Over 60 children attended a Talent ID/Open day held at Steep Tennis Club on Sport Relief Day, Sunday March 25th.
Courtside Sports Tennis Academy (CSTA), who run have been running the coaching program at Steep TC for almost 9 years, organised the day in order to find new talent in the Petersfield area, that they’d be able to offer help to.
With the potential to be offered upto £500 worth of coaching, membership to Steep TC and a racket, many children from the local area turned out to try their hand – many of whom had never picked up a racket before.
“While being able to hit a good ball is a bonus, we were really hoping to see some of the other, less obvious qualities that help a young player succeed in the long term,” said Dave Gaterell, Steep TC Head Coach and Director of CSTA. “Qualities like - being a hard worker, a fast learner, passion for the game, good hand eye co-ordination, ability to take on instruction, the will to win, good concentration etc,...these are the sorts of things that a player MUST have to succeed, regardless of how well they hit a ball. Learning good technique is the easy part. Without those other qualities though, it doesn’t get you that far.”
Initially, 4 scholarships to the tennis program were on offer, but after such a huge turn out, and a great display of effort and skill from the children involved, CSTA decided to give 8 full and 5 partial scholarships, worth almost £4000 in total. The full scholarships include 6 private lessons, a term of squads coaching up to 3 times a week, a racket and a 3 month membership of Steep TC.
“We didn’t have a sponsor this year, so apart from the 3 month membership that Steep have kindly provided the winners, everything else is being provided by CSTA. It’s my hope that many of the children who took part today, had enough fun to come and take up tennis at the club. Next year though, we’ll definitely be looking for a local sponsor for the event – a local business perhaps, that wants to be a part of helping local children achieve their sporting dreams.”
Many of the club’s members donated their time to help run the day – some on court, and some behind the scenes. “It’s great to see what can be achieved when everyone is pulling in the same direction,” said Gaterell.
The club also raised over £70 for Sport Relief.
Full Scholarship winners were Tommy Mathews, Yannick Fisher, Selina Walker-Smith, Callum King, Oliver Fernandez, Finlay MacNeil, Elliot White & Marley Whiteley. Part scholarships were awarded to Joe Carter, Archie Burt, Max White, Jess Noble and Archie Primrose.
To find out more about the great tennis opportunities available at Steep TC, contact Dave Gaterell dave@cs-ta.com