By Andrew Keili
Heroes get remembered, but legends never die…Max Halloway.
The legendary tennis player and coach, Charles Hubbard was laid to rest in London on September 27, 2024. Those not in the tennis society can be excused for asking, ‘‘Charles who?’’. For us tennis buffs, we mourn, as the Disposer Supreme and Judge of the earth has taken away from us a true legend of our sport.
When analyzing the impact of sports on our society, the first thought that springs to mind is football. There was a time, however when tennis used to be such a popular social sport that it united people in various spheres of life all over the country. Tennis clubs sprouted all over the country– Yengema Tennis Club, run by mine workers in NDMC, Bo Tennis Club, an integral part of Bo Club, Murray Town Tennis Club, headquartered in Wilberforce Barracks and later Sierra Rutile’s Mobimbi Tennis Club.
These well-oiled clubs had fierce inter-club rivalries and would challenge each other in weekend tournaments which always ended in grand parties. The visiting teams were backed by travelling support groups that included many professionals, politicians and businessmen. Former President Momoh, an ardent tennis player and part of the Murray Town club would invite us to his Spur Road residence for tennis matches when he was President. Don Young, the New Zealander General Manager of Sierra Rutile spearheaded the drive to make Mobimbi Tennis Club the premier tennis club in the country, which even held the National Tennis Tournament.
These club tournaments and the yearly National Tennis tournament, sponsored by companies spurred the development of many good tennis players. Tennis players in those days ranged from fairly affluent businessmen and professionals to young, mostly ill-educated boys and girls who started as ball pickers and the occasional school or college player. We witnessed the tennis prowess of players like Archie Taylor Johnson, Keifala Samura, Allie Marrah, Vincent Sevallie, and Joseph Amara (Bobor Pain). Souad Michael and the late Colonel Max Kanga (probably the only Bo Schoolboy who has ever played tennis well! -the rest were more used to breaking bounds) were simply awesome at national tournaments.
Coach Charles Hubbard was in the midst of all this as a respected player and coach. Charles started life as a teacher. In Yengema he taught at the Yengema Secondary School. One of his former students observes that his training as a teacher was reflected in his coaching ability. Tennis players in Yengema recall the impact Charles Hubbard had on their lives. Charles was a good coach who worked on various aspects of their game to make many of them great players. When he left NDMC, he continued coaching in Bo, repeating the same feat. He would later end up at Sierra Rutile where he took the Mobimbi Tennis Club to unassailable heights. Vincent Sevalie, whose humiliating dethroning of yours truly as Mobimbi Champion in the 80’s says this of Charles- “Coach Hubbard started coaching me in Yengema, then in Bo and finally in Rutile. He transformed my game into serve and volley at a very early stage.” Vincent, armed with skills taught by Charles made me realize one fateful day that when you meet your match, the court can appear twice as big as it is and there would be no room for hiding!
Charles was not only a family friend but a tennis doubles partner for many years. He would plot strategies before and during matches against spectacular opponents who included combinations of players from Archie Taylor Johnson, Alie Marrah, Edward Kamara, Harold Sesay, and Tambo Mansaray. The fact that we won most of these tournaments attests to Charles’s guile as a player-coach. All his sons were trained to be good tennis players and I was so pleased that one named his son after his dad’s ignominious partner.
Charles left an indelible mark wherever he went. He had this knack for observing the strengths of those he trained and adapting their game for maximum effectiveness. Patience was his virtue and he would work on one’s strokes until you achieved near perfection. He imbibed in his trainees patience, decorum conviviality and a sense of fair play. He was also very disciplined and would demand the same from those he trained. He trained entire families to become quite adept at the game and play at quite a high level.
These included the Bulls in Yengema and the Michaels, Morowas and Amaras in Bo. As a player, he was cunning and had a varied arsenal of strokes to surprise his opponents. Being at the top of his game as a player-coach and touching the lives of many with the gospel of tennis was no mean feat-and Charles did this effortlessly.
Mobimbi Tennis Club was so bent on being the premier tennis club that we brought over the best Coach (Charles Hubbard) to work on the mine! Not satisfied with that we employed the best players. Many top players were allowed to gain employment at Sierra Rutile. We ensured that we trained them in technical disciplines. Many like Philip Moiba, a surveyor, and Sahr Nuwah, an electrician, trained at Sierra Rutile are still gainfully employed in their professions elsewhere. We brought over national champions Vincent Sevali, Kelfala Marrah and Joseph Amara!
Despite Charles’ contributions to tennis in this country, he remained largely unrecognized in sports circles after his prime. I suppose the same could be said of our legends in other sports Tennis remains a sport largely unfunded by both the government and the private sector. This sorry story can be told of many other sports. Tennis clubs are largely non-functional, the courts are in a state of disrepair and the few players that frequent them can hardly afford to buy the necessary equipment. The national tournament is a thing of the past.
Revamping the sport of tennis calls for good leadership and support from government and business houses. Who knows? – the relatively new National Sports Authority, headed by the proactive sports enthusiast, Dr. Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai may be able to change this and accentuate the impact of forgotten sports like tennis in our society our schools and sports clubs. There is hope also with the appointment of Andy Bam as the new President of the National Tennis Association for a resuscitation of the sport.
Charles Hubbard will be missed by many and we will hold a fitting remembrance gathering at Hill Station Club on October 25.
Let us thank God for the life of Julius Charles Hubbard and hope that young tennis players will imbibe the positive attributes that he exemplified for the profession. Game, set and match! Coach Hubbard may be gone, but like other legends, he will live in our consciousness for a long time. May his family be comforted and may he rest in peace.
Ponder my thoughts.
