"To provide talented players with the help and support to achieve their potential,
through a comprehensive programme,
and aim to produce top county, national and international players"
The Hallamshire Academy of Tennis Performance programme a comprehensive strategy for developing the best young talent at the Club.
Our aim is to identify talented juniors and give tem a programme that will develop their all-round game and a professional attitude that will enable them to achieve their potential. Ultimately we are striving to produce county, national and international standard players.
Our programme covers all aspects performance a player needs to be aware of, from technical and tactical development to psychological support.
Through our funding we can help support players and parents and build a mentality and culture of professionalism with in our Club and Performance Programme.
Players will first of all be identified depending on criteria set out by the Head of Performance. This includes a recognised ITF Talent ID Assessment form, and criteria set out in the Hallamshire Academy Of Tennis Definition of Performance Document.
The guidelines set out in these documents have been researched by the LTA National performance centre and our coaches and will provide the base from which players, parents and coaches will begin planning a players career.
The Hallamshire Academy Of Tennis Performance Programme has 4 levels of funding. The level a player enters, depends on the specific criteria they fulfil.
At the start and end of each training block / coaching term, criteria is re-assessed, and the level of funding is allocated as players progress. This is reflected in their level of funding, just as if a player fails in their responsibilities this will reflect negatively in there level of funding, or even removal from the Performance Programme.
Squads: Players will be involved in the best possible group coaching. Their group allocation will depend on their Hallamshire Junior Club Rating Colour. A minimum of 2 squad sessions is required for a performance player to be involved in the Performance Programme. Additional group coaching is viewed as a positive, although players wishing to be considered for performance status at Hallamshire must have their individual coaching and hitting at Hallamshire. This is to ensure the Performance Coaches can plan and execute the individual's programme to the best of their ability.
Individual Coaching: Hallamshire's Performance Coaches are Dave Marray who is also the Head of Performance and Jason Torpey our Head of Development coaching. Performance players should preferably use one of these coaches, although Mark Eade and Mark Swinburn also work with our current Performance Players.
Performance Hitting: Hallamshire offer a hitting service for performance players. Our hitters are Mark Swinburn and Mike Wilkins. The hitting service is a vital part of the programme, which accelerates the standard of all our performance players. Hits can be arranged directly with the hitters.
Fitness: Our Fitness Programme has been a fantastic addition to the Performance Programme. The results of the sessions have been outstanding, with all the current Performance Players improving significantly during the past 6 months. Our qualified fitness trainer Patrick Scahill runs the sessions. Recently Patrick and Dave researched many current LTA and ATP recommended fitness programmes in addition to observation of techniques and discussion with top fitness consultants. All this was to bring as much quality as possible to our fitness programme.
Our programme is broken down into 4 blocks, which run throughout the year. Each block runs for a 3-month period with players being tested at the start and the end of each block. Our fitness trainer will write a report on each player then set goals for the next block.
Tournaments: Tournaments are of huge importance to any players and especially performance players. Depending on LTA Rating and LTA Ranking, playing the right level tournaments is essential. Players and Parents must be willing to travel to find the best tournaments and push themselves to play at the highest level possible.
Individual coaches and the Head of Performance can assist players and parents in tournament scheduling but it is also vital players and parents take a lead role in this process to create and understanding in what can be a sometimes confusing competitive structure.
The new LTA website is much improved when searching for tournaments at every level.
Players will be required to play the Yorkshire County Closed event plus team competitions for the Club at various times during the year.
Players will be given a small file or Performance Log Book, which will carry all the relevant information relating to their specific programme, from tournament planning to goal setting. This is to ensure that information is to hand for any players or coach to view when appropriate. If a player is invited to any County or National Training this information can be used to update the coaches taking these session to what players programme consists of.
For more details about Performance Tennis please contact :
Dave Marray, Head of Performance on 0114 266 2153
Hallamshire Tennis & Squash Club is a County Accredited Performance Club.
