With the start of a new academic year and several recent additions to the team, here’s an update on the tennis coach team and academy here at ISC, which are headed up by Tennis Manager Chris Daynes.
Around Easter-time Josh Tree moved on from ISC to take up a position at the LTA’s Regional Performance Centre based at Culford School although he maintains close links with ISC and continues to regularly coach some of the club’s junior players at Henley Road. As a result, Ryan Lambert has taken on the academy Head Coach role with Lee Tweed becoming academy Manager. Three new coaches joined in the summer term to complement the existing team with Ben Coupe, Ben Thompson and Tom Belton all coaching on a part-time basis. Steve Joint continues as Wheelchair Lead Coach and Harry Wilson provides individual private lessons as well as being involved in the local parks programme. This September, highly experienced coach Richard Daynes returns to ISC for an evening per week giving an extra dimension to the team.
A few words from academy Head Coach Ryan: ‘As a former ISC academy player myself, it’s a great pleasure to be leading the tennis programme at the club. I’ve really enjoyed the start of this new term with every single player showing a great attitude and work ethic. In my opinion, success of the academy shouldn’t only be measured by match results but by players moving forward with a passion for the sport of tennis. That passion could lead playing at university in the UK or USA, professionally – as a player or coach, or simply returning to the club to play in the winter/summer leagues. This is why we do not only develop technique and tactics, we try to create an environment that develops a child’s resilience, allowing them to deal with adversity as well as further skills that they will use in various aspects of their adult life’.
Some of the team are shown below, from left to right: Tom Belton, Ryan Lambert, Chris Daynes, Lee Tweed and Harry C.
In an exciting new development, 16-year-old Harry joins the team as a Tennis Coach Apprentice. Chris Daynes comments: ‘Harry is a very talented player, having been a member and coached at ISC for many years and is interested in pursuing a career as a tennis coach. Seeing a gap in the opportunities offered locally to youngsters of Harry’s age, we’ve devised a development plan whereby Harry will shadow all members of the coaching team over the coming 18 months so will experience academy and junior futures squads, but will also be engaged in the various adult coaching groups we offer at ISC, as well as disability tennis. In addition, other aspects of a coaching role and management of tennis facilities will be included in his plan such as safeguarding, health & safety issues, lesson and squad scheduling, competition planning, along with court and club maintenance. Harry’s youthful enthusiasm and feedback will bring a different perspective to our team and he’s already settled in really well making lots of new friends with the juniors and adult club members alike’.
The academy currently houses 70 players ranging in ages from 6 to 18 who attend various squad sessions from Monday to Saturday. In addition, under our junior tennis futures programme we currently run 5 groups and are looking to expand this aspect of our offering which is on an invitation only basis.
Our aim is to nurture each individual to fulfil their potential, so our coaches work closely with the players to perfect shot-making techniques, consolidate on court strategies for both singles and doubles as well as improving fitness and durability through strength and conditioning training using our on-site gym facilities and trainers – which also helps to prevent injuries. The coaching team also guide the juniors on various mental aspects of the game such as focus, intensity, routines and dealing with adversity. We understand tennis can be a tough sport – especially for youngsters – so it’s key we help prepare the players for the journey ahead of them. One of our key aims is to provide a welcoming and fun training environment and we benefit from excellent facilities including all year-round tennis with our 3 indoor acrylic courts and 3 of our tarmac courts are covered by an air dome during the winter months.
ISC is proud to be an LTA performance centre for the U10 age group, so when juniors show particular promise and start to reach a regional standard, we liaise closely with LTA coaches about progressing their development further and working alongside the local regional performance centre.
Our junior players took part in many tournaments over the summer period gaining vital match and tournament experience with amazing results achieved (see the News section on ISC’s website for more competition details). This culminated in 11 out of 20 county champion titles being won by ISC members at the Suffolk LTA’s County Closed tournament in August.
ISC recently received this excellent feedback from the parents of 2 boys currently training with the academy: ‘Ryan is flourishing in the role of Head Coach and as a result of his leadership the juniors are improving their skillsets no end whilst really enjoying their tennis and making many friends outside of school, who often go on to become great team-mates. The coaching team at ISC keeps getting better and better and for us Chris Daynes is a stand out coach, who is recognised by his colleagues in the wider coaching community, and under his tutorship the standard of both our son’s tennis has improved significantly, whilst giving them the freedom to develop individual, on-court tennis personalities’.
The coaching team are currently working on developing more ‘Tennis Leader’ courses to encourage aspiring youngsters interested in pursuing a PE teacher or tennis coach role, and a parent/child friendly tournament – keep an eye on our website/socials for more details.
ISC’s tennis team captain, Louise Woods, comments: ‘Chris and his coaching team do an incredible job of developing outstanding, talented juniors and it’s a joy to watch them develop and grow both as tennis players but also as young people. There are many hours of hard graft on court to perfect technique but also a huge amount of fun which fuels their desire to learn and improve. When we feel the juniors are ready, we start to include them in our adult double’s teams, sometimes pairing academy players together but often combining with more mature players to achieve a balance of experience and youthful exuberance. As a club we’re proud to actively nurture the next generation of players and it’s beneficial for all of us to discuss potential tactics as a team. The academy juniors, with constant support of their parents, have made a huge contribution to the success of ISC teams over the past few years and it’s a pleasure to be involved in their tennis journey.’
**Newsflash** – The last few days have been exceptionally busy as we’ve had a new air dome delivered and installed. It looks fantastic and we can’t wait to use it. Well done and huge thanks to Rob Butler and his dedicated team of helpers that made this happen.
