hopper are certainly serious. Their backgrounds back that up.
Cash reached five Grand Slam finals and was ranked as high as No. 4 in the world before he retired to the senior circuit. Hopper was a professor of sports science while coaching an A-list of pros. Now he is more interested in helping the younger generation, including daughter Jade, who won the 14-unders at last year's Tangerine Bowl.
Foundation executive director Mark Beede hopes Cash-Hopper can find full-time success here to complement the current programs at CORP and keep the facility "financially viable."
That's the foundation's short-term goal. In the long term, Beede said he would like to "work with more groups like Cash-Hopper, perhaps establish an academy, continue to expand the after-school component" and bring in bigger spectator events.
The University of Hawai'i, Hawai'i Pacific and Chaminade are playing home matches at Central O'ahu Regional Park this semester. Beede says an average of 150 to 170 players are on the 20 courts (12 lit) daily, with nights the busiest.
Locker rooms and a clubhouse are under construction now, along with the adjacent aquatics center. There are no plans in the near future for the second tennis phase, which was to add five courts, including a 5,000-seat stadium court, and light the remaining courts.
Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.
