Tennis Coach Profiles
Director of Tennis
I first held a racquet at the age of three and was soon addicted to the sport. From there I went on to represent my county, Kent, aged nine. Growing up, my favourite player to watch was Andre Agassi and it is still my dream today to meet him in person and even play against him. At 18 years of age, I was one of five players to be selected to train in the PTR National Tennis Academy. For three years, I travelled the world playing in British Tours and Futures events. My playing career ended having reached a national ranking of 88.
I started my coaching career at David Lloyd in Raynes Park where I had the privilege of working with Andy Murray on three separate occasions. In 2002, aged 17, I qualified with the Association of British Tennis Officials (ABTO) and went on to umpire at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships. This is one of my proudest and fondest memories in my tennis career.
Since then, I have gained my coaching qualifications with the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). I have worked in many different club and school coaching programmes and coached all abilities from recreational to performance players. I was the individual coach of a player for five years who now has a national ranking of 87 and an U18 national ranking of 18. At the same time I worked with our club's U14 Boys' and Girls' teams who went on to become the Aegon National Champions in the same year. I joined St Mary’s Calne in 2012 and I have thoroughly enjoyed working in this school environment.
In January 2018, I was honoured to receive confirmation that I had passed my Level 5 Master Club Coach Award, the highest level of award with the LTA. Now that I have completed every level of the coaching awards, I am looking forward to completing a post-graduate qualification in the near future.
Professional Tennis Coach
Married with two children, I live in West Wiltshire. I have been coaching tennis for over 25 years, having been given a tennis racket for my birthday at the age of seven. My coaching career began as a volunteer at my local club, I then went on to attain LTA qualifications, USA qualifications and Spanish qualifications.
I have developed and implemented coaching programmes at several tennis clubs in Somerset and Wiltshire. For the previous nine years I was the assistant Head Coach at Chippenham Tennis Club. While there, I assisted in the development of a mini tennis programme, worked with the 14 & under County Girls squad, County 8 & under Boys squads, as well as beginner/improver groups for children and adults. I have several years' experience delivering disability tennis: blind tennis and learning disability tennis. I am also a tennis referee and run LTA-sanctioned tournaments.
Professional Tennis Coach
I started playing tennis at the age of 10, inspired by my father who played high-level club tennis for Middlesex. I competed at County and National level as a junior, winning the U18 and U21 Middlesex singles titles. I represented Middlesex at junior and senior level and played competitive tennis into my early 20s.
After I finished competing, I started to work in the leisure industry where I became a Weight Training Instructor and Lifeguard. I have been a full time Professional Tennis Coach for 28 years. I was the Director of Tennis at Lowlands Tennis Club in London for 25 years, where I established an extensive coaching programme for juniors and adults of all abilities. I have worked with beginner, county and national players, some of whom compete in British Tour events. I have introduced many young people into tennis and I am very proud that many are still playing today and some have become Professional Tennis Coaches along the way.
I am a Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) Level 4 qualified Tennis Coach and a Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) UK Academy Professional and I attend CPD to maintain my full coaching license.
My coaching philosophy at all levels is ‘always try your best’ and ‘enjoy the challenge,’ whether that be improving an aspect of your game or competing in a match.
Tennis Coach
My tennis journey began late in comparison to many, at the age of 12, however the game has inspired me. Playing for two years prior to coaching, I became aware of the technical, tactical, physiological and psychological elements that are associated with the sport. A semi-final at Wimbledon in 2010 fuelled my passion: Rafael Nadal vs Andy Murray. As a result of my desire to increase my tennis knowledge, I achieved both the Level 1 and Level 2 Qualifications in Tennis Coaching, inspiring me to complete the Level 3 Award. Coaching tennis has helped me to develop a variety of personal skills, such as confidence and self-esteem.
As a student graduating with a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science, I am consistent in my approach to applying knowledge of Anatomy, Physiology, Coaching and Biomechanics in the attempt of improving performance factors among young athletes. Further developing this, I am currently embarking on an MSc in Public Health through the University of Bristol. This Masters Degree involves studying the impact of physical activity, nutrition and epidemiology on the health of the generic public.
Tennis has provided me with the motivation to constantly better myself through continued professional development and my role within SMCTA is both challenging and rewarding!