The Avenue Tennis Club

Somerset Over 45’s lose to Bedfordshire

Vinny — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:21:47 +0000

Bedfordshire over 45’s turned up at the Avenue Tennis Club nearly 2 hours late after getting caught up in the first day of the summer holiday traffic to the south west. The gruelling journey did not affect the very experienced Beds Team who went on to win the match by 4 rubbers to 1 with Somerset winning one of the doubles matches. The Somerset team comprised Glen Pigden and Richard Belfield both from the Avenue together with James Buckle (Nether Stowey) and Neil Driver (Millfield). Due to the delayed start Avenue’s Head Coach Vinny Duddy, captain of the Somerset Over 45’s had to step in to the final doubles match as one of the home team had a prior arrangement that they could not get out of. Vinny said that after a full day coaching at Wellington it was not what he had thought he would be doing however he was pleased that he held serve in both sets that he and James Buckle lost. The Somerset Over 45’s will be in action again this weekend at the Avenue where they will be hosting Devon on Sunday 1Aug with the match starting around 1:00pm; the bar will be open so please come down and support your county side.

The Junior Tennis Camp is running during the first two weeks of the School Summer Holidays from Monday 26^th Jul to Friday 6^th Aug; details and application forms are available on the website www.avenuetennis.com; parents are advised to book early to avoid any disappointment.

Entry forms are available from the club or the website for the two August Open Tennis Tournaments for adults (11^th Aug – 15^th Aug) and juniors (16^th – 21^st Aug). The bar will be open during the tournaments serving hot and cold food so why not pop down and watch some good live tennis at the Avenue Tennis Club during your lunch breaks or during the day.

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

Sam takes the Match Play trophy again

Vinny — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:33:25 +0000

Pictured above is Somerset’s Number 1, Avenue Tennis Coach, Craig Phillips with Friday Night Junior Match Play winner Sam Stead. Sam, a member of the Avenue’s Junior Academy has won the trophy several times and in recognition of this Craig also gave him a life size poster of their tennis hero Rafael Nadal. Friday night match play has been going nearly two years now and will now be run by the juniors themselves (Jess Griffiths and Sam Stead) now that Craig has completed his two year apprenticeship. The Junior Match Play evening is for juniors who are 11+ and are members of the tennis club. During the month of July the club has a special new membership offer on (9 months for the price of 6) and for new juniors joining this month the price is £22.50 for the rest of the year to March 2011.

The club will be running it’s Junior Tennis Camp during the first two weeks of the School Summer Holidays from Monday 26^th Jul to Friday 6^th Aug; details and application forms are available on the website www.avenuetennis.com; parents are advised to book early to avoid any disappointment.

The club will be hosting the Somerset Over 45’s match against Bedfordshire on Saturday 24^th July from 2:00pm and all are welcome to attend and support the county side. Entry forms are available from the club or the website for the two August Open Tennis Tournaments for adults (11^th Aug – 15^th Aug) and juniors (16^th – 21^st Aug). The bar will be open during the tournaments serving hot and cold food so why not pop down and watch some good live tennis at the Avenue Tennis Club during your lunch breaks or during the day.

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

SUMMER HOLIDAY EVENING SQUADS??????

Vinny — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:10:49 +0000

We will be running evening Red, Orange and Yellow Ball squad training for those children who want to continue with their tennis training during the summer holidays

Red (5–6:30pm) – 26/7, 28/7, 2/8, 4/8, 9/8, 23/8 & 25/8

Orange (5–6:30 pm) – 27/7, 30/7, 3/8, 6/8, 10/8, 24/8, 27/8

Yellow – (6:30-8:30pm) – 26/7, 28/7, 2/8, 4/8, 9/8, 23/8, 25/8

	*Red / Orange*	*Red/Orange*	*Yellow*	*Yellow*
	*Members*	*Non Members*	*Members*	*Non Members*
*All 7 Sessions*	*£35.00*	*£42.00*	*£49.00*	*£56.00*

Please ring the club early to book your place and avoid disappointment 01278 782758 or e-mail Vinny (avenuetennisheadcoach@live.co.uk) – courses will only be run subject to minimum number of 6 players

www.avenuetennis.com

“So much more than a Tennis Club”

Summer Holiday Tennis Squads 2010 from for summer holiday eveing tennis squads

Work Experienced at the Avenue ?????????

Vinny — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:55:49 +0000

Pictured above is Somerset’s Number 1, Avenue Tennis Coach, Craig Phillips with Stuart Kilmartin and Jamie Hand from King Alfred’s School. Jamie and Stuart spent the first week of July helping out at the Tennis Club experiencing how the club works and manages courts and coaching. The previous week John Dibble and Brad House spent the week at the club too; working very hard tidying up at the tennis club for the club’s successful Open Day. All of the youngsters were taken out to assist with coaching at local schools and at the club and thoroughly enjoyed their time doing the coaching although some of the other jobs were not what they expected.

Head Coach, Vinny Duddy, said the lads on both weeks worked very hard and were a credit to their schools. Vinny said this is just another one of the initiatives at the club aimed at ensuring the club provides support within the community proving that it is “so much more than a tennis club”.

The club is running a Wimbledon new members deal during July where new members can join the club for the next 9 months for the price of 6. Effectively this means the cost per day for a new adult member is 36 pence (£100 per 9 months) with an under 10 being only 5 pence per day (£15 for 9 months) – new adults will receive 3 FREE group coaching session as part of the deal.

Avenue Open Day July 2010

Vinny — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:20:05 +0000

Head Coach Vinny Duddy said that the Avenue Tennis Club’s annual Open Day on Sunday 4^th July was a fantastic success with lots of new potential members, adults and juniors, coming to the club and having some coaching and fun with the Avenue’s coaching team. Starting at 10:30 Barry Ramsden and Craig Phillips took nearly 30 youngsters on court with the mini red balls (Under 8’s) and went through a series of racket and coordination skills finishing off with some fun games. Jamie Allen took the older kids on 2 courts with Vinny taking 12 adults onto the other 2 astro courts. Vinny wanted to thank the ladies from the club Poo Jenkins, Pat Hunter, Elaine Amos and Sue Parsons who worked extremely hard to provide all the attendees with hot food and drinks and some excellent strawberry cream teas. Club Chairman, Gordon Hunter looked after the bar and made his infoamous Pimms drink which went down a treat.

At 12:30 all the coaching stopped so that the Somerset Closed Finalists could play their match to find out who would be Somerset’s Number 1. Matt Barnard, Somerset Men’s Captain pictured on the right above took on the Avenue’s Coach, Craig Phillips from Brean in a really super hard hitting fast match. Matt used all his experience to make the match difficult for Craig but in the end Craig’s hard and accurate ground strokes proved too much with Craig running out as winner in two sets (6 v 3, 6 v 4). Matt and Craig were very considerate to the on lookers finishing their match just in time to watch Rafa Nadal take on Thomas Berdych on the Avenue’s large screen. Vinny passed on thanks to Tony Pryce Sports who sponsored the prize monies for the tournament and to Prince Rackets demosntrator Peter Clarke for their attendance at the club’s Open day.

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

CONGRATULATIONS TO DARREN AND LOUISE

Vinny — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:27:31 +0000

Congrats to Darren and Louise……………….

Will you marry me ???????? (I’m sure that Darren said please – glad to see that he could get down on his knee).

Will you marry me pretty please ?????

Oh – My Gawd !!!!!!!

Of course I will

Thank god for that

I need a beer or in Darren’s case a Diet Tango.

According to Darren their was a cheer from the crowd behind him – little did he realise that ………… please let me have your comments and we will add them to website.

Junior tennis leaders Competition Jun 2010

Vinny — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:35:56 +0000

Avenue Junior Tennis Leaders Alex Stead, Jessica Griffiths, Heather Duddy, Robert Horler and Sam Stead ran a Junior Tennis Competition at the Avenue Tennis Club to complete their LTA Tennis Leaders Award. Pictured in their LTA Tennis Leader Tee shirts with competition winner Harry Gough and Runner Up Josh Christison.

Head coach Vinny Duddy said the competition was a complete success and that he was very proud of all the tennis leaders who worked very well together as a team to run the competition, promote it within the school and then ensure that everything ran smoothly on the day. He was really pleased to see lots of new faces at the tennis club together with friends and family who came down to watch and support the kids competing. Vinny wanted to thank Alison and Cleo Stead who came and made some excellent hot pork rolls for the kids on the day.

The next major event at the Tennis Club will be the Open Day with FREE coaching and fun games organised by the club’s coaching team. The Somerset Men’s Closed final will be played at the club live from 12:30 and should be finished in time to watch the Wimbledon’s Men’s Final which will be shown on the large screen. The bar will be open serving Strawberries and Cream; club chairman Gordon Hunter will be providing his infamous Pimms cocktail to all who wish to partake.

The club will be running a Wimbledon new members deal during July where new members can join the club for the next 9 months for the price of 6. Effectively this means the cost per day for a new adult member is 36 pence with an under 10 being only 5 pence per day.

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 School Visits 2010

Vinny — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 08:22:17 +0000

Avenue Tennis Coaches Vinny Duddy and Craig Phillips have been very lucky with the weather during their visits to local schools and are certain that after the sessions they managed to ensure that all kids now know how much fun tennis can be and are hopeful that they will encourage some aspiring Andy Murrays to take up tennis at the Avenue, Brent Knoll and Lympsham Tennis Clubs.

The pair have visited East Brent, Berrow, Burnham Infants, Beechfields, Mark, St Andrews, St Josephs and will complete their last Tennis Taster Session of the year at Brent Knoll School on Tuesday 22^nd Jun.

The coaches took the kids through a variety of coordination games and racket skills ending the sessions off with fun games where time permitted. All the children were invited back to the Avenue Tennis Club for a FREE tennis session on either a Friday night (Vinny’s Minis) or to come along to one of the Saturday morning pay and play coaching sessions. Vinny thought the sessions were a great success and wanted to thank all the teachers and their assistants who came out onto the school’s playgrounds joining in with the kids and assisting on the day.

On Jun 23^rd the Avenue Tennis Club will host the Burnham on Sea Junior Tennis Cup and will provide the schools that attend with some further training which will finish off with an Inter School Competition which will see the winners heading off to Blackbrook in Taunton to compete in the Somerset School’s Junior Tennis Cup.

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).

England Win the World Cup at the Avenue

Vinny — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 08:17:55 +0000

Avenue Tennis Coach Craig Phillips and Avenue Junior Academy player Sam Stead pictured with club chairman Gordon Hunter won the Avenue’s World Cup Social Tennis Tournament on the day that England drew with the USA in their first group world cup match. Head coach Vinny Duddy organised the event and was really pleased that 26 players turned out for the event which was run as a mixed doubles with some of the junior Academy players mixing in.

The tournament started at 4 in the afternoon and was finished just before kick off so that the players, other members and friends of the club could sit down to watch the match on the club’s large screen. Avenue ladies Julie Cameron and Lynn O’Dell made some hot pork rolls and Poo Jenkins made the stuffing so that all watching the football were satisfied with the food if not with the English result.

All football fans are invited to come to the tennis club on Friday 18^th Jun to see if England can better the draw with the USA; hot pork rolls and food will be available; the club’s bar will be open.

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 Junior Tennis Leaders Award 2010

Vinny — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 08:12:49 +0000

The Junior Tennis Leaders Awards course was developed by the LTA to introduce and encourage more youngsters into getting more involved at their tennis clubs and is seen as the first step on a pathway towards a career in sport and more specifically in tennis. It is aimed at 13 to 16 Year olds with an interest in tennis and sport.

There are 4 modules which are intended to give the attendees some new skills and experience are:

Module 1 – Planning, Organisation and Communication

Understand the importance of planning

Recognise and be able to use effective communication skills

Understand the of good organisation on and off court

Put the skills into practice on court

Module 2 – Club Media and Communications

Under why media and communication are important to the clubs development

Be able to assist with/be responsible for media and communication tasks at the club

Module 3 – Playing Partner/Buddy Hitting

Know the attributes of a good buddy hitter

Know how to feed appropriately

Understand the 5 game situations

Learn how to feed in game based situations

Module 4 – Competition Assistant

Understand why competition is important

Be able to assist at a competition

6 teenagers from the Avenue Tennis Club took part and completed the English Lawn Tennis Association’s Junior Tennis Leaders Award. The junior tennis players, most from King Alfred’s, spent 3 Sundays and 1 Saturday evening taking part in 4 modules developed by the LTA.

Head coach, Vinny Duddy, ran the course and thought that all the juniors put in a lot of effort, concentration and personal time to take the course and was particularly pleased that 5 of 6 came from the Avenue’s own Tennis Academy. As well as doing the 4 modules the juniors are also expected to complete a minimum 18 hours volunteering in last 3 modules above. Vinny gave them some specific tasks for the Club Media and Communcations module and some excerts are shown in this article. They have been assisting the coaching staff with the weekday squad and weekend pay and play coaching (something all of them are finding very rewarding and great fun). For the last module the group decided to run a Junior Tennis Competition for 11 to 16 year olds at the Avenue. Now that they have completed their tasks they will be allowed to assist with the coaching at the tennis club, under the guidance of the coaches, and will charge for their time within the following guidelines.

Jessica Griffiths, Heather Duddy, Sam Stead, Robert Horler, Alex Stead and Rhiannon Parson (aleady approved as a Club hitter) have been given permission to offer their services as Buddy Hitters provided the undermentioned conditions are met and adhered to:

Buddy Hitters will only be able to offer this service to

Fully paid up members of the Avenue Tennis Club
Junior players on a club coaching programme
Have the players coach’s approval and assistance

Parents will be expected to

Ensure their children act in a proper and respectful way during their time on court and that they arrive and leave on times as agreed
Make a payment of at least £3 per hour to the Buddy Hitter on the day straight after the session has finished

Coaches will be expected to

Ensure that the Buddy Hitter is aware of what the player should be working on and have agreed it with the buddy hitter and player

Any problems should be taken up with the Head Coach

Following the success of this course Head Coach Vinny Duddy is planning to organise another course in Autumn and is expecting to have a further 12 juniors which will include some youngsters from Wellington Tennis Club where he coaches on a Saturday; if you wish to attend the course please contact him at the tennis club (01278 782758).

The Avenue Tennis Club will be holding its Annual Open Day on Sunday 4^th July 2010 starting at 10:30. A new membership deal will be available to all during the month of July which will include 3 FREE Group coaching sessions and 9 months membership for the price of 6.

The day will start with FREE coaching for all juniors and adults from 10:30 till 12:30. At 12:30 visitors and members will be able to either continue playing tennis on courts 5 – 8 or to watch the Somerset Closed Men’s Tennis Final live on Court 2 next to the club house.

During the day exhibitors from Tony Pryce Sports and Prince Rackets will be available to demonstrate and advise on new tennis rackets and sports wear. There will be Strawberries and Cream, Pimms, hot and cold food and the Avenue’s well stocked bar will be open to all throughout.

The Final of the Wimbledon Men’s Final will be shown on the large screen in the clubhouse and all are welcome to attend this.

Details of these 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).