Tennis trainee coaching course comes to Gunnedah

Twenty tennis enthusiasts converged at the Gunnedah courts last weekend to undertake a Tennis Australia trainee coaching course, as part of the Tennis Australia coaching development pathway.

The participants ranged from 15 to 55 years of age, as 11 were from Gunnedah while the others came from Narrabri, Tamworth and Armidale.

Tennis Australia coach developer Helen Magill and NSW coach relationship and education manager Matt Edwards conducted the course, designed to generate confidence and competence for participants to deliver the Hot Shots tennis program.

With Hot Shots having a Blue stage for pre-schoolers, a Red stage for five- to eight-year-olds, an Orange stage for eight- to 10-year-olds and a Green stage for those aged 10 and beyond, Helen said there were various strategies for each stage of player to encourage fun and enjoyment along with learning new skills through the ‘play to learn’ philosophy.

For the Blue stage, Helen said there might be creative storytelling to engage the youngsters while introducing important fundamental perceptual movement skills as foundations of tennis development.

Helen said last weekend was the first time Tennis Australia had brought the course to Gunnedah, while generally there was at least one trainee coaching course in each NSW regional area per year: Central West, North West, South West, South East, North East, and Northumberland.

“The North West is a real stronghold for country tennis, and it’s important to continue to grow and develop the coaching workforce throughout the North West and indeed right across NSW,” she said.

Helen said the trainee course prepared the coaches to lead Hot Shots activities, introduced them to the roles and responsibilities of a tennis coach, and taught them some basic coaching methods.

Helen, who is based in Parkes, was impressed with the dedication of the group of 20 in Gunnedah.

“They’re really keen, engaged in the program, and learning a lot that they’ll be able to take back into their own environments, and help develop the next generation of tennis players,” she said.