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Issues from 1998
Issues from 1998
 
 
 
 

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Tennis future in young hands

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ABOVE: BOYS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE SUMMER TENNIS CAMP, WITH 1ST TENNIS COACH PETER OWEN AT LEFT.

The summer tennis season, played over two terms, presents a challenge, because just as the team begins to build momentum throughout the first three rounds, the year abruptly ends and the boys break for almost two months.

The 1st Tennis team ended 2014 with an excellent victory over Carey and a 2-1 winning record, so to restore the momentum and hit Term 1 well prepared, the cream of Scotch tennis talent was invited to train over two weeks in January. Although many boys had played tournaments and trained individually over the break, the camp provided an opportunity to reassess each boy’s progress, reinforce team values and gain valuable match practice against local and interstate schools.

The camp began on 19 January, coinciding with the excitement of the first day of the Australian Open. To further inspire the boys, the likes of Nick Kyrgios and the Bryan brothers were training on our magnificent Harvey Nicholson Courts, enabling our young, impressionable boys to witness the training ethic and intensity of world-class players.

With some of our key players involved in tournaments, players from the seconds, the Young Guns and the development squad had to step up and take on two powerful teams from Sydney. After falling behind in doubles against Riverview College on day one, the team stormed back in the singles to fall short narrowly by nine sets to 10. Two days later the boys had an absorbing battle against a combined team of boys from Yarra Valley Grammar and Ivanhoe Grammar.

The team then ventured with excitement and anticipation to Melbourne Park, securing excellent seats in Hisense Arena, and were enthralled by the amazing five-set blockbuster between Thanasi Kokkinakis and Sam Groth.

Our final challenge pitted us against a strong King’s School outfit from Sydney, which had recently trained at an academy in Spain. After many competitive battles involving up to 20 of our boys from Years 6 to 11, the honours were shared on the day.

Thanks go to the Serve and Volley team, which catered for our visitors and organised Scotch College pins for each boy to present to their respective opponents. The visiting teams and management were very grateful.

This very successful camp prepared the boys well for a highly competitive term of tennis. However, despite this excellent preparation, the second half of the season proved to be a testing period for our young 1st Tennis team, which although competitive, finished in the middle of the field after some close results. But it was a commendable effort in what was a rebuilding phase, with the team including only two Year 12 boys. In all, 15 boys played in the team during the season.

Jeremy Taylor’s (10LJ) performance in the 1st Tennis team was outstanding. Playing at number one, he won all games except one, and was also selected in the APS representative team. Also worthy of mention are Alex Joubert (9MH), Max Sinclair (8F), Kris Hyde (9MH – who played the last two games in the 1st team) and Rupert Mosley (8G – who played the last game). The future is in the young boys’ hands!

PETER OWEN – COACH OF 1ST TENNIS, AND KAREN KIMBER

Updated: 3 October 2016