On Sunday 13th January Kent LTA held a very successful talent ID Day with 43 players from around Kent being invited to come along for a fun day of fitness and tennis evaluation.
The aim of the day is to ensure that the talented juniors are able to follow a balanced and manageable programme and by getting in contact with clubs and coaches in their area, Simon Dahdi the Kent Talent & Performance Co-Ordinator (TPC) invited the most talented tennis players in the 7 & under and 8 & Under age group to the County ID day. This is the first step for any aspiring player to getting noticed by the LTA.
The day consists of physical tests, (20 metre sprint, standing broad jump, ball throw and an agility cone test), and controlled tennis tests designed to allow a TPC to look at a player’s technique, footwork, ball striking, matchplay and attitude on court. The tennis tests include cross court rallying (looking for quality shots), the rally test (where a coach feeds the ball from side to side), a serving drill and a chance to put all those skills together in a matchplay session.
All players who attended the day will be given feedback on their performance, which will help their coaches monitor their progress and set goals for the following season.
After a County ID Day, players can then be selected to go through to Regional ID Day. These will be run by a region’s Talent & Performance Manager (TPM) and are a chance to compare all the top players in a region and judge the standard of many up and coming youngsters. These follow a similar itinerary to a County ID Day. A Player Performance Potential (PPP) score will determine whether or not they will become a ‘matrix’ player and possibly lead to the LTA help part fund their tennis.
A Big ‘Thank You’ goes to the Parents, coaches and of course the players who attended.