Last week the student canteen at Brockenhurst College played host to the latest craze in the racquet sports world, touchtennis. Sport department manager Rob Cook implemented his unique idea with the help of the college's tennis ambassador Jason Lewis and fellow tennis students Jack Mountain and Matt Savage.
The event was a great success, many students intrigued enough to step onto the court and have a go, with the majority having never picked up a racquet before. The aim of the session was to increase the exposure of tennis at the college in an attempt to increase on the core of students coming along to the weekly touchtennis and cardio sessions on Thursdays run by Jason. Early numbers have been promising and after the success of the canteen session it is expected that attendance levels will increase vastly.
LTA Tennis Development Officer Andy Trott and Further Education Manager at the Tennis Foundation Christine Sprowell were in attendance and were encouraged by the students willingness to get involved and even took to the court themselves to get a taste of the action. Andy who has been working with Rob and Jason on developing tennis at the college said “It is a great idea and I am delighted to see it work. None of the students taking part woke up this morning thinking they would be playing tennis in the canteen and they all want to get the chance to play again.”
Visionary of the canteen session Rob Cook was delighted with the success “It is an idea I have had for a while and finally getting it set up to see this success is a joy. We are already planning another session after half term maybe even on the grass outside the main entrance.” Whilst ambassador Jason Lewis was impressed to see students giving it a go “At first we weren't sure whether the students would get involved but once it got going everyone wanted to get involved and it got a bit competitive on the court.”
Participation in tennis at the college has improved greatly this college year with a regular attendance at the enrichment session and the college entered a side into the Aegon Schools events for the first time and are hoping to build on this success next year.
Report By Jason Lewis