TENNIS
Westway Sports Centre also runs Eton
Fives, climbing and football initiatives
tournaments (Grade 3) each year for
Under 10s and Under 18s; both of which
attract competitors from across the
home counties.
Westway CEO Mark Devlin says the
trust partnered with Win Tennis be-
cause the centre had previously only
concentrated on talent at the top of the
pyramid. “We realised that if we didn’t
have the right foundations for kids of
all abilities to start from we’d find
fewer players coming through to the
top of the sport,” he says.
According to Devlin, Westway already
runs community initiatives for other It’s a constant balancing act trying to get the business mix
sports, such as football and climbing, at
right for Westway’s sports initiatives. We juggle what we
the centre and has signed a partnership
with the Eton Five’s Association, which is have to ensure the community gets the best opportunities
a sport normally only available in select-
ed public and grammer schools. “We are Thesesessions are by invitation through a specific daily programme in place for
also a well-known centre for climbing schools and/or pay and play sessions players, which involves heavy training
and host the British Youth Climbing or via an assessment. They involve a sessions early in the week and moves
Competition, which attracts about more competitive structure where there towards match play later in the week.
250 climbers,” Devlin explains. is a tennis-related, tactical theme and There’s also the option of accessing the
“It’s a constant balancing act trying technical teaching point at every session. academy on a part-time basis. This is for
to get the business mix right for these The performance programme follows players who are still in full-time school
sporting initiatives,” Devlin says. “Our the same structure as the club pro- but are keen to progress their tennis to
community activity is subsidised, so we gramme, with the players expected to a serious level. All academy players have
don’t charge the market rates. In fact perform more difficult drills. According individual programmes incorporating
some charges are absorbed by the trust to Mike Walker, players on Win Tennis’ tennis-specifics, tournament schedules
– as we plough any profits back into the performance programme play in LTA and general life skills, as well as individual
centre. So we juggle what we have to and Middlesex tournaments and may strength and conditioning programmes.
ensure that the community gets the compete on a weekly basis. “All prior- “We have some of the best Mini Red,
best possible sporting opportunities.” ity players throughout the programme Orange, Green and performance players
are given individual goals and schedules. in Middlesex as well as players with ATP,
Structured approach These players are seen by the academy’s International and European rankings in
The Win Tennis programme’s entry level strength and conditioning coach and our academy,” Walker explains.
sessions at Westway are pay and play are given specific exercises and pro- “The Win Tennis team is extremely
and focus on players who are just start- grammes,” he explains. passionate about what they do and
ing out in the game and are in need of Once a player makes the decision to always give 100 per cent to any player
basic co-ordination, ball skills and a gen- take their game to a European and in- that they work with. We follow a
eral feel and understanding of the sport. ternational level, they become involved simple tennis philosophy at Westway
The next step is the club programme, in the academy programme. This is for and believe that tennis should be ac-
which works on all levels and ages full-time players who train twice a day cessible to all players at all ages and all
from four- through to 16-year-olds. and are also educated on site. There’s playing levels.” ●
58 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital Issue 3 2009 © cybertrek 2009
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