Throughout the years many of the Totally Tennis coaches started playing tennis at the club as teenagers working their way up through the performance squads and showing an interest in coaching as a potential career via the LTA Tennis Leaders Award, whilst still at school.
Tennis Director Nigel Long, who founded the club identified a need to retain young players in tennis through both playing and coaching, developing leadership skills and using the existing coaching team to mentor younger players. The tennis leaders course increases the awareness of the coaching opportunities available in sport as a career in this country and is a nationally recognised LTA qualification that is great for a players CV regardless of their choice of career.
In testament to Long’s approach to retaining players in the game and give them the opportunity to turn their hobby into a career, all of the current coaching team are home-grown coaches who has made the successful transition from player to coach, working hard to gain their qualifications and progressing through the LTA coaching qualifications.
Becoming an LTA tennis leader is a junior players first step onto the tennis coaching pathway and is available for those thirteen and over. The course is modular based with a core module and four additional modules. Candidates learn important communication and organisation skills which are needed to be a successful coach. In addition they learn lesson structures, warm-ups, long-term player development, basic technique, diet, customer care and presentation skills taught through the on-court sessions and course booklets. Candidates are offered support and advice by the coaching team, complete ten voluntary on-court hours and are offered follow-on opportunities at the club, continuing their involvement with the game.
The Tennis Leaders Course provides candidates with different skills and experience and enables them to volunteer as an assistant coach, competition assistant or playing partner, you don’t have to be a great tennis player! Even though a candidate may not want to work in sport, becoming a tennis leader will provide lots of skills, experience and knowledge that will help when applying for further education, courses, universities etc. To pass the course candidates must complete the three-hour core module, gain on court work experience as well as volunteering at the Primary Schools Tournament to be held at Totally Tennis on the 23rd of April (9am – 3pm).
The next Tennis Leaders Course commences on Sunday 19th April 2015 from 10:00am – 1:00pm
Where: Totally Tennis’ Indoor Centre in the War Memorial Park, Basingstoke
Cost: £35
Anyone who would like to book onto the course can contact Totally Tennis by telephone 01256 358816, e-mail tt@totallytennis.co.uk or visit the Indoor Centre. The £35 course fee is payable to Totally Tennis by the 1st April 2015.
As part of the course candidates will also become a British Tennis Member affiliated to Totally Tennis FREE of charge, see www.LTA.org.uk/membership for all the member benefits!
Totally Tennis 