LTA Strategy

EddietheEagle · County player

LTA Strategy

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
Don't know if people saw this article a couple of months back about the new LTA hot-house academies:

www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2019/07/09/lawn-tennis-associations-plans-break-away-traditional-middle/

There are 15 students, aged 12-16, who will start training when the new school year begins. Seven will be based at Stirling University and eight at Loughborough University, on a package of coaching, sports science and overseas travel that has been estimated to come to at least £90,000 per annum, yet is only charged at £5,000 to the parents.

It includes three black, Asian and minority ethnic teenagers and one child who is the daughter of a London single mother, as tennis tries to break out of its traditional middle-class image.

Interestingly, the leading 16-year-old boys declined to apply for the LTAs new programmes. The lack of any track record for the academies was a factor in their collective decision, while parents and coaches are well aware that the LTAs previous attempts to centralise tennis development have tended to backfire.

These two academies are central to the LTA's attempts to grow our junior elite.

For those who are interested, at Stirling the coaching team has

Leonardo Azevedo

as head coach and the full team (Estaban Carill, Leon Smith, Colin Fleming...) can be found at:

https://www.lta.org.uk/about-us/in-your-area/tennis-scotland/tennis-scotland-university-of-stirling/meet-the-coaching-team/

https://www.lta.org.uk/about-us/tennis-news/news-and-opinion/general-news/2019/february/player-pathway-leonardo-azevedo-colin-fleming-esteban-carril-and-leon-smith-to-lead-coaching-team-in-stirling/

I don't know who the players are although I think that Henry Jefferson is one of them.

-- Edited by Coup Droit on Friday 20th of September 2019 07:38:33 PM

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Add:

I found all the players:

GB National Tennis Academy at the University of Stirling

Player Current Coach County

Henry Jefferson Ali Filmer Surrey
Sam Reeve Ben Haran Cheshire
Matthew Rankin David Brewer Scotland East
Hannah Read Jamie Fallis Hertfordshire
Hephzibah Oluwadare Jamie Fallis Hertfordshire
Millie Skelton Tom Loughton Yorkshire
Ella McDonald Jim Edgar Lancashire
Talia Neilson-Gatenby John Black Leicestershire

Loughborough University National Tennis Academy

Player Current Coach County

Eva Shaw John Black Nottinghamshire
Hugo Coquelin Luke Milligan Kent
Ranah Stoiber Neil Bamford Middlesex
Sophya Devas Paul Fisher Middlesex
Henry Searle Phillip Wagner Staffordshire
Luca Pow Gary Naughton Warwickshire
Given Roach Jamie Evans Middlesex
Kylie Bilchev Jeremy Cowley Suffolk

Tennpar · Strong Club Player

Coup Droit wrote:
Add:

I found all the players:

GB National Tennis Academy at the University of Stirling

Player Current Coach County

Henry Jefferson Ali Filmer Surrey
Sam Reeve Ben Haran Cheshire
Matthew Rankin David Brewer Scotland East
Hannah Read Jamie Fallis Hertfordshire
Hephzibah Oluwadare Jamie Fallis Hertfordshire
Millie Skelton Tom Loughton Yorkshire
Ella McDonald Jim Edgar Lancashire
Talia Neilson-Gatenby John Black Leicestershire

Loughborough University National Tennis Academy

Player Current Coach County

Eva Shaw John Black Nottinghamshire
Hugo Coquelin Luke Milligan Kent
Ranah Stoiber Neil Bamford Middlesex
Sophya Devas Paul Fisher Middlesex
Henry Searle Phillip Wagner Staffordshire
Luca Pow Gary Naughton Warwickshire
Given Roach Jamie Evans Middlesex
Kylie Bilchev Jeremy Cowley Suffolk

Edit idiot post of mine - helps if you read things properly, doh

-- Edited by Tennpar on Sunday 22nd of September 2019 06:30:42 PM

Otto · Social player

Simon Timson seems very certain these academies will work.

I still don't understand what is different about them this time.

EddietheEagle · County player

Otto wrote:
Simon Timson seems very certain these academies will work.
I still don't understand what is different about them this time.

I expect he's counting on his past performance in bobsleigh management or whatever it was.

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Martin Corrie has resigned due to a badly handled investigation on sexual misconduct of a coach back in the 90s that his committee led

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

JonH comes home wrote:
Martin Corrie has resigned due to a badly handled investigation on sexual misconduct of a coach back in the 90s that his committee led

Indeed but the LTA don't seem to have a problem with that....

@stu_fraser 3h3 hours ago

"Martin Corrie has resigned as LTA president with immediate effect and apologised for his part in the handling by the Hertfordshire LTA of a safeguarding allegation in 2004. Yet tomorrow he will stand for re-election to the ITF board as the LTA's nomination"

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Furthermore:

@stu_fraser
3h3 hours ago

The LTA say they "are deeply concerned about the governance of the sport, the role of the ITF in that and a number of recent decisions", yet have bizarrely decided to vote for incumbent David Haggerty in tomorrow's ITF presidential election.

indiana · Tennis legend

Is that original decisions or the decisions to reverse a lot of decisions?

Strongbow · All-time great

Dupicate post - it was at Roehampton but belongs here.

What we need is 4/5 15Ks to give the lower ranked players a chance - I know it'll never happen.

There is no point in Grade 1/2 players going into a 25K disbelief

Elegant Point · Satellite level

Coup Droit wrote:
JonH comes home wrote:
Martin Corrie has resigned due to a badly handled investigation on sexual misconduct of a coach back in the 90s that his committee led
Indeed but the LTA don't seem to have a problem with that....
@stu_fraser 3h3 hours ago
"Martin Corrie has resigned as LTA president with immediate effect and apologised for his part in the handling by the Hertfordshire LTA of a safeguarding allegation in 2004. Yet tomorrow he will stand for re-election to the ITF board as the LTA's nomination"

A source alleges it is linked to this case which ties in with the time lines - but supposition on their part and could be linked to another coach.Must be dreadful for the girl(s) concerned and their families as it is all being dragged up again..........

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1471497/Perverted-tennis-club-coach-jailed-for-seducing-pupil-of-15.html

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

It might be dreadful for the girls to have it dragged up again.

But as they are not named, and as the coach was found guilty, I think it serves a purpose to remind clubs, coaches, families, players etc. how important proper safeguards are, that things like this do happen and that, without overreacting, people should be aware. It's a public reminder, and important.

The Dan Sanders case is also truly shocking.

France has had several very high profile, awful cases too.

It's not a one-off event.

EddietheEagle · County player

A shameless, impenitent LTA are happy to apply traditional Church practice - quietly shipping any 'troublesome' priest on to another parish.

Hildas Uncle · Improver

EddietheEagle wrote:
Otto wrote:
Simon Timson seems very certain these academies will work.
I still don't understand what is different about them this time.
I expect he's counting on his past performance in bobsleigh management or whatever it was.

My biggest problem with the LTA's strategy for performance development lies more with there understanding of why they even have any performance players in the first instance.

If you take any individual performance player and consider why their name ended up on the table in the first place it comes back to the fact that their current environment and coaching team (plus other supporting individuals) has done enough to put them on the radar. They haven't got there due to an LTA policy, strategy or any other ideal but by virtue of what they're already surrounded by.
If the LTA feel that this individual can progress further then surely the process should revolve more around what the player is used to and not by yanking them out of an environment that works and placing them into the great unknown.
Wouldn't it make greater sense to support the player in their current environment and use the knowledge gained there to assess how to move forward.
The benefit also works two fold as the primary coach has the chance to evolve alongside their player.
If the "now knowledgeable" assessment clearly shows that the player can cope with the major shift in life of relocation then the academy idea has value.

My experience, albeit limited, clearly shows that with the right environment and consistency, ie. continuous knowledge of the players current evolutionary stage, some players can achieve far more than expected. Those players who may have flitted in and out of various "high performance centres" haven't obviously achieved the upper echelons of junior success.

The problem with the regimented academy route is that it doesn't easily allow for the fact that all kids are different.
Having watched an LTA coach use an exceptionally tough training approach with a player and be fairly certain that this style wouldn't have worked with several other players at the same site it just highlights the differences. The upshot of a full on approach was a catalyst to ongoing development of the player and continuing success at the highest levels of junior ITFs.

Support and not sacrifice perhaps?