The Jack Petchey Foundation, established in 1999, gives grants to programmes and projects that benefit young people aged 11-25. The Foundation, focusing on London and Essex, is keen to help young people take advantage of opportunities and play a full part in society. The major focus of the work is the ‘Achievement Award Scheme’ and since it has been established has awarded grants totalling over £65million.

The SHLTC takes part in the Jack Petchey Achievement Awards scheme for juniors (11-25yrs). This has proved a great success, giving the juniors something to aim for and the funds to buy the things they want for the club. Each year the club votes for a Tennis Leader who becomes the club’s Honorary Captain. Visit the Jack Petchey website to learn more. The following achievement award winners shows how far you can go with the right attitude, hard work and lots of practice!

Jack Petchey Achievement Award Winners:

Samuel Morgan (Spring 2024)

Max Powell (Autumn 2023)

 Congratulations to Max Powell for receiving the Jack Petchey award at Shooters Hill Tennis Club. Max has been a member of the club for a number of years now. He began playing with his Dad and his brother on the courts before moving into the coaching programme. Since then, Max has progressed rapidly with his tennis and is now playing as part of our performance squad and competing for the club at U12 & U14 level.Max completed his tennis leaders course at Shooters Hill and then began to offer up his own time on Saturday mornings to assist with our LTA Youth sessions. He shows great enthusiasm on court and a genuine desire to help the juniors improve their tennis.

Carlotta Allen-Seadon (Summer 2023)

Congratulations to Carlotta Allen-Seadon the new recipient of the Jack Petchey award. Carlotta began volunteering at the club through her Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme at school. Since then, she has become a great addition to the junior sessions in the week. She shows great enthusiasm with the young players and plays a big part in the enjoyment of their sessions. Carlotta has shown excellent reliability and hasn’t missed a session since starting with us. Additionally, Carlotta has started playing an extra day a week herself and is starting to improve her own game. This is a huge benefit during the sessions she assists in’

George Paget ( Spring 2023)

Congratulations to George Paget the new recipient of the Jack Petchey award. George has been consistently volunteering his time on Saturday mornings now for a number of months. He shows great dedication towards improving his on-court work with the coaching team. George recently took part in a Tennis Leaders course as his next step within the club. George’s confidence on court has improved hugely over the last few months and he is now an important part of the coaching team on a Saturday morning 

Archie Baxter ( Autumn 2022)

Congratulations to Archie Baxter the new recipient of the Jack Petchey award. Archie has been volunteering with the junior groups at the club for nearly a year now and is reliably on time and ready to help week in, week out. Through lots of work with the coaching team (mostly coach Dave) Archie has grown more confident on court. He is now seen regularly giving instructions and suggestions to the kids to help them improve. His presence and body language on court is good and the children listen intently when Archie speaks to the group. Archie has gained some key skills over the last 6 months to a year and I am sure he will only keep growing more confident.

Jack Arkwright (Summer 2022)

Congratulations to Jack Arkwright, the new recipient of the Jack Petchey Award. Jack has shown great dedication to helping the young players on our programme. In recent months he has grown in confidence whilst helping with red, orange and green sessions several times a week and is always keen to step in whenever the coaching team needs a helping hand. His leadership qualities are really starting to show through as his confidence grows.  Jack has recently taken on more responsibilities within the coaching groups and has shown he can be great at helping the junior players improve their tennis and enjoy the lessons!

Daisy Rowland (Spring 2022)

Congratulations to Daisy Rowland, the new recipient of the Jack Petchey Award. Daisy is more than worthy of this award. In recent months she has grown in confidence whilst helping with red stage sessions twice a week and is always keen to step in whenever the coaching team needs a helping hand. Her presence on court and already great tennis knowledge has helped the 20+ juniors she helps coach per week grow and develop their tennis skills. Daisy has quickly become an integral part of the coaching team and her reliability and enthusiasm can not be faulted. It is no doubt that the juniors Daisy helps coach are very lucky to have her as an example of what they can achieve within the club. She is a great role model and I hope she continues to grow her coaching knowledge and look to complete her coaching assistant award as soon as possible.

Noah Woodard (2020)

Congratulations to our latest Jack Petchey winner Noah Woodard. This is thoroughly deserved as Noah has shown a real interest in giving something back to the junior members of the club since he started volunteering after he completed his Tennis Leaders Award a couple of years ago.Noah regularly assists the coaching team on a Saturday morning 9-10am without fail. His commitment to pass on his knowledge and experience from his years attending weekly lessons and representing the club in junior county fixtures has really helped the junior members improve their all round game.Noah has become a role model for the junior members and his enthusiasm is evident each week. He sets high standards within the lessons and always sets a good example which the junior members follow. He works well with the coaching team, listening to instructions, giving clear demonstrations and supporting the junior members when needed.

I wish Noah all the best in his coaching career and hope he will be able to assist the coaching team in the upcoming Easter and summer holiday coaching camps. Well done Noah!​

Sophie Campbell (2019)

Congratulations to Sophie for winning our latest Jack Petchey award! Sophie thoroughly deserves to receive this award for all her recent hard work and commitment to assisting the coaching team. Sophie assists the coaching team 5 hours a week on top of her own tennis lessons which she attends 3 times a week! Since the summer Sophie has really dedicated herself to helping the junior members of the club and has really enjoyed the experience. Sophie is assisting all the coaches so is able to see all the different coaching styles and personalities on court with a view to develop her own style. It is hoped Sophie will book on and complete the Level 1 coaching award next year to further her fledgling career in the coaching world. It has been wonderful to see Sophie’s confidence grow over the past few months and also to witness the positive reactions she receives from the junior members of the club. She really is becoming a role model for the next generation! Well done Sophie and please keep up the good work

Charlie Booth (2019)

Congratulations to Charlie for winning our latest Jack Petchey award. This is a thoroughly deserved award as Charlie has shown great commitment to assisting the coaching team 2-3 times a week over the past few months since he passed his tennis leader award.

As well as assisting the junior lessons Charlie trains weekly and has really improved his game. This has subsequently helped Charlie demonstrate certain shots more accurately to the juniors and has also increased his knowledge and understanding of the game of tennis.

Charlie has also helped umpire a few junior competitions on Friday evenings at the club and enjoys both coaching and officiating. He is one of our most popular tennis leaders and his enthusiasm for tennis is infectious. The coaching team and I wish to congratulate Charlie and we hope he continues on his coaching pathway by taking his level 1 coaching award in the near future.

Sian Freeman (2019)

Congratulations to Sian on receiving this much deserved award.  Sian has been a regular fixture at the club now for several years and always has a smile on her face!  She started group lessons, increasing this to twice a week plus the odd individual lesson.  This led to an improvement in her game, so she was able to start competing on a regular basis and represented the club in several girls matches in the AEGON leagues doing extremely well.  Unfortunately, she had a few set-backs with her health and had to cut back on the playing side of things but this led to an increase in her volunteering hours at the club and subsequently resulted in her gaining her tennis leaders award and will see her complete her level 1 coaching assistant award this year.

Of all the volunteering work Sian has completed at the club she really enjoys the Tots group on a Saturday morning with coach Jane and the younger children really respond to her positive outlook on life and look up to her as a role model and she really is an inspiration!  Sian recently joined Jane at the She Rallies course which was held for female coaches only to help deliver suitable sessions to girls only.

As well as the Tots sessions, Sian has helped umpire at many a Friday night competition (often in the cold and wet!) and has become one of the most reliable and trustworthy umpires i can call upon.  She is fair to all who compete and enjoys seeing the juniors progress in their matches.

Well done again to Sian and good luck with your level 1!

Francis Brent (2018)

Congratulations to Francis on being nominated for our latest Jack Petchey Award.  This is thoroughly deserved for all the hours he has volunteered over the past 12 months.  Francis has assisted the coaching team on Saturday mornings 9-10am with the mini red 8&U group and has volunteered over 50 hours.  This dedication and commitment has seen Francis become a vital part of the coaching programme on a Saturday morning and has allowed more children to attend the lessons.  He has grown in confidence and with the help of the coaching team mentoring Francis he has become an excellent tennis leader.  Francis can be relied upon to always be on time and to assist in a professional way.  Francis is keen to learn and will ask questions if he is unsure of what to do.  The children have responded well to him and he has become an excellent role model for the younger junior members within the club.  Francis is able to lead the warm ups now and give valuable teaching points and solid demonstrations.  It is hoped Francis will go on to complete his Level 1 coaching award.  Well done Francis and keep up the good work!

Olivia Brent (2018)

Congratulations to Olivia for winning our latest Jack Petchey award.  This is thoroughly deserved for all her hard work and commitment in helping with the junior members within the club.  Olivia has been a member of SHLTC for many years and we have seen her tennis level improve as she has shown dedication in her lessons and when representing the club in local Kent junior matches.

Olivia has also become a valued member of the coaching team assisting on Saturday mornings with our tots (under 5) group.  Giving something back to the club has come easy to Olivia as is shown in her desire to be there every Saturday at 9am.  She has recently passed her level 1 tennis assistant course and is looking forward to obtaining her level 2 coaching assistant award at the end of the year’.

Well done Olivia and thank you from all the members of the club.

Jack Beresford-Allan (2018)

 Congratulations to Jack for winning our latest Jack Petchey Achievement Award.  This is thoroughly deserved for all the hard work Jack puts into his tennis lessons and assisting the coaching team.  Jack has been a member of the club for well over 5 years and has matured into a wonderful young person, as well as a competent tennis player.  Jack attends lessons twice a week and has competed in our monthly Friday night competitions throughout his time at the club.  Jack also represents the club in our junior Team Tennis teams and is currently a valued member of our Boys 16&U team.

More recently Jack has assisted the coaching team with our junior 8/9&U lessons and has proved a real hit with the children who look up to him as a role model.  As Jack’s confidence has increased he has started to volunteer his time to buddy hit with some of our stronger junior players.  Although this is set up and arranged by the coaching team, Jack is trusted to buddy hit and offer small bits of advice to the players while the coaching team are with other junior squads.  It is credit to Jack that the coaching team feel he is responsible enough to deal with this.

Well done again to Jack and his family who have always supported him over the years, as well as the club and i look forward to seeing Jack obtain his Level 1 Coaching Assistant Award in the near future.

Cameron Beresford-Allan (2017)

Congratulations to Cameron for winning our latest Jack Petchey Award.  This is thoroughly deserved for the amount of time, energy and commitment Cameron puts into the club on an almost daily basis.  Cameron started out as a junior member of the club and attended lessons on a weekly basis, as well as competing on a monthly basis.  Cameron then became interested in helping the coaching team and volunteered well over 50+ hours to the junior coaching programme and became a vital member of the team, especially when working with the younger 6&U junior members. The coaching team and Cameron’s family saw how this increased his confidence and self-esteem so together we decided he should complete the LTA Level 1 Assistant Coach Award.  Cameron passed this with flying colours and continues to contribute massively to the junior coaching programme.  Not only does Cameron assist at the club, but he also volunteers his time at his old primary school, Christ Church, on a Friday afternoon helping the coaching team deliver the after school club there.  Furthermore, the next stage is for Cameron to start buddy hitting with our junior members who are showing potential.

It has been an absolute pleasure to see Cameron develop over the years from a quiet, shy junior to a confident young man.  Cameron recently rejoined the club as an intermediate member, meaning he can join in with adult club play and enter our monthly adult doubles tournament.  I wish Cameron all the best for the future and look forward to mentoring him with his Level 2 Coach Award in the new year.

Congratulations to Cam for winning our latest Jack Petchey Achievement Award.

Max Saunders (2017)

Congratulations to Max Saunders for winning our latest Jack Petchey Achievement Award. Max thoroughly deserves this award for all his enthusiasm and dedication he brings to the tennis club and coaching programme. Max is a regular at the club, attending lessons twice a week and assisting the coaching team twice a week, as well as representing the club in our AEGON Boys 18&U team as well as our Kent and North Kent men’s teams.

Max clearly enjoys playing and coaching tennis and the juniors look up to him as someone who is passionate about the sport. Max is able to explain the technical side of things to the juniors clearly as well as being a strong enough player to be able to demonstrate all the shots needed to become a competitive tennis player.
Max is well liked among the coaching team, club members and junior players. His confidence has grown since he completed his Level 1 coaching award and we are looking forward to him completing the Level 2 coaching award and increasing his coaching hours within the coaching team.
Well done once again Max!

Aisling Golden (2017)

Our latest Jack Petchey achievement award winner, voted for by our junior members, is Aisling Golden. Congratulations Aisling! This is a thoroughly deserved award, as Aisling has been helping out on Saturday mornings for a number of years now. She completed her Tennis Leaders Award with flying colours and has since volunteered over 50 hours at the club. Aisling is very popular with our junior members and has become an integral part of the coaching team on Saturdays. She also stays for her own lesson and has improved her game over the past couple of years to such a standard that she is comfortable demonstrating the majority of shots needed to play a high standard of tennis. Aisling has also umpired at several junior competitions and is now a highly trained tennis umpire. The club hope Aisling will further her coaching career by completing the Level 1 award this year and contribute even more to the junior coaching programme at the club. Well done again Aisling.

Lerzan Direk (2016)

Congratulations to Lerzan! The junior members of the club have spoken and have chosen Lerzan as our latest JP winner. This is a much-deserved award. Lerzan is one of our strongest tennis leaders and volunteers her time with the younger members of the club. She is happy to help with any demonstrations and is ready to feedback any technical and tactical tips to the children. Lerzan is one of our most enthusiastic tennis leaders and she clearly enjoys spending time with the younger members of the club. She has become a wonderful role model for the juniors, especially our female members. I am looking forward to seeing you take on and complete your Level 1 coaching award”

Zara Million (2016)

Congratulations to Zara Million! I must say this reward has been long overdue as Zara has been fantastic within the club since she completed her Tennis Leaders Course. Zara is fantastic with our mini red 8&U junior players and especially our tot 5&U junior players. Zara has the patience of a saint and is able to get the best out of these players on a weekly basis. Zara assists every Monday evening 5-6pm with this age group, before her lesson 6-7pm. She is a fantastic role model for all our juniors, especially the girls, who really look up to here and listen intently to any instructions given. Zara really enjoys this hour and her sense of fun is infectious. As well as playing and assisting on Monday evenings, Zara loves to umpire this age group on the first Friday of the month, every month! Zara is one of our strongest umpires and can be trusted to umpire matches with any of our juniors who compete. This takes a lot of concentration, focus and patience which Zara has in abundance! Well done Zara. This reward recognises your commitment to tennis, the tennis club and to improving our junior players. Plus, your flapjacks are to die for!”

Spence Smyth (2016)

Well done to Spencer Smyth who has been voted our latest Jack Petchey winner by all our junior members! Since completing his Tennis Leaders Award, Spencer has volunteered on Tuesdays 5-6pm and Saturdays 10-11am. It has been wonderful to see Spencer develop as a tennis leader over the past few months. Spencer is able to connect to the juniors really well and they all respond positively to his instructions. Spencer also trains on Tuesdays 6-7pm and Saturdays 11-12pm. He has also represented the club in our AEGON junior teams. This dedication to improving his game is evident in his coaching, as he takes his role seriously within the club and is becoming a real ambassador. It is hoped Spencer will continue his coaching pathway by completing the Level 1 Award. Well done Spencer! You thoroughly deserve this award

Mark Fraser (2015)

Well done Mark! In a very short space of time Mark has made a big impression with the junior players on a Saturday morning. His outgoing personality has made him a popular tennis leader. Mark passed the tennis leaders course with flying colours last year and has made a real contribution to the club with his volunteer hours. Mark volunteers from 9-11am and then has his lesson 12-1pm, followed by club play 1-2pm. Mark really loves his tennis on Saturday! Mark has also recently represented the club in our AEGON Boys 16&U team. It was the first time Mark had played for the club and was a great experience for him. Mark did the club proud and the club look forward to him playing more matches in the future. In time, with more experience, the coaching team hope Mark will complete his Level 1 coaching award. He has a real passion for tennis and it would be great if he could put this passion to good use. Well done again Mark!

Zainab Lawal (2015)

Congratulations to Zainab Lawal for winning our latest Jack Petchey Achievement Award. Zainab is another well deserved recipient of this award, as she has volunteered many hours since she completed her Tennis Leaders Award last year. Zainab plays regularly on a Thursday evening and a Saturday afternoon, as well as competing in the regular club competitions. Zainab has regularly volunteered on Saturday mornings before her lesson, quickly completing the 18 hours she needed to pass the course. Zainab has also helped umpire at the junior competitions, as well as assisted the coaching team at our latest open day. Zainab is a great role model to the younger players within the club. The club and the coaching team would like to take this opportunity to thank Zainab for all her help and look forward to seeing her continue her coaching career, by applying to take her Level 1 coaching award. Well done again Zainab!

Ulysse Abbate (2015)

“Congratulations to Ulysse Abbate, who has won our latest Jack Petchey Achievement Award. Ulysse is one of the most deserving recipients of this award. I have known Ulysse for a number of years and he is such a polite, well mannered young adult and is such a joy to have around the club. Ulysse has been having lessons for a few years now and has taken his tennis more seriously in recent months. On top of his weekly group lessons he has had individual lessons and his rating has subsequently improved with his dedication to compete on Friday evenings at our junior competition nights.

His dedication was evident when he completed the Tennis Leaders Award, as he took the course seriously and has since been dedicated in volunteering 18 hours to pass the award and has actually completed much more than that. Ulysse volunteers on a Saturday morning with our younger members and it is fantastic to see the enjoyment he gains from this experience. The younger members respond so well to his enthusiasm and the atmosphere within the lessons is electric! Volunteering 9-11am every Saturday morning is not easy, but Ulysse has never complained, always arrives early and his dedication to become a reliable, trustworthy tennis leader is there for all to see. He is a real credit to his family.

Ulysse is one of the first tennis leaders the coaching team will go to in any given situation, as we all know we can rely on him to help out with any task. I hope Ulysse will continue with his tennis coaching qualifications and take his Level 1 when he is 16 years old. I’m thrilled he has been nominated by the junior members of the club, which just goes to show how much he is liked within the lessons. Well done Ulysse! Keep up the good work”

Mylan Roberts (2014)

‘Mylan Roberts has been attending tennis lessons at the club for a number of years
And is one of our strongest players. Mylan’s dedication to his tennis has meant that he now has an 8.2 rating (one of only 16 players to have such a rating). Mylan has represented the club in the 14 & U Road to Wimbledon 2013 finals held at Bromley Tennis Centre and consistently plays for our junior club teams in a variety of age groups. Mylan recently completed his Tennis Leaders Course and volunteers his time at the club to help out with the younger members. Mylan is very popular with the junior players and has become quite a role model. Mylan has high energy levels and great enthusiasm when assisting the junior players in trying to help them improve their own game’

Adam Guildford (2014)

‘Adam Guildford is a much deserved winner of our latest Jack Petchey Award. Adam has been a member of the club for many years and has become an integral part of the coaching team. Over the years it has been wonderful to see Adam mature and develop into a fantastic coach. Adam is a great role model to all the junior players within the club, thanks in part to his personable manner and enthusiasm. His coaching style and personality on the court has really improved over the years, thanks to all the hard work and dedication Adam puts in to developing all areas of his coaching. Adam is looking to complete his Level 2 coaching award this summer, along with qualifying as a secondary trained PE teacher. Having both teaching and coaching qualifications will only enhance Adam’s coaching ability on court, which will in turn benefit all the junior players he works with. I think you will all agree with me that Adam thoroughly deserves this award and it is a pleasure to work with Adam at the club and I hope this continues for many years to come. Well done Adam!

Emre Saridogan (2014)

‘’Emre completed the Tennis Leaders Course at the club and has volunteered over 75 hours since the end of 2012. Emre is dedicated to his role as a tennis volunteer and has thrived with the responsibility a tennis assistant brings. Emre is a keen player and trains twice a week on a Tuesday evening and a Saturday afternoon. Emre regularly competes in our internal competitions during term time and throughout the holiday competitions and is keen to improve his rating (he is currently an 8.2 rated player).

Not only does Emre assist the coaching team on Saturday mornings with our Mini Red, Orange, Green and 12&U squads, as well as a few Monday evenings before studies took over, he also volunteers his time helping to umpire our match play events we hold in the holidays. He recently helped umpire our Mini Red 8&U competition during the February half term. This requires great concentration and calmness, to allow the junior players to compete in a fair and sporting way.

Emre knows the scoring system inside out and is able to step back when needed to, but also to step in if there are any queries with the calls or score. Once again, Emre’s growing maturity has helped him become one of our strongest junior umpires.

As well as assisting with the coaching programme and umpiring competitions, Emre is always available to help out at our Open Days or fundraising events we hold at the club. Emre is very reliable, always turning up on time, in the appropriate kit, with a fantastic attitude and a willingness to listen and learn.
It makes me proud to see Emre’s development, not only as a strong tennis player, reliable and trusted tennis leader, but a responsible, hard working young adult. Emre really has become a strong role model within the club and I wish him all the best in the future.’’

Caleb McNabb (2013)

Caleb was one of our first junior players to complete the Tennis Leaders Course at the club and subsequently completed his 18 volunteer hours by assisting the coaching team with junior squads and junior matchplay events. Caleb works well with the juniors and has a great way of getting his point across so the juniors understand. Caleb is enthusiastic and the juniors all responded to this in a positive way. Caleb also trains on a Tuesday evening in our performance squad and is one of our stronger junior players, representing the club in 14&U and 16&U squads over the past few years. Caleb also represented the club at Bromley Tennis Centre after winning our internal Road to Wimbledon competition. It is great to have Caleb at the club and we hope he will get even more involved with the junior coaching programme after his studies have eased off a bit.Well done Caleb. Much deserved.

Sebastien Creighton (2013)

Seb has been a member at the club for a number of years now and has steadily improved his game and has focused hard on improving his tennis rating. Seb is one of the best junior members at playing competition at the club, as well as around Kent. This has had an effect on all our junior players who have spent time in Seb’s company. Seb passed his Tennis Leaders Award a while back and volunteered a number of hours at the club assisting the coaching team and offering advice to the junior players. Seeing Seb’s commitment and dedication to improve his game and subsequently his rating (Seb is currently one of only 7 junior members with an 8.2 rating) has inspired a whole group of younger junior players to compete and improve their game. Well done Seb. A much deserved winner.

Emma Abbate (2013)

Emma has been attending lessons at SHLTC for a number of years now and recently represented the club in the Girls 14&U Kent leagues. Emma has really shown what hard work and dedication can do to your game. She has taken her tennis seriously over the past few months and started having extra lessons and began hitting regularly with other girls at the club to try to improve her game and rating. Emma is currently a 9.2 rated player and will represent the club again this autumn in the Girls 14&U Kent leagues. Emma has also been volunteering her time on Saturday mornings, as well as some Monday evenings after-school, when her brother attends lessons. Emma is a natural with the younger players and really knows how to get to their level and understands how to deal with them. Being the oldest of 3 obviously helps! After completing over 25 volunteer hours, Emma completed her Tennis Leaders Course at the club at the end of the summer and is now looking to continue to gain more experience with the coaching team and hopes to get on the Level 1 coaching course in the near future.
Emma thoroughly deserves this achievement and the club hopes she continues to improve her game and commit to more volunteering with the younger players. Phil Layfield.

Ozan Saridogan (November 2012)

Ozan is a much deserved winner of this award not only for the vast number of hours he has volunteered on Saturday mornings and over the summer holidays, but for continuing with his squad training twice a week and for representing the club in our Boys 14&U teams over the summer and winter months. The volunteer coaching has really helped Ozan develop as a young tennis leader and I am looking forward to seeing Ozan complete the course officially. Ozan’s confidence and patience has grown and he has become very good at dealing with our younger members. The coaching team can rely on Ozan to arrive on time for his volunteer hours, always prepared to work hard with minimum fuss and listen to what is needed of him, as well as being prepared to answer any questions Ozan may have regarding the lessons! We all look forward to working with Ozan and feel he thoroughly deserves this award.

Callum McGranaghan (July 2012)

Callum has been a regular at the club for a number of years now, progressing from promising junior to consistent intermediate member. He has represented the club at U16 and U18 levels and is beginning to play for our Men’s 3rd team. He regularly has coaching sessions, and completed his Level 1 Coaching Award. Callum is a valued member of the coaching team at the club assisting and passing on his tennis knowledge to our junior squads. The juniors really look up to Callum as a role model and he has a very good manner with them. It is hoped he will continue to represent the club and hopefully break into our Men’s 2nd team. Furthermore, the club will look to support Callum if he wishes to complete his Level 2 Coaching Award. Congratulations Callum! A very worthy winner.

Simeon John (April 2012)

Simeon recently completed his Tennis Leaders Award and has been putting this into practice by volunteering on Saturday mornings with our junior players aged 5-11, as well as helping to umpire on Friday nights with our junior competitions. Simeon has really taken to his new role within the club and has just completed 50 hours volunteering! This is the quickest any new Tennis Leader has accumulated so many volunteer hours. Well done Simeon! This summer Simeon will again represent the club in our AEGON Boys 14&U squad and will also be taking part in our Road to Wimbledon Tournament. Simeon continues to train hard on Tuesday evenings with resident coach Luke House and is often seen outside of lessons honing his skills, especially his Nadal like forehand! This award is much deserved and the coaching team look forward to working with Simeon over the summer.

James Robertson (November 2011)

James has been a valued member of the coaching team for some time now, since completing his Tennis Leaders Award. Although he completed his 18 hours volunteering to achieve the award quite a while ago, James continues to help out on Tuesday evenings 5-6pm with our Mini Red (8&U) squad. The children respond to James really well and have showed signs of improvement through his leadership skills. James is not afraid to correct the children with specific teaching points and his discipline with the children is very good. His time management and communication skills are first class and he works well with the other tennis leaders and the rest of the coaching team. James continues to play himself and regularly attends lessons once a week. In the future, James is looking to assist as an umpire during our junior competitions. A much deserved winner of the Jack Petchey Award.

Tom Pinsent (June 2011)

Tom ‘The Bomb’ has been attending coaching sessions on a Tuesday evening for a number of years now and has progressed to our ‘Top Gun’ group! He has represented the club at 16&U level and supports our competition days to try to improve his tennis rating. Tom is also a valued member of our tennis leader team, proving to be reliable and inspirational to the club. The junior members have taken to Tom and regularly cheer for him when he is demonstrating, and gave him his nickname! Tom is a pleasure to work with and always has a smile on his face. He is always positive and is a great role model to the junior players. Well done Tom, you thoroughly deserve this award.

Louisa Walsh (March 2011)

Louisa is a much deserved winner of this award, not only for her continued improvement as a player, but also as a tennis leader and role model within the club. Louisa continues to attend coaching sessions on a regular basis and is determined to improve her current rating. This was helped when she won the U16 Girls Club Tournament last year! As well as training on a weekly basis, Louisa continues to represent the club in the AEGON Junior Leagues and always plays with intelligence and passion. Louisa also completed her Tennis Leaders Award towards the end of last year and has volunteered well over 40 hours at the club, through umpiring Timed Tennis Competitions and assisting the junior squads on Saturday mornings. Her enthusiasm, commitment and desire to work with the juniors always shines through. It is hoped Louisa will go on and complete her Level 1 Tennis Coaching Award, as the coaching team feel she has all the right attributes to develop as a coach. Louisa is a joy to have around the club and the coaching team would like to take this opportunity to wish her all the best in the future.

Matt Snow (October 2010)

Matt has developed both his tennis game and his coaching style during 2010/11. Matt is always willing to motivate the mini players and takes responsibility for organising warm ups, matches and tidying away equipment at the end of sessions. He uses his initiative and is a joy to work with. He’s also a great role model to the younger players and is one of the kids’ favourite leaders. Matt is regularly cheered when demonstrating points, even when playing against Phil! Matt’s game has gone from strength to strength. He is a regular squad member of the Club’s U16 Boys Team and will play again for the club throughout the winter months. Matt became the first Tennis Leader to achieve 50 volunteer hours within the club and received a small prize from the coaching team in recognition.

Jon Pitchford (April 2010)

Jon has been a regular member of the Junior Coaching Programme and has improved his rating significantly. He now holds a 9.2 rating, one of the highest ratings the club has throughout the Junior Members. This has been achieved through hard work and dedication, along with attending coaching sessions and matchplay events on a regular basis. Jon has repeatedly represented the club at U16 level and regularly plays and wins the majority of his singles matches, hence his rise in the ratings! Jon is also looking to begin his Tennis Leaders Course and Head Coach is delighted about this as he sees Jon as a vital part of the club and local community. He looks forward to working with and mentoring Jon so he can become even more heavily involved within the club set up.

Robert Ratcliffe (October 2009)

The club is extremely lucky to have not only the current Club Men’s Singles Champion, but also a full time travelling tennis player available to offer his valuable experience and knowledge to the juniors. Rob helps out at the Saturday morning junior coaching sessions as well as volunteering his time during the Club’s Open Days. He brings a real professionalism to the club and the juniors look up to him as a role model. Rob is friendly and outgoing and with his tennis expertise he has a great opportunity to become a successful coach himself, once his playing days are over – he is a great asset to the club.

Ben Fisher (July 2009)

Ben regularly attends junior coaching sessions and gets on well with everyone in his squad. He is also a member of SHLTC U18 Boys Team and has represented the club on a number of occasions. Ben helps out with the Mini Red session and the children have really appreciated his input to the lessons. They all look up to Ben as a role model which he excels in. Head Coach can rely on Ben to lead the warm up or assist with drills and he will give 100% concentration and effort. Ben also helped out in the half term holidays when the club ran competitions and was out on court umpiring for hours on end! It was a tedious job but someone had to do it and Ben relished the responsibility and his enthusiasm rubbed off on to the competitors. Ben is currently looking to take his Tennis Leaders Course, hopefully in June, and will be a welcome addition to the ‘official’ coaching team being built at the club.

Oli Taylor (March 2009)

Oli is working towards his Tennis Leaders course and has been assisting the Head Coach with Junior sessions. Oli has been a great help, often leading the warm ups and cool down/fun game sessions. He has built a great rapport with the younger Juniors, with the majority always wanting to hit with him during the lessons! He has also worked well with, and earned the respect of the older Juniors (only a year or two younger than himself!). Oli is keen and eager to learn and hopefully he will pass his Level 1 Tennis Assistants Course and move on with his tennis coaching qualifications.

Clover Whipps-Townsend (December 2008)

Clover has been a keen member of the club since she was young and is now one of the best female players in the Club, often representing the Club in league matches and recently winning the Club Mixed Doubles Tournament. She is always happy and enthusiastic and always volunteers her time to help out on Club days including Open Days and tournaments. She is a very popular and likeable member of the club and her positive attitude makes her a great role model for the younger club members.

John Woodcock (September 2008)

John has been a keen member of the tennis club since he was a very young boy and recently won the Club Junior Singles Tournament. He is always happy and willing to help around the club and volunteers on a Monday evening to help the Coach with the Mini Red sessions. He is a very popular and likable member of the club.

Luke House (June 2008)

Luke currently assists the Club Coach with the Junior tennis sessions and has a fantastic rapport with the children. In addition to being an excellent player, Luke is an extremely popular member of the club having a friendly, helpful and supportive attitude to everyone regardless of their aptitude. He continuously demonstrates good sportsmanship and has proved to be an ideal role model to the junior and adult members.