James Griffin who is member of both Kendal & Heversham Tennis Clubs has achieved National success this winter on the tennis courts of Britain.
He has been competing in the Lawn Tennis Association`s National Winter Tour 10 & Under Boys Event where the top 32 players in Britain compete in tournaments round the country collecting ranking points as they go. James has competed in Bolton (10th), Sunderland (15th), Loughborough (20th) and then last weekend in Norwich where he came a very impressive 8th. This has left James with an end of season UK Ranking of 15 which qualifies him for the prestigious end of season Nike sponsored British National Tour Finals to be held at the LTA`s National Training Headquarters in Roehampton over the weekend of 1st/2nd March where the top 16 boys compete against each other to become National Champion.
What makes James`s achievement even more outstanding is the fact he only turned 10 two weeks ago and is still eligible for this age group during the forthcoming Summer season when most of his present rivals will be moving into the 12 and under age bracket.
James trains between 10 – 15 hours per week both with his coach father Jon Griffin and at the Northern Tennis Club, Manchester where former British Davis Cup player and World top 400 player David Shaw puts him through his paces.
Father Jon stated ¬`reaching the National Tour Finals at such a young age is a remarkable achievement especially for a player living in this area of the country where facilities are sparse. James regularly travels more than 500 miles per week for training and tournaments and his success is just reward for his dedication and hard work. A special mention should be given to Casterton, Sedbergh Preparatory School who have been unbelievably supportive of James, allowing him to finish school early 3 times a week to train and have even dovetailed his timetable/homework schedule to assist in his development’.
Picture: James with coaches Jon Griffin(R) & David Shaw(L)