The MTI Method - 2 very interesting courses planned for Dublin.

Below is a letter and information on the 2 courses being planned for Dublin from tennis coach Paul Casey.  

If this is something that interests you, you can contact Paul directly on his email below, but hurry as places are limited and I would imagine will fill up fast.

Read on for more info:

Dear Coach,

Would you like to be able to teach the Tactical Nuances of Doubles and / or Singles more effectively to your students?

Would you like to be in a position to improve your student’s Match Play performances and results dramatically, and in a very short space of time?

Do you play League Doubles / Singles yourself perhaps?

If so then the following will be of interest to you.

I am delighted to announce that John Littleford and Andy Magrath of M.T.I will be returning to Dublin on Thursday, April 24^th, to conduct the two most Popular Course’s in the UK at present.

“The Art of Doubles” and “The Art of Singles.”

The Courses will take place In Westwood Leopards town

On Thursday 24^th of April

9:30-1:30 The Art of Doubles

2:30-6:30 The Art of Singles

Costs: 90e for one course or 150 for both.

Places Limited to 16 so will be allocated on a first come basis.

For more details and how to register Contact paulcaseytennis@gmail.com

ALL BOOKINGS MUST BE MADE BY THE 20^th MARCH 2014, SO PLEASE HURRY!

Looking forward to another great learning experience from MTI.

Paul 

Course 1:

The MTI Method  - Art of Doubles Course Descriptor for Tennis Ireland

The purpose of this course is to demonstrate how to teach doubles tactics in a 'step by step' fashion and to create/monitor future player progress goals.

This MTI Method course content is split into four key areas;

1. The fundamentals of doubles movement and teamwork
2. Drills to show players the roles and responsibilities of each doubles player
3. Variations of formations and tactics
4. Drills that show players how they can create/build a point winning situation using point based 'real' examples from ATP/WTA matches.

Attendees will experience the following during on court application;

• Effective, competitive and more engaging warm ups for players
• Drills to ensure player's 'checking' including the double check
• Simple drills to demonstrate player positioning
• Player communication and teamwork
• Doubles formations and tactics
• Attention to teaching point detail for advanced players
• Drills to develop 'creation/building' skills
• An understanding of player standards and when to teach each key area listed above
• How to conduct feedback more effectively
• Easy method to record lesson goals and match data efficiently for continued player future progress
• Post course information to be emailed

Course 2:

The MTI Method  - Art of Singles Course Descriptor for Tennis Ireland

The purpose of this course is to demonstrate how to teach singles tactics in a 'step by step' fashion and to create/monitor future player progress goals.

This MTI Method course content is split into three key areas:

1. The fundamentals of placement drills 'rallying' or 'trading' during a point thus building confidence, patience, discipline and consistency which in turn can create unforced errors from opponents.
2. Drills that show players how they can create /build a point winning situation using point based 'real' examples from ATP/WTA matches.
3. Examples of 'burn drills' designed to improve a player's mental discipline and physical fitness

Attendees will experience the following during on court application;

• Effective, competitive and more engaging warm ups for players
• Simple exercise to demonstrate player positioning
• Drills to develop 'trading/rallying' skills
• Drills to develop creation/building' skills
• Attention to teaching point detail for advanced players
• Chances to coach each other and to utilise the supplied lesson plan examples
• An understanding of player standards and when to teach each key area listed above
• How to conduct feedback more effectively
• Easy method to record lesson goals and match data efficiently for continued player future progress
• Post course information to be emailed.

MTI have hundreds of glowing testimonials from coaches and players including former ATP players and current ATP coaches worldwide.

Head Prestige Racket celebrating 25 years on top.

New from Babolat for 2014

Win this Racket!!!

To be in with a chance to win this Wilson Juice 100 racket valued at €160, see the post below!

It's been a while....but we're back!!

It's been a while but the blog is back in business.

Unfortunately at times life takes over, and not always a bad thing, but as of now Cork Tennis Blog is back with a vengeance.

You will find plenty of activity on here from now on, with articles on equipment, player interviews, information on clubs and what's happening in each one and even chances to win prizes.

Let's start with one right now!

Thanks to our retail partner, Maher Sports, who offer Ireland's largest Tennis Selection, here's your chance to win a Wilson Juice 100 tennis racket valued at €160 but selling in Maher Sports for €120.

It can be yours if you do the following, go to https://www.facebook.com/MaherSports and "Like" the page and write a post saying "I want that Juice racket!"

The draw will take place on the 1st of March.

Referees Course for Munster.

MUNSTER BRANCH TOURNAMENT REFEREES COURSE
12TH & 19TH FEBRUARY 2014

Click Here for details of the next Tournament Referees Course. This is being held in the South East region and will be hosted by St. Anne’s Tennis Club, Waterford City.

We would be grateful if you could post this notice on your Club’s noticeboard and if you could forward this email to anyone in your club who may be interested in attending.

There are 20 places available so book early!

Ella McCarthy
Munster Tennis

The Benefits and Need for Regular Restringing!

Here's the thing, would you buy a car and never get it serviced?

That, in a sense, is what you're doing if you never get your racket restrung.

People pay good money for their racket and they like the way it plays when new but, over time, the performance of the racket will change and this is mainly due to strings losing tension and with that their ability to perform.

The strings are the engine of the racket and, if you play regularly, your strings should be changed AT LEAST every 6 months.

In most rackets there is only one string throughout the whole racket. Over time, this string can stretch, slip at the knots or, in our weather, absorb moisture and become lifeless.

In this piece, I will go through the various types of strings available, the type of player they suit, their benefits and downfalls and the tension range recommended for your frame.

Generally, unless you buy a frame-only racket and specify the string type and tension, most rackets will be strung with synthetic gut and midway in the recommended range.
The recommended range is the range at which the suppliers think the racket will perform at its best.
Each recommended range usually offers a 10lb margin eg. 50-60lb.

The higher the tension the greater the control, the lower the tension the greater the power.

Different string types offer different levels of power or control. Below are the different string materials available and also the types of player they suit.

String thickness has a strong bearing on how your racket will perform. String thickness or 'gauge' ranges from 15 (thickest) to 19 (thinnest).
Generally, thinner strings offer greater playability and the possibility of more spin as they embed into the ball more while thicker strings offer greater durability.

Material Types:

Synthetic Gut:
This covers both nylon and synthetic gut, since in reality they are the same thing. Synthetic gut is made up of high quality nylon. Most people still use this type of string as it offers a good level of durability, as well as playability, which is what most club players want.
Even in hybrids, which will be explained later, nylon is generally used as the cross strings.

Topspin:
This is still a synthetic gut but with a roughness to it. It offers everything normal synthetic gut offers but with the potential for more spin as the roughness grips the ball more.

Polyester:
This is the fashionable string of the moment and alot of people ask for this string without really knowing what it is supposed to do. It is a more durable string so for the person that is regularly breaking strings it is one worth considering but know what it does before changing over to it.
It doesn't move and deadens the string bed. This allows the hard hitters, fast swingers, to really go after the ball and still have good control.
Polyester strings offer little power or feel, so expect balls to land short of the baseline unless you increase your swing speed to compensate.
Polyester string is not recommended for beginners, or those suffering from tennis elbow.

Hybrids:
This is where players combine polyester mains with a softer cross string, either synthetic gut, or for the professional feel, natural gut.
This offers the durability benefits of polyester and reduces the stiff, dead feel from the string bed.
Again, not recommended for beginners or players with, or prone to tennis elbow.

How to choose your tension:

As I said earlier "the higher the tension the greater the control, the lower the tension the greater the power".

Control - tighter strings, means less deflection and because of this the ball deforms more, providing less return than looser strings.  This means the ball won't take off when you hit it.
Beginners who say they want control don't need tight strings, they need a soft, forgiving stringbed that lower tensions provide.

Power - When you lower the tension the stringbed will deflect more and therefore the ball less, returning greater energy to the ball thus giving more power.
One of the benefits of stringing the racket at lower tension is less chance of tennis elbow.  This is because lower tensions provide a softer feel and larger sweetspot, reducing the amount of shock and vibration to the arm.

I hope you find this a useful article and if you have any other questions you can email me at rob_leahy@yahoo.co.uk.

Tennis Ireland Development Coaching

Book your Tennis Holiday in Barcelona

The CTR tennis academy is a fabulous tennis facility and they are offering great value in tennis holidays for individuals or groups.
All packages can be tailored to meet your groups needs.
For more information contact Rob on 086-8215333.

CTR Tennis Academy is located at the CTR Catalunya Tennis Resort, the new facilities located in Girona - Barcelona, Spain. The sport centre is fully equipped and provides all that is necessary to develop the early stages of competition and education of a tennis player.
The academy is guaranteed to run smoothly with experienced director Felix Riba, and the rest of the coaching staff.
The academy offers high quality training, helping each player individually to find out their best qualities and to develop to their fullest potential.
Our main goal is to have an individualized attention and close relationship with the tennis players.
At the CTR Tennis Academy the players are our main focus, and the coaching staff will be there to assist you at anytime, about any problems you may be facing.
At the academy, we will encourage all members to push themselves to work hard everyday, in practicing tennis and in everyday life.

Academy objectives

• To allow all of the tennis players to develop to their full potential.
• To educate each member on how to improve their overall performance.
• To have small groups on each court.
• To make sure the members are keeping up on their studies.
• To help players develop in all aspects of life.

Location
The CTR Catalunya Tennis Resort is located in one of the best places in Catalonia, the coast of “Costa Brava”; between Barcelona and Girona, close to the two main Barcelona airports.

The CTR has 14 tennis courts, a multisport court, a football field, and 4 padel courts; all of which are surrounded by nature.
Tournaments are played all year round, and the good weather makes that very possible. Barcelona and its surroundings offer the best tennis environment in Spain.

Philosophy
The academy program begins in September and ends in June. The summer program offers more intense training at our Summer Tennis Camp.
The academy offers high quality training, this is to help each player find out their strongest skill, and to develop to their full potential. At the CTR Tennis Academy, our members are our main focus. Here we will also encourage our members to push themselves to their best personal performance.

Training Program
The athletic director of the CTR Tennis Academy is Felix Riba along with a good team of coaches that will train on the court and travel with you to the tournaments and a physical trainer. They are Marc Pijoan, Felix Riba jr, Oriol Vega, Arnau and Julian Sanchez.
All of the experienced coaches will help each individual player to achieve their previously set goals.
Each coach will work with a small group of players to be able to work well, to get to know all of the details about each of the tennis player and to be able to help him or her directly on his or her personal and sportive development.

Professional Restringing Course coming back to Cork

We have already run a great Professional Stringer course in Cobh, near Cork and so we return for another on Sat 2nd and Sun 3rd March 2013.
This two-day course runs from 9.30am to 4.30pm each day and the venue will be the splendid Rushbrooke Lawn Tennis Club.
I will be bringing some new stringing machines that will be available for sale at the end of the course. The cost of the course is 249 Euros, so a better deal than the £249 course fee in the UK. The certificated course covers everything you will ever need to know about racket servicing, from the actual stringing skills to handle resizing/regripping,stringing patterns, stencilling, marketing your business, problem solving, free UKRSA membership for continuing technical support and you will be taught by the former Wimbledon Stringing Team head stringer, Liam Nolan.
We will also have a quick look at the skills of racket customising which is provided for the top pros and for specific playing needs. All racket sports are included.
As I am originally from Dublin, now residing in Norwich, UK, I always look forward to the trip across the water and enjoying another brilliant course, hoping you can join us this time round, email liam@ukrsa.com for further info, Liam Nolan, Technical Director UK Racket Stringers Association www.ukrsa.com

Tennis Coach wanted.

Source Health & Fitness are looking for an Assistant coach to aid in a busy programme on Tuesdays from 4:30-6:30pm.
It will be indoors.
Tennis Ireland / PTR Tennis Qualification / Tennis 10's /Assistant Coach qualification necessary.

Applications/Enquiries to Jo-anne Williamson 087-7758873.

Babolat Cork Tennis League Winner

Karen Barry - Womens Babolat Cork Tennis League Winner

Babolat Cork Tennis League Winner

Brian Hennessy - Mens Babolat Cork Tennis League Winner

Stringers Course Confirmed for Cork

Here's a great opportunity to learn how to string or to learn more about stringing.

The course is a Professional Stringers Course and will be held on Saturday and Sunday the 10th and 11th of November in Rushbrooke tennis club.
If you are interested please email Liam Nolan on liam@ukrsa.com and he will send you out a full agenda for the two days.

“Following on from the successes of two Professional Stringer courses held in Dublin, Liam Nolan, former Wimbledon Head Stringer will be coming to Cork in August.

Liam is also Founder and Technical Director of the UK Racket stringers Association, under whose umbrella there is a growing Irish stringing group. The course is open to all, whether a beginner or an experienced stringer who wants to learn how to do things as it is done for the pro’s at Wimbledon and other Grand Slams.

The two days of training are busy, friendly and informal, no final test at the end, fully certificated and attracts full coaching credits. Course members will leave with the skills, knowledge and confidence to tackle any racket servicing task on all badminton, squash, racquetball and tennis rackets. You can bring along your own rackets to work on if you wish and there may be some new stringing machines for sale at the end of the course. The cost is reduced from £249.00 to just 200 Euros and this can be paid on arrival.

Munster Challenge Cup

Hi all,

The first annual Munster Challenge Cup will take place February 2013. 

The venue and date will be confirmed at a later date, for now I just want to give you some information on what the event is about.

The event will be North Munster (Limerick, Tipperary and Clare) V South Munster.  Each team will consist of 8 men.  The make up of the team will be 2 juniors, 2 seniors, 2 vets and 2 of your choice.

The format on the day will be 8 singles matches and 4 doubles matches.  In the event of a tie, the match will be decided with one tiebreak set of doubles.  The captain of each team will choose the pair.

The singles will be drawn on the day, so you could have a vet play a junior or 2 seniors play each other.

The doubles will be junior against junior, senior against senior and so on.

Each match will be the best of 3 tie-break sets.

Like I said earlier I would like to make this an annual event, playing one year in South Munster and the next in North Munster, with a Perpetual Cup.

I think it will be a very entertaining event and will give us good, competitive match practice which we don’t have too much of.

The captains for the first match will be Kevin Rea for the North and myself for the South.

If you are interested in playing please contact your relevant captain and let them know.  Remember though we can only pick 8 players so don’t be offended if not selected this year.

Kevin Rea – rea.kevin@gmail.com

Rob Leahy – rob_leahy@yahoo.co.uk

Tennis Ireland National Tennis Academy

Tennis Ireland National Tennis Academy

The BNP Paribas National Tennis Academy is a Programme designed by Tennis Ireland to bring the top Irish players to one central location where they can train with players of a similar ability and develop their skills under one roof at Dublin City University (DCU).

History

The National Tennis Academy began in 2003 at Westwood Leopardstown in the South of Dublin where Technical Director Garry Cahill (pictured below) brought together seven young junior players to train twice a week, by late 2003 this programme was successful enough to expand its training programme to three times a week for a total of nine hours. The bulk of this initial squad of seven have now gone on to compete at international level, players such as Mark Bowtell, Niall Fitzgerald, and John Morrissey have all progressed to compete at the highest international level. Other players from this original squad are still with the Academy (Sam Barry and Amy Bowtell) and continue to reap the rewards from the programme.

Facilities

The BNP Paribas National Academy Squad can benefit from the international standard facilities at DCU to help them improve their technical skills, fitness, and physical qualities in order to compete at the highest level on the world tennis circuit. The National Tennis Centre at DCU is the main base for players in the BNP Paribas National Tennis Academy, here players can avail of the Centres 10 multi-surface, all-weather courts. This means that Squad players can prepare for international tournaments before leaving Ireland on a surface similar to what they will compete on abroad. The National Tennis Centre also incorporates state-of-the-art match analysis technology which allows our Coaches to monitor all aspects of a players on-court performance from service technique to tactical examination during a match. Situated beside the National Tennis Centre is the DCU Sports Gymnasium, home to several of Ireland's current Olympic athletes. At the Sports Gymnasium Squad players concentrate on their body conditioning with various tools such as Hammer Strength equipment, Life-Fitness Cardio equipment and Ice Bath facilities for player recovery.

By July 2005 the Squad had expanded its training programme once more to four days a week relocating from Leopardstown to the newly built National Tennis Centre at Dublin City University. By 2006 the current BNP Paribas National Tennis Academy structure began to take shape as the squad size increased in number to eleven full-time players (including players training and living in DCU as residential squad members) with three coaches, and one physical trainer employed full-time.

Since 2007 the Academy has seen further growth to what now has become a 23 member strong squad of both full-time and part-time players (from 11 to 18 years of age). Since the completion of Phase 2 of the National Tennis Centre and the addition of six extra courts in 2008, Garry Cahill has been given the opportunity to invite Ireland's top Senior Tennis stars to the facility to train with and compete with the older Academy players. This not only helps the Juniors in their training routine and the opportunity to play against strong opponents, it also helps keep the Senior players sharp while in Ireland.

Performance

Full-time squad players at the Academy now train between 24 to 30 hours per week (depending on the age of the player) while part-time squad members train from 6-9 hours a week. Training programmes at the Academy are structured to meet the individual needs of every player based around the strengths and weaknesses of each player. Each players programme also includes a calendar programme of international competitions (Tennis Europe, Junior ITF, ATP/WTA events) allowing the player to compete against the best Europe and the World have to offer.

Rushbrooke LT & CC Dual Munster Champions

The finals of the Munster Junior Club competitions took place yesterday in Sundays Well Tennis Club with some fabulous tennis played throughout all age groups.

Rushbrooke U-18 team won their final 5-1 against Limerick Lawn and in doing so gave the club their second Munster Title of the year.

A few weeks previous the senior team won The Munster Senior Cup in a hard fought match in Waterford also against Limerick Lawn. 

By winning yesterday, three of the senior team, (Emily and Rachel Daly and David Gardiner) completed what has to be a rare double.

This is an outstanding achievement by these three young players and also the rest of their team, Jane Daly, Adam Rasmussen and Mark Hannon. 

I presume the double has been done before (would love to know for definite, so if anyone can update me that would be great), but regardless it is a great achievement by Rushbrooke and the future is bright for them.

Tennis - A blog by a journalism student from Tipperary.

Here's a good tennis blog which keeps you up to date on the world of international tennis.  Some very good articles and definitely worth a read.  I enjoyed it and will be checking in on it regularly.
Here's a link to it and to make it easy to find in the future I have added it to my Friends of Cork Tennis section on the right of the blog, read it here.

A great days tennis guaranteed!

MUNSTER BRANCH

TENNIS IRELAND

JUNIOR CUP/SHIELD COMPETITIONS

FINALS’ DAY

7TH OCTOBER 2012

VENUE: SUNDAY’S WELL BOATING & TENNIS CLUB

U12 MAHER SPORTS CUP

BISHOPSTOWN VS LARKSPUR CASHEL

U12 MAHERS SPORTS SHIELD

KILLALOE/BALLINA OR ENNIS VS ST. ANNE’S WATERFORD.

U14 CUP

ST. ANNE’S WATERFORD VS TRAMORE

U14 SHIELD

NENAGH VS LARKSPUR CASHEL

U.18 CUP

RUSHBROOKE VS LIMERICK LAWN

REFEREES: STEPHEN MCCARTHY/CAROLINE LAWLOR

A History of the Munster Senior Cup

Below is a section of an article written by Tony O Donoghue, Limerick Lawn, on the Munster Senior Cup.  I have played in the Munster Senior Cup on a few occassions and I have had this article for a while now and never really read it properly.  This Cup has being played for by some of the finest tennis players, not just in Munster, but in Ireland since 1907.  If the Cup could speak it would have some amazing stories to tell of hardship and joy.  I really enjoyed reading the article and to be honest am disappointed in myself now that I didn't make a bigger effort to play in this fabulous event more often.
I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did and if you are a player who is able to take part for your club please do and continue creating the history of this fine Cup.

I would like to thank Tony for all the obvious hard work he put in to put this article in place and hopefully I can convince him to bring it up to date soon.  Enjoy!

The Beginning


Norman Brooks a tall left-hander from Australia was the first male overseas player to win Wimbledon. The year was 1907. History was being made. Picture the time it took, six weeks to travel by boat from Australia to Wimbledon.

No two or three cars per home. You would be lucky to have two or three cars per club. Your Ford car could be any colour as long it was black. They had just taken the man with the red flag away from the front of the car. The speed limit was how fast you could get it to go.

All this made it very difficult to play competitive matches between clubs in Munster. Matches were probably played over the weekend. With only grass courts available there was no play before 11am because of the dew on the grass and then of course the need to finish before bad light.

Rumour has it that if a player owned a car their chance of being selected greatly enhanced. This was the first year the Munster Senior Cup was played for - history was beginning.
First Winners
The first winners of the Munster Senior Cup were Rushbrooke - who they defeated in the final is unknown. Then in 1908, Blackrock had to travel to Cobh to win and get their name on the Cup.

I know it's hard to believe but Tralee were the winners in 1909. Can you imagine the journey and the time it took for Tralee? 1910 saw Inishannon just outside Cork won. So in the first four years four different clubs shared the Cup.

From 1911 to 1914 Blackrock took charge of the Munster Cup. Included in these teams were F.J. Daly, J.J. Daly, M.J. Daly, and Capt J. Higgon and Rev. J. Connolly. The ladies were Mrs. Madden, Miss Haughton, Mrs. Lyons, Miss Tivy and Mrs. M.J. Daly.

Ben Haughton who played in all of the four teams went on to win eight Munster Cups with Blackrock and was a major asset to the team.
War Interuptions
The Cup was put in cold storage from 1915 to 1919. This was during the First World War and as we were still part of the British Empire, and Tennis in those early days was mostly played where there was a British Army Barracks, naturally tennis ...........to continue reading click here

Babolat Cork Tennis League Results

Well after 6 months of competitions, beginning in Rushbrooke and finishing in Bandon, the results for the Babolat Cork Tennis League are in.

Womens:
Karen Barry - 44 points
Anne o Hea - 28 points
Tanya Gargan - 24 points
Sheila Stokes - 18 points
Maria O Reilly - 16 points
Trish O Leary - 8 points
Majella Daly - 5 points
Liz Moore - 3 points

Mens:
Brian Hennessy - 59 points
Aidan Cotter - 38 points
John Murphy - 24 points
Senan Ahern - 13 points

So congratulations to the winners of this years league, Karen and Brian, and for their troubles they will receive for themselves €500 worth of Babolat product.  I'll be in touch soon guys.

Bandon Senior Open

Bandon Open finished last weekend after another very successful open.

Results:

MD3 - Aidan Cotter/Ger Finan V Jim Connolly/Jeremy Forde 7-6, 6-2
WD3 - Jesse Morris/Catherine Norman V Lisa Murray/Maggie O Toole 6-3, 6-4
MX3 - Rom Preston/Aidan Cotter V Maggie O Toole/Donal Linehan 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
MD4 - Stephen McCarthy/Liam Murphy V Barry Connolly/Colm McDonagh 6-3, 6-4
WD4 - Anne Marie Collins/Gillian Wall V Siobhan Cronin/Shirley Kenneally 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
MX4 - Mary McGarry/Colm McDonagh V Anne Marie Collins/Mick McCarthy 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
MD5 - Brian Hennessy/John Murphy V Declan Crowley/Jack Daly 7-6, 6-1
WD5 - Cathy Brooks/Lisa Murphy V Angela O Mahony/Lucy Quill
MX5 - Cathy Brooks/Christopher O Connell V Josephine O Rourke/Michael McCarthy 6-3, 6-4
MD6 - Brian Dorgan/Christopher O Connell V Geoff Hayes/Tony McCarthy 6-1, 6-1
WD6 - Dolores Crowley/Ann Davis V Tanya Gargan/Susan Whitney 6-4, 6-4
MX6 - Una O Callaghan/Paul Twomey V Tanya Gargan/Jason Preston 3-6, 6-0, 6-2

Babolat Cork Tennis League Points:
Aidan Cotter - 9points
Brian Hennessy - 5points
John Murphy - 5points
Tanya Gargan - 5points

Kids and coaching!

Is there such a thing as too much coaching?

Don't get me wrong, I think coaching plays an hugely important part in the development of a child's game and certainly sets them on the right path if they are to make anything of themselves in their tennis careers.

So why then do I ask this question?

Well I suppose basing it on my own child hood experiences and having watched kids playing tournaments of all levels for the last number of years, I see very few, if any kids actually enjoying the game.

And I wonder if half of them didn't have coaching organised, would they spend any time at all on the court.
When I was growing up getting me off the court was the problem and I know for a fact that was the case for most of my friends.

Coaching isn't cheap and I know most parents are trying to give their children the best possible opportunities in life but there has to be a happy medium, whereby the child actually wants to go to coaching and is then eager themselves to get out during the week and practice what they have learned in their session.  If this isn't happening, you have to ask yourself, is it worth it?

That is one aspect of my question, the other is, are kids over coached to the point that they can't think for themselves on court.

A lot of junior tennis is about patterns and if you watch closely enough you can see the patterns they have learned.  Now what happens if you meet an opponent who doesn't play by the "patterns" rule?
A lot of juniors don't have an answer and visibly looked shocked and bemused at the fact that their opponent isn't playing the way they are supposed, ie. their way.

If you were to show any of the juniors a DVD of a Borg versus McEnroe match they wouldn't appreciate the skill involved in constructing a point.  They would probably comment on how slow the game was.
And that would epitomize the problem in todays game, it's all about power.

I believe coaching does play a very important part in learning tennis, both competitively and socially. But parents have a responsibility to ensure that their kids are getting the most out of coaching.  This could be group sessions, for the child who doesn't want to be a world beater, where tennis is thought through fun games or individual sessions where the child is into serious drilling and wants to be the best they can be.

The coaching should reflect what the child wants and with this in mind parents should also spend more time researching the coaches ability and not just believe the hype that some coaches sell about themselves.

Good players or talkers don't always make the best coaches!

Just to finish, I'm not knocking coaches, I will send my own two boys to coaching if that is what they want, so I suppose i'm just wondering what peoples hopes are for these kids that have had a fortune spent on them with coaching yet never progress past the first or second rounds of tournaments.
Is it good for their confidence?
Is it really what they wanted to do?
Are they still playing the game?

Ballinlough Senior Open 2012

Probably the most eagerly awaited open all summer with it's new courts and new lights.

The club now has 5 courts all with Tiger Turf surface. The fifth court was added recently, with all existing surfaces upgraded to Tiger Turf, and new lighting.

And to go along with the new courts and lights, Ballinlough also have a new website. 

It's being a busy year for Ballinlough and while the year's not over yet there very successful open is.

Here are the results:
MD 3 - Will Hickey/Shazhad Hussain Khan V Ger Finan/Mick Hurley 6-2, 7-5
WD 3 - Rose Ferriter/Anne Purdon V Siobhan Fahy/Carol Leland w/o
MX 3 - Bernie Kenny/Paul O Callaghan V Deirdre Duboy/Eoin Moynihan 6-2, 6-4
MD 4 - Declan Alton/Padraig Mullane V Daniel Bray/Cian Hammond 2-6, 6-0, 6-2
WD 4 - Catherine Griffin/Karen McBaron V Emma Crowley/Jacqui O Mahony 6-3, 6-4
MX 4 - Jacqui O Mahony/John O Donovan V Audrey O Brien/Joe McSweeney 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
MD 5 - Mark Cronin/John Underwood V Christopher O Connell/Michael Walsh 7-5, 6-7, 7-5
WD 5 - Brenda Crowley/Martina O Sullivan V Susan Cogan/Maria O Keeffe 7-6, 6-2
MX 5 - Helen McCarthy/John Underwood V Ger O Callaghan/Craig Maiden 7-5, 7-5
MD 6 - Jeremy Glennon/Mark Rhys Davies V Mike MacCarthy/Conor Shalloe 6-2, 2-6, 7-5
WD 6 - Maria O Reilly/Susan Whitney V Christina Broderick/Rachel Kelly 6-1, 6-3
MX 6 - Tanya Gargan/Jason Preston V Ann Davis/Ger Meegan 4-6, 7-6, 7-6

Babolat Cork league points
Maria O Reilly - 5 points
Tanya Gargan - 4 points

Rushbrooke Interfirm in aid of the Irish Cancer Society.

Calling all tennis players.

Inter firm tournament entry forms now available.
All the proceeds will again go to the Irish Cancer Society and hopefully all clubs and players will again support this event.
Last year was a brilliant event with huge numbers competing.
Please get the word out to fellow players.
Early entry advisable.
For more details contact Eamonn on 0879863805.

The Catalunya Tennis Resort (CTR) - Look no further for a top class tennis resort.

The CTR Catalunya Tennis Resort is a new touristic complex in Girona - Barcelona, Spain. We are the only resort in Spain specialized in tennis.


We offer all different kind of activities for tennis players: 

· CTR Tennis Academy: the preparation center for young and dedicated tennis players from all over the world.

· Tennis Camps: for young players who want to have an intensive tennis practice with our experienced coaches.

· Training Camps: for a tennis team or a group of tennis players who want to go to Spain to practice tennis with their own coach.

· Tennis Holidays: for families, tennis groups, and groups of friends who want to play tennis everyday, but also want to visit touristic places, like visit Barcelona, the beach, and do other activities.

· Private Lessons: for adult tennis players who want to improve their tennis with an intensive practice.

Sports facilities: 

>                            14 tennis courts

      - 8 hard courts

      - 4 synthetic resin courts

      - 2 artificial grass courts

>                           3 outdoor swimming pools with Jacuzzi

>                           4 padel courts

>                           2 five-a-side football fields and 
>                           1 seven-a-side football field, both with artificial grass

Other facilities: 

Hotel Mas Solà ****

It is equipped with the latest technology, exceptional infrastructures and decor. It has 78 rooms, with 3 suites and 4 junior suites. All rooms have air conditioning, mini-bar, safe, plasma TV, hair dryer, thermostatic shower and a great view of the natural environment around the hotel.

The Mas Sola Hotel is an ideal place to relax. They offer SPA, a relaxation area for your body and mind. The SPA has a dry sauna, steam sauna, three different kinds of shower, a swimming pool with jet massage and beds, and thermal deckchairs.

Other services offered by the hotel are thermal circuits, massage, and gym.

Restaurant “La Masia”

“La Masia”, has over 30 years of experience. It is one of the most prestigious restaurants in Girona. They offer traditional Catalan cuisine evolved, updating the traditional recipes of the area.

It offers seasonal cuisine and a touch of creativity that makes each meal a unique experience.

The personalized service and the surroundings of this area make this a meeting point for family and business events.

* You will be able to use our new on court cameras “RecPlay CTR”.

Does Talent really matter? - An article by a guest writer.

This was a Guest Post by Brenda Panin. Brenda is a web content writer for
http://www.clubcoops.com.au/brisbane-tennis/tennis/
In her free time she loves to blog about healthy life and
extreme sports.
Does talent really matter?

Finding a young talented tennis player among thousands of average juniors
is definitely a challenge. It is not unusual for parents to ask a tennis
coach will their child be a Pro Tennis player one day. Coaches often say
that every aspiring player can become a Pro as long as they work and train
hard. If your child truly wants to be a pro, they must have the dedication
to train and live like one.

Does this mean that most coaches do not necessarily know if a child is
capable of playing at high level? Even knowing that a junior does not have
"the natural gift" for hitting the ball the right way, coaches choose not
to tell.

Lets look at the scientific research about the significance of talent. It
is defined as "something that was said to be given to people, allowing them
to do things average people can't". It is a natural ability that some people
are simply born with. That distinguishes them from all other players and
puts them in the higher league. That means a champion is born with the
necessary talent. You do not get to learn that!

Piotr Unierzyski has a done research project on junior tennis players within
Europe in 1994-2002. During his research, Unierzyski interviewed and tested
1000 juniors from around 40 countries. Among those juniors were Justine Henin,
Roger Federer, Guillermo Coria, Kim Clijsters. The average age of the
children he interviewed was around 12-13.

Here are some interesting facts about this research.

They were all younger, slimmer, more powerful, faster, and had more
experience than the rest of the juniors. They all started joining
tournaments at approximately the same age and played at least 45 matches every
year (below average). The strangest thing about these young players was
that they all practiced tennis less than others. However, they did more
fitness training. The next interesting fact is that their parents were not
very involved in their everyday trainings.

These results show that natural talent is definitely an imperative when it
comes to being a world wide recognizable tennis player. Piotr Unierzyski's
research shows that being devoted to training is not crucial for
success. Thus today's world known players, were allowed to really enjoy
this sport and not to be fed up with it from hard everyday training.
Instead, they were building their mental strength that lead them to the
very top of this popular sport.

East Cork Open Results

Results:

MD 1: Vince Lawton/Rob Murphy V Duncan Cronin/Conor Kelly 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
WD 1: Helen Barrett/Mary McCarthy V Karen Barry/Joanna Riordan 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
MX 1: Joanna Riordan/Rob Murphy V Danielle Geary/Conor Kelly 7-5, 6-4
MD 2: Conor McCarthy/Shazhad Khan Hussain V Derek Lane/Vince Lawton 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
MX 2: Round Robin Winners: Jennifer Haugh/Conor McCarthy
WD 2/3: Mary Power/Linda Quinn V Siobhan Fahy/Carol Leland 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
MD 3: Aidan Cotter/Jeremy Forde V Joe Hanly/Will Hickey 6-3, 7-5
MX 3: Round Robin Winners: Marion Gargan/Jeremy Forde
MD 4: Denis McCarthy/Nigel Smith V John Hewitt/Kevin O Brien 6-3, 6-3
WD 4: Kitty Collins/Trish O Leary V Michelle Kahn/Mary McGarry 7-6, 1-6, 6-4
MX 4: Fiona McCarthy/Ger Russell V Michelle Kahn/Colm McDonagh 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
MD 5: Jack Daly/John Murphy V Robert Ficeri/Martin Sulir 6-3, 7-5
WD 5: Majella Blackburn/Liz O Brien V Angela O Mahony/Lucy Quill 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
MX 5: Roz Crotty/Nigel Smith V Liz Moore/Paul McCarthy 6-2, 6-3
MD 6: Anthony Horgan/Michael Walsh V Denis McCarthy/Liam Wall Ret.
WD 6: Judy Bornemann/Monica Campion V Pamela Bailly/Kay Terry 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
MX 6: Anne O Hea/Jeremy Glennon V Susan O Regan/Frank Moynihan 7-6, 6-4

Babolat Cork Tennis League points
Anne O Hea 5 points
Karen Barry 8 points
Aidan Cotter 8 points
Trish O Leary 8 points
John Murphy 8 points
Liz Moore 3 points

Douglas Senior Singles Open

Results:

MS1: Sam Thompson V Niall Chandler 6-3, 6-2
MS 2: Seamus Flavin V Shazhad Khan Hussain 6-0, 6-4
LS 2: Connie Creed V Jane Daly 6-3, 6-3
MS 3: Shazhad Hussain Khan V John Ryan 3-6, 6-1, 7-6
LS 3: Mairead Neary V Monica Twomey 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
MS 4: Cian Hammond V Daniel Bray 7-6, 6-7, 6-0
LS 4: Ger O Callaghan V Lisa Murphy 6-4, 7-5
MS 5: Brian Hennessy V Ger Rice 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
LS 5: Christina Broderick V Lorna Power 7-5, 6-2
MS 6: Kevin Sheehan V Kevin Nyhan 6-2, 6-2
LS 6: Monica Campion V Anne O Hea 6-4, 1-6, 6-4

Babolat Cork Tennis League points:
Anne O Hea 5 points
Brian Hennessy 9 points

New Articles by Physio Claire Byrne

Two new articles have being added by resident physio Claire Byrne.
In these articles Claire discusses Low Back Pain and a topic that has affected most tennis players, Tennis Elbow.

To read these articles and Claire's previous submissions follow this link.

As always many thanks to Claire for taking the time and effort to put together such informative articles for us all to benefit from.

Don't try this at home!

Whitechurch Tennis Club

New website for one of Cork's up and coming clubs.
www.whitechurchtennis.com
This site gives you all the information you need to get involved in one of the most active clubs in Cork.
Why not click on the link and see what Whitechurch tennis club can offer you

Updated Babolat Cork Tennis League

The following is the updated league table with only a few events remaining.

Women:
Karen Barry - 36 points
Sheila Stokes - 18 points
Anne O Hea - 18 points
Tanya Gargan - 15 points
Maria O Reilly - 11 points
Majella Daly - 5 points
Linda Murphy - 3 points

Men:
Brian Hennessy - 45 points
Aidan Cotter - 21 points
Senan Ahern - 13 points
John Murphy - 11 points.

If anyone feels they have being left out or their scores are incorrect please let me know.

Championships of County Cork - Rushbrooke

MS 1 - Kevin Rea V Eoin McGovern 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
LS 1 - Niamh Coveney V Deirdre Collins 6-1, 6-1
MD 1 - Rob Leahy/Paul Fitzgerald V James Crowe/CJ Kelly 6-0, 6-2
MX 1 - Niamh Coveney/Paul Fitzgerald V Deirdre Collins/James Crowe 6-4, 6-4
MS 2 - Kevin O Keeffe V Conor McCarthy 7-6, 6-2
MD 2 - Mark Hannon/Sam Thompson V Gary Stack/Eddie Ronayne 6-2, 6-4
LD 2 - Clodagh Fitzgerald/Siobhan Murray V Carol Daly/Sinead Power 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
MX 2 - Aine Kiernan/Kevin O Keeffe V Carol Daly/Colin Laffan 7-6, 6-2
MS 3 - John Ryan V Shaz Hussain Khan 6-3, 6-4
MD 3 - Jeremy Forde/Shaz Hussain Khan V Jan Verwey/Eamonn Crotty 6-4, 6-3
MX 3 - Elodie Ruelle/Michael Waldron V Suzanne Hayes/Shaz Hussain Khan 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
MS 4 - Michael Waldron V Vladimir Shevchenko 6-2, 6-2
LS 4 - Lisa Murphy V Siobhan Cronin 6-7, 6-4, 6-3
MD 4 - Senan Ahern/Damien O Donovan V Frank Moynihan/Paul Twomey 6-4, 7-6
LD 4 - Siobhan Cronin/Shirley Kenneally V Kitty Collins/Fiona McCarthy 6-2, 6-4
MX 4 - Val Canny/Gerard Russell V Mary McGarry/Brendan Nolan 6-2, 6-2
MS 5 - Brian Hennessy V Craig Maiden 6-2, 6-3
LS 5 - Cathy Brooks V Catherine Tibbetts 6-3, 6-4
MD 5 - Denis McCarthy/Nigel Parker V Brendan Byrne/Malcolm Willis 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
LD 5 - Fidelma O Brien/Catherine Tibbetts V Katherine/Sheila Daly 6-3, 6-4
MX 5 - Martina O Sullivan/Martin Hurley V Sheila Daly/John Barry 6-3, 6-4
MS 6 - Brendan Lynch V Malcolm Coombes 6-3, 6-2
LS 6 - Tanya Gargan V Tina Holland 1-6, 6-1, 6-4
MD 6 - Mike McCarthy/Conor Shalloe V Colm Allen/Brian Daly 6-3, 6-2
LD 6 - Tina Holland/Anne O Hea V Cathy Duggan/Elizabeth McCarthy 6-2, 2-6, 7-5
MX 6 - Elizabeth/Denis McCarthy V Anne O Hea/Brendan Lynch 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

Babolat Cork Tennis League points:
Anne O Hea 11 points
Tanya Gargan 12 points
Senan Ahern 8 points
Brian Hennessy 12 points

Carrigaline Senior Open Doubles

MD 3 - Jeremy Forde/Leo O Leary V Eoin/Kevin Moynihan 6-0, 6-3
LD 3 - Jesse Morris/Catherine Noonan V Louise/Monica Twomey 6-1, 6-2
MX 3 - Suzanne Hayes/Shaz Hussain Khan V Jesse Morris/Jeremy Forde 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
MD 4 - Aidan McNamara/Michael Waldron V Dermot Carberry/Vincent O Donoghue 6-2, 6-2
LD 4 - Rhea Monkhouse/Ger O Callaghan V Emma Crowley/Jacqui O Mahony 3-6, 7-6, 7-6
MX 4 - Kitty Collins/Brendan Noonan V Sinead McClew/Donal Barry 7-5, 6-3
MD 5 - Denis McCarthy/Nigel Smith V Brendan Lynch/Olan Wixted 6-3, 6-2
LD 5 - Karen Holmes/Sheila Stokes V Siobhan Cronin/Shirley Kenneally 6-2, 1-6, 7-5
MX 5 - Karen Holmes/Jack Daly V Ursula Hogan/Brian Hennessy 3-6, 6-4, 7-6
MD 6 - Mike McCarthy/Conor Shalloe V Stephen Bellis/Michael Murphy 6-4, 6-7, 6-2
LD 6 - Michelle O Connell/Anne Marie O Brien V Cathy Duggan/Elizabeth McCarthy 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
MX 6 - Sarah Hannon/Christopher O Connell V Colette Spicer/Michael Murphy 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

Babolat Cork Tennis League points:
Sheila Stokes 5 points
Brian Hennessy 2 points

Lakewood Open Championships

MX 1/2 - Toni O Keeffe/Frank McDonnell V Karen Barry/Aylmer Barrett 2-6, 6-1, 6-0
MD 1/2 - Alex Coleman/Rob Murphy V Paul Cotter/Joe Donovan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
MD 3 - Eoin/Kevin Moynihan V Nick Cloke/Shaz Hussain Khan 6-4, 6-4
LD 3 - Emma Crowley/Mairead Neary V Louise/Monica Twomey 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
MX 3 - Monica Twomey/Shaz Hussain Khan V Mairead Neary/Dave Murphy 6-4, 6-4
MD 4 - Ronan Conway/John O Donovan V Senan Ahern/Damien O Donovan 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
LD 4 - Helena O Brien/Joan O Sullivan V Emma Crowley/Aoife Moloney 6-2, 6-3
MX 4 - Kitty Collins/Brendan Noonan V Aoife Moloney/Padraig Mullane 6-0, 6-3
MD 5 - Brian Hennessy/John Murphy V Frank Moynihan/Paul Twomey 6-1, 6-3
LD 5 - Shirley Kenneally/Linda St. Ledger V Liz Brosnan/Mags Cronin
MX 5 - Siobhan Cronin/Christopher O Connell V Susan Whitney/Paul Hogan 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
MD 6\7 - Joe Connell/Ashley Wilson V Tony McCarthy/Michael Murphy w\o
LD 6\7 - Grainne Coleman/Helen McCarthy V Christina Broderick/Rachel Kelly 7-5, 6-1
MX 6\7 - Joan Barry/Derek Burns V Una O Callaghan/Paul Twomey 7-5, 6-4

Babolat Cork Tennis League points:
Karen Barry 3 points
Senan Ahern 5 points
Brian Hennessy 8 points
John Murphy 8 points

West Cork Championships - Argideen Vale

The following are the results of the open events from Argideen Vale.

MS 1 - Niall Casey v Mike Warren 7-6, 2-6, 6-4
WS 1 - Mary Claire McCarthy V Marie Duffy 6-3, 6-2
MD 1 - Rob Murphy / Mike Warren V Aylmer Barrett / Donal Neary 7-5, 6-0
WD 1 - Karen Barry / Joanna O Riordan V Mary Claire McCarthy / Louise Nestor 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
MX 1 - Karen Barry / Rob Murphy V Marie Duffy / Declan Malone 6-2, 6-4

Babolat Cork Tennis League points:
Karen Barry 13 points.

Director of Tennis Position Available

Director of Tennis


Rushbrooke Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is one of Munster’s largest and prodigious clubs with a great history in National, Provincial and Local tennis. The club has 9 Omni and 2 grass courts with a very active senior and junior membership. We are now looking to appoint a Director of Tennis to lead the coaching and playing element of these plans. We currently have between 6 and 7 hundred all categories of members.

The selected person will be an independent contractor to Rushbrooke Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and as such will be responsible for his/her own tax affairs and payments. The person will be expected to carry out the tasks detailed in the attached job description. As this is a comprehensive list, it would incumbent on the Director of Tennis to agree with the Committee how much they would provide themselves and how much they would contract to other coaches.

The Director of Tennis will report to the Club Committee on a monthly basis and work closely with both the Tennis and Junior Committees and individual Committee members on a day to day basis.

All clubs have unique features and Rushbrooke has a history of providing an inclusive Junior Coaching programme and Summer Programme and how this is either continued or replaced would need to be agreed with the Committee as a priority.

The Director of Tennis will be responsible for appointing all additional coaches, in conjunction with the Committee, and monitoring their performance. The role will therefore call for experience and ability in managing other coaches.

We see this as a key appointment within the development of the Club and therefore we are looking for an experienced, highly qualified coach who has continued to update their skills and who can work well with a varied group of stakeholders.

Additional skills that can be considered requirements are computer literacy, punctuality, reliability and a personable manner.

Remuneration and terms and conditions of employment will be discussed at interview. Remuneration will reflect the importance of this position. We are willing to be flexible in any employment contract but we would need to be convinced that any prospective Director of Tennis would commit a satisfactory amount of time to the role.

The appointment will commence in early September or at such later date is agreed. Applicants should enclose a comprehensive CV and give the name of two relevant referees who would not be approached until a contract was offered.

All applications should be sent to the Chairman Rushbrooke Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club Cobh Co. Cork or Emailed to tennis@rushbrooketennis.ielater than Friday 24th of August 2012.

Director of Tennis


Job Description

1. To plan and implement a Tennis Development Strategy with Committee, Sub Committees and Coaches

1.1 Present to and agree with the Committee a Rolling 5 year Tennis Development Plan, to be reviewed and updated each year.

1.2 Work with Coaches in planning and organising an integrated training programme for all age and ability groups.

1.3 To work with the Committee and Coaches to develop a culture of improvement amongst the members.

1.4 To investigate and implement policy with regard to Play & Stay, Cardio Tennis, ITN and other programmes

2. Develop a Junior Programme with the Junior Committee and Coaches that

2.1 Addresses the needs of the Club as well as the individual.

2.2 Segregates, in time and space, age and/or ability groups.

2.3 Concentrates heavily on Tennis and Child Safety.

2.4 Gives time and resources to those who want to improve.

2.5 Specifically produce proposals for a Summer Programme and implement any agreed plan.

3. Senior Competitive Tennis and Events with Tennis Committee

3.1 Develop a Coaching and Training programme for League Teams.

3.2 Develop the Club Championships, Handicaps and other Competitive events within the Club.

3.3 Work with coaches to provide programmes to improve the coaching that Rushbrooke offers to competitive players.

3.4 Develop greater formal and informal competition.

4. Develop Recreational Tennis for our Members with Tennis and Social Committees

4.1 Organise the Coaches to offer group and individual coaching.

4.2 Develop and ensure implementation of an expansion in the programmes we offer to recreational players via such concepts as Cardio Tennis, Play & Stay, ITN Assessments etc.

4.3 Work with the Sub Committees and coaches to encourage participation via on-court and club activities.

5. Club and Coach Continuous Professional Development with Tennis Ireland

5.1 Review the development of all coaches and ensure that they are using best practice in the course of their work.

5.2 Work with the Munster Branch and Tennis Ireland to ensure that Rushbrooke is offering the best possible programmes to all age groups.

5.3 Research development of internal competition nationally and internationally and implement agreed proposals.

6. Management of the Programme with the Club Committee

6.1 Appoint, manage and motivate coaches.

6.2 Ensure that coaches update their skills as required.

6.3 Recruit and manage new coaches where required for specific duties

6.4 To agree with the coaches times of work and division of private coaching where this is an issue.

Professional Racket Restringing Course for Cork

Here's a great opportunity to learn how to string or to learn more about stringing.  The course is a Professional Stringers Course and will be held on Saturday and Sunday the 18th and 19th of August at a venue to be confirmed.

If you are interested please email Liam at liam@ukrsa.com and he will send you out a full agenda for the two days.  Anyone who is registering if you would copy me in (rob_leahy@yahoo.co.uk) on the email to Liam and I will confirm the venue to you then.


“Following on from the successes of two Professional Stringer courses held in Dublin, Liam Nolan, former Wimbledon Head Stringer will be coming to Cork in August.


Liam is also Founder and Technical Director of the UK Racket stringers Association, under whose umbrella there is a growing Irish stringing group. The course is open to all, whether a beginner or an experienced stringer who wants to learn how to do things as it is done for the pro’s at Wimbledon and other Grand Slams.

The two days of training are busy, friendly and informal, no final test at the end, fully certificated and attracts full coaching credits. Course members will leave with the skills, knowledge and confidence to tackle any racket servicing task on all badminton, squash, racquetball and tennis rackets. You can bring along your own rackets to work on if you wish and there may be some new stringing machines for sale at the end of the course. The cost is reduced from £249.00 to just 200 Euros and this can be paid on arrival.

Babolat Cork Tennis League Points to date

As well as the tournament schedule being well underway so too is the Babolat Cork Tennis League, and here is the league table following the first five tournaments.

Women
Karen Barry - 20 points
Sheila Stokes - 13 points
Maria O Reilly - 11 points
Anne O Hea - 7 points
Majella Daly - 5 points
Tanya Gargan - 3 points
Linda Murphy - 3 points

Men
Aidan Cotter - 21 points
John Murphy - 3 points.

If anyone has any queries regarding the scores please let me know and I will look into it for you.

There are still plenty of events left and it's not too late to enter but remember scores will not be backdated and will only count if you have paid before you play, so if you're constantly doing well in the tournaments you could win yourself €500 worth of Babolat gear.
Don't be disappointed!

Munster Senior Open - Sundays Well

The Munster Senior Open as its name suggests is one of the big ones.  This tournament always attracts a very large entry in part due to the stature of the tournament but also because it is one of a few tournaments that offers singles events to all grades.

Results:
MS 1 - Rob Leahy V Kevin Rea 7-6, 6-1
LS 1 - Niamh Coveney V Holly Monahan 6-3, 7-5
MD 1 - David Gardiner/Rob Leahy V James Crowe/CJ Kelly 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
LD 1 - Niamh Coveney/Joanne Williamson V Rachel Daly/Holly Monahan 6-4, 6-3
MS 2 - Conor McCarthy V Joe O Donovan 6-4, 6-3
LS 2 - Connie Creed V Clodagh Fitzgerald 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
MD 2 - Derek Lane/Vince Lawton V Ron O Mahony/John Porter 6-1, 6-0
LD 2 - Connie Creed/Grace Reidy V Clodagh Fitzgerald/Siobhan Murray 6-3, 6-2
MX 2 - Carol Daly/Niall Ahern V Orla Hosford/Eddie Ronayne 7-6, 6-3
MS 3 - John Ryan V Eoin Moynihan 6-4, 6-4
LS 3 - Elodie Ruelle V Mairead Neary 6-0, 6-4
MD 3 - Nick Cloke/Shazhab Hussain V Joe Hanly/Daniel Linehan 6-4, 5-7, 6-0
LD 3 - Helen McCarthy/Trish Murphy V Liz Butler/Meg O Gorman w/o
MX 3 - Suzanne Hayes/Shazhab Hussain V Lynda O Mahony/Ger Finan 6-1, 6-4
MS 4 - Damien O Donovan V Vitalijius Sadauskas 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
LS 4 - Maire O Sullivan V Ghyslaine Hegarty 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
MD 4 - Senan Ahern/Damien O Donovan V Ronan Conway/John O Donovan 2-6, 7-6, 6-0
LD 4 - Catherine Griffin/Karen McBarron V Valerie Carroll/Maria Crowley 6-4, 7-6
MX 4 - Mary McGarry/Robert Murphy V Margaret Owens/Joe McSweeney 6-2, 7-6
MS 5 - Brian Hennessy V Daniel Bray 6-7, 6-3, 6-3
LS 5 - Christina Broderick V Shirley Kenneally 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
MD 5 - Mark Cronin/Paul Hogan V Martin Hurley/Kevin Quirke w/o
LD 5 - Pauline Byrne/Louise O Sullivan V Fidelma O Brien/Catherine Tibbetts 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
MX 5 - Meg Thompson/John McHenry V Liz Brosnan/Kevin Quirke 4-4 ret.
MS 6 - Frank Moynihan V Malcolm Coombes 6-4, 6-3
LS 6 - Deirdre Lee V Ann Davis 6-1, 6-1
MD 6 - Frank Moynihan/Paul Twomey V Stephen Blake/Frank Murphy 6-2, 6-2
LD 6 - Judy Bornemann/Monica Campion V Christina Broderick/Rachelle Kelly 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
MX 6 - Helen McCarthy/Michael Walsh V Maria O Reilly/Jeremy Glennon 7-6, 4-6, 6-3.

Babolat Cork League points won by:
Maria O Reilly - 3 points.

Kinsale Senior Open

A tournament that is definitely on the way up.  The feedback after this tournament every year is nothing but positives and this is reflected in the entries.  A high quality field with some very hard fought finals.

Results:

LD 1/2 - Round Robin winners Karen Barry/Jennifer Haugh

MD 3 - Aidan Cotter/Ger Finan V Rob Jenkins/Leo O Leary 5-7, 6-3, 6-3

LD 3 - Jesse Morris/Catherine Norman V Maggie O Toole/Freda Roycroft 6-2, 7-6

MX 3 - Catherine Norman/Radim Pochopiem V Jesse Morris/Des Greene 7-5, 6-1

MD 4 - Senan Ahern/Damien O Donovan V Declan Alton/Padraig Mullane 6-3, 6-2

LD 4 - Audrey O Brien/Jacqui O Mahony V Joy O Keeffe/Mary McGarry 4-6, 6-0, 7-5

MX 4 - Jacqui O Mahony/John O Donovan V Sinead McClew/Donal Barry 6-7, 6-0, 6-4

MD 5 - Mark Cronin/Paul Hogan V Bob McCarthy/Moss O Leary 4-6, 7-5, 6-3

LD 5 - Majella Daly/Karen Holmes V Siobhan Cronin/Linda St. Ledger 6-3, 6-4

MX 5 - Siobhan Cronin/Christopher O Connell V Ursula Hogan/Brian Hennessy 6-3, 3-6, 6-2

MD 6 - Peter Grey/Craig Maiden V Tom McCarthy/Michael Murphy 6-2, 7-5

LD 6 - Grainne Coleman/Helen McCarthy V Noreen Kelly/Louise White 6-1, 2-6, 6-2

MX 6 - Anne O Hea/Jeremy Glennon V Ruth Cregan/Mick McCarthy 6-2 6-0

Congratulations to all involved in the running of this tournament and especially to the winners and runners up.

Babolat Cork League points won by:

Karen Barry - 5 points

Aidan Cotter - 5 points

Majella Daly - 5 points

Anne O Hea - 4 points 

Douglas Senior Open Doubles

Douglas Senior Open was next on the agenda and this open attracted big numbers in all events and this provided some very competitive matches all week long.

Results:
MD 1/2 - Donal Neary/Mike Warren V Antoine Bercy/Ger Finan 7-6, 4-6, 6-4
LD 1/2 - Orla Hosford/Mary Claire McCarthy V Karen Barry/Jennifer Haugh 6-2, 6-2
MX 1/2 - Karen Barry/Aylmer Barrett V Un Ryle/David McCarthy 6-2, 4-6, 7-6
MD 3 - Aidan Cotter/John Ryan V Rob Jenkins/Leo O Leary 6-4, 6-1
LD 3 - Tara Higgins/Kate Humpreys V Sandra Higgins/Joanne O Keeffe 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
MX 3 - Rachel Hewitt/Jeremy Forde V Catherine Twomey/Kenny Ding 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
MD 4 - Damien O Donovan/Senan Ahern V Ronan Conway/John O Donovan 7-6, 1-6, 6-4
LD 4 - Emma Crowley/Jacqui O Mahony V Kaen Holmes/Louise O Sullivan 1-6, 7-5, 6-4
MX 4 - Fiona McCarthy/Gerard Russell V Mary McGarry/Peter Howie w/o
MD 5 - Jack Daly/Steve Clark V Brian Hennessy/John McHenry 6-3, 6-1
LD 5 - Angela O Mahony/Lucy Quill V Karen Holmes/Sheila Stokes 6-4, 6-2
MX 5 - Helen O Leary/Mark Cronin V Roz Crotty/Nigel Smith 6-2, 6-1
MD 6 - Paul Hannon/Christopher O Connell V Frank Moynihan/Paul Twomey 6-3, 6-7, 6-2
LD 6 - Lynn O Sullivan/Susan Whitney V Tanya Gargan/Lisa Ryan 6-3, 7-5
MX 6 - Joan Barry/Derek Burns V Anne O Hea/Jeremy Glennon 6-3, 6-2

Babolat Cork Tennis League points won:
Karen Barry - 10 points
Aidan Cotter - 8 points
Sheila Stokes - 5 points
Tanya Gargan - 5 points
Anne O Hea - 3 points

Bishopstown Senior Doubles results

Hi guys, have being missing for a few weeks there, sorry about that!
Ok let's catch up on the recent tournament results starting with Bishopstown.

MD 1/2 - Mike Warren/Derek Smith V Conor Kelly/John Porter 6-4, 6-3
LD 1/2 - Connie Creed/Marie Duffy V Karen Barry/Jennifer Haugh 6-4, 6-1
MX 1/2 - Connie Creed/Conor Kelly V Siobhan Murray/Rob Murphy 6-4, 6-2
MD 3 - Aidan Cotter/John Ryan V Anthony Coughlan/Rob Sheahan 6-3, 6-3
LD 3 - Paula Mulcahy/Monica Twomey V Dolores Fitzgerald/Patricia O Connor 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
MX 3 - Suzanne Hayes/Shazhad Hussain V Carla James/Jeremy Forde 6-3, 7-5
MD 4 - Damien O Donovan/Senan Ahern V Declan Alton/Padraig Mullane 6-4, 6-3
LD 4 - Joan O Sullivan/Elodie Ruelle V Gillian Wall/AnnMarie Collins 6-2, 6-3
MX 4 - Sinead McClew/Declan Malone V Deirdre O Connell/John O Donovan 7-6, 6-3
MD 5 - Martin Hurley/Kevin Quirke V Ross O Connor/Alan O Sullivan 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
LD 5 - Rhea Monkhouse/Ger O Callaghan V Liz Brosnan/Mags Cronin 7-6, 7-5
MX 5 - Karen Holmes/Jack Daly V Linda Murphy/John Murphy 4-6, 6-3, 7-6
MD 6 - Darren Fitzgerald/Brendan Lynch V Tony McCarthy/Michael Murphy 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
LD 6 - Maria O Reilly/Lisa Ryan V Lynn O Sullivan/Susan Whitney 6-2, 1-6, 7-6
MX 6 - Colette Spicer/Paddy O Neill V Susan O Regan/Frank Moynihan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Congratulations to all the finalists, especially the winners.  As always Bishopstown tennis committee ran a very enjoyable event and should be congratulated on all their hard work.

Babolat Cork Tennis League points won by:
Karen Barry - 5 points
Aidan Cotter - 8 points
Linda Murphy - 3 points
John Murphy - 3 points
Maria O Reilly - 8 points