The tennis fraternity is still mourning the loss of influential coach Dave Patrick.
Patrick, known for his familiar heavy voice, died on July 2 and was cremated on Friday following a funeral service in Tunapuna. The cause of death has been kept private due to family wishes.
on Saturday, Carlista Mohammed, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Tennis Association of T&T, described Patrick as a disciplinarian, dedicated, focused, progressive, strong-minded and a lover of Peugeot motor vehicles.
He started his tennis coaching journey in the early 1980s when he worked alongside coach Lennox Francis at the Endridge Tennis Court in Point-A-Pierre, and the Petrotrin Sports Club at Guaracara Park. At the time the duo coached top Juniors up to age 18, as well as adults.
According to Mohammed: " Dave and Francis pioneered softballs for players to start learning to hit the ball correctly. They would let the air out of the ball to create a softer ball. One of Francis' fond memories with Patrick is the Davis Cup, Tobago 2012 trying to get promotion to group two."
Patrick coached at Honeymoon Park in El Dorado, the Chetwynd Tennis Club and the National Tennis Centre Club, all located in the east, as well as at the Sevilla Tennis Club at Couva.
He participated in the school tennis coaching programme along the East-West corridor with the Ministry of Sport and also toured with several of the country's national juniors to several South American and Caribbean nations.
His commitment and love for the sport led him to form the National Tennis Centre in October 2002, where he held positions of vice president and resident coach.
First President of the Tennis Coaching Association Bobby Valentine said he remembered Patrick attending the first coaching seminar hosted by the Association at BP Staff Club at Guayaguayare. "He did very well at the seminar and continued attending. He was very attentive and contributed greatly. Coach Patrick continued attending all the seminars hosted by the Association as he was very interested in learning and development. He eventually held the position of Secretary to the Tennis Coaching Association."