As some of you may know, there is a major "Seniors" tournament going on in Turkey at the moment. Our friend Beechy is representing GB in the M45 category and I am pleased to report that they have topped their group after the RR stage and are into the semis.
So far they have beaten Finland and Ireland both 3-0 and today they beat the USA 2-1.
Beechy is "Played 4, Won 4". Life in the old dog yet
Glad you put that "Seniors" in quotes, BiS. 35-year-old "seniors" (the women's tournaments)? Consigns most of the UK to geriatric status, this wording does.
Semantics aside, nice to see Mr Beecher doing so well.
Managing /sponsoring JB to first player to be ranked no1 world ITF senior 35s men's single & Doubles
My first real venture into a combination of player sponsorship & mentoring was with retired pro Jason Barnett from Aberdeen
I started playing tennis at 41 in 2001 after taking by 2 sons now 25 & 26 for tennis lessons at Park Langley . Jason Barnett started coaching me in 2005 . He was not popular as the newcomer at park Langley tennis club regularly defeating their former club champs 6-0 6-0 . my grandfather was scots and I instantly clicked with the genius rom Aberdeen .
sadly JB as I nicknamed Jason had a huge talent but a lot of problems off court so it was very much a focus on getting Jason mentally right . He went to gain huge success defeating former top 200 players inspite of smoking 40 cigarettes per day .
commenced the quest at 36 and 2 years later and after 16 memorable tournaments a double bronze in 2011 individual world champs ( none of GB team for whom not selected got a medal ) and only Brit to win grade1 title in the 35s on clay !
this was clearly a player who should have been top 100 he had been unbeaten in Scotland as a junior for 7 years Around 2006/7 I shared a cab with Andy Murray's father who I quote as saying best GB player not to make top 100 . I asked Jason if after the disappointent of his pro career if he had any in filled ambitions as quick as a flash he said no1 world ITF senior 35s I said I will sponsor and manage you to do it .
The year he became no1 the head of Scottish tennis said how did you do it I said it was at times like pushing water up a hill but he had the talent and we had a lot of mutual respect . It was all about inspiring and respecting each other . Great memories and I hope lessons learned that youngsters like Marcus can benefit from .
My permanent back injury meant that I have problems with prolonged training but be coached and paired with me and I eventually achieve ITF senior doubles ranking 250 mens & 50 mixed in 2012 which pales into insignificance when you rember that he became the first man of any nationality to achieve the double no1 ITF senior men's singles & doubles .
Find me a jason barnett at 12-14 years and I will manage/mentor them to top 100 . I will know the talent when I see it ! Seen the talent in Marcus although been easier if involved at an earlier age but it's certainly not too late .
-- Edited by A1 tennis academy on Thursday 19th of March 2015 10:33:43 AM
-- Edited by A1 tennis academy on Thursday 19th of March 2015 10:51:04 AM
As some of you may know, there is a major "Seniors" tournament going on in Turkey at the moment. Our friend Beechy is representing GB in the M45 category and I am pleased to report that they have topped their group after the RR stage and are into the semis.
So far they have beaten Finland and Ireland both 3-0 and today they beat the USA 2-1.
Beechy is "Played 4, Won 4". Life in the old dog yet
Good luck to the team watch out for Spain . The 35's is the really tough one shame that Jason was not selected when GB no1 35s we could have won it in 2011. When I started managing sponsoring Marcus sadly JB withdrew from ITF seniors
I hope that he will make a return at the South of england in the summer
-- Edited by A1 tennis academy on Thursday 19th of March 2015 10:57:30 AM
Team GB get the semi-final win over Germany in the deciding doubles to move through to the final against France. Chance to put down a small marker for "that" tie against France later in the year.
