The club runs squad coaching for all levels of junior players every night of the week with either Vinny or Craig and also operates pay and play Saturday coaching sessions which run from 9:00 till 2:30pm.  Duddy said that the Saturday Pay and Play Sessions are a great way to see if you and your kids like tennis coaching or why not come down to the Friday Fun nights where Vinny’s Minis runs from 6:30 – 7:30 (under 8’s), 7:30 – 8:30 (under 11s) and 8:00 till 9:45 (over 11’s).  He said we also do lessons for adults on a Friday night (beginners – whilst Vinny’s Minis runs) and Thursday night (intermediates) or you can go along and book an individual lesson with one to the clubs coaches if working in a group is not for you.  We also have organised social nights on Mon (Men’s Night), Tue (Ladies Night) Wed and Fri (Mixed Doubles) or you can come down to the social morning Tue, Thu or Sun. Forms for the courses and details of the events and tennis coaching courses held at the Avenue Tennis Club can be obtained from the office (01278 782758) or from the club website (www.avenuetennis.com). 

The club will also be holding a Junior Tennis Camp, daily from 9:00 am till 4:00 pm, during the next school holiday (24^th – 28^th Oct); forms are available at the club or from the website.

A Team Div 2 down to Div 3 -The ladies A team started off with just one member, Emily Rossiter, left in the squad of six from last year. Due to various commitments, the other five players were unable to play; this resulted in matches having to rely on B team players filling in. Only four out of the ten matches played had a full A team squad, despite this they had some close rubbers and good wins, and just missed staying up by one point.  The A team ladies were: Emily Rossiter, Debbie Smith, Linda Matthews, Keliann Vennall and Kerry Matthews and filling in Sue Parsons, Julie Fowler, Emma Rose, Kay Rossiter and Elaine Amos.

B Team Div 5 down to Div 6 – As a result of having to give up players to the A team the B’s suffered from the beginning, only being able to play three out of their ten matches with a full allocated squad. Unfortunately they got too far behind in points to catch up, hopefully better luck next year.  The B team ladies were: Sue Parsons, Julie Fowler, Emma Rose, Izzy Johnson and Lyn O’Dell and filling in Jane Sanders, Poo Jenkins, Wendy Pryce, Pat Hunter and Elaine Amos.

C Team Div 5 staying up Div 5 The C’s had a much more successful season, only missing being promoted by one point. Going into the last match they were top of the division, the last match saw Wedmore B, Wedmore C and Avenue in a tight points position. Having battled all through the season they needed five points to get promotion but only managed three, leaving them one point short if their goal, bad luck ladies.  The C team ladies were: Poo Jenkins, Jane Sanders, Wendy Pryce and Julie Cameron and filling in Pat Hunter, Lyn O’Dell, Caroline Hayes, Elaine Amos and Jackie Whelaghan.

D Team Div 8 staying Div 8 – This team was primarily formed to give league match play experience to our up and coming junior girls. After a shaky, and bit of a nervous start, they improved week by week and had some impressive wins. Thanks go to Julie Cameron, Wendy Jones and Jane Impey for looking after the girls and encouraging them each week. The girls Jess Griffiths, Heather Duddy and Charlotte Mylrea all said they had enjoyed the experience of playing in the league and hopefully can continue next year.  A special thanks to all the ladies who played, especially those who answered my last minute desperate pleas, (they know who they are!!) from the ladies captain Lynn O Dell..

The Avenue will be running 3 mixed double teams during the winter and club members are encouraged to put their names up to compete.  During the Winter Men’s Tennis continues on a Monday night with Ladies Tennis on a Tuesday night; each start around 6:30 in the evening and normally finish around 9:00pm.

Squad coaching commenced on Monday 6th Sep; the Avenue Tennis Club have a full coaching programme for all ages and standards.  There are squad sessions avaialbe on every night of the week for under 8’s – Mini Reds, aged 8 – 10’s Mini Orange and various squads for older children.  The club also run adults coaching for beginners on a Friday evening and intermediates on a Thursday evening; details of the events and tennis coaching courses held at the Avenue Tennis Club can be obtained from the office (01278 782758) or from the club website (www.avenuetennis.com

AVENUE TENNIS COACH HAS AN OUTSTANDING SUMMER

Top local player Craig Phillips who is also a coach at the Avenue tennis club has had an outstanding summer in his last year of junior tennis.

In May, Craig entered the Redlands tournament in Bristol where he won the under 18s boys doubles, under 18s mixed doubles and the under 18s boys singles. At Torquay, Craig was unseeded in the under 21s and lost in the quarter finals to the number 1 seed, he also entered the under 18s boys doubles with Peter Hoyland which they won. Then he went to Burnham seniors where he entered 4 events and made all 4 finals where he was runner up in the mixed, won the men’s doubles, men’s open singles beating the number 1 seed in the final and he won the Somerset men’s closed. The following week he entered the under 18s boys at Burnham reaching the final but ending up runner up without starting due to an injury. He had already won the boys doubles the day before, but ended up runner up in the mixed doubles as he had to pull out due to an injury. At Burnham junior tournament he was also awarded the shield for the most outstanding junior. He has also captained the men’s Avenue A team which gained promotion to division 1. And was also selected to play men’s county cup and has been playing national club league for Taunton men.

Craig has an apprenticeship at the Avenue tennis club which has enabled to help him pass his first 2 coaching badges. Craig has now got a semi contract from Babolat for his coaching and is hoping a sponsorship in the pipeline will enable him to play Men’s British Tours, ITF’s, Futures and challengers events. 

Avenue Tennis Club Centenary Open Day will be held on Saturday 19^th September and will start from 11:00 am.  As with other Open Days the focus will be on FREE tennis coaching for all the family but head coach Vinny Duddy said this is our Centenary Open Day and we have therefore organised some other non sporting activities – with a Teddy Bears Picnic, a magic show and a bouncy castle.

On Sunday the 20^th Sep there will be a junior and adult tennis competition; anyone interested in playing please contact the office (01278 782758) – details can also be obtained from the Avenue’s website about events and coaching going on at the club – www.avenuetennis.com.

Head coach, Vinny Duddy, said Rhiannon is a very keen and promising young talent at the tennis club who is always very helpful and assists on the Nathan Edwards Academy helping with the coaching and providing hitting for the members of that Academy and for any members of the club. She is keen to take up a career in sport and will be joining the coaching team during the summer for her school work experience week.

Rhiannon also plays for the Avenue Tennis Club Ladies A team who play in Division 1 of the North Somerset Ladies Tennis League and who take on Victoria A of Street on 28th April in the first fixture of the new season. The Avenue Tennis Club have 4 ladies teams and 6 men’s teams, they are always looking for new members to join as either a social or playing member – for more details contact the office 01278 782758 or visit the website www.avenuetennis.co.uk.

Winners, after a hard-fought final at Winscombe tennis club, were  The Avenue’s own Craig Phillips and Jamie Allan, from Woodlands (Weston). They beat Charlie Hart and Dave Austin, from Lympsham.

Losing semi-finalists were Chris Wheeler and Jon Treen, from Woodlands, and Alastair Gregory, of Wedmore, and Greg Spink, tennis coach at Clifton College, Bristol.

A total of 12 pairs entered from seven clubs, with the youngest players aged just 12. The tournament organiser was Peter Hucker, chairman of Winscombe.