Tennis Education

[brushandmop]

Hi everyone,

Looking for some advice/ experience regarding Tennis education in the UK. We are all UK passport holders currently living in NZ.

My daughter has been picked out as a potential tennis prospect. She is 9 and playing on par with 13-14 year olds.
Her private coach is struggling to get her recognised by clubs/ groups. The approach here in NZ is at her age it's all about fun. But she doesn't have fun playing and training with kids who are clearly not at the same ability. We don't want her to lose her passion for the game but it is becoming a frustrating situation.

For a while we have been contemplating moving back to the UK for a couple of years or more(put on hold by Covid) We realised that perhaps we could combine coming back and our daughter attending a school with significant tennis pathways.

Does anyone have any experience/ advice about schools that can offer pathways and will allow a player to play at their ability rather than age group.

I should add that neither me or my DW play tennis so we're not pushing our dreams onto her!! She has a gift and we want her to be able to see where it takes her.

Queenswood School is the top all girls school in the U.K. for tennis. Starts from 11 and girls can be day girls or board 1,2,3,4,5 or 7 nights.

They offer a scholars programme for talented players which sees them with a reduced timetable to allow for all the training. They have 29 courts on site. More information here.

www.queenswood.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Tennis-Scholarship-flyer.pdf

They partner with Gosling Tennis Academy who would definitely let your daughter play to her standard, not her age.

For girls not at all interested in tennis then it offers so much besides. Academics are superb considering it’s not that selective. Definitely worth considering in a year or two.

Hi, I have no specific advice about “tennis education” but my 13 yr old DD plays another sport at regional (ie south east or north west etc) England level and the emphasis on their “talent pathway” - which she’s been on since about aged 10 - has consistently been about not specialising too early and making sure they continue to have fun. So you may find the best coaches here in uk have the same attitude as those in NZ.

Your daughter could join Goslings age 9 though without the need to go to the school.

@Nowfeeltheneedtopost Thanks for this info. Is your daughter allowed to play with people at the same level as her though?
The problem we have is that she is officially training with kids who cannot hit the ball over the net.
She trains with some 13-14 year olds organised by her private coach but the official coaching is playing with 9 year olds who can't hit the ball back to her. This is no fun for her. She wants to play!

At regional level, the 20 best 10yr olds in the whole of the South of England (for example) are much closer in ability than what you describe. Is there a minimum age for entering competitive tournaments? It does seem very strange that if she has been identified as a “prospect” there is no talent pathway and that she is playing against children who can’t return the ball?

It's all an age thing. The competitions aren't there for 9 year olds. There is basic interclub but no real competitive element.

At 9 they aren't meant to be playing with full size tennis balls. In NZ it is at 13 years old. In 4 years time it's too late for someone with real talent.

It is her private coach who has identified her as a talent. He is pushing for the club to move her into competition/training with the older kids but they are so reluctant as they don't want to create a precedent. The official line is she is too young.

The ethos of fun before anything else is great for 95% of the kids but for my daughter it's boring and doesn't give her confidence in her abilities.

This is where you need to start
www.lta.org.uk/play-compete/performance-tennis-players/player-pathway/player-pathway-overview/
She would get to play at her ability at club and county level if good enough.

If she is exceptional then she can be picked up through this. DS has played at an 'ordinary' (small town, modest membership fees) club for the last ten years. One player a couple of years older was spotted and the LTA sponsored him at a boarding school from age 14-18. He played junior Wimbledon & now trains overseas. A younger player has just entered the top 3 nationally in their age group.

Thank you - we'll have a look at Queenswood - we have family nearby so already that's a good sign.

If anyone else has school suggestions let us know!

@EwwSprouts yes thank you! This is what we have been looking for. There is nothing like this in NZ.

Perfect!

There’s Talbot Heath School in Bournemouth, Dorset that have a tennis academy. Website says they were number 1 in the country for tennis but currently number 2 and take girls from 3 years old and have boarding.

www.talbotheath.org/senior-school-11-16/tennis-academy

Bedes in Sussex also has an elite tennis programme. There are summer schools too, so might be an option to try first.

Op did you manage to get anything sorted for your daughter?

Ellesmere College

find a tennis club

Talbot Heath School in Dorset has a tennis academy.

Close to London you should look at St George's, Surbiton High and Putney High, they all have sports scholarship and high performing tennis teams. Plenty of clubs at that level, too.

Yes we're going to try Claire's Court with the links to Bisham! Thank you all