TENNIS WITH PETER MORNARD : Friday 3lst May
NEW TENNIS MANAGER FOR CULFORD SCHOOL
Culford School’s Tennis High Performance Centre has welcomed a new manager. Mentored for the last 5 years by Jamie Murray’s coach and internationally renowned doubles expert, Louis Cayer, Level 5 Master Coach James Yates will be overseeing Culford’s HPC, which is one of only 20 in the UK with the remit to train and develop top national and international standard players.
James, formerly of the Ipswich Sports Club, brings with him a wealth of first-hand playing knowledge, having been County Singles Champion and ten times the Closed Doubles Champion. James has also been a regular member of the highly successful Suffolk Men’s county team, captaining the side for a number of years. His coaching accolades include the Suffolk County Minis, and he has tutored many individuals from national mini level to international 18 and Under standard.
Culford has further strengthened its HPC by forming an exciting partnership with the LTA High Performance Centre in Cambridge and its satellite club at David Lloyd Ipswich. For James, the advantages are clear, “ The partnership is a fantastic opportunity for both our centres to be at the forefront of British Tennis. Where the development of talented young players is concerned, the unique combination of a first-class education, outstanding pastoral care and the very best high performance coaching makes this partnership the most exciting thing to happen in the East Region for years.”
Players from all three High Performance Centres will now be able to train together under a co-ordinated programme that will benefit everyone involved. Culford School provides the opportunity to combine an excellent education up to A level with a tailored,high performance tennis programme. Culford Tennis Scholarships are open to boys and girls aged 11 to 18 years, of County, Regional or National standard, and are considered throughout the year. For more information go to: www.culford.co.uk
William Cooke-Wharton has been one of many Culford success stories, and was a member of the Boys’ 14 and Under County Cup team a few weeks ago. This weekend is the turn of our 10 and Under teams, our Girls’ based in Group D at Newmarket, and the Boys competing in Group D at Woodford Wells. Chris Daynes captains a Girls’ side of Kylie Bilchev, Isabelle Eaton and Maddie McLaughlin, whilst George Adey will be keeping a watchful eye on a possible trio of Harper Mills, Lucas Walker + Joel Sheldon.
With promotion one of the key LTA initiatives, Suffolk tennis was once again represented at the Suffolk Show over the last two days, Sheelagh Watts and her team once again giving out useful information to the public about the beautiful game, especially with regard to clubs in their area. The mini tennis rig ,manned by a number of county coaches,proved as popular as ever, and hopefully may have encouraged some of the enthusiasts to take up the game in future years.
Hopefully a number of those interested in the game may make contact with one of our Suffolk clubs, and they will not be short of playing opportunities thanks to the many and varied Leagues we have running within the county. Next week we will take a more detailed look at the various leagues that can be found in all corners of Suffolk, ranging from the Ipswich and District League to the Lowestoft and District League, with a number of others providing those essential competitive and social opportunities.