The Best Kept Secret In New Zealand Tennis was let out of the bag yesterday.

 A Statement from the CEO of the Australasian Academy of Tennis Coaches

 My name is Lynton Joseph and my current role is that of CEO of the Australasian Academy of Tennis Coaches Pty Ltd. Our headquarters are located in Melbourne, Australia and we have been working closely with some well respected High Performance Coaches in Mr Stephen Dries and Mr Michael Mooney. We have been meeting three times a week through Skype as well as through email and telephone. This has all culminated in a visit to Christchurch this month to finalise AATC’s move into New Zealand to work with current coaches as well as provide an educational opportunity to for trainee and aspiring coaches. We currently have close to 150 members in Australia as well as Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan and Singapore. We deliver courses Australia wide as well as in Asia and working with New Zealand only gives both countries an opportunity to network and develop tennis in our respective communities. Stephen Dries and Mike Mooney are both New Zealand based and are more than qualified to deliver our Level O, Level 1 and Level 2 Tennis Coach certification courses on behalf of the AATC. They are both current Level 3 Elite Professional Coaches with the AATC and are held in the highest regard. Onny Parun, former Australia Open finalist and arguably New Zealand’s greatest tennis player has come on board as the patron in New Zealand. This time should be seen as an exciting time for New Zealand tennis. The market is being deregulated and potential coaches are given the option to make a choice. I am personally flying into New Zealand to work with Stephen and Michael as they set up this company. We have set up an open forum with the coaches in New Zealand to listen to the their issues in order to meet their ongoing needs. The AATC in New Zealand will be independently administered by an independant New Zealand Board. Of this, two members will be eligible to sit on the AATC Board in Australia .

 New Zealand Great Onny Parun is our Patron in New Zealand and he had this to say "This new group of independant coaches was formed due to the lack of support and protection from NZT. As Patron I applaud this brave stance and wish them the best of luck in this new endeavour.----Onny Parun

This Independent group was formed to raise the standards in coaching qualifications and unite tennis coaches so they have a voice in their industry something that has been lacking here in New Zealand. You make up your mind which supermarket you shop at and its your choice where you shop at no one has the right to dictate and now with the AATC there is a choice,competition is healthy and as we are all working for the common goal to foster tennis an Independent Coaches group is vital.

CHECK OUT THE AATC WEBSITE WITH THE NEW ZEALAND SITE PENDING CLICK HERE