Burnham-On-Sea’s Avenue Tennis Club says a new ‘Community Progression Programme’ that aims to encourage more young people into the sport has been hailed a “great success”.
The club has partnered with Performance Plus Sport (PPS) to provide two hours of funded tennis per week in 3 x 6 week blocks through the school year.
The goal is to support young local children and create opportunities for regular tennis at the Avenue Tennis Club, with the coaching provided by the Avenue’s qualified coaches on Monday and Tuesday evenings.
The coaching is free of charge to the players, thanks to the involvement of Performance Plus Sport, a charity founded and run by father and son, John and James Feaver, both of whom were professional tennis players. John beat Bjorn Borg in his younger years.
Both have strong links to Burnham-On-Sea’s Avenue Tennis Club and are passionate about supporting the club and encouraging more participation in sport for young sportspeople.
The final session of the second set of six weeks was held on Tuesday 2nd April with coach Vinny Duddy saying that these sessions had been a “really great success” with up to 14 children attending the course throughout the weeks. He thanked PPS for sponsoring them.
Vinny added that the sessions are “structured to give the kids confidence to go on court with their friends and know what to do when it came to serving or playing shots with either the forehand or the backhand.”
“D Tennis drills and instruction focused on the basics of these shots and with a variety of games such a King of the court, Bump, Sit them down killer and others the drills and coaching were put into practice.”
“The next set of six weeks will start on Tuesday 9th April and will run from 6-7pm; do contact the club if you wish your child to attend.”
Details and dates for the third set of Monday night sessions will be available on the club’s website www.avenuetennis.com in the near future. Pictured are the juniors who attended the Tuesday PPS coaching session with Vinny Duddy.
The tennis club has a month’s free membership offer available for anyone who wants to give tennis a go and wants to get an insight into the club before joining.
Qualified coaches provide coaching throughout the week for all ages and abilities. Membership of the club allows you access to play on 1 of the 8 floodlit courts, together with access to a fantastic clubhouse with a well stocked bar, wi-fi and superb changing facilities for all. details of all the other benefits of joining the club can be found on the website.
The club has organised social and competitive tennis throughout the week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, together with a variety of subsidised coaching sessions for juniors and adults and Vinny Minis on a Friday evening – free to junior members, ladies and men’s teams that compete in the North Somerset Tennis Leagues.
As well as tennis, the club runs a number of other social events such as barbecues, Wednesday evening suppers and a variety of other lunches and events.
Photos: Darren Lloyd
