Coup Droit wrote:

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My questions are:


And Ali Gray is 24? Is that a college extension thingy?

And Max Carrier is there because?

And Katie Swan has never been on any of the programmes?

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dodrade wrote:

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Has anyone seen the LTA's latest campaign to get kids interested in the sport?

www.lta.org.uk/play/parents-area/tennisables/

To be honest they seem rather ugly to me, A fit and healthy Jack and Emma winning regularly would probably do more to promote tennis to youngsters than some badly designed mascots.

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 I watched one of the videos, actually started off quite promising with Jack and Emma, then went rapidly downhill  Wonder if they got feedback from their target audience? I suspect not.

I wonder how much the LTA payed for the campaign? Could probably have got a bunch of college students to design something better for a fraction of the price!
 

Heres what ChatGPT had to say 

To design a video that will catch the attention of children and get them interested in playing tennis at the grass roots level, you can consider incorporating the following ideas:

1. Use bright colors and lively animations: Children are generally attracted to bright colors and lively animations. Therefore, you can use bright colors like yellow, green, and pink that are similar to tennis balls and create animations that are fun and engaging.

2. Highlight the benefits of playing tennis: In the video, you can showcase the various benefits of playing tennis such as improved fitness, hand-eye coordination, and strategic thinking. This will help children understand how playing tennis can be both fun and rewarding.

3. Feature relatable characters: You can create characters that are relatable to children and have characteristics that resemble tennis balls. For example, you could create characters that bounce around and have a fun personality.

4. Use music and sound effects: Incorporating music and sound effects can add to the overall appeal of the video. You can use upbeat, fun music and sound effects that mimic the sound of a tennis ball being hit or bouncing.

5. Show gameplay footage: Finally, you can include actual footage of children playing tennis at the grass roots level. This will give children an idea of what it looks and feels like to play tennis and can motivate them to try it out themselves.

By using these strategies, you can create a video that is visually appealing, informative, and entertaining, and that will capture the attention of children and get them excited about playing tennis at the grass roots level.

Growing our future sports stars
By grouping young sports players according to their biological maturity instead of their age, our research is levelling the playing field, helping top sports clubs to uncover hidden talent, reduce injuries and support the sports stars of the future.

- interesting idea (apologies if covered elsewhere). My friend lives in NZ and for years they have grouped junior rugby players by size and weight

Net benefits
One of the first big sporting collaborations for Cumming at Bath with this work was with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). In 2015, the LTA approached him with a problem: their brightest tennis prospects aged 14 15 were not going on to achieve on the tennis court and in competitions as they had envisaged they might.

They came to us with a clear problem. Why are some of our players just not progressing, what role was growth and maturation playing, and what could be done about it, Cumming explains. Enlisting the help of PhD student Gill Myburgh, the pair set about to solve the puzzle.

Their research - the first to look at the maturity status of elite junior tennis players in both males and females - again revealed that selection biases in tennis favoured early maturers. For girls, the challenge was even more acute. We could see the bias for early maturers but also the mechanisms underlying the bias. For girls that bias appeared even earlier, says Cumming.

That research investigated the influence of physical maturity on the identification and development of elite youth tennis players selected into the LTAs performance programmes. It also identified the potential benefits of periodically matching players by maturity status, rather than just age groups for training and competitions.

Her results have gone on to have a lasting impact with changes to practice and policy across British tennis. Cumming explains: This work really helped to inform practice and policy pertaining to the monitoring of growth and maturity of young tennis players. It gave the LTA a solution and a method to better identify and support early and late developers.

https://stories.bath.ac.uk/growing-our-future-sports-stars/index.html