2009: July
July 2009 ~ Blanke wins record-breaking fifth consecutive singles’ title!
History was created at Bognor Tennis Club on Saturday July 18th when nineteen year old Dean Blanke became the first player since records began in the 1920’s to win five consecutive singles’ titles. For the second successive year Blanke and Brian Chapman progressed smoothly through the earlier rounds of the draw to meet in the final. This diverse combination of playing styles produced a predictably high-quality match, interspersed with breathtaking rallies, but ultimately Chapman’s remarkable retrieval skills proved insufficient to counter Blanke’s explosive cross-court drives as he powered through to a 6-3 6-0 victory.
Next up, the Veteran’s Doubles final produced a scintillating, finely-balanced match, with Don North and Ladies’ Captain, Carol Jones pitted against Men’s Captain, Paul Sabin and his partner, Mary Swanton. This match abounded with exciting rallies and closely-contested games featuring a series of deuces, and eventually North and Jones edged through to retain their title 6-4 4-6 6-3.
In the Ladies’ Doubles final the powerful duo of title holders Julia Vincent and Erica Ellicott met, for the second successive year, the wily but more diminutive pair, Maree Loversidge and Jean Mugleston. Ellicott’s dominance at the net proved to be a decisive factor in enabling the top seeded pair to retain their title 6-3 6-2.
Full of confidence after his win in the singles’ event, Blanke teamed up with Sabin to defend the Men’s Doubles title against contenders Rob Callingham and Dave Maskell. This was another predictably excellent match, characterised by penetrating volleys and riveting rallies, but Blanke and Sabin overcame the gutsy challenge of their opponents to win 6-1 6-2.
The Mixed Doubles final was evenly balanced at one set all when the expected late afternoon rain forced a retreat from the grass to the hard courts. Whilst spectators took shelter in the tennis pavilion, the players completed the final set in the ensuing downpour, with Chapman and Ellicott eventually triumphing over Callingham and Jones 6-3 5-7 6-1.
Throughout the tournament the Draw for Partners event had generated a series of extremely close three set matches in which the outcome had been in the balance until the last few points. Having secured a place in the final, Paul Vincent and junior member Max Robinson-Foxcroft displayed sufficient power and accuracy to outgun Dan Conway and Barbara France 6-2 7-5.
July 2009 ~ Bognor Juniors add a shine to Finals’ day !
On Saturday July 18th twelve children, aged from 10 to 13 years, experienced the excitement of playing in the finals of the Mini Tennis (Orange) and Junior events at Bognor Tennis Club.
Eight young junior players competed in the Mini event to earn the privilege of receiving the coveted silver cup, donated by club member Athalie Maskell. Club coach, Len Cooper, created a round robin format, each match the ‘best of 3 tie-break sets’; the top two players from each group then played a final to determine the overall winner.
In the girls’ event Zoe Collar, who had won all of her group matches, met Jessica Dawling, winner of two matches. Their final was a hard-fought affair but Dawling ultimately proved marginally too strong for Collar, winning the match 7-3 7-4.
In the boy’s final Alex Burford (two wins) met Mark Christopher (two wins), with Benjamin Coy, who also won two games, edged into third place by virtue of scoring fewer points than the other two boys. Burford got off to a flying start, taking the first set 7-2 and, despite a spirited comeback by Christopher in the second set, held on to take the second set 7-5. Other competitors were Lara Wiggens, Georgina Keywood and Robbie Boakes.
Competitors in the main Junior singles event had played through two round robin stages in the preceding month, producing the finalists - Luke Vincent and Luke Sherwood. This final promised to be a hotly contested affair - Sherwood, a previous winner, versus Vincent, playing in his first final. After some cautious tennis in the early stages of the match, Vincent claimed the first set 6-3. With Sherwood motivated to raise his standard of play the tennis became increasingly spectacular, much to the delight of the crowd of appreciative spectators. Vincent, however, coping patiently with the elongated rallies as Sherwood strove to retrieve every ball, closed out the second set 6-3 to win the final.
This fascinating match was followed by the boys’ doubles featuring Vincent and Sherwood versus Harrison Clarke and Curtis Poole. Vincent and Sherwood took the first set 6-4 but Clarke and Poole were undeterred and resolutely won the second 6-4, the match attracting a captivated crowd as the outcome became increasingly difficult to predict. As was fitting for a highly competitive match the final outcome was determined by a championship tie break - first pair to win 10 points. The ‘Lukes’ got off to a fast start and maintained their early lead to win the tie-break 10-6 and become the doubles champions for 2009.
The junior section traditionally provides ball boys/girls for the Senior Championship finals. This year the following were chosen to provide this service: Catherine Collar, Zoe Collar, Charlotte Hodgson, Joe Skinner, Ryan Power, Owen Jackson and Callum Underwood.
BOGNOR LAWN TENNIS CLUB FINALS’ DAY – Saturday 12 July 2008
Welcome good weather brought almost the whole Club membership out to watch or compete in the Club’s Annual Championship finals’ day. Spectators were treated to six closely fought matches on the grass courts at the Nyewood Lane club.
First up was the Veterans’ Mixed Doubles, featuring men’s captain Paul Sabin and Mary Swanton against Don North and ladies’ captain Carol Jones. Both pairs were evenly matched throughout the match but North and Jones were able to secure enough crucial points in both sets to win 7-5 7-5.
The Men’s Singles was an epic battle between defending champion, 18 year old Dean Blanke, and previous finalist Brian Chapman. The final score of 6-1 6-0 in Dean’s favour does not reflect the many deuces en route, but the power and penetrating accuracy of Dean’s passing shots were decisive.
The Men’s Doubles was another close and hard-fought match, with Paul Sabin and Dean Blanke eventually having the edge over the hard-hitting young pair of Dan Conway and Tom Ford, the final score being 7-5 6-4.
The Ladies’ Doubles provided some entertaining and high quality tennis, with the pair of Julia Vincent and Erica Ellicott eventually overpowering the more diminutive Maree Loversidge and Jean Mugleston by 6-3 6-1.For the Draw for Partners competition the players are seeded, with the stronger paired with the weaker entrants. Dean Blanke (again!) partnered Barbara France but the pair of young Justin Jones and Club President Sue Briggs won 6-3 6-4.
Last final of the day was the spectacular Mixed Doubles, with the strong pairing of Brian Chapman and Erica Ellicott gradually pulling away from Rob Callingham and Carol Jones, to win by 6-3 6-3, although by way of many deuces.
In addition to the senior events, three Junior finals took place in the shape of Under 14 Boys’ Singles, Girls’ Singles and Under 14 Boys’ Doubles. The first of these finals was between Olly Callingham and Luke Sherwood (defending champion). The first set was a hard-fought affair with Luke coming out on top 6-4. The second set saw a determined Olly trying hard to break down the defences of Luke, but it was a tough job and Luke won the second set and the match 6-4 6-1. The girls’ final saw rising star Jennifer Doughty meet Amelia Sowry. The two girls attend the same coaching group and know each other’s games well, but on this occasion Jennifer was too strong and ran out a 6-0 6-1 winner.
Finally the Boys’ Doubles saw four of the best under 14's at the club go head to head - James Harris and Luke Parham vs. Harrison Clark and Luke Sherwood. These promising young players were keen to show their doubles play strengths, and provided the onlookers with some exciting play and good rallies. Harris and Parham took a tight first set 6-4. The second set saw Harris and Parham take a strong lead and they did not relinquish it, eventually winning 6-3.
The whole day was a huge success as a tennis spectacle and plans are already underway for next year when all the Senior and Junior finals, including 'Minis', will be spread over the whole day in a Tennis festival atmosphere.
‘Generations’ Mini tennis doubles
Click here for image of finalists
On Sunday May 18th 12 families took part the 3rd annual Parent and Child event (now renamed Generations) held at Bognor Tennis club. This event is open to junior members and non-members, and provides an opportunity for mums and dads to relive their tennis past !Children aged from 7 to 15 took part in a ‘Mini’ tennis’ format, Orange ball (lighter) for the younger ones, and Green ball and regular Tennis ball (heavier) for the older players (based on their level of ability).
A round- robin league idea was used for all the events, producing a clear winner in each league. The winners of the Orange trophy were Rufus Harwood with dad Andy; the Green was won by Owen Jackson with dad Dave, and the regular Tennis trophy was won by Luke Vincent with mum Julia. The winning pairs each received their trophy to keep for a year.
Other families competing were as follows; Amelia and Murray Sowry, Luke and Clive Sherwood. Kathryn and Gareth Jones, Catherine and Gary Collar, James and Christine Eaton-Hennah. In our Orange event there was Charlie Scott and Paul, Zoe Vincent and her Nan Pauline, Zoe Collar and mum Sarah and Mark and John Christopher.
There are 3 other events planned for this summer, a ’Davis Cup’ style tournament, the annual Bognor LTC Mini championships and our Junior Championships. For more information contact Club coach Len Cooper on 07958 911823.
Club Championships Report
Click here for image of finalists
Eighteen-year-old Dean Blanke claimed his third successive singles title at Bognor Tennis Club’s Finals’ Day on Saturday. His opponent, David Maskell, a previous winner of the event in 1988 and 1991 and only recently returning to tennis after a break of over a decade, found the going tough in the opening set, winning only three points in the first three games. Determined to fight back he then broke Blanke’s service to fifteen in the next game but Blanke, with characteristic resilience, retaliated by breaking back to love and went on to secure the set without conceding another game. With the first four games of the second set going with serve and Maskell once again breaking serve to fifteen in the fifth, spectators began to think that his steady, patient style of play may be forcing Blanke into unexpected errors that could prove crucial. Blanke, however, immediately regained control of the match, winning the final four games as economically as he had won the first three, with the loss of only three points, to complete a convincing 6-1 6-3 victory.The Ladies’ Singles final was a further example of youth versus experience. Fifteen year old Anna Gerard, playing in her first final at the Club, took a while to settle in the first set, allowing her more senior opponent, Carol Jones, to take the three-love lead that proved sufficient to secure the first set. Gerard won her opening service of the second set but Jones then discovered a consistent pattern of play that effectively disarmed her younger opponent and enabled her to take the second set, and the title, 6-3 6-1.
Also playing in their first final were Club juniors Crystal Bailey and Anna Sabin, both of whom played impressively well and were unlucky not to win a set in their Ladies’ Doubles match against Mary Swanton and C Jones. Bailey and Sabin created two chances to break serve from deuce towards the end of the first 6-4 set, and forced their opponents to a 5-all games score before conceding the second set by 7 games to 5.
The Men’s Doubles provided to be the most closely contested game of the afternoon, with the result in doubt until the very latter stages of the final set. Dean Blanke and Justin Jones took first blood when they broke Brian Chapman’s serve in the third game, but scores were levelled at three-all when Blanke was subsequently broken to love in the sixth. This pattern of service breaks continued, with both Chapman and Blanke unable to hold, and this resulted in Blanke and J Jones taking the set by 7 games to 5.
Having held serve tenaciously throughout the first set, despite being taken to deuce each time, Chapman’s partner, Howard Roeber, succumbed in the first game of the second set. However, a further break of Blanke’s serve in the second redressed the balance and Chapman finally won his serve for the first time in the very next game to put his pair ahead. This gave Chapman and Roeber a significant confidence boost, sufficient to carry them through to win the set 6-1, despite Blanke’s valiant effort to hold his next service in a game that proved to be the longest of the set, with six deuces.
The final set proved to be as challenging as the first, with both pairs showing commendable determination and resilience, but youngsters Blanke and J Jones were finally outplayed by Chapman and Roeber who took the title 5-7 6-1 6-4.
C Jones, playing in her third final of the day, teamed up with Robert Callingham for the Mixed Doubles event. Their opponents, top seeds Julia Vincent and Sabin, got off to a confident start by winning the first set comfortably by 6 games to 2. In the second set Callingham, playing in his first ever tennis final, became increasingly dominant and produced a series of fine forehand cross-court shots that were key to taking the set that levelled the match. He maintained this impressive form in the final set, supported by consistently strong serving from C Jones, to give this pair an unexpected but well-deserved 2-6 6-2 6-2 win.
In the Veterans’ Doubles event Paul Sabin was seeking his fourth successive win, partnered this year by Swanton. This pair’s depth of shot and skilful use of spin helped them to achieve a relatively straightforward 6-1 6-1 win over husband and wife pairing Maree and Alan Loversidge.
The Draw for Partners event always produces keenly contested matches and this final was no exception. Winning the only tie-break set of the afternoon gave Bubbles Simmonds and Daniel Conway an initial advantage over Sue Briggs and Don North. The power of Conway and the determination of Simmonds continued to prove an irresistible force, enabling this couple to seal a 7-6 6-4 victory.
Bognor men fight back in 3-1 win against Sussex County
Table-topping Sussex County came into this tie with an unblemished 2-0 record this season. However, Bognor got off to a flying start with Brian Chapman and Howard Roeber wasting little time notching an impressive 6-1 6-2 win against County’s 2nd pair. Sussex County then levelled the match with a tight 6-3 4-6 6-4 win over Dean Blanke and Paul Sabin, in a contest that could have gone either way. The reverse rubbers proved decisive, with Blanke and Sabin displaying superior skill and finesse to County's 2nd pair and easing to a 6-3 6-0 victory, putting Bognor ahead 2-1. Meanwhile, Chapman and Roeber held their nerve after surrendering a 4-0 lead and dropping the first set to County's 1st pair by 6 games to 4 . Undeterred, Chapman and Roeber proceeded to nullify County's attacking net play with some effective lobs and completed an amazing 4-6 6-1 6-2 comeback to earn Bognor a victory that puts them top of Division 9 with a 100% winning record.
An outstanding display of dominating tennis by young players Toby Gibbens and Daniel Conway contributed to a 3-1 win for Bognor Men’s second team in their match against Wickwoods 4. Playing with commendable confidence and maturity Gibbens and Conway conceded only four games to their more experienced opponents, finishing with an impressive 6-0 6-1, 6-1 6-2 score line. Bognor’s other pair, David Rowley and Laszlo Sagi, won one of their rubbers 6-3 6-1 to guarantee a satisfying victory for Bognor.
Bognor Ladies’ first pair, Carol Jones and Anna Sabin, battled for over two hours, winning two tie-break sets in the process, to secure a closely-contested 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 win over Chichester’s second couple Chris Greenwood and Alexi Stewart. Both Bognor pairs, however, were completely out-played by Chichester’s first pair, Sue Foott and Dena Nelson Smith, who impressively won all four of their sets without dropping a game. With Bognor’s second pair, Julia Vincent and Mary Swanton, losing 6-2 6-2 to Greenwood and Stewart, the final result was a 3-1 win for Chichester.
Bognor Men’s First team commenced their summer season with a resounding 4-0 win over Grasshoppers 3 at Hove. First pair of Dean Blanke and Paul Sabin played some steady tennis in defeating Grasshoppers 2nd pair and then completely outplayed their opponent’s 1st pair, losing only one game to win 6-1 6-0. Second pair, Brian Chapman and Howard Roeber, outmanoeuvred Grasshoppers 1st pair 6-3 6-1, and then finished off a successful afternoon by beating the second pair 6-1 6-2.
Bognor’s Ladies’ First team, Carol Jones, Anna Sabin, Julia Vincent and Bubbles Simmonds, travelled to Falmer to play on their indoor carpet courts, but were unable to match their opponents’ superior skill and experience, losing by 4 rubbers to 0. The Ladies’ Second team salvaged a draw against a strong Cooden Beach First team, with Carol Jones and Maree Loversidge winning both their matches by the same score, 7-5 6-0.
Middleton vs Bognor – the rematch
On Sunday October 15th the much awaited Juniors’ rematch between the two Clubs took place. Middleton are very proud of their new court surfaces and hosted the return match. Some familiar faces were present from the first match held at Bognor, and the pairings were well matched up. The matches went as follows; (Middleton player listed first)
Mark Phillips lost to Gregory Slater. Lisa Phillips beat James Harris. George Martin lost to Oliver Callingham. Hayley Mckay beat Fiona Callingham. Jodie Humphrey lost to Luke Vincent and debutant Ben Morris beat Luke Parham. The singles rounds ended up 3-3. The doubles pairings produced some good Tennis with 3 matches taking place. Middleton took one of these but Bognor clinched 2 victories and only edged Middleton by one match overall ! As in the first meeting between these two Clubs, the matches were well contested and very tight in some cases, with a good standard of Tennis being observed by onlookers and supporters of both Teams. The success of these opening matches has ensured that this idea will continue with another encounter scheduled for November 19th back at Nyewood Lane.
Bognor and Middleton Juniors meet in Tennis friendlies.
On Sunday September 24th, 12 Junior Tennis players met at Bognor Lawn Tennis club for the first meeting of friendly matches between the Clubs in recent times. Both Club coaches Len Cooper (Bognor) and Graham Godden (Middleton), worked closely with Helen Phillips (Middleton assistant) to encourage 6 players from each of their coaching program to play competitively. The secret was to try and match up players on a like- for- like age and ability basis, so as not to have any one-sided games. After much talking and some guess work, the pairs for singles matches were as follows:
Bognor 1 win Middleton 5 wins
Gregory Slater (win) Josh Bappoo
James Harris George Lambourne (win)
Oliver Callingham Charlotte McPherson (win)
Luke Vincent George Martin (win)
Fiona Callingham Lisa Phillips (win)
Charlie Scutts Jodie Humphrey (win)
Middleton won 5 of the 6 singles, which were all very well matched up and produced some close scores. There were some debutants in terms of playing for a Club in an organized match; from Bognor James Harris, Oliver and Fiona Callingham along with Charlie Scutts, and for Middleton George Martin and Jody Humphrey. To finish the morning some 1 set doubles matches were organized, with Middleton winning 2 and Bognor 1. The overall score was Bognor 2 Middleton 7. The idea behind this was a simple one, to allow players who wish to discover competition to do so in a friendly and relaxed environment. This was achieved and a return leg has been scheduled for October 15th at Middleton Club.
Chapman draws a Blanke at Bognor LTC
Bognor Lawn Tennis Club held its annual Finals day on Saturday September 2nd, you remember ? that awful weather two weekends ago ! How all of the finals (bar one) got through to a finish is still a mystery to all those who were there.
Traditionally the men’s singles begins proceedings, but the poor weather meant there would be no play on the Grass courts. It was decided to start off on the hard courts with the singles playing alongside the mixed doubles. Dean Blanke was the defending champion in the Men's singles, meeting the relative newcomer to the club Brian Chapman. With stout heart and one eye on the clouds they got underway. In a very competitive first set, Blanke’s ability to retrieve the ball from all parts of the court was crucial as it forced Chapman into some unusual unforced errors in an attempt to stamp some authority on the match. Blanke eventually took the first set 6-3. The second set was a complete turn round, in that Chapman rediscovered his form and Blanke began to over press on his ground strokes. The spell of inconsistency lasted longer than Blanke would have wished and the set went to Chapman 6-2.
The deciding set was closer than the score suggests, with Blanke rediscovering his discipline and his flair for varying pace and placement of the ball. Some rallies were very long (a pleasing sight for the neutral), partly due to the weather and partly to do with tiredness. Blanke kept sufficiently ahead of Chapman in games and finally took the 3rd set 6-4.
On the adjacent court the Mixed doubles was contested between Pauline Rogers /Paul Sabin against Sean Gurney /Sue Briggs. This was a hard fought 3 set affair with all players coping admirably with the increasingly frustrating conditions. The South Westerly wind created a situation of ‘two ends’, one with the wind, and the other very much against it ! The winners of the match were Sabin/Rogers 6-4 2-6 6-2, and Sabin was yet to feature in another two matches !
The Men's Doubles produced an interesting encounter between two new pairs as this years finalists, and could best be described as the one that got away. The pairs were Nick Sharp/James Willson and Paul Sabin/Murray Sowry. Sabin and Murray got off to a flyer and took the first set 6-2. They seemed to be in control in the second set when their opponents found some extra gears and began gnawing away at their lead of 5-3. That led to 5 games all and Willson and Sharp snatched the set 7-5 from their opponents. Perhaps Sabin and Murray were still in a mild state of shock in the 3rd set because the renewed form continued for the others. With some solid steady play Willson / Sharp closed out the match 6-2 in the final set. Paul Sabin still had one more match to play ! However it was decided that the Veterans final ought to be put back until the following morning, much to the relief of Sabin.
This left two finals on the agenda, Ladies doubles and the popular Draw for partners. The former saw Carol Jones / Ann Woodhead take on Louise Kislingbury / Maree Loversidge. Jones and Woodhead were the defending champions and were keen to make it 4 years in a row as winners ! They came up against some determined play from Kislingbury and Loversidge, but both the opponents and perhaps the conditions proved too much with the match going to Jones and her partner 6-1 6-3.
The Draw for Partners is a format of random selection for pairings, and this year saw a Sabin junior, Anna, paired with the experienced Brian Tempest; and they faced Laszlo Sagi and Sue Briggs (fresh from the mixed doubles final !). This was over in two sets going to Briggs and Sagi. The Sunday final in the Veterans saw Sabin and Kislingbury defeat Briggs and Tempest 6-2 6-2.
Finally, a big thank you to 6 juniors from the coaching program at the Club who received a crash course in Ball boy/girl training. They are Fiona Callingham, Melissa Brooks, Anna Gerard, Oliver Callingham, Ryan Maskell and Alex Gerard. They endured some awful weather and performed their task wonderfully well, and received a tee shirt for their effort and some heartfelt thanks.
The spirit of International Tennis visited Bognor Tennis Club on Sunday 23rd July when 24 youngsters took part in a Davis Cup-style tournament organised by Coach Len Cooper. He was able to create 6 teams of 4 players of equal experience and ability, with each team representing a Country and captained by their eldest player.
All team members completed a busy schedule of round-robin tie-break singles matches against their opposite number in the five other teams. In keeping with the Davis Cup theme, there were also some doubles.
All players and team mates were encouraged to provide as much vocal support as possible between points, which helped to build a good atmosphere around the courts. With family and friends also making their own enthusiastic contribution, an exciting, if noisy scene was created. This clearly boosted the confidence and commitment from the on-court players, and helped them to raise their game to another level.
After the round robin stage the winner from each group played a ‘final’, with the ‘second’ and ‘thirds’ playing each other respectively. France met Sweden and this was an unusually one sided affair resulting in France winning the competition for the second year running. In the 3rd and 4th place play-off Great Britain beat the USA, Spain were 5th and Australia were 6th. All members of the first 3 teams received an engraved medal, and every player went home with a certificate, a prize and the memory of a thoroughly enjoyable and exciting day. Teams were as follows;
1st: France Zoe Vincent, Tom Ririe, Oliver Callingham and captain Alex Gerard.
2nd: Sweden Ryan Power, Lyle Sylvester, Louis Mahoney and Max Robinson-Foxcroft.
3rd: Great Britain Catherine Collar, Cory Musk, Luke Vincent and Luke Parham.
4th: USA Zoe Collar, Owen Spicer, Jack Parham and Anna Gerard.
5th: Spain Ellie Fox, Sarah Gray, Joel Lane and Ross Rowsell-Smith.
6th: Australia Reece Mears, Lauren Armstrong, Shane Kind and Fiona Callingham.
The future’s bright, the future’s Orange and Green !
On Bank holiday Monday morning 20 families attended the 2nd annual Parent and Child event held at Bognor Tennis club. This event is open to junior members and non-members, and provides an opportunity for mums and dads to relive their tennis past! Children aged from 7 to 13 took part in a ‘Mini’ tennis’ format, Orange ball (lighter) for the younger ones, and Green ball (heavier) for the older players (based on their level of ability).
In the Orange event a round robin of 8 pairs took place, with the top 4 moving into a knockout phase. In the first semi-final the defending champions Chloe Archer and mum Shona, could not hold off a determined Scott and Mitch Rafferty, and went out 10 points to 2. The other semi-final saw Kathryn Jones and dad Gareth come up against Catherine Collar and her dad Gary. This was a closer contest with the Jones’ winning 10-5. The Final was a 3 set ‘tie break’ format with The Jones’ taking the first set. A spirited fight back from the Raffertys’ got it back to 1 set all, but the eventual winners were Kathryn and Gareth who held their nerve in the strong windy conditions.
The ‘Green’ event saw 2 round robin stages of 6 pairs, and the top two in each division were involved in a knock out. Luke Sherwood and his dad came up against Kate Sabin and dad Paul. The more recognised tennis scoring is used in a ‘short set’ format. The more experienced Sabin family triumphed 5 games to 3. The other semi-final saw Fiona Callingham and dad Robert meet Roman Ladd-Whiting and dad Tony. These two newcomers to this event had a close match, with the Callinghams sneaking it 4-2. The final was a very close, hard fought set with the eventual winners being the newcomers the Callingham family 7-5.
The winning pairs received their trophy to keep for a year, and every child that took part went home with stickers and a prize. The parents went home with sore limbs !
It took just twelve floodlit mini-tennis courts and a bucket-full of two-tone yellow and orange mini-tennis balls to keep an enthusiastic group of 40 excited young tennis players warm and happily occupied on a chilly Friday evening.
Months previously the children’s first encounter with tennis would have been when they chose to take part in one of the extra-curricular tennis sessions being offered in local Junior Schools by Bognor Tennis Club’s coach, Len Cooper. Whilst Cooper continues his work in Junior Schools, promoting tennis to other children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to discover the enjoyment of playing the game, these children are now part of a thriving coaching programme that takes place every weekday evening on the Club’s courts in Nyewood Lane. The hour-long sessions, delivered by Cooper between 17.00 and 19.00 hours, provide regular and progressive term-time coaching, with each child placed into a group appropriate to his or her age and level of playing ability.
The ongoing success of this scheme, designed to take tennis out into the community and then encourage those whose interest is captured to become part of the Tennis Club scene, can be measured by the enthusiastic response to Friday’s event. The 40 youngsters who attended were placed into one of two teams and a series of rapid 5-point challenge matches ensued, in which, at any one time, 24 energetic youngsters were in simultaneous action on an area the size of two standard tennis courts.
With willing Mums to organise a tasty hotdog supper, a fun tennis quiz to round off the evening and a prize for everyone to take home, these young players are already looking forward to their next special event, and, in the meantime, they will be hard at work on the courts refining and improving their tennis skills under the watchful eye of their coach, Len Cooper.