The Tekapo School Run

Posting some more pictures from today with some great shots at Tekapo, Fairlie and Albury.The kids really appreciate our visits each week and the enthusiasm is great at all schools.



Its an early start to the day but its a great scenic drive to Tekapo and then we head back for schools at Fairlie.



After Fairlie we make tracks to Timaru but not before we make a stop at Albury.

Schools, Schools and More Schools!

Thought I would post a few more pictures of South Canterbury Schools and the Great Tennis program that is in place.Today Timaru was the hottest place in New Zealand but it just made ideal tennis conditions for pupils and coaches.Above action Today at Grantlea Downs.

First Port of call on Wednesday's are St Jo's Timaru



Always a pleasure to coach are students at Sacred Heart seen below .

Top Tennis,Top Players,Top Coaches,Top Fun

Locally one of my aims was to revamp the squad system after 6 weeks I can say that the new format has met with outstanding success from players and parents.The above picture are a montage from our 10s and 12s squads that train on Monday afternoon. The training is the best on offer in South Canterbury headed by of course myself and our Team of coaches Tyler Begg(Canada) and Jeff West (Texas) and of course Tony Brosnahan the New Development officer for Tennis South Canterbury.There are social squads available in town but we operate serious training for juniors that want to improve and realize tennis is fun but requires a certain amount of discipline for success. Its great to see many of the new faces excel over these weeks and all participants are benefiting by truly professional coaching.

Not only do we work with the representative players but we also deliver one of the best schools tennis programs in New Zealand and have done so for the past five years. Below are pictures from today with Jeff and Tyler and the Kids from Cannington School working on the serve.

Out and About with the Tennis Team

A tennis match can be sometimes easier to predict than a days weather , the above pictures are just some of the places and events I have been too in the last couple of weeks.Its true that one can experience four seasons in one day on the court here in New Zealand.Yesterday I spent time at the South Canterbury Closed Hardcourt Championships and temperatures went from one extreme to the other, testing the competitors.Great to see so many enjoying the opportunity to improve and practice their skills they have learnt at coaching.What good coach would not want their players to experience an event such as this.Matches are a good indication where you are really at with your tennis.As a coach one sees many juniors capitulate in matches to players of the same ability or less as they have set an unrealistic goal and have too high of expectations of themselves.When they don't achieve in their mind its a total breakdown of head dropping, wrong shot selections and eventually leading to tears and a sense of failure.How do coaches and for that matter parents deal with this? As a coach one says lots of things that to any one but the person concerned will be logical and sound advice,...until the player accepts his own weaknesses and works on them to improve then all the talk under the sun will be of no use. One plays because you enjoy the game,its a challenge! you don't need to compete against your self and one must give more time to competing against the person at the other end.As an experienced coach I know maturity can overcome such a case, just like a tennis match the coach or the player should never give up in finding solutions and realize that sometimes it takes more time with certain players to see a clearer picture, if one thinks too hard or places too much concern it can become a catastrophe !It takes time and perseverance ...the best advice lower the expectations and don't place too much on the winning side of things, find out the reasons why you play the game and then that will be a start in the right direction.Parents, Coaches and players need to remember that tennis is a very disciplined sport that requires good technique and a strong mental resolve ,you are going to have your ups and downs at times... but hey isn't life like that? There are lessons to be learned from this game that throws up challenges just like life itself, if you continue to hide from this it catches up sooner rather than later.

South Canterbury produce Top Boy and Girl

South Canterbury boys dominated the Southern District Primary and Intermediate Schools Tennis Finals in Dunedin where the eight top juniors vied for places in the South Island finals.

South Canterbury was represented by Sam Lane, Jack Deeley, Adam Beck and George Tarbotton in the boys with Annabel Ellis, Charlotte Lamb, Amelia Race and Anna Cochrane making up the girls' team.

Lane confirmed his position as the top ranked boy in the Southern District by taking the title with a 6-3 6-4 win in the final over Paddy Ou from Otago.

He had earlier beaten Carlos Reid from Otago in his semifinal 6-4 6-3.

Beck and Tarbotton met in the consolation final with Beck taking a very tight match 6-7 6-1 11-9.

Deeley completed the clean sweep taking the plate final 9-3 from Mitchell Wilson from North Otago.

In the girls, Annabel Ellis completed the winning double for South Canterbury in taking the title with a 6-2 6-2 win over Laura Overton from Southland.

Ellis had progressed to the final with a 6-1 6-1 win over Jessie Stevenson from Otago. Lamb made the consolation final but went down 4-6 6-3 10-3 in a close match with Courtney O'Callaghan from Southland.

Lane and Ellis will form part of the Southern District team to take on Canterbury's top qualifiers to contest the South Island titles. (thanks Desmond)

All players are members of the South Canterbury rep training program headed by "the eye " .Players benefit from great coaching and realistic goals and approaches by the team, I always believe a coaches role is to give the correct pathway and sometimes one has to tell the players and parents some things that they do not necessarily want to hear, and that is a sign of a good coach ,its important to remain positive and most parents and juniors appreciate this.You cant beat experience and sometimes coaches that have never played at a high level can set impossible goals, and give players a game plan that their style of play cannot implement.

Sam Lane Makes New Zealand Team

Well Done to Sam Lane who as been recently named in the New Zealand 12s team to tour Australia In December.As coach its satisfying to know that a junior who puts in and gives 100% at coaching gets rewards,always ready to drill never complaining that the drill is too hard, Lane has improved immensely over the past 14 months and earned his selection with recent results in 12s indoor nationals and the recent Masters Series.Lane won the Southern primary schools tournament in Dunedin Yesterday.Annabel Ellis also made it a double by winning the girls event also.

Winner's All round

The above picture is most of the winning 12s team from South Canterbury that participated over the weekend in the annual quads competition in Dunedin.Five associations from the Southern region compete in a teams competition in various age groups.For many juniors in our team it was their first major tennis event outside local junior interclub.Some found the going tough at times but every one that played will be better off for the experience and this will enhance their improvement next time they step out on the court.The 12s recorded a huge win beating local hosts Otago in the final round to clinch the victory and stopping a clean sweep of age groups by Otago.Its been a huge accomplishment for Coaches and Committee to bring together a competitive team that starts from weekly Squad practice.

Tennis Exhibition a "Big Hit"

Last Sunday members of the Tennis South Canterbury training squads and parents were invited to an exhibition by new coaches Jeff West (Dallas, Texas) and Tyler Begg (Calgary ,Canada). Both Players put on a great display with Jeff edging out Tyler 6-2 in a hard fought encounter.The winner will play Head Coach Stephen Dries ( the eye) at a date to be set..........:). Squad members played matches throughout the afternoon and some decided places for quads in Dunedin this weekend.Newly appointed South Canterbury Development officer Tony Brosnahan was on hand to meet and greet the players and parents as well as cooking a great BBQ.At short notice is was great to see so many squad members attend.Coach Steve is very pleased how the new look squad is shaping up.