Tennis Australia and Tennis New Zealand Trade players- Just like the WWE draft

So it was of interest reading a tournament report from the Tennis New Zealand site and this caught my eye 'Kiwis Marcus Daniell and Marvin Barker have successfully qualified for the Main Draw at the US$15,000 ITF event in Ipswich, Australia' Marcus Daniel certainly a household name in New Zealand but Marvin Barker? Is this a trade off with Sean Berman now an Aussie, New Zealand gets Marvin Barker?????????. So I did the ITF player search and sure enough his profile Marvin Barker(nz) born in 1991 and in Sandringham , could be Auckland! but the name just doesn't ring a bell on the local front so the eye dug deeper.Looking at his junior career he certainly has played quite a few Junior ITF events in fact in 2007 in the Wellington Junior ITF he had a great run getting to the Semi's beating Marcus Daniel and Ricky McLachlan on way losing in three sets to Finn Tearney.Ok this is great how could we not know this guy , so I look at the draw and low and behold he has that dreaded AUS against his name. Ok maybe a print error , but no all the tournaments list the player as Aus in Fact During an Australia F11 Futures 2009 Dec 30 Nov to 06 Dec 2009 the player was still being recorded as AUS against his name.But something happened the player obviously "came out" and become a proud New Zealander being listed in the current Futures tournament in Ipswich with the NZ against his name!!!!! Goodbye Tennis Australia and Hello Tennis New Zealand !!!!!Here is the LINKto the player profile.

Back on Deck

Sorry for the lack of post's but had too visit family in Australia I have a grandmother that is 102 and it was great to get back and see this remarkable lady.She was not in the best health but I am pleased to say she is back to being as alert as ever.Just recently she had lived in her own home but mobility has forced her to hospital and I spent what time I had in Australia visiting her daily.Whilst there Former world number one doubles player Paul McNamee has been defeated in an election to be the new president of Tennis Australia by New South Wales lawyer Steve Healy. Healy, president of Tennis NSW since 2007, pipped the two-time Wimbledon doubles champion and twice Australian Open champion McNamee in a ballot in Melbourne Monday.Healey has big plans as he will try to bring Australia to the fore once more.
There a two major issues that seem to go unnoticed that determines if you are going to make it as a tennis player and that can be 1.geographical Location, the balance of power has switched to the other side of the world and what we need this side is depth ,its too easy to win tournaments and be ranked in the top of age groups here.In Australia there is a little more depth but still not enough and here in New Zealand too many Parents get carried away at their child's National ranking .The point I am saying is that its too easy , and this has eaten into the culture, how hard does one work to get to Number 1 in our location? If you had twenty guys or girls above you all vying for number one then your training ethics must improve and in doing the social aspect that is a big part here in New Zealand and Australia must give way to more practice time, and more quality tournaments and you must focus on one particular sport to reach the top ,the earlier you put your eggs in one basket the better, this is more relevant here in New Zealand than Australia.Tennis is a year round sport ask Roger Federer does he take the winter off !!!There are many social implications that face the youth of today and we have too much going on to find a number of really dedicated tennis players to improve depth.The few that show the talent and the want need to get where the action is at an early age and readers its not here.If you want to be ranked top 100 in the world you have to get out of the country at an early age.The next major issue is Money and lets face it once you reach a certain level you need CASH .Let me say there are some wealthy parents spending lots of money on their child but at the end of the day that child needs mentally to have the will to practice, fight for wins and forgo a lot of other activities but alas not many can do this.Too many of our ranked juniors get it too easy and this shows through when you start to meet better players.The 16 and under New Zealand boys team finished tenth in the Asia pacific zone to qualify for the World playoffs.You have to finish fourth to do so.And to be truthful its hardly an exciting age group if we are looking for the future.This is the order of teams where they finished 1. [1] Japan, 2. [4] Australia, 3. [3] China, 4. [2] India, 5. [5] Korea, 6. [6] Uzbekistan, 7. Chinese Taipei, 8. [8] Thailand, 9. Hong Kong, 10. New Zealand, 11. Indonesia, 12. Kazakhstan, 13. Malaysia, 14. Syria, 15. Philippines, 16. Pakistan.The girls competition has started today and it will be of interest to see how New Zealand finish but I would expect a better showing than the boys.And so with using the above picture I am saying that time is of the essence, my grandmother can vouch that 100 years passes quickly and the span of a potential junior tennis player so much quicker , the talent is around but it can be lost by circumstance's beyond our control..........I am interested in hearing other thoughts about what juniors need to do to reach a serious World ranking, being top 100. Please leave some comments.

Ellis takes 2nd National Doubles Title- With Partner Gabriela Coates

Annabel Ellis claimed the National 12s Doubles Title partnering Gabriela Coates of Christchurch.They defeated Chanistha AMPORNACHARIYA and Jessica SHAW 10-3 in a super third set tie break.Anna Cochrane also teamed with Michal Matson to win the Cosolation doubles event.Earlier Ellis had lost a very close semi Final against top seed Rosie Cheng 6-4 7-5. I was on hand to watch and also watched their meeting in Hamilton earlier this year which Cheng won 6-0 6-2.It was great to see the Match improvement in Annabel from then to .... today.The first six games where very evenly contested lots of deuce games but Ellis found herself down 5-1 before a few things started to go her way and fought back to 5/4.Its funny that just a couple of points a net cord or a close call that goes against you can mean the difference of winning or losing a set and thats tennis and the important thing is to keep to your game in a close set such as this,,, dont panic, just execute that little bit better.In the second set Ellis went to 4/3 and had points for 5/3 but after a very long game Cheng fought well to make it 4-4.Cheng then had a match point at 5-4 but Ellis was brave winning the point and levelling at 5 all. Cheng was mentally strong making very few unforced errors, and Annabel had a couple of lapses to lose the last two games and the match.From a coaching perspective one can take a lot of positives seeing some grinding play as well as attacking.And with losing a close match the player and coach can get a good insight on what to expect next time they meet. Watching many 12s matches over the years to win this event one has to be prepared to hit a lot of balls and Annabel certainly did this.In Hamilton there was so many cheap and unforced errors but today it was a different and improved Annabel.Losing such a close match is never easy .....But no doubt there will be more meetings not just with this player but others and these matches are so vital in the development of players.Well done Annabel.

"What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing." - Aristotle

Presentation Video- South Canterbury

Presentation from steve Dries on Vimeo.

This is the presentation video I put together for awards night at Tennis South Canterbury, it gives an overall view of some of the things we do here during the season. Features some interviews of some of our up and coming juniors, its a little long but hopefully you will enjoy a little look at our tennis season.

Sam Lane takes Otago Indoor 16s Title

13 year old Sam Lane took out the Otago 16s Indoor Title with a hard fought win over Albert Hailes 6-1 1-6 6-4. Lane earlier had won the 14s boys title.Tom Deeley and Sam Lane also combined to take the 16s Boys doubles title.South Canterbury had a good contingent of players participating, Angus Rollinson played well to take out the 12 boys singles consolation beating Zin South 6-2 6-4.Above is Lane left,deeley top right and Angus Rollinson bottom right.Rebecca Gill, Hugh Rollinson,Oscar Ackland and Josh Redicliffe all gained a lot from matches played.Check all their results from this LINK

Ellis loses tough Match to Second seed -14s Nationals Wellington

Annabel Ellis put up a great fight to go down to Claudia Williams the second seed 7/6 7/6. Ellis playing her best Tennis took it to the higher ranked oppenent nearly causing a huge upset.Later that day partnering Gabriela Coates from Christchurch again nearly pulled off a huge win this time against the top seeds in the girls doubles going down 7-5 4-6 10-4.South Canterbury have a group of players participating in the Otago Junior Indoors.It was an all South Canterbury boys 14 s final with Sam Lan defeating Tom Deeley 6-0 7-5.Sam and Tom also took out the 14s boys Doubles.Play continues today in both tournaments.

Canterbury Junior Tournaments a Benchmark of success

South Canterbury Juniors have once again proven themselves against the stiffest competition in the South Island and all players had great results at the Canterbury Easter Open Junior Tournament.Anna Cochrane was the star winning her first Canterbury singles title in the 12s girls singles defeating Megan Edwards 7-5 7-6 in a hard fought win.Anna has continued to improve and has put into practice what she learned from the January Nationals and is playing much tougher tennis.Tom Deeley lived up to his 4th seed and won the doubles with Sam Lane.Sam Lane lost his final of the 14 boys singles , this is one of those matches where you can learn a lot from a loss and so when I get a chance to talk to Sam there is some lessons to be learned and to take on board for future matches.Ben Deeley after a long lay off has lost nothing and will be all the more dangerous from this tournament.Duncan Rollinson competing with the green balls ( and I have more to say on the green balls in a future post) gained a lot by valuable match play.Jack Deeley won the 11 boys doubles and reached the Semi Final of the singles.Zin South won the boys 10s doubles and was unlucky to lose 9-8 in his first singles match.Above is a collage of pictures from the tournament with Anna Cochrane proudly showing off her winning medal.

Just Can’t Keep myself away from the game. Watching your players in tournaments is a great way for a coach seeing where they are at and what you as a coach has to work on with that player. You can plan Lessons and quite often the player does pretty well in a session but under pressure of a real game you can see what is working and what needs to be worked on. Tom, Jack and Ben Deeley , Anna Cochrane, Zin South ,Sam Lane and Duncan Rollinson are all from South Canterbury participating in the Canterbury Easter Junior Open played at Wilding Park. All players have excelled with Lane playing the 14 boys singles final today with Anna Cochrane in action also in the girls 12s singles semi final. Yesterday Tom Deeley was knocked out in the Semi final of the boys 14s singles event but had some consolation teaming with Sam Lane to win the 14s boys doubles event. Jack Deely, Zin South , Ben Deeley and Duncan Rollinson will also be competing in main draws and consolation events.You can check all results at this LINK.The above picture in water colour of Sam Lane(left) and Tom Deeley.

Roddick Rocks Nadal

Well I have a feeling Roddick can win this title against the in form Tomas Berdych .Roddick convincingly defeated Nadal who is still searching for his best form.Total points Roddick 86 Nadal 74.Just seems that Rafa just hasnt got that serve going yet, not that he is ever going to out serve Roddick but since his injury it just doesn't seem to be as effective prior.Watch Nadal when he throws something into the crowd he does it with his right arm, and we all know that the throwing action relates to the serve.Nadal throws right handed and maybe this trait means his serve will never be feared like a Roddick. And in the Ladies Kim Clijsters won a dramatic semi-final battle of the Belgians against Justin Henin to reach the final of the Sony Ericsson Open on Thursday.

Easter Eggs and an end to the Tennis Season/summer

Easter is upon us once again, for me this year the Easter period brings to an end the Summer Tennis Season in New Zealand.I have been on the go since September 09 with very few days if any not tennis orientated.The above picture is of Tyler Begg(top) and Gabrielle Grady(bottom) Men's and Ladies Champs for this season for Tennis South Canterbury. These pics are from a very successful prize giving held last Tuesday evening at the Tennis Centre.For locals Tyler has made it safe and sound back to Calgary Canada where he will prepare for a busy local summer.Hopefully I will attend a couple of days in Canterbury and Dunedin for their local Easter junior opens.April Nationals which have always been a big part for me are also on and Good luck to Annabel Ellis and Anna Cochrane who will compete in the 12s Nationals in Christchurch.Happy Easter period for all.