ASHBOURNE young tennis star Victoria Allen was put through her paces last week after taking part in the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) National Talent ID Day, held at Bolton Arena.
The 12-year-old was amongst 22 youngsters from across the country invited to the session, and showed off her skills in front of the LTA Talent ID team.
The assessors were aiming to spot future performance players who, even at such an early age, were displaying the right attributes that could enable them to make a real impact on the game.
Allen, who schools at My Tennis Academy, said: “I really enjoyed the physical aspect and I have been working hard on being more confrontational with my hitting.
“I feel like Talent ID certainly helps me to become a better player.”
The day was overseen by the LTA’s head of talent management, Andrew Lewandowski, who was impressed by what he saw.
He said: “Victoria has performed really well and shown lots of ability across a number of different tasks, testing qualities including athletic ability, coordination, speed and agility and a real natural talent and love for the sport. It was fantastic to see so many enthusiastic and talented players give it their all. The LTA are committed to developing and supporting talent, and we now have the systems in place to give players like these the best possible chance of reaching their potential, so I look forward to seeing their progress.”
With thanks to David Broome, Ashbourne News Telegraph