UPDATES & TENNIS TIPS

A YEAR OF COACHING AT DOWNTON

September 3rd, 2023

Hello,

As we head towards the end of our first year of coaching at Downton, we wanted to give a brief round-up from this summer and year!

The focus has been on raising awareness of tennis locally and encouraging adults and juniors to play and compete.

DOWNTON TENNIS CENTRE BECOMING A LTA-REGISTERED VENUE

The outdoor tennis club and the leisure centre were brought together in November. Combining these two facilities has meant players have had access to coaching across the 2 indoor courts (perfect for all year-round tennis), the sports hall, 3 floodlit outdoor courts, 4 mini-courts, and a practice. We are delighted to now be able to use the newly refurbished clubhouse and to have the indoor reception area and viewing gallery for parents to wait on colder days and evenings.

There are now over 150 active members at the centre! If you are interested in becoming a member or finding out more go to - DOWTON TENNIS CENTRE - CLUBSPARK

COACHING

- We run 6 adult and 17 junior weekly coaching sessions during term time at Downton. There have been lots of new faces taking individual lessons, with each tennis camp almost full.

- We have started to run coaching at Hale School, Chalke Valley Tennis Club & Hamptworth Golf Club & can’t wait to support more over the summer months next year.

- Lee and Alex have enjoyed taking the Wiltshire U10’s county training, sharing their knowledge and inspiring the future of tennis for the county.

- Shane Deacon LTA National Pathway & Southwest Regional Coach for U10’s came down to coach two of our performance players, as well as take a look at what was happening at the Centre.

- These county and regional connections and links with the LTA performance centres such as Bath support players on the journey to play competitive tennis.

PLAYERS & COMPETITION

With players accessing county, regional and national training, this summer has been a time for players to put their training into practice. Close-to-home players have been stepping on the court at the LTA Tournaments run at the centre and further afield.

- We had 21 entries at the County - Championships held at Salisbury Lawn Tennis Club - the highest representation from any other club across the county.

- Our first men’s team was entered into the County Division 1, coming 3rd. Well done to Alex, Callum, Franko and Archie!

- We are thrilled to report having coached Jasper from a beginner over the last 4 years, he has now accessed the national longlist programme to join the Regional Player Development Centre at Bath. Jasper is one to watch for the future and we wish him the best of luck.

- There have been some incredible wins and much experience gained from the losses, as is the nature of the sport.

We know that “You only learn how to win matches, by playing matches!”.

FINAL FAREWELLS

Last but not least we have said farewell to two of our coaches Alex Simpson and Ben Haley this summer. Alex leaves us to pursue another career.

- Ben starts a new coaching role in Southampton after relocating there.

Thank you to everyone for all the support this year - it has gone better than we could have hoped.

Thank you to…

- The Downton Leisure Centre team for running such a positive community-led venue for us to coach in.

- All those who helped to bring the Downton Tennis Club & Downton Tennis Centre together to launch the 5-court LTA-registered venue.

- To all our new adult & junior players for getting involved.

- To all our existing players & parents who have travelled a little further to have coaching with us & join our tennis camps.

- To the local businesses & schools for helping promote our coaching.

What a year!

Many thanks

Lee & the Mahony Tennis Coaching Team

COACHING CALENDAR AUTUMN 2023

Autumn Term-Time Tennis - starts 11th Sept

- Junior Term-Time Coaching (4-18yrs) - BOOK A TASTER >

- Cardio Tennis - Fridays 9-10 am - REGISTER INTEREST >

- Tennis Morning - Wednesdays 10-11 am - REGISTER INTEREST >

- Tennis Xpress - Chalke Valley - BOOK NOW >

- Tennis Xpress - Downton - FULLY BOOKED

JUNIOR TENNIS TOURNAMENTS AT DOWNTON 2023

February 7th, 2023

As part of supporting all our players to achieve their potential in tennis, we are thrilled that Downton Tennis Centre will be hosting tournaments this year.

DOWNTON TOURNAMENT DATES & INFORMATION

16th April 2023 Tournament
8U Singles, 9U Singles, 9U Doubles, 16U Boys Singles, 16U Girls Singles
Register from: 1st March 2023
To register click here >

1st May 2023 Tournament

8U Singles, 10U Singles, Mens Singles

To register click here >

14th May 2023 Tournament

11U BS, 11U GS

To register click here >

The LTA has some great guidance on how to start competing.

If you are unsure about entering any of these tournaments, let us know and we can have a quick call or catch up to support.

If you do book into play at any tournaments, keep your coach updated & they will help provide advice for the match days.

Lee Mahony & the Mahony Tennis team

NEW VENUE, NEW NAME

February 1st, 2023

Hello,

As we build momentum this spring, we are re-branding to reflect our new venue and plans for the future. Our values, coaches and approach to tennis coaching remain the same, as we move from the name Salisbury Tennis Coaching to Mahony Tennis.

Best wishes,

Lee & the Mahony Tennis Coaching Team

SUCCESSES FOR AUTUMN 2022

December 24, 2022

Hello,

Before 2023 & the spring term - gets fully underway, we wanted to share some of the successes from our first term coaching at Downton.

COACHING AT DOWNTON

It has been wonderful to coach so many new & existing players, a near 50:50 split of old & new. We couldn't be happier with how our first term has gone for both junior & adult tennis. These things are never perfect, but it has been a solid start to developing the coaching & opportunities to play tennis. A big thank you to everyone for being so supportive & welcoming whilst we have settled in.

5-COURT TENNIS VENUE

Behind the scenes, there has been a huge amount of time & effort put into bringing the outdoor & indoor court administration together. Downton Tennis Centre is now officially a 5-court LTA-registered venue, and from January we are very excited to be part of supporting this venue being run & developed for the community by the Leisure Centre.

LTA TOURNAMENTS

In November the venue ran its first LTA-registered tournament. Holding competitive tournaments is an important part of establishing the Downton Tennis Centre as a hub for the community with a healthy sense of competition. Tournaments will also attract players nationally and raise awareness of the venue. In 2023 we have two more LTA tournaments already scheduled, with six more being planned. If you would like to explore playing competitively, please reply to this email and we can help guide you to achieving this.

SELECTED TO COACH FOR THE COUNTY

Lee Mahony has spent many years coaching players at the county level. This year he has been selected to lead the U10's County Players, and Alex Simpson has been selected as the U10's assistant coach. They will be working with the best players across the county, taking training and heading off to support at tournaments. This gives them access to LTA resources and keeps them better connected to the wider LTA tennis community.

PLAYER SUCCESS

Last but by no means least we would like to celebrate some of our junior player's success. We are very proud to be able to share that, 17 of our junior players have been invited to county training, 2 of those players have also been invited to regional training and 1 player has now been invited to attend a national camp. This is an incredible achievement and far outperforms other clubs in the area. A huge thank you to all the parents, players & coaches for supporting & creating an environment where this is possible.

Thank you all again for your commitment & support!

We hope to see you at some point in 2023.

Many thanks

Lee & the Salisbury Tennis Coaching Team

www.salisburytenniscoaching.co.uk

COACHING CALENDAR 2023

- Junior Term-Time Coaching - starts W/C 9th Jan - book now >
- Tennis Xpress 6-week adult courses - starts W/C 9th Jan - book now >
- Cardio Tennis - starts W/C 9th Jan - register to join >
- Tennis Morning - starts W/C 9th Jan - register to join >
- Masterclass: Adult Doubles (Advanced) - 22nd Jan - book now >
- Downton Tennis Centre Open Day - 26th March 2023 - Put in the dairy!
- Easter Tennis Camps - 11th - 13th April - book now >

LTA TOURNAMENTS AT DTC

- Grade 5 16U Boys and Girls Singles - Sunday 15th January - find out more >
- Grade 5 9U (Orange Ball) Mixed Singles and 10U (Green Ball) Mixed Singles - entry opens 18th Jan 2023 - find out more >

TENNIS ACHIEVEMENTS FOR 2022

August 14, 2022

Hello,

As Lee & our team's time at Salisbury Tennis Club winds down, we wanted to thank you for your commitment & support to tennis this year by sharing some of the wonderful successes you have been a part of.

It has been an incredible year for the junior players in particular. The summer term's adult & junior groups were the biggest we have ever seen, as we added new sessions & built our performance programme, whilst maintaining our coach-to-player ratios. Junior tennis should not be about queuing in line to hit a tennis ball a couple of times. We have seen a significant improvement in player standards & would like to thank our young, dynamic team of coaches & Tennis Leaders for doing a fantastic job this year.

Here are just some of the highlights we can all celebrate...

We have 13 players either training or representing Wiltshire across our junior age groups.
We won the team Mini Red (Age 8 & under) county event
Came runners up in the Orange Ball (Age 9 & under) county event
We currently have the no.1 and no.2 Orange Ball (Age 9 & under) players in the county
We have the county's no.1 Green Ball (Age 10 & under) player in our programme
An under 9's player has been selected for regional training
We have 8 players committed to an intensive year of training & support to develop confidence, skill and ability on & off the court - through our Player Programme
We have had 3 players picked up by the Bath International Performance Academy
Congratulations to Alex Simpson on completing his LTA Level 2 Coaching Accreditation & Chris Park & Ben Haley who are just about to complete their LTA Level 3 Coaching Accreditation

Looking ahead...

Lee Mahony & Alex Simpson will be supporting Wiltshire county training from January 2023
Nick is working towards becoming an LTA referee

Let us know if you have any questions about how to progress your player's tennis or are looking for individual lessons between now & the beginning of October.

A farewell for Lee after his 22 years as Head Coach of Salisbury Tennis Club is in pipeline & we or the club will be in touch with a date if you would like to celebrate with us, it would be lovely to see you!

Thank you & well done to all involved in our coaching programme!

Many thanks

STCT

TENNIS SUCCESSES FOR 2021...

December 29, 2021

Hello,

Before we head into 2022, we wanted to say a massive thank you for supporting the coaching programme and Salisbury Tennis Club. We are so grateful to everyone for remaining in touch and involved.

There have been many successes to celebrate this year in the junior programme, so to end on a high we wanted to share some of them with you...

Thankfully, because of the nature of the sport, tennis has grown in participation across the country, and that has been reflected here in Salisbury with record numbers joining our summer and autumn programmes.
There are two pathways for coaching at the club, club & performance tennis. Performance develops players looking to be competitive and this year we have seen more juniors starting to compete in mini tennis events outside the club.
We have made our mark once again at the county level with 12 players being selected for county training.
One of our players won both our club event and the county finals, to go on making the most of the opportunity to play at Wimbledon. This is part of The Road to Wimbledon event where the county winner (U14) gets to compete at the All England Club.
In the 18 & under age group, two players have competed and won grade 4 and 5 events throughout the year, and have started to represent the club at various senior events.
A player who has been playing tennis with us since starting in mini’s, has now represented the county at both junior and senior level, for the 3rd consecutive year.
We are also delighted to hear that 2 of our players, who have come through our junior coaching programme have gained places on their university tennis teams at Oxford & Bristol.

We are so proud of all our players and wish both them and you a happy and healthy 2022! We can’t wait to see what can be achieved!

Best wishes,

Lee & the coaching team!

SUCCESSES FOR SPRING 2023

April 16, 2023

Hello,

As we head into the busiest term of the year, we wanted to take a moment to share what has been happening with us & our players at Downton over the past 4 months.

JUNIOR AWARDS

A huge congratulations to Gabrielle who was awarded the 8 & Under Girls Most Improved Player of 2022 by Wiltshire County Tennis in February & Jasper who was awarded the 9 & Under Boys Most Improved Player of 2022.

Gabrielle - has also been selected for the regional training camp 3 times now, putting her among the top 15 girls in the South West.

Jasper - who has been invited to attend a national training camp, continues to progress recently winning a Grade 3 event up in Warwick & is now ranked 19th in Britain for his age group.

JUNIORS INVOLVED IN WILTSHIRE COUNTY TENNIS

17 of our junior players continue to attend county training.

Lola - has been selected into 14 & under county training & recently travelled over to Europe to train at the world-famous academies of Patrick Mouratoglou & Sanchez-Casal.

Gabrielle, Vidita & Annabelle (9 & under - Orange Ball) - made up half of the Wiltshire County Cup team for their age group.

Josh - has been selected to represent the county in the 9 & under boys' team.

LTA TOURNAMENTS

Nick became an LTA-qualified tournament referee and has now run two tournaments at Downton Tennis Centre with more organised this summer.

We are thrilled that Downton Tennis Centre is hosting LTA tournaments as this is when players can apply all the hard work they put in at training.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENT DATES

1st May 2023 Tournament

8U Singles, 10U Singles, Mens Singles

14th May 2023 Tournament

11U BS, 11U GS

ADULT TENNIS

Downton Tennis Centre will be entering both a Men’s & Ladies' team into the national league this summer, we can’t wait to see how they get on!

PRO-HITTER AVAILABLE

We now have Franko Stoman who trained at Bath Academy and is an experienced player working with the coaching team to offer pro hits at the centre. Organising pro hits allows players to practice hitting to help improve technique & game consistency.

To find out how to book a pro-hit get in touch.

As ever a huge thank you to all the parents, players & coaches for supporting & creating an environment where this is possible.

Hope to see you on the court this summer!

Lee Mahony & the Mahony Tennis team