Wimbledon Mania

I think even the most ardent anti tennis people would have enjoyed watching Andy Murray's epic victory and the amazing men's final between Federer and Nadal. I know that I was glued to the screen. I always hope that the inspiration will show in my next match!

Our summer season matches are almost finished, except for those needing re-arranging due to bad weather. It is a nail biting time for a couple of our teams, 2nds & 4ths, who are waiting to see if they have managed to get promotion. Watch this space.

Off court I have been busy trying to organise a big fund-raising social event for Charnwood Tennis Club. Plans are not yet finalised but the date looks like being 20th September.

Normal coaching sessions are suspended for the summer holidays but there is plenty of tennis still to come with Junior Summer Camps, mixed senior matches & more vets matches.

Nottingham Open

I was fortunate to be asked to accompany some students from De Lisle Catholic Science College to attend the last ever Nottingham Open tournament on Tuesday.

The first match we saw was Nishikori (pictured left) against Johannsen. After an enthralling first set that went to Johannsen, sadly Nishikori had to retire with an abdominal injury.

Next up was Britain's Alex Bogdanovic who beat fellow Brit James Ward.

Some of the students were able to get autographs.

In all, a good day and just a shame that the tournament will no longer be held in Nottingham.

Inspired by watching so much tennis on Tuesday, my team secured an excellent, if close, victory against Carisbrooke Tennis Club on Thursday night. Bring on Ashby next week!

The Season Continues

Half of the summer season matches are now complete & our teams are having mixed fortunes.
Leading the way is our 4th team who are still well placed for promotion. My team is looking good for survival in division one with some excellent performances, in particular from Annabel & Jenny, 2 of our juniors, who won all their matches against Ashby II.

Watching Rafa over the last couple of weeks has been a joy & an inspiration to us all. However, despite my pleading I cannot convince my students that to keep practicing top-spin is a good thing. Bring on Wimbledon.

For fans of YouTube, try typing in Novak Djokovic & see his impersonations of some of his fellow players. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgjv86JY6Qg

This week I have a trip to the Nottingham Open helping out with looking after students from De Lisle College. Be interesting to see the final line-up. Andy Murray maybe?

Looking Smart

Bit of a break in postings as this is our hectic time of summer league matches.




First match on was our 4th team against the 5th team which was a very competitive affair with a couple of very close matches. The 4ths came out as winners.




Our first match as 1st team was on 7th May away at Leicestershire Tennis Club against their 2nd team. This was a game that we really needed to win and, thankfully, we did by 6 matches to 3. We looked the part in our new 'James Sellicks' sponsored fleeces which raised a few eye-brows as James is a member at Leicestershire!

Not such a good result on Thursday as we went down by 6 matches to 3 against a strong Oadby team.

On Friday this week I took a day off the court swapping my rackets for golf clubs. Despite the drizzle I played ok but was soundly beaten by Mandy, a fine golfer.

Saturday night saw me helping out at my daughter's swimming gala in Enderby and now it is Sunday & a well-earned day of rest!

Sponsorship secured

The new summer match season is a week away so I am delighted to say that I have managed to secure brand new sponsorship from leading Leicetershire estate agent, James Sellicks. He has very kindly agreed to, not only support my coaching kit, but also provide fleece tops for the Charnwood Ladies 1st team players.
For further information visit www.jamessellicks.com
or tel. 0116 2854554

At coaching we are working hard at our match-play tactics which will be put to the test this week when our ladies 4th team have their first match against our fast-improving 5th team. Good luck to you all.

I will keep you posted as to how results are going.

Dog Racing Success

Friday 18th April

Over 70 members and friends descended on Nottingham's Colwick Park for a night of dog racing.

Despite the cold track-side attendance was good to help cheer on the dogs.

Mark and family eventually scored several winners.

Other members decided to stay in the warm bar watching the races on the televisions.

Or just catching up on the latest tennis news!

And at the end of the night the good news was that Charnwood Tennis Club won the trophy for most winners in our named traps.

Thanks again to all those who attended.

Easter

A belated happy Easter from me.

I had a good break over the holidays spending a few days in London with the family.

Whilst being off-court I have been trying to get up to date on some club issues and trying to finalise arrangements for sponsorship for our ladies 1st team.

As Chairperson at Charnwood I was pleased to meet up with Stuart Smith, President of the LTA, last Wednesday to discuss ways forward for our club. Whilst the meeting was interesting and informative, we clearly have lots of work to do in the eyes of the LTA. We therefore have further meetings planned to ensure our club continues to evolve and improve in all it does.

So I am now back to the serious business of coaching and making sure that everyone is ready for the forthcoming summer ladies doubles season.