Thomas Mellor was born with a genetic syndrome called Velo-Cardio-Facial-Syndrome. He had major heart surgery as a baby, a cleft palate, speech and hearing problems and a learning disability.
Thomas has played tennis since the age of 6, and has found that this has really helped him to develop his co-ordination, concentration and general fitness. There are many things that he finds difficult because of his learning disability and as a result he requires a lot of support in some parts of his life, but he always tries to focus on the positives – one of which is tennis.
In January 2013, Thomas was selected on to the Tennis Foundation LD Performance Programme. His commitment to maximise his potential means he plays tennis almost every day including individual and group lessons, fitness sessions and match play. Thomas also volunteers at his local tennis club, East Gloucestershire Club in Cheltenham. In August 2013, Thomas will represent the South West region in the Special Olympics National Games in Bath and in June will make his International debut as part of the Great Britain Team selected to compete in the INAS World Tennis Championships in Czech Republic.
Thomas is very interested in helping others learn to play so in 2011, Thomas took the LTA level 1 Tennis Assistants Coaching Course and has enjoyed supporting the coaches at his club. Not to stop there, earlier this year, he decided to improve his qualifications and recently passed the LTA Level 2 Coaching Qualification. Thomas says, “It was very hard work – especially on the theory side. I had a lot of help and support from the coaches at my tennis club. They helped me to understand the theory and gave me a lot of practical experience such as helping them with group sessions. I practiced my practical exam at the club with friends and family, and spent a lot of time learning how to plan a lesson. Before I took my exam I was very nervous, but when I came to do it I felt very confident. I needed extra time to do the written theory, and had a lot of support from the course tutor and my parents”.
As well as working hard to improve and develop his own playing standard, Thomas is looking forward to assisting the coaches at the club to gain more experience and is enjoying being a hitter for other players. He would like to take the Disability Awareness Course and work towards teaching tennis to people with disabilities.
Lesley Whitehead, the Tennis Foundation’s Head Coach for people with a learning disability said “Thomas is very motivated to improve his own tennis and has worked hard to achieve this qualification. He is a positive role model and an excellent ambassador for LD tennis”.