The 12 youngsters and their parents travelled up from Burnham by coach and then watched the game from the stands.  Duncan Keates – Manager of the Under 8′s said that they were treated really well and everyone had a great afternoon.  It all happended because we noticed on a website last year that young teams can apply to do this…….. what a day it lived up to all our expectations.

Jack and Owen train in the Mini Red Squad on a Friday evening and have both competed in Mini Red Competitions with Jack winning one.   Coaches, Craig and Vinny at the club both think they have great potential as tennis players and are certain that the hard training they put in on the tennis court is only going to help them become great footballers.

Head Coach, Vinny Duddy, said this is the second school we have had in for the morning at the tennis club and it is great fun.  It’s an adventure for the kids as they are coming out of their school environment and coming to our club where it is far easier to teach them.  We are hoping that by getting the kids to the tennis club we will encourage them to come back and get involved in the tennis squads which take place throughout the week.  I am really surprised that we have not had more local schools in Burnham who have all been invited to take up a morning of tennis coaching free of charge at the tennis club.

A NEW MEMBERSHIP offer is available to all new members joining during November – 5 MONTHS FOR THE PRICE OF 3 (so juniors under 10 will be charged £7.50 until the end of March, over 10’s £11.25, Adults £50, Families £90).

We will be having our Annual Xmas Lunch on Sunday 5^th Dec; all are welcome and should put their names up on the list in the clubhouse foyer.

The Avenue Tennis Club is a friendly, family oriented organisation whose members enjoy excellent facilities with 8 floodlit courts and a large clubhouse including bar facilities.  Friday nights is family night where members and non members are encouraged to come down to either the adult coaching or club doubles match play.  Junior members enjoy free organised fun tennis sessions for up to school year 3 from 6:30pm till 7:30pm, school year 4 and upwards from 7:30pm to 8:30pm.  School year 7+ members have organised match-play from 8:00pm.  If you want any details about membership or other coaching courses which run throughout the week then please contact Head Coach, Vinny Duddy on 01278 782758.

The Avenue Junior Tennis Academy players and some other promising junior tennis players at the club competed in the Xmas Academy Tournament 2009 which was held during the evenings of 14^th – 17^th Dec..  The winner of the event was Sam Stead, second was Will Jones with Tom Cashmore coming in third.  The event started with 14 players, all of whom were to play the best of three sets of seven games against each other which would have meant a potential total of  39 sets or 273 games.  Unfortunately a sickness bug and some last minute homework assignments meant 4 players were unable to complete the tournament. 

Head Coach, Vinny Duddy and Trainee Coach, Craig Phillips ran the event and were really pleased with the efforts made but were surprised with some of the results.  Both thought that the event gave the players a good insight into what qualities were needed to compete against other players in a tournament.  Both Duddy and Phillips were particularly grateful to the parents who brought their children to the club and thanked them for their support.

Pictured below are the players who competed in the event (Left to Right – Rob Horler, Will Jones, Tom Holder, Stu Kilmartin, Brad, Craig Phillips, Heather Duddy, Jessica Griffiths, Tom Cashmore, Billy May and Sam Stead in the forefront with his Babolat 12 racket bag that he won for winning the event).

Coaching at the Avenue will recommence in the New Year with Saturday Pay and Play from 9:00 in the morning, through the various ages groups until 2:30 in the afternoon.  Junior Academy and Squad Group Coaching will start on Monday 11^th January.  Adults intermediate and beginner classes will restart on Thursday 14^th Jan and Friday 15^th respectively. New Year is normally a time for sporting resolutions; so why not come the Tennis Club and give tennis a go; for those of you like a good work out but don’t particularly want to play a lot of tennis why not come down on a Thursday evening to the Cardio Sessions which will have you doing lots of hard work intermingled with hitting lots of tennis balls from 6:00 till 7:00pm.

The first social event of the New Year 2010 will be a Rabbie Burns night which will be held at the Tennis Club on Saturday 30^th January.  For those that do not like Haggis there will be a lovely Scottish Stew.  The three course Scottish meal will cost adults £7.50 and children £3.50; bookings can be made on the listing in the clubhouse foyer notice board.

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

The Avenue Tennis Club October Junior Tennis Camp was a complete success with quite a few new juniors coming to the club and getting involved with the coaching.  The camps are run throughout the year during the school holiday and focus on taking the youngsters through a variety of tennis shots.

The camp was run by Vinny Duddy with Barry Ramsden, Emily Rossiter, Rhiannon Parson and Heather Duddy and was split into the various LTA recommended ball groups of Red (up to 8 year olds), Orange – (8 to 10 year olds) and Yellow – (plus 10 year olds).  Head Coach Vinny Duddy said that camp was great fun because the weather was fantastic and the kids were really focused on learning to play better and worked really hard.

The Avenue Tennis Club is fully committed to following the LTA guidelines with respect to Junior Tennis Development Programmes and runs a variety of classes throughout the week and on Saturdays specifically for juniors of varying abilities – course timetable available on the website www.avenuetennis.com or contact the office (01278 782758), alternatively you can arrange individual lessons with any of the club’s coaches.

Details of what type of ball, court sizes, ages, etc can be found on the LTA’s website at the following address – www.lta.org.uk/Players/Juniors/ or you can give Vinny or Craig a call at the Tennis Club to discuss (01278 782758).

The next Sunday social tournament at the Avenue, in memory of Jan Mackay, will be run on 22^nd November; all are welcome to attend with matches starting around 11:00am.

An Xmas Family Lunch will be held on Sunday 29^th November from 12:30 pm with adults costing £10 and under 10’s £7 – if you wish to come then please contact Poo Jenkins on 01278 783396 or put your name and numbers required on the list in the club foyer.  The junior member’s Xmas Disco has been organized for Friday 18^th Dec from 18:00 till 21:00 with fun games and prizes available.

Dave was there to watch the kids and to give some feedback on LTA expectations of where the players should be with regard to their movement around the court, rallying, service and also how much training and time they should be putting into their development as tennis players.

Head coach, Vinny Duddy said the kids were fantastic and really enjoyed the two hour session.  He would also like to thank their head teachers for releasing them from their schools, in the morning, to participate in the session (Brent Knoll, Berrow and Mark).

The Avenue Tennis Club is fully committed to following the LTA guidelines with respect to Junior Tennis Development Programmes and runs a variety of classes throughout the week and on Saturdays specifically for juniors of varying abilities – course timetable available on the website www.avenuetennis.com or contact the office (01278 782758)

Details of what type of ball, court sizes, ages, etc can be found on the LTA’s website at the following address – www.lta.org.uk/Players/Juniors/ or you can give Vinny or Craig a call at the Tennis Club to discuss (01278 782758).

The next Sunday social tournament at the Avenue, in memory of Jan Mackay, will be run on 22^nd November; all are welcome to attend with matches starting around 11:00am.

Summary of Qualifications:

Achievements:

About me:

Football Team – Chelsea

Favourite food – Chinese chicken fried rice

Favourite Tennis Player - Roger Federer

Most embarrassing moment – When I was in year 5 at school I went on a school trip to the Isle of Wight, and when we got there my mate said “why don’t you try out the showers”. So I went in and had one and when I was in the shower the place where we were staying decided to do a practice fire drill. A teacher came in and got me and wouldn’t let me get changed so I had to walk out in front of everyone with just a towel wrapped around my waist, was so embarrassing!

We currently run a Tennis Academy at the club where the expectations of both the players and coaches are set at reaching County level standards.

Coaching takes place on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Friday and is 1.5 hours. Sessions are offered for 1, 2 3 and 4 times a week and with the charges reflecting the amount of sessions done. Costs can be obtained from the office (01278 782758).

Avenue Tennis Club Academy – Red Ball

During the month of September 10 the Avenue started a Red Ball Academy from players invited from the current Red Ball squads who showed an exceptional interest, were keen to learn, were willing to work hard  and who demonstrated a passion to become a great tennis player.

Players train together as a squad on Monday (5:00 – 6:00pm), Friday 5:30 – 6:30pm and have one individual hour per week.  If you think this is for your child please see a member of the coaching team or ring on 01278 782758.

Avenue Tennis Club Academy – NEW Orange Ball Squad

Avenue Orange Ball Academy Squad runs on Mondays (5:00 – 6:00) and Wednesday (5:30 – 6:30) with private individual sessions organised with the players coach  - anyone interested should contact the office on 01278 782758 for details.  If you would like to sponsor the Academy please contact Vinny at the office. 

Nathan Edwards Tennis Academy

The Nathan Edwards Tennis Academy was set up in memory of a talented youngster who was killed in a car accident on his way to tennis training in Bristol and is now run at the King Alfreds Sports Centre (see office for details).

The previous King Alfreds Tennis Academy

We are currently looking for an officer to take on the role of treasurer - please contact any of the committee to lodge an interest.

Committee Members

Co-Opted

 Ex Chairman – Gordon Hunter – We are always keen to have “more hands on deck” to help with the running of the club and welcome other Members’ applications to join the committee.

If you wish something to be raised at a committee meeting, we hold them around every 6 weeks and you can either discuss your issue with any of us or else contact us .

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.

Results for current and previous years can be obtained through the following link

http://www.nstl.org.uk/

CLUB SUMMER LEAGUE 2008 RESULTS

The Avenue had
mixed results in the Men’s and Ladies Somerset League this year.  The Men’s
Avenue B & C team and the ladies A team were promoted but the Men’s A and D
team were demoted together along with the Ladies B, C and D teams.

                          NORTH SOMERSET TENNIS LEAGUE

                                  MENS 1

 TEAM                 PLAYED     WON    RUBBERS     SETS     GAMES   �
POINTS

 BRIDGWATER A          10         9       33        68       237        86

 CLEVEDON A            10         9       30        64       185        82

 WOODLAND A            10         6       23        49        44        61

 VICTORIA A            10         2       18        37       -45        41

 CLEVEDON B            10         2        9        21      -188        25

 AVENUE A              10         2        7        15      -233        19

The men’s first team were badly depleted this year with lots of players coming to fill in for injuries and holidays.  Craig Phillips and Rob Sweet battled well in a very strong league with Glen Pigden having almost a different partner for most game he played in.

                                  MENS 5

 TEAM                 PLAYED     WON    RUBBERS     SETS     GAMES     POINTS

 AVENUE B              10         7       24        51        35        65

 CONGRESBURY A         10         6       20        46        -8        59

 WELLS C               10         5       20        48         8        58

 BRIDGWATER C          10         5       20        46        29        56

 BACKWELL B            10         5       22        45        36        55

 VICTORIA C            10         1       14        32      -100        35

The B team consisting of Simon Prior (Club Captain), Colin Christison, Richard Belfield, Colin Stead, Richard Mear and Brian Phillips did very well in stiff competition to win their league.

                                  MENS 6

 TEAM                 PLAYED     WON    RUBBERS     SETS     GAMES     POINTS

 AVENUE C              10        10       35        73       207        93

 BRENT KNOLL A         10         7       26        56       111        71

 CONGRESBURY B         10         5       24        56        59        67

 WESTON C               9         4       17        38        -3        46

 CHEDDAR B             10         1       11        27      -160        29

 WINSCOMBE B            9         1        4        13      -214        15

Avenue Mens' C team won Division 6 of the North Somerset Tennis League in style by beating their closest rivals, Brent Knoll A team, 8-2 in the final game of the season.  Both teams gained promotion with Avenue winning the league by a 22 point margin after maintaining an unbeaten record both home and away.  Pictured after their final win are (l-r) Darren Lloyd, James Goodall, Jacques Macinnes and Neil Darby.

                                  MENS 8

 TEAM                 PLAYED     WON    RUBBERS     SETS     GAMES     POINTS

 WOODLAND C            10         9       29        63       170        81

 WELLS D               10         8       24        56        32        72

 WEDMORE C             10         5       23        53        77        63

 BACKWELL C            10         4       19        40       -56        48

 AVENUE D              10         2       15        34       -74        38

 WRINGTON B            10         2       10        28      -149        32

The D team had a very inconsistent season and suffered from keeping the team pairs together.  Ian Phillips (Team Captain), Barry Ramsden, Ian Parrish, Ian Keane, Richard Meare, Lee Fowler, together with promising youngsters Nick Arnold and Tom Stevens.

                                MENS 10

TEAM                 PLAYED     WON    RUBBERS     SETS     GAMES     POINTS

 LYMPSHAM C             8         7       27        55       175        69

 CHEDDAR D              8         5       20        42        42        52

 WESTON E               8         5       16        37         6        47

 AVENUE E               8         3       12        29       -68        35

 WINSCOMBE C            8         0        5        18      -155        18

The E team fielded a large number of players with Captain Jeremy Trathen pleased with the efforts of his players, Fred Riordan, Gordon Hunter (Chairman), John Nicholson, Heinz Shroeder, Dave Vennall (Scooby), Lee Fowler, Paul Impey, Len Cameron (Bar Manager) and promising youngsters Jack Tonkin and Tom Blake.

                                LADIES 2

TEAM                 PLAYED     WON    RUBBERS     SETS     GAMES     POINTS

 VICTORIA A            10        10       26        59       109        79

 AVENUE A              10         8       27        57       122        73

 NAILSEA B             10         2       18        43       -40        47

 WOODLAND A             9         4       17        36       -13        44

 CHEDDAR B              9         3       17        36       -43        42

 WEDMORE A             10         2       11        26      -135        30

                                  LADIES 4

TEAM                 PLAYED     WON    RUBBERS     SETS     GAMES     POINTS

 CLEVEDON B            10         9       34        71       229        89

 BRIDGWATER C          10         9       33        69       198        87

 CONGRESBURY A         10         5       19        44       -18        54

 WEDMORE B             10         4       16        35       -59        43

 AVENUE B              10         2       13        35      -120        39

 WRINGTON B            10         1        5        11      -230        13

Avenue B ladies slipped out of division 4 represented by Wendy Price, Poo Jenkins, Jane Sanders, Issie Johnson, Kelly Anne Vennell and Ladies Captain Lyn O Dell.

                                  LADIES 5

TEAM                 PLAYED     WON    RUBBERS     SETS     GAMES     POINTS

 WELLS B               10         8       33        68       160        84

 AVENUE C              10         6       24        51        90        63

 LYMPSHAM A            10         6       21        51        -8        63

 WOODLAND B            10         5       21        47        22        57

 WEDMORE C             10         3       11        30      -115        36

 VICTORIA C            10         2       10        24      -149        28

Avenue C ladies were promoted, narrowly finishing ahead of Lympsham A.  The team were represented by Emma, Wendy Price, Jane Sanders, Poo Jenkins, Pat Hunter, Lyn O Dell.

                                  LADIES 7

TEAM                 PLAYED     WON    RUBBERS     SETS     GAMES     POINTS

 WESTON A              10        10       32        65       225        85

 CLEVEDON C            10         7       29        60       168        74

 BRENT KNOLL A         10         7       29        59       125        73

 WINSCOMBE C           10         3       15        36       -92        42

 VICTORIA D             9         1        7        17      -198        19

 AVENUE D               9         1        4        15      -228        17

The D Team came up against some experienced A teams in this division and struggled.  However the team fielded several new club players Julie Cameron (Club Membership Secretary), Jackie Whelaghan, Angela Marshfield along with experienced players Kay Rossiter and Shelley Bamsey

Mens and Ladies practice nights have recommenced at 6:30 on Mondays and Tuesdays  espectively; all are welcome to attend.

The Ladies A team returned to the first division led by Captain Emily Rossiter who partnered  young county player Nicole Priestman losing only 2 of 20 matches. Linda Matthews and Debbie Smith were the other successful pair, with Kelly Anne Vennell  playing on occasion.