Hockley youngsters rule the L&W roost (From Echo)

Hockley youngsters rule the L&W roost

2:20pm Thursday 25th August 2011 in Tennis

YOUNG players from Hockley tennis club continued to underline their prowess by winning all three divisions of the Leigh & Westcliff Junior League.

Juniors from the Folly Lane club have achieved the feat over the past few years and this summer the teams only lost one game between them, while the boys’ U16/U14 champions did not lose a set.

Hockley chiefs credited club coach Royston Kimberly with resposibility for the success.

“It’s quite significant that the standard of our juniors has been growing and growing over the past few years,” said committee member Brian Keech.

“Royston is excellent at coaching juniors to a high level and over the past five years he has concentrated on them to great effect.

“We have tried to intersperse our junior finals with the adult ones and the older players have been amazed at how well the juniors have come on.”

Kimberly was pleased with the juniors’ L&W victories and said: “We have put a lot of hard work and resources into our performance players and it’s great to see it bear fruit.”

He joined Hockley six years ago and streamlined the junior set-up to turn it into a performance centre using Spanish training methods.

Players are coached using standard yellow balls from the age of two and only use red or green balls in preparation for mini-tennis tournaments.

“We work with performance-orientated groups of four so they still get focused training but also have a hitting partner,” Kimberly added.

“It is the same system as used in Spain where the objective it to challenge players to find solutions on court for themselves rather than caoches giving them direct technical tuition and solutions.”

Kimberly needed more coaches so three years ago set up the International Tennis Academy to provide tuition to coaches around the country.

He has a satellite academy in Barcelona, Spain, and set up another elite academy at Deanes Sport Centre in Daws Heath Road, Thundersley, which benefits from six outdoor and three indoor courts, plus gym and fitness suites.

The coach stressed the long term aim of the academies was to produce players who would want to carry on playing through their late teens, 20s and 30s, rather than leave the sport and return to it later in life.

“I believe the solution to attracting senior members to clubs is through the junior programme,” Kimberly added. “If you focus on the juniors you will attract parents and they will be encouraged to join.

Rayleigh Tennis Club finished second in both the girls’ U16/14 and boys’ U14/12.

>Leigh & Westcliff LTA Junior league secretary Alan Young and experienced County referee Graham Ray have put together a new format for approval by the committee and member clubs which includes singles and doubles for the 2012 Junior Summer League.

>Hockley tennis club is offering free Saturday teaster sessions between 2.30pm and 3.30pm throughout September.

It is open to juniors and adults of all abilities. Contact Royston Kimberly on 07886 457378 for more details.