This year the Men’s team had a long journey to Hunstanton in Norfolk to play in Group 3. The journey took over 5 hours. The team comprised Richard Irwin, Matt Coombes, Jon Austin, Tim Prossor and debutants Adam Watson, Stefan Burnett and Piers Herfet-Jones. We however were missing 6 regulars in Tim Hewitt, Andy Phillips, Chris Helliar, Tom Beach, Alistair Barnes and Rhys Hanger who were unable to come due to financial, work or family constraints.
Over the last few years we have had some real highs in the Summer County Competition reaching Division 1 for the first time in 2009. This year I took on the role as Men's Captain from Matt Coombes who had decided after 12 years to step down. I knew I had some big shoes to fill. Matt had been a great captain who had inspired all the County players and had been a great role model. In my opinion many of the players representing the County have continued to play over many years due to their respect for Matt and the fact that he has built a great team spirit within past and current players.
Over my 13 years of playing for Dorset at senior level I have come to realise that the running of the Men's and Ladies' senior teams is expensive. All the players love to represent their County however I don’t feel there is enough done to support the players who play regularly and have supported the County so honourably. I feel that the senior county teams should be viewed as one of if not the most important function of Dorset County LTA as it is a key opportunity to showcase the talent in Dorset. Hence an appropriate level of help and support should be made available.
Over the last few years I have wondered why I give up my time and money to represent the County at these events let alone be captain. However I do it as I don’t want to let the other players or the County down and see all the hard work over the 13 years I have been playing go to waste. I know Matt feels as strongly about this as I do and it was hard for him to step down as captain. However I hope this report makes people aware of the considerable amount of time and money the players give up for Dorset tennis. I feel, and I know Matt and all of the team feel that we deserve more help and support than we actually get. It is often quite soul destroying that we don’t get many spectators or supporters coming to watch our efforts. Ultimately we all want Dorset tennis to do well in the years to come. However this year just proves how tough it is to play with all the constraints upon us. As an example the Dorset team get just their hotel, breakfast and evening meal paid for. Essex on the other hand get their hotel, breakfast and evening meal, and £50 per day paid for and they were in the same division!
Daily report from the week
Day 1 – Middlesex
Lost 5-4
We started at 10.30am and finished at 6pm. Pairs were Sanger/Irwin, Coombes/Austin, Prossor/Watson.
Day 2 – Suffolk
Lost 5-4
Jon Austin had to sit out this day as he had picked up an injury on the first day. Also it rained through the day so play started at 10.30am but we didn’t finish until 8.15pm and nearly missed dinner. Pairs were Sanger/Irwin, Coombes/Watson, Burnett/Herfet Jones.
Day 3 – Essex
Lost 6-3.
We started at 10.30am and finished at 6.30pm. Pairs were Sanger/Austin, Irwin/Prossor, Coombes/Watson.
Day 4 – Hampshire
Lost 7-2
We started at 11.30am as there was a rain shower at start of play and finished at 6pm. Hampshire had Josh Goodal playing for them. Pairs were Sanger/Irwin, Coombes/Austin, Prossor/Watson.
Day 5 – Sussex
Won 5-4
Both teams were already relegated so we were just playing for pride but we managed to win. Pairs were Irwin/Coombes, Prossor/Watson, Burnett/Herfet Jones.
We finished fifth in division 3 and this unfortunately means we have been relegated to division 4. Overall I felt we were good enough to stay in Division 3 even though we were without some of our strongest Adult players. However the long car journey to Hunstanton led to a slow start to the week from our experienced players especially those who had driven. Our new players also took a while to settle in and grow in confidence and gain the experience they need to play at this level.