Tennis Talk Available to All Clubs

TENNIS TALK AVAILABLE IN YOUR CLUB.

READ ON TO FIND OUT MORE.

As part of my job selling rackets and restringing, I come across a large number of the tennis community daily.

And it concerns me that the information a lot of these people have acquired, either through their own interpretation of something or the advice they have being given is wrong.

Using the correct racket and the most suitable strings for your style of game can make a huge difference to your game.

If a talk on these and other topics is of interest to you, contact me with the best person to talk to in your club to organise such an event.

Contact me at rob_leahy@yahoo.co.uk or 0868215333.

Great New Tennis Book Available.

I have just received and read a great new book which is a must for anyone involved in coaching or on committees.  It was written be Peter Farrell and goes through in detail how to make your club a successful and vibrant facility.

The book is called "Directing Tennis Programmes" and it covers topics such as Club Programmes, The Role of a Coach, Child Protection and Risk Management, Marketing, Working with Parents and many more relevant topics that you will come across regularly when working as a coach or as part of your clubs committee.

This is an adapted extract from Peter Farrell’s new book Directing Tennis Programmes. For further information, contact Peter at peter.farrell@tennisireland.ie

Children can only play tennis with their parents support. Who else is going to pay for their club membership, equipment and coaching? Parental support is crucial in getting children interested in tennis in the first place. Once a young player has become involved in the game and the club, parents are still hugely influential in getting their child to sign up for events, tournaments, and coaching, then transporting them to the venues. Some parents will be experienced players who have been around tennis for many years. But for others the game will be a `foreign field`, and they will need support and guidance to negotiate the difficulties ahead. Nobody would criticize a child for not knowing how to read on the first day of school – why would anyone expect parents to know exactly what to do and not to do from day one?
SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR PARENTS

1. Keep winning and losing in perspective.
It is easy and tempting to equate success in tennis with the number of matches won and lost, and to assume that losing is always bad. In fact winning too much as a junior can actually harm a player’s development – constant winners have no yardstick with which to measure what they need to do in order to improve.

2. Make sure tennis is fun.
I always remember an article I read many years ago, shortly after Bjorn Borg retired in his mid 20`s. When asked why he had given up at such a young age, he said “it wasn’t fun anymore”. If it needed to be fun at his level, it certainly needs to be fun at junior level!

3. Emphasize the achievement of individual objectives.
Ambitions in tennis can range anywhere between wanting to win Wimbledon to getting some exercise once or twice a week. It is up to each player to decide what they want to get out of the game, and each decision is perfectly valid for that individual.

4. Keep your child involved in tennis.
Progression to a competent level can be a mid to long-term goal for some players. If a child is struggling with the game, a parent must find ways to keep him or her involved and interested. Always stress that tennis is a sport for a lifetime – in the USA there are tournaments for player’s aged 90 and over!

5. Be sensitive in what you say to your child after a match.
Win or lose, it is generally best for a parent to give a player some time alone after the competitors shake hands. While parents are often anxious to make what they see as relevant points, most players like to reflect for a while on a match before discussing it.

6. Get on court!
Children love the fact that they can rally with and against their parents. Make sure you use the correct ball for your child's age and standard (see www.tennisplayandstay.com for details).

Babolat Cork Tennis League Mens Winner

Congratulations to James Cooney on winning the Babolat Cork Tennis League Mens Section.
James collected his prize of 2 rackets, a racket bag, shoes, t-shirt, shorts and socks today.
After a long tournament season it came down to the last event with 3 men in the running for the top prize.  Due to a bad planning one of the 3 eliminated himself so 2 remained.  And the semi final of the Mens doubles grade 4 became the Babolat Cork Tennis League Mens final between James and Tim Ryan.  After a nervous affair James and his partner came through and that win ensured James won the league. 
Well done James and watch out for details of next years event in the near future. 
A big thank you to Babolat for sponsoring this event.

Inaugural All Ireland Senior Team Tennis Open Championships

Limerick Lawn Tennis Club will host a new event in the Irish Tennis calendar over the forthcoming October bank holiday weekend . 


Officially launched on Monday 26th September by Club President Judith McGill and All Ireland Team committee in the preseence of sponsor Jim Upton.


The Format is mens and ladies teams of 4 or you may enter as an individual and we will put you in a team.  It is a knockout competition, but there will be a plate event so each team is guaranteed at least 2 matches which is 4 games.  


The entry fee is €20 per person and entry forms will be available from Thursday.  You can contact me through the blog or go to the events facebook page to get entry forms.


A list of accommodation which will be at a reduced rate will be available shortly again on the face book page which you can find by searching for the title of this post.  


All grades catered for 1-2 , 2 , 3 ,4 , 5-6. Ideal tournament to enter as part of an introduction to tennis or an elite player. 


Mr Upton said he was delighted to be associated with the Inaugural All Ireland Team Tennis Tournament and to link the new tournament with a new product using the slogan ' Make Christmas Magic with Magic Turkey Bags'. 


A programme of clubhouse entertainment along with Happy Hours and food offerings is being planned for the holiday weekend . A fun filled action packed weekend of fun and tennis in store !!!!!!!!!

The King retires

Irish tennis has lost one of it's recent stars to retirement.  A decision that wasn't entirely his own.  Irish tennis has taken huge strides forward in recent years and now has a foundation to produce stars of the future to follow in Barry's footsteps.

Unfortunately, like Conor Niland mentioned in his interview on The Late Late Show, professional tennis is an expensive occupation and at the moment Irish players aren't receiving any assistance in pursuit of their dreams and this contributed in part to Barry's decision.

This doesn't bode well for our sport and hopefully between The Sports Council and Lottery funding our future stars will be given a bit more support than our current crop of professional players.

The following is an article which appeared today in the Irish Times sports section and is a fitting tribute to one of our top players.

Congratulations Barry and best of luck in your future career.

"King ends professional career

Tennis: Irish Davis Cup player Barry King has today announced his retirement from professional tennis at the age of 26. Having exhausted his financial resources and with a series of niggling injuries holding him back from progressing further up the rankings, King felt there was little option but to pull to plug on his professional career at this stage.

He admitted: “Having spent nearly three years on the professional circuit and achieved many of goals, I am now eager to resume my business career. I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the professional tour, particularly the time I spent as part of the Irish Davis Cup squad.

“I now look forward to channelling the energy I brought to these matches into new pursuits. I will always be passionate about Irish tennis and wish to continue to contribute to this development in any way possible.

King achieved a career high ranking of 600 in November 2009 and has been a member of the Irish Davis Cup team since 2010. The former Gonzaga schoolboy was Ireland’s Davis Cup hero in July this year when he defeated Anis Ghorbel to win the Davis Cup Euro/Africa Zone Group II play-off against Tunisia on a 3-2 score line.

King accounted for Ghorbel in straight sets 7-6 6-2 6-1 to claim the fourth singles match and overall victory at Riverview. Irish Davis Cup Captain Garry Cahill said: “Barry’s retirement is a huge blow for Irish tennis. He has had a really impressive career to date and he is a proven match winner in international competition.

We acknowledge his enormous talent and while his retirement is a setback, we understand very well his decision. He has been an inspiration for all the junior members of the BNP Paribas National Tennis Academy and we all wish him the very best of luck in his future ventures.”

Senior Open Season ends with Bandon Open

Well another summer of opens has come to an end, and what a way to finish.

Finals day at Bandon provided some very tough and competitive matches and despite the weather finished on time.

Looking through the results some of the finalists have appeared in other finals throughout the year and will surely be upgraded next year, probably to the relief of some of their opponents.

Well done to all who won and got to finals in Bandon and congratulations to the organising committee on another very successful tournament.

Results:
MD3 - Niall Cloke/Kieran Hackett V Aidan Cotter/Eoin Moynihan 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
WD3 - Karen Barry/Joanna Riordan V Marion Healy/Monica Williams 6-3, 6-1
MX3 - Karen Barry/Jonathon Mulcahy V Louise Nestor/Niall Cloke 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
MD4 - James Cooney/Kevin Day V Ed Condren/Des Greene 6-3, 6-7, 6-4
WD4 - Deirdre Duboy/Monica Twomey V Jo Cahalane/Jenny Warren 6-2, 6-3
MX4 - Monica Twomey/Rob Jenkins V Sandra Higgins/Tom Reidy 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
MD5 - Conor Ahern/Michael O Driscoll V Ray McDonald/John Murphy 7-5, 6-4
WD5 - Jo Cahalane/Jenny Warren V Teresa O Donovan/Jacqui O Mahony 6-2, 6-1
MX5 - Bridgett Webb/Frank Delaney V Liz Brosnan/Liam O Regan 3-6, 7-6, 7-6
MD6 - James Cooke/Liam Kelleher V Declan Casey/Ivan McCutcheon 6-0, 6-1
WD6 - Martina O Sullivan/Brenda Crowley V Majella Daly/Linda Murphy 6-1, 6-1
MX6 - Majella Daly/Ray McDonald V Karen Holmes/Jason Preston 6-3, 6-0.

The truth!

D - Day for the mens winner of the Babolat Cork Tennis League

The Mens Grade 4 semi finals in Bandon will decide the mens winner of the Babolat Cork Tennis League.

Tim Ryan and James Cooney are both on 21 points and they meet this afternoon in a semi final, with more than just a spot in the final at stake.

The winner gets for himself, from Babolat, 2 tennis rackets, a pair of shoes, a t-shirt, shorts, socks and a racket bag to hold them all, not bad for a seasons work.

The ladies winner was Sheila Stokes.

I'll be in touch to organise the prizes soon guys.

Best of luck to both Tim and James this afternoon.

Babolat Cork Tennis League

Here is the updated table with one tournament to go:

MensJames Cooney - 21points
Tim Ryan - 21points
Conor Ahern - 13points
Piotr Czarnecki - 5points

WomenSheila Stokes - 26points
Trish O Leary - 13points.

The mens event goes down to the last tournament where Conor would need 2 wins and hope the guys above him don't win.. Bad choice of partner there Conor as a 2 wins would keep Tim ahead of you.

Tim and James are in one event each and all going to plan they meet in the semi's to decide who wins the mens title.

Congratulations to Sheila Stokes on winning the womens event.

Senior Vets win back to back Interpros

The Senior Vets Interpros were held last weekend in Sundays Well tennis club and even though the weather wasn't favourable the quality of tennis was still of a very high standard.

The matches were very competitve and the new format again proved it's worth in providing a very close fought battle to the end.

After the first afternoons play Munster and Leinster were tied on 11 matches each out of a possible 16.

Play began Saturday morning with all teams knowing there was still a lot of tennis to be played and 32 points up for grabs.

The new format doesn't have just one province playing another, it has three of the four age groups playing different provinces. This means until the last ball is hit on Saturday evening you don't know how you have done against any one province.

After the mornings matches, Leinster and Munster were still tied having picked up 12 points each.

With the afternoon session left it was all to play for and the Munster players were determined to defend the title for the first time in their history (we think!). Players and spectators alike spent the afternoon trying to figure out how the scores were tallying up. While we were able to calculate Munster's scores, finding out how Leinster were doing was proving a bit more difficult. This all added to the excitement.

Last year when Munster won, there were a few comments about our team being illegal as we played a few people down an age group. An argument which if you sit down and think about it, is quiet ridiculous as a player could be giving away as many as 9 years. How is that an advantage?

Well this year not only was the team legal but Munster retained their title by the narrowest of margins, two points.

This was a magnificent achievement and the plan now is to go for the hat-trick in Connaught next year. Well done to all.

Ballinlough Senior Open Results

MX3 - Karen BArry/Jonathon Mulcahy V Berni Kenny/Paul O Callaghan 6-1, 5-7, 6-0
MD4 - Martin Bourke/Kenny Ding V Dan Linihan/Vladimir Shevchenko 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
LD4 - Sandra Higgins/Nime Stfansson V Tara Mukerjee/Monica Twomey 7-5, 2-6, 6-2
MX4 - Deirdre Duboy/Kevin Moynihan V Catherine McCarthy/Niall Coonan 6-0, 6-1
MD5 - Dan Linihan/Vladimir Shevchenko V Tom Fannon/NIgel Smith 6-1, 6-4
LD5 - Catherine Griffin/Maria O Keeffe V Maria Crowley/Ann Humphries 6-2, 6-4
MX5 - Ann Humphries/Liam Murphy V Mary Woulfe/Con Sheehan 6-4, 7-6
MD6 - Martin Hurley/Tony Lyons V Tim O Leary/John Underwood 6-2, 0-6, 6-1
LD6 - Carmel o Hea/Linda St.Ledger V Tina Bushe/Shirley Kenneally RET.
MX6 - Therese Crowley/Joe McSweeney V Teresa Lynch/Brian Hennessy 7-6, 6-1.

Congratulations to all the winners and runners up and to the organising committee of Ballinlough tennis club on another very successful tournament.

East Cork Senior Open Results

Here are the results for the East Cork Senior Open which finished recently in Lower Aghada Tennis Club.

MD1 - Duncan Cronin/Conor Kelly V Vince Lawton/Rob Murphy 6-4, 6-2
LD1/2 - Marie Duffy/Mary Claire McCarthy V Liz Clifford/Karen Higgins 6-4, 6-1
MD2 - Paul Flynn/Ger Sheehan V VInce Lawton/Donal Neary 6-4, 6-2
MD3 - Aidan Cotter/Keith Kenny V James Cooney/Leo Lyons Troy 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
LD3 - Karen Barry/Joanna O Riordan V Marian Gargan/Monica Williams 7-5, 6-0
MX3 - Carol Daly/Niall Ahern V Nick Cloke/MArgaret Roche 6-2, 6-4
MD4 - Tony Lawlor/Jonathon Mulcahy V Kevin Day/Leo Lyons Troy 6-4, 7-5
LD4 - Dara Carberry/Sandra Higgins V Cathy Dorrian/Susan Hamel 6-7, 7-6, 6-2
MX4 - Trish O Leary/James Cooney V Maggie Brosnan/Declan Whelan Curtin 6-2, 6-1
MD5 - Conor Ahern/Michael O Driscoll V John Barry/John O Neill 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
LD5 - Majella Blackburn/Liz O Brien V Catherine Griffin/Caroline Lawlor 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
MX5 - Naomi & Ray O Sullivan V Bridget Webb/Frank Delaney 6-1, 3-6, 6-0
MD6 - Com BUrke/Donal McCarthy V Darragh Fitzgerald/George Ross 6-4, 7-6
LD6 - Karen Holmes/Linda Murphy V Tina Bushe/Siobhan Cronin 6-3, 7-5
MX6 - Linda & John Murphy V Sally Hayes Diarmuid Cronin 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

Babolat Cork Tennis League points:
James Cooney - 10 points
Trish O Leary - 5 points

Veterans Interpros comes to Cork.

Sundays Well Tennis Club will host the Veterans Interpros on Friday and Saturday the 9th and 10th of September. Play will commence Friday afternoon around 3pm (time to be confirmed).

Last year Munster won the Interpro Championships for the first time in 10 years and will be doing their best to retain the title.
Pressure will be on though, as rumour has it Leinster didn't like losing and have a packed team travelling to Cork with the intention of winning back the title.

This is where we need your support. the atmosphere at interpros is always great and this Munster team is hoping the people of Cork will come out and make some noise.

You will be guaranteed an entertaining weekends tennis with some excellent matches to watch.

The Team:
O-35
Louise Carmody, Jennifer Ann Mulholland, Toni O Keeffe.
Rob Cummins, Derek Lane, Stan Dvorsky, Rob Leahy.

O-40
Trudy Kennedy, Deirdre McSherry, Carmel Daly, Juliann Foley O'Neill.
Rob Murphy, Willie Reynolds, Paddy McGrath, Barry McCarthy.

O-45
Ger Flynn, Un Ryle, Niamh Kennedy, Grace Reidy.
Des Dillon, Liam O Brien, Joe Smyth, Joe Donovan.

O-50
Marie Duffy, Gail O'Meara, Ann Naughton, Connie Creed.
Pat Smith, Pat Coleman, Martin Ormond, Ron O'Mahony.

Non playing Captain: Alice Fawsitt.
Best of luck to all involved.