A few hours before the beginning of the XVI Adapted Paddle Tennis Monitors Course, today we wanted to know the experience of one of the oldest monitors of the prestigious staff of professionals that make up the Association.
More than 400 professionals have already taken this course that will begin next Friday, May 20 at the Valdebernardo Sports Center in Madrid.
Alejandra Cardozo is a monitor at the Valdebernardo Infant and Adult schools and also runs the Rivas Adult School.
She has been linked to ASPADO since April 2007. “Looking for information online about different paddle tennis courses, in order to expand my knowledge, I came across the Aspado page. I was very interested in the subject and decided to take the course. From the moment that Kiki de la Rocha (president of the Association) opened her mouth to tell us what was going on, I was hooked and knew that she would be here yes or yes ”.
During the first year, this Uruguayan born in the city of Durazno, proposed to attend as a volunteer all the schools owned by the Association until she finally became part of the great ASPADO family. “Together with Carlos, who was the monitor at the time at the Valdebernardo nursery school, I began to work with the boys and then I began to expand my activity. I am really delighted and grateful to belong to this beautiful family ”, she highlighted.
The Valdebernardo Infant School has 16 students, who have a 45-minute weekly class and operates on Mondays from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, the adult school has 18 students and classes take place on Wednesdays from 5:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
In his Rivas school for adults, he has 5 students who receive training on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., also in classes of 45 minutes each.
Asked about how a class works, Alejandra explained that “the classes are quite similar to a conventional class with small nuances, depending on the mobility or level of the student. We do the groups according to the level of paddle tennis and not based on the degree of disability they have, which is why in each class we can find children with different types of disabilities but with a similar level of paddle tennis ”.
Remember that his youngest student is Beatriz Polo del Pozo, from the Valdebernardo nursery school. "She started at eight years old in October 2012. She is a student with Down Syndrome who is a delight and enjoys this sport a lot."
The oldest student is Pilar De La Rocha Zerolo, from the Valdebernardo adult school. He has been in school since 2006 and is currently 56 years old.
Experiences like Alejandra's are the ones that motivate several paddle tennis instructors every year to specialize in the area of adapted paddle tennis. Stay tuned for the next call for the September course.
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