WINTER 2016 / ISSUE 32
THE MAGAZINE OF BUCKS TENNIS
TIEBREAKER Issue 25 / Winter 2014
BEING A BALL GIRL AT THE ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS Three years ago, I decided to go to a trial to try out to be a ball girl for the top 8 players at the O2 arena. Unfortunately, I did not get selected, nor last year where I progressed further in the trial selection but still faced disappointment. This year, I worked harder on my skills and fitness as well as my confidence and body language which all accumulated in receiving an email on the 6th of October confirming that I had earned a place in a squad of 30 kids chosen to be ball girls and boys at the prestigious international tennis event in November. During October half term, we all travelled to Southampton for a week long training camp. This was extremely physically challenging especially because I was practicing at the centre position at the net for most of the time which is considerably harder than a base position at the back. Despite much muscle tightness, sweat, blood and occasional tears, the hardest part of this training week was meeting 29 strangers and being with them 24/7 but by the end of the week it was hard to leave everyone because we had all become like one big family. A fortnight later we arrived at the o2 a day before the tournament started to check into our hotel, get our kit(which took a lot longer than I thought it would as most of it didn’t
fit) and step out onto court for the first time. The strangest part was thinking that it was a normal tennis court that I play on every day but tomorrow the best players in the world will be playing on it with thousands of people watching. The next few days rushed past in a blur but I clearly remember the first run out onto the court when the loud speaker announced “please give a big cheer for your Barclays ball kids” . As the doors opened and I led my team of 6 onto court my senses were bombarded with pulsating bright lights and noise. Although I got to ball kid for many of my heroes,
my favourite moments on court were seeing the Bryan brothers do their chest bump and getting right up close to Rafa Nadal when he asked me to sort out his water. My favourite moments off court were meeting my hero, Pat Cash because he was such a genuine guy and he even signed my bandana and also because I was a team captain, I had the privilege of hitting on the court with him on the morning of the final. To top off the week, on the last day, the coaches, Pat Cash and some important organisers sat all the ball kids down and announced the Ball Kid of the Year which goes to the kid who has been judged to have worked the hardest, been the most professional on and off the court and who best embodies the ‘true spirit of the game’, voted by all us ball kids, the coaches and the chaperones. As the tent went silent, my name was announced and I felt extremely shocked, overwhelmed but also immensely proud. When I went up to collect my trophy, Pat Cash gave me a hug and one of his own signed bandanas. It was undeniably, the best week of my life and I am so grateful that I had this opportunity. I have made some memories that will stay with me for my lifetime and some amazing friends that I will never forget. By Izzy Marshall
ADVANTAGE BUCKS
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WINTER 2016 / ISSUE 32
THE ‘BUCKS GIRLS INITIATIVE’ The ‘Bucks Girls Initiative’ held their first all ball colour doubles tournament on 16th January. 42 girls played the event across all ages on a glorious if slightly chilly sunny day. It was absolutely fantastic to see so many girls participate in the event. The girls seemed relaxed, full of smiles and had the opportunity to meet many girls the same age as them and of a similar ability. Doubles is a great way to keep girls and boys engaged in the game. It teaches teamwork, volley
skills, adapting to standing in different parts of the court area along with so many more things. Doubles practice will also prepare them for playing club tennis when they are older. I truly believe if we as a county can run more doubles events we will keep more kids playing the game. By Jemima King, Senior Performance Coach and Head of Aspire to Excel Program If you are interested in finding out about the upcoming Bucks Girls events please contact Jemima King jemima@ everyball.net haltontennis. co.uk.
NEWS FROM STONY STRATFORD The new year is just getting started but we can already report early success from Stony Stratford. Emily Honor played in the 16&U Corby county event on 17th January. Bucks were playing against Hereford and Worcestershire, Cheshire and Oxfordshire.... Emily playing at number 1. She won all three of her matches: Hereford and Worcestershire opponent 4.1 Emily won 4-0 2-4 (10-7), Oxford, opponent 5.2, Emily won 5-3 4-0 and finally Cheshire, opponent
4.1 Emily won 4-0 5-4 (7-5). They were great results for Emily who has worked very hard over the winter! Emily Marshall and Eva Ladyman from Stony Stratford also won all of their matches at the Bucks Girls U8’s Doubles at Halton on 16th January and Jack Field came second in the 12&U LTA Grade 5 tournament at Riverside Tennis Club in Bedford on 9th January. He fought really hard in the final, had an amazing attitude and showed great sportsmanship.
GRANTS AND LOANS Bucks Tennis continues to provide grants and loans to clubs and individuals. We presently have four schemes: • Coach education grants: where we offer one-third of course fees to selected coaches attending Level 1/2/3/4 and disability training courses. • Club grants of up to £1,000 for facilities and activities aimed at improving participation in our sport. In the past the grants have assisted: Schools festivals, facility improvements, and special events. • Club loans of up to £10,000 to assist the redevelopment and upgrading of facilities, including air dome, additional courts and extensions to clubhouses. • Performance player grants of up to £1,500 to assist promising young players with their training and competition requirements. Further details and application forms for the above can be obtained from Rosemary Badman at: rbtennis@btinternet.com
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GXLTC ACADEMY AWARDS 2015 The Thirteenth Academy Awards were presented in the Clubhouse to the junior players involved in Tennace GXLTC Bull Lane’s Academy and Tennace Performance Mini Tennis. Everyone had a great evening; celebrating 2015 and the highlights of the Great British Davis Cup win against Belgium, with the importance of Andy Murray playing all three days of the final. A number of juniors spoke as the awards were presented. Tennace Director and Head Professional Andy Scholfield thanked Treasurer Amanda Hobbs, parents, players, and Tennace Coaching Team
James Martin, Alex Allen, Dan Shephers and Peter Bresnen along with new coach Andy Irving; an excellent Tennace coaching team available to all levels of players. Andy Irving thanked all coaches, players and parents for making him feel so welcome. Tennace GXLTC Academy continues to help subsidise younger performance players with a new Aspirantes Programme initiated in September 2012. GXLTC Academy and Mini Tennis Performance Squads offer a great opportunity for players to progress to a higher level but they must have the desire to seize the opportunity to play as often as possible. It was not coincidence that the main awards went to players who compete and train the most ! This is the 14th year of the Academy and has seen an increase in playing opportunities; many more tournaments. There was no Junior Ambassador named for 2016 because there was nobody applicable who was in their last year at School. Male Player of the year was Dan Buckeldee who played consistently well in all tournaments during 2015; Laura Wilson (Dr Challoners High School) was the female player of the year, she competed in 167 matches during the year. Ryan Teasdale (Gayhurst School), Jacob Mellows (GXCofE School), Cara McCulley (St Mary’s GX), Aisling McCarthy (15 Dr Challoners High School) and Sam Hirst (13 John Hampden School) won ‘Best Intensity in training’. The more intense players are in training the quicker they improve ! The team of the year which was extremely close in 2015 because eight teams won their County division; most of them being division 1. However for a second year running the team of the year was U14 Boys County Champions which included Elliot Hobbs, George Emmins, James Eykyn, James McCulley, Wiehan Van Wyk and Sam Hirst. Tennace coach team members Alex Allen and Dan Shepherd discussed the significant improvement with on court attitude and effort. Wiehan Van Wyk (13) (Thorpe House School) achieved most improved player and James McCulley won Most improved attitude showing greater maturity on court. Mini Tennis awards were presented to over 18 players in categories for ‘Most Committed’, Best Effort in training’ and Most improved. However Andy emphasised the coaches were delighted with all players’ efforts ! Tennace GXLTC Academy will continue to evolve with tournament tours to be organised for 2016. The Tennace at GXLTC club opportunities continues to offer Aegon Team Tennis starting in April, One Day tournaments, Road to Wimbledon and Club Championships starting after Easter.
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SUCCESS OF COACHING PROGRAMME OVER WINTER AND MATCHPLAY STARTER TOUR At Milton Keynes Tennis Club (MKTC), as with many other outdoor clubs, we have struggled to keep our numbers up on coaching programmes over the winter period. This year however has been a great success. By acquiring indoor hall space at Bletchley Leisure Centre (Princes Way, Bletchley) we have been able to continue coaching our Tots, Mini Reds and Oranges despite the winter weather conditions. This has been a real positive for several reasons. We have
managed to keep our numbers up as indoor sessions are certain to run and it is warm enough for the younger children to stay focused and engaged with the chance to work on different areas of their game. Going indoors has meant that all coaching sessions require sponge balls giving both the coaches and the players more opportunity to work on technique, racket skills and ball skills. It also means that parents can get a cup of coffee and watch in the warm. Importantly this has allowed the club to attract new younger children
due to the presence of the coaches at the leisure centre, word of mouth and the positive atmosphere created. The coaching programme will definitely continue to run indoors! The growing number of children playing tennis at MKTC has brought a new level of competition and they are all keen to play matches and put what they have learnt into practise in a match environment. The introduction of MKTC’s Matchplay Starter Tour last summer has helped to create a more competitive atmosphere.
These are held on the third weekend of every month. We have linked up with Hitchin Boys School Tennis Club, Luton & Vauxhall Tennis Club and Flitwick & Ampthill Tennis Club where they run similar events on the remaining weekends. These have proved extremely popular attracting over 30 entrants for every event so far. The competition is open to anyone from the club in the relevant age bracket. Entry is via LTA tournament pages. We offer Mini Reds (under 8’s), Mini Oranges (under 9’s), Mini Greens (under
10’s) and Under 14’s with a view in the future to holding U12’s, U14’s, U16’s, U18’s and Adult events in the near future. We have had great feedback from a lot of children saying they thoroughly enjoyed the matchplay events and are very excited to come back, play more and improve. The children are kept occupied when not playing matches with a table tennis table and various sports equipment offered up by the coaches. We also have a tuck shop available at all times for the players’ refreshment. Keep on swinging! By Josh Golding
BUCKS FATHER AND DAUGHTER WIN
NATIONAL FAMILY CHAMPIONSHIPS Graham and Hayley Tallyn won the LTA Sponsored 2015 National Family Championships mixed (father and daughter) at DL Dudley at the end of November. The British Family Tennis Championships, first established in 1985, is a tournament sanctioned by The Lawn Tennis
Association and supported by the Tennis Industry Association UK, involving parent and child pairs. The calibre of tennis displayed in the Family Championships has always been remarkable for while the event plays an important role in developing the grass roots of the game at a local level, it also provides
opportunity for retired name players to compete. The 2015 event reverted to its successful roots and comprised of four open events for Father & Son, Mother & Daughter, Father & Daughter and Mother & Son pairings. www.familychampionships. org.uk
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TIM HENMAN AT LIVING TENNIS PRO ACADEMY
GREAT MISSENDEN LTC GETTING BIGGER Great Missenden LTC is growing - even in the bleak and freezing mid-Winter! Membership has expanded by 35 since mid-summer following successful promotion events such as our indoor tennis in Great Missenden High Street during the Festive Event on Davis Cup Finals weekend. Club members with the support of the Challenge Tennis team took over a vacant shop and ran a “beat the coach” for prospective juniors. Great fun was had by participants and new memberships have resulted with more promising to join in the Spring. New member recruitment is also being supported by the extensive Challenge Tennis programme which is in full swing, despite the cold weather. Cardio Tennis is very popular with ten or more people participating in our evening sessions and a full programme of Junior and Adult squads, drills and technical sessions. Great Missenden has also expanded its all-weather playing surfaces by adding a fourth Lano Clay court - the four Lano Clay courts are very popular with members and are playable in all weather apart from deep snow. By Jill Stiel GMLTC
15 months into launching the Living Tennis Pro Academy at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre, we have started the year in great style as Tim Henman has come in to train and endorse our Pro Academy. The picture shows two former Davis Cup players Tim Henman hitting with Living Tennis Director Martin Lee. We have also had Nick Weal (LTA Men’s Head Coach) come into our academy and acknowledge the hard work put in on and off the court here at Living Tennis. Living Tennis Pro Academy has also launched our new video... We are the Pro Academy at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre, featuring Tim Henman. Living Tennis are passionate about all levels of the game from grassroots to high performance. We believe in our motto of “Opportunity and Accessibility” We are excited about what 2016 has to offer and look forward to seeing you on court soon! www.livingtennis.co.uk
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NEW COACH & MEMBERS AT STOKE POGES LTC The start of the year got off to a flying start after Andy Irving was appointed as the new coach. He has taken over from Geoff Higginson who moved to the West- country. Andy soon settled into the role by continuing to run the very popular ‘rusty rackets’ sessions. These sessions take place on Monday afternoons and then he runs junior coaching sessions. It is the first time ever the training has been able to continue in the really cold frosty period, thanks to the artificial Tiger turf and full use of the floodlights. It has been pleasing for the club to see more members joining who live South of the Parish in Slough, Berkshire. Some think the club is offering
something better than the Slough public courts and nowhere near as expensive as the indoor private facilities in Windsor or the local Stoke Park Club. The club is accepting diversity and reaching
out to new and lapsed participants, especially by offering suitable coaching and fun play. In December, a few ‘retired’ players enjoyed a mid-week Christmas lunch and play! Compiled By Whittam & Whittam
ASTON PARK TC’ FIRST JUNIOR AEGON TEAM With the new courts, floodlights and coaching programme all now embedded into the fabric of the club, Aston Park Tennis club took a big leap and were thrilled to enter their first ever junior Aegon team last summer. Despite some tough matches, the small squad even managed to come away as overall winners! The boys 12U team comprised Josh Hoey, Sam Fryer and Matthew Baker, all of whom very much enjoyed the experience. The club is keen to enter a few more teams for 2016 so is actively encouraging any local juniors who enjoy, or would like to try, competing, to come along and join us. www.astonparktennis.co.uk
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NEW COURTS AT LONG CRENDON TENNIS CLUB Long Crendon Tennis Club was founded in 1982 when a local farmer donated some land to the Parish Council, who in turn leased to the newly formed tennis club. Two porous macadam courts were constructed initially and flood lights were added in 1990. Membership grew steadily and in the 1990s junior coaching was inaugurated which now has over a hundred youngsters signed up. In 2004 sufficient funds had been saved to resurface the courts but instead of replacing the macadam the club decided to lay Playrite Quickcourt synthetic grass carpet over the old macadam. This has proved to be a popular surface summer and winter because it is much less slippery than macadam, especially on frosty days. The carpet lasted well under the wear and tear of league matches, social play and coaching but started to wear thin at the baselines in 2014 after 10 years use. It has now been replaced in 2015 with a new Playrite Matchplay 2 carpet on a new foundation layer of 150 crushed limestone and 65 mm macadam to provide enhanced drainage. Long Crendon Tennis Club also managed to obtain planning permission for a third court and this was constructed in 2007 with the same Playrite Matchplay 2 carpet. It is a surface that is relatively easy for this small club to maintain, particularly since the courts are surrounded by lime and horse-chestnut trees that drop considerable amounts of leaf and twig litter on to the surface. Overall Playrite has been a popular tennis surface with members for over 12 years continued use. We had our official opening of our newly refurbished courts on Sunday 22nd November opened by our Bucks President Keith Dewick who cut the ribbon and attended by Bucks Vice President Rosemary Badman, Long Crendon Parish Council Chairman Rowland Willis, Chairman of Long Crendon Tennis Club Alan Lovell (all in the photo) with many
members attending plus Steve Byrnes from ‘Playrite’ who funded our eats and drinks after the ceremony! Our thanks of course to Bucks LTA who helped us to secure the last amount of funding needed to fully complete our refurbishment and especially to Rosemary Badman who quickly helped to put our loan application through in time so we could start and finish before winter set in. Our club is very grateful to Bob Merry our Treasurer who arranged everything from start to finish giving up so much of his time, we cannot thank him enough. We also combined this day with having our Annual Prize Giving for Summer and Winter Tournaments, and it was a very proud moment for our prize winners and runners up to receive their trophies from Bucks President Keith Dewick, we certainly made him work for his sandwich! By Sheila Hedger, Secretary
BUCKS LADIES 60S REPORT Bucks Ladies 60s played in Division 2A over the summer months. Our first match was home against Gloucestershire and started with a creditable 3-1 win. The team was Liz Murdoch and Glynis Lambert, Melinda Arthur and Jill Wyldbore. The next match was an away weekend to
Devon, with the team of Liz and Glynis, Melinda and Yvonne Shaw. The match result stood at 2-2, 4 sets all, but we unfortunately lost on countback by 4 games. The following week we travelled to Somerset (Liz and Glynis, Jill and Sue Soul) where we had another tough match. We eventually won 3-1
thanks to the sterling efforts of Jill and Sue who beat the first pair on a championship tiebreak – how important is a championship tiebreak? That left us 2 home matches to play. The first was against Dorset, who were extremely strong. We lost 0-4, but it is worth noting that they won the division
without dropping a rubber. Our team for the match was Liz and Pat Hamilton, Melinda and Jill (we had lost Glynis to a broken wrist). Our last match against Kent was a 1-3 loss with a team of Liz and Melinda, Jill and Sue. We finished 4th in the division, below Devon on match win points but
with a better rubbers, sets and games ratio. A massive thank you to all the players - without their commitment and support my job as Captain would be very difficult. Also a big thank you to the County for their financial support, it is very much appreciated. By Liz Murdoch
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NEW LEVEL 3 COACHING AWARD
CHESHAM BOIS BACK IN TRAINING On Monday 4th January Peter Lavery Tennis welcomed back our FastTrak players with a TWO hour camp to blow out the cobwebs from the Christmas break. A total of 26 players ranging from 5 years old to 13 filled the courts at Chesham Bois tennis club to take part in drills and matchplay with our coaches Pete and Jo and four of our fantastic assistant coaches. The players soon got back on form with the drills getting their footwork firing and the matchplay was great to see with all players performing well. The FastTrak programme at Chesham Bois has been steadily increasing and now includes the Aspirantes programme for 5-7 year olds funded by Bucks LTA. We are very proud of the commitment our players are showing towards their training and competition with many of them being selected for county training this year. There have been great results in competition over the last few months with players including Millie Day, Harry Cornhill and Chloe Salloux gaining good results in regional level tournaments and we are looking towards more successes on the court during 2016.
The Coach Academy are launching a New Level 3 Award based at Bucks Indoor Centre this summer for anyone wishing to receive a higher grading as a tennis coach. To sign up for the Level 3 course you must have Level 2, rating 6.1 or Play Test and LTA Registered or Level 1 and world ranking points. The 13 day course costs from £695, although those aged 16-18 years may be able to obtain a subsidized place. The course runs on 11/12/13 May, 15/16/17 June, 20/21/22 July, 17/18/19 August and 16 September (Assessment Day) from 8am to 4pm daily at the Bucks Indoor Tennis Centre. Level 1 and Level 2 courses also continue to run throughout 2016. Level 1 courses last three days, running from 9am to 5pm daily, and cost from £225 and you must be at least 16 years old to take part. If you are 16-18 years you should ask about subsidized places. Courses are based at Wycombe Abbey School or David Lloyd Milton Keynes. For Level 2 participants must be at least 16 years old and have Level 1 or a PE Degree). The five day courses are also based at Wycombe Abbey School or David Lloyd Milton Keynes and are divided in to two two day courses plus a final day. Costs are from £395 but again if you are 16-18 years you should ask about subsidized places. For more information please contact Chris Holland by email at thecoachacademy01@gmail.com or call 07773333768
Or via // Bucks LTA County Office, Bucks Indoor Tennis Centre, Holmer’s Lane, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP12 4QA
Chairman // Andrew Petherick Tel: 07779579674 Email: chairman@buckstennis.com
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of Buckinghamshire LTA. The association accepts no liability for the accuracy of information provided by contributors.
Secretary // Mary Crowshaw Tel: 01494 726931 Email: mscrowshaw@gmail.com
CONTACT WITH LTA REGIONAL OFFICE: Tel: 01494 471238 // Email: East@LTA.org.uk East Region Tennis Office, Bucks Indoor Tennis Centre Holmer’s Lane, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP12 4QA
Administrator // Anthony Heald Tel: 01494 462513 Email: admin@buckstennis.com
PUBLISHED! Make sure not to miss the next publication deadline for articles and photos on the 3rd May. It is important that your article has the following: No more than 200 words. Full event name, participants’ names and labelled photo files so that everybody gets attributed correctly. igh‑resolution H photos (set your digital camera to the ‘biggest’ setting). lease include P your full name at start/end of a report if you want to be credited as the author. Send your files to dom@ tennis4kids.co.uk
If you are interested in finding out more information about our Aspirantes or FastTrak programme please contact our director of tennis Peter Lavery at peterlaverytennis@live.com or our head coach Jo Head at johead511@hotmail.com.
CONTACT WITH BUCKINGHAMSHIRE LTA:
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