Wythall Tennis Club was voted club of the Year for 2009 by the Hereford and Worcester LTA. Club captain Kevin Turner received the award on behalf of the club.

It seemed fitting that the award was presented by Ian King who is President of the H&W LTA and past President of the LTA as Ian opened the new Clubhouse in 2000. We have a come a long way in those nine years and the committee is confident we can continue to improve.

As chairman Rob Spencer commented it has been a remarkable 12 months in Wythall Tennis Club’s history. Our achievement is an example to any rural tennis club what can be achieved.  In essence we offer everyone the chance to play tennis while borrowing a racket from us until they decide if the sport is for them.

A critical part of the award was the clubs work in providing tennis to the community at a realistic price.  A club coach ran an after school club at Woodrush Secondary School during the summer with the club providing tennis balls for the lessons and other coaching equipment if required.  At the Coppice Primary School there was a different challenge for the club. With facilities after school at a premium an after school course was not an option.  This was solved by a coach from the club coaching tennis in curriculum time as a PE lesson. Any expenses incurred by the coach were covered by the tennis club. This initiative began in April and ran until half term in October.  From these lessons many children began to attend the Saturday pay and play sessions.
The club now have 2 junior club nights a week coaching mini red – orange – green and improvers. Non members are welcome but pay a small surcharge and these are well attended. If anyone is interested please contact Kevin Turner on 01564 200282. The courses start again in February.

An example of how popular these initiatives have been was confirmed when the extended schools coordinator if from our attendance forms the club could quantify how many juniors from the local schools play at the club. This included non members who attended pay and play plus junior nights. The total was 83 which is proof the programme is working.

Roll on 2010!

Two of our mini red juniors, Jacob Cope aged 6 and Ruby Lee aged 7 are now being monitored by Matt Allen who is the Talent Coordinator for H&W LTA after impressing at an talent ID day earlier in the year. Both juniors are attending a further assessment in February and we wish them all the best with our full support for their progress.

In September Wythall Tennis Club became only the 9th Hereford and Worcester club to achieve the Clubmark accreditation.

What is Tennis Clubmark?

The KITEMARK for all sports clubs across the UK. The accreditation is the LTA’s quality assurance programme for clubs and is endorsed by Sports England.

Clubmark also proves Wythall Tennis Club as met the criteria set by Sports England, which is:

1.    Club development – building a strong future for the club focusing on young people
2.    Increasing membership – Addressing issues such as opportunities for all and child protection which gives parents confidence when choosing a club.
3.    Raised profile – Club listed on national database.
4.    Club for all – The club is committed to provide tennis for all ages and ability plus coaching is available for members and the community.

We are proud to achieve this award and prove Wythall are a club for everyone. Anyone interested in knowing more about the club contact us and I am confident we can assist you in enjoying tennis.

Kevin Turner. (Club Captain)

Saturday community “pay and play” sessions remain popular (10am-11am for juniors and 11am-12.30pm for junior improvers plus adults). These sessions are open to all and are ideal for children plus adults to either take up or return to the sport without committing to course fees. Rackets are made available by the club so that anyone can try out the sport before committing to purchase equipment.

Many thanks go to Roger Hill, Philip Todd and Andrew Wigley (pictured) for all their support on the Saturday sessions. Without theses volunteers we could not provide the service we do.

Wythall entered junior teams into the Hereford and Worcester league division 2. The mini red mixed for 8yrs and under was undefeated and won the league. The squad was Cameron Garland, Liam Harris, Jacob Cope, Ruby Lee and Alex Booker. The mixed mini orange for 9yrs played very well and finished 3rd only missing 2nd place by three points. The squad was Ellie Vale, Elizabeth Weatherup, Harry Beirne, Oliver Buckley, Joseph Burns and Sam Brown.

Ellie Vale, Harry Beirne, and Joseph Burns also qualified for the schools county finals when representing the Coppice Primary School. Junior members Chloe White and Alex Weatherup were in the Meadow Green school team which won a separate tournament held on the Woodrush courts.

All of these juniors are a credit to the club and their parents on and off the courts. This view was shared by our opponents who commented on their behavior and sportsmanship. Congratulations to all who took part!

In April the club held its “Road to Wimbledon” tournament sponsored by the LTA. The mini red mixed was won by Alex Booker who defeated Liam Harris in the final. There were excellent performances from Jacob Cope, Sophie Hobson and Ruby Lee. The mini orange boy’s final saw Harry Beirne beat Joseph Burns in a close final.   Ellie Vale won the mini orange girls final but Chloe White made her fight for every point in the closest final of the day.  The under 14 boy’s final was between Alex Benton and Harry Parker.  Harry was in control at 3-1 but Alex then fought back to 3-3. The seventh game saw both players have game points but Alex finally won this crucial game and went on to win the final. Both boys qualify for the county finals in June.

SATURDAY JUNE 13th   10am – 3pm

Test your skills against the new LTA tennis fun factory!
Games between parents and children (come on kids take them on!)
Games and drills for children only.
Moms and dads have a hit while the volunteers occupy the children.
Test yourself against a ball machine

£5 per family – adults are welcome for £3 with any juniors interested for £2. Rackets for all ages can be borrowed on the day. Maurice Robinson Sports will also be on site with bargains for all ages.

See you there!

Details of our coaching programmes for the year have now been announced. Available for juniors and adults, members and non-members alike.

Check out the coaching page for more information.

Enjoy being outdoors, keep fit, make new friends at Wythall Tennis Club.

Our small friendly tennis club welcomes new members. Take advantage of 4 outdoor courts in the grounds of Wythall Park, regular social sessions and fun competitions, ladies evenings every Thursday, family and off peak membership schemes, coaching for all ages and abilities, and FREE tennis balls and floodlights!

Interested?

Why not try before you buy and come along to one of our social sessions at 2pm on any Wednesday or Sunday afternoon. Introductory fee of £2 refundable on joining.

In November Club Captain Kevin Turner received the LTA volunteer of the year award for Hereford and Worcester which was presented by county chairman Richard Herriman. The award was for volunteer work within the club and community. On receiving this honour Kevin said “I was proud to win the award but also it indicates Wythall Tennis Club is now being noticed. We are only a village club but a proud one and I am one of many volunteers.”