Just 15 hours after we had broken up for the Easter Holidays, 20 students (and three very tired, dedicated teachers) met at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 to check in to begin our Tennis Tour to Cadiz, Spain.
After a very sleepy flight to Gibraltar, we drove to the Iberostar Royal Andalus Hotel for a quick lunch and, in no time, we were on court. Acclimatising to the warm Spanish weather and running off four hours of sleep, we had a session centred around getting a feel for the courts and getting to know the Active Away coaches. The tennis programme for the week was the Jamie Murray doubles programme, focussing on movement around net and high intensity doubles play.
After some fiercely competitive doubles drills, baseline practice and a boarder line dangerous game of ‘Beat the Coaches’, we went back to the Hotel for some time by the pool. We soon discovered that the food at this hotel was going to become one of the best parts of the trip, and so dived into a delicious supper. It was straight to bed, as an early start and 3 days of vigorous tennis was calling.
Bright and early the next morning, a brave few ventured down the beach for an early morning 5k with Mr Hayes (shout out to Phoebe, Eline, Rose and Isabella) before a quick breakfast and off to the courts.
Each day on court introduced a new aspect of doubles play, starting with deep baseline rallying, perfecting the ‘V’ cross court shot and positioning on court. Monday moved into net play and volleying, especially interceptions and movement from the next player. Finally, the week finished with a highly competitive Calne vs Rugby match, where we implemented all the techniques and tactics we had been taught the past few days.
Off court, everyone enjoyed the pool and the evening activities, especially the late night dancing in the hotel lobby.
It was such a wonderful trip to kick off the tennis season. Thank you so much to Mr Hayes, Miss Pollitt and Miss Cox who not only woke up at 01:15 on Saturday morning to get to Heathrow, but put on the best tennis trip we could have asked for.
‘I really enjoyed the school tennis trip, especially relaxing in the sun, playing tennis and getting to know students from younger year groups. One of my favourite moments was getting lots of people in the hotel up and dancing, which made the trip even more memorable!’ Octavia, Lower Sixth
‘The tennis trip was incredible. We would do skills work in the mornings, mainly focusing on volleying and movement at the net, and in the afternoons we would do match play. Every evening we would do a chilled activity which was always so much fun, my favourite being the Calne vs Rugby activity.’ Esme, Lower Sixth
‘Our re-launched, all singing and all dancing (literally), tennis tour using Active Away’s Jamie Murray Coaching Programme could not have got off to a better start, once we arrived at Heathrow that is. With the best weather in Europe for the five days we were in Cadiz, we could not have been more fortunate.
I would like to thank every pupil for their contributions on this trip. From beginning to end, I couldn’t have been prouder to call them our pupils. The feedback from the Active Away coaching team, staff and guests of the hotel was so positive due to our pupil’s behaviour, confidence, politeness and dance moves. Bringing energy and enthusiasm both on and off court really made this trip stand out for all the right reasons. I hope to see as many pupils as possible on next year’s trip to Paphos, Cyprus. Look out for details coming out shortly,’ Mr Hayes, Director of Tennis.
Eve J, Lower Sixth
