Community Tennis Review - TIA UK

Tennis Industry
Grass Roots Development Review
Thursday 3 August, 2006
The Queen’s Club, from 2 – 3.30 pm
Guest Speaker
Sue Mappin, Sue Mappin Consultancy
BIOGRAPHY
Sue Mappin, former LTA National Women’s Team Manager and currently Director of the Cliff
Richard Tennis Foundation and a TIA UK Board member, is conducting a review into how
grass roots tennis is delivered in Britain.
She is uniquely placed to head up this comprehensive assessment of grass roots
programmes that involves wide-ranging consultations across the country with Government,
local authorities, schools and the commercial sector.
A self-employed leisure consultant with extensive connections in the sport and leisure
business, Sue was a Wimbledon semi-finalist who also represented Britain in the Federation
Cup and Wightman Cup.
She subsequently worked with the LTA with coaching schemes and encouraging young
people into tennis, and in 1990 was appointed by the Sports Council to the Coaching Review
Panel. She also has extensive broadcasting experience.
In 2003 she launched www.jobswithballs.com, the UK’s only sports focused online job search,
careers resource and marketing network, to meet increasing demand from jobseekers and
recruiters, both in the UK and abroad, and provide the sport and leisure industry with a
simple, yet highly cost effective, one-stop recruitment and marketing service.
SUMMARY NOTES
Henry Wancke, Chairman of the TIA UK, welcomed those present and asked Sue Mappin to
lead the meeting.
SUE MAPPIN: -
Thank you, Henry. I thought I should briefly outline the project which is called a ‘Grass Roots
Tennis Review’ which I prefer to refer to as Community Tennis, covering - children, adults and
people with disabilities.
It’s a large brief covering probably the most important area of the game, the base.
I rather liken it to a volcano… the lava (the performance player) needs to bubble furiously at
the base of the volcano before it has the energy to come pouring out of the top. I have to find
the way forward to get that cauldron bubbling again at all levels and also keep people in the
game even if they don’t aspire to the Performance level.
Tennis Industry Association UK Limited Phone 020 8249 3366
48 Braeside, Beckenham, Kent BR3 1SU Email info@tiauk.org Fax 020 8249 5669
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This involves CDOs (Club Development Officers), tennis managers, educators and a host of
other people.
My view is to compare tennis with other sports such as golf. As a child or an adult watching
Tiger Woods win might encourage me to play and this involves joining a club, but I can’t
because I have no handicap, rather like tennis!
The difference is I can go and play at the local Municipal Pay-&-Play golf course where there
is a golf pro and where I can hire clubs to play. He will explain the handicap system and offer
me group lessons to learn how to play. At the first group lesson the pro will hit a shot down
the fairway well over 250 yards because he is a low handicap golfer himself.
In fact I could stay there forever and become a scratch golfer!
Now, take tennis. If I watched Wimbledon and got equally inspired by Federer, Nadal and
Mauresmo, I can’t join a club for a host of reasons so I go down to the local park and there’s
the problem.
In this country 80% of players are not members of a club, they play in parks and usually only
once or twice a year around Wimbledon time.
They find no coach in the park, no competitive structure and so they give up until next
Wimbledon.
Most adults in this country have played tennis before but are ‘not very good’ and are not
encouraged.
And for kids there are so many alternatives and they are probably a lot easier than trying to
play tennis.
It really is all about community tennis. If 80% of adults could be persuaded to take up the
game on a regular basis and to compete locally our problems would be solved.
We have more park courts than any other European country but we are not using them,
although, of course, there are some good examples out there.
Why do we have Club Development Officers? They should be Community Tennis Officers.
The LTA pours money into clubs but the message from the coalface is that our system is way
too complicated with too many initiatives such as Play Tennis, Raw Tennis and so on and far
too few coaches at base level delivering sound technique.
We need the governing body to be supportive of the game, not a dictatorship.
The feeling is that the LTA needs to support good practice by rewarding it. Here’s an
example: Steve Riley’s Will to Win set-up in six London parks is a place where people want to
be. It has courts, coaching, a competitive structure, social events, a pro shop, café and so on.
This is good practice that has be good for the tennis industry too because more people
involved with the game spells more sales… the lava bubbles up!
And there is bad practice too. A young boy who had just started playing in Sussex, and
showed some ability was told he had to play at least 5 days a week and start travelling around
the country to play tournaments. He began playing because it was fun and suddenly it all
became far too serious so he gave up and moved on to cricket.
We have got to get the base right because by delivering a sound base we have something to
build on (back to the golfer!).
The LTA needs to support good practice and begin moving these examples around the
country.
I hope to propose that the governing body offers a support system for the game at community
level. We need more support and fewer initiatives and less paper!
I had the opportunity to go to Russia for two days to meet a Professor of Sport who was
recently was used by the Chinese to work with their tennis coaches, who now have produced
5 women in the top 100 and will probably win gold in the Beijing Olympics.
It was Anna who put together the Russian training programme in 1982 and you only have to
look at the players they have since produced to know it has been a success.
I am preparing a paper on the Russian visit which I am happy to share with you in due course.
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I took a look at the Spartak Tennis Club which has produced the likes of Kafelnikov, Safin,
Sharapova, Dementieva and so on. The club has 20 outdoor courts and just one indoor court,
even with a typical Russian winter! Every court had groups of up to 8 players playing on them.
Significantly there is no Mini Tennis in Russia – no special balls, no red, orange or green
balls, just old regular tennis balls!
There was a 4½ year-old girl there who could serve, smash, rally and volley, all with good
sound technique. What is more she will benefit from the same coach from start to finish one
who will travel to tournaments with her and plot her development.
Spartak has 20 coaches – one male and 19 women. It’s a different culture obviously, but I’m
sure we can learn from their successful system.
So, to sum up, our focus needs to be on community tennis and if the LTA can be persuaded
to act as a supporter of good practice, community tennis will see a growth for both the game
and the tennis industry.
Question and Answer Session
Henry Wancke
Sue Mappin
Henry Wancke
Ian Beswick
Sue Mappin
Henry Wancke
Sue Mappin
Henry Wancke
Sue Mappin
What is there at the LTA that we should hang onto or improved in
terms of existing programmes?
It all looks great on paper but it really isn’t happening. As I said, the
good initiatives need to be supported within their own environment.
Anna’s principle was never to pick out a child with ability until they
reached the age of 12. Youngsters in Russia stay in their groups
concentrating on agility and co-ordination skills and may not even hit
a ball for 80% of their lessons.
The LTA needs to offer support to the people and projects that are
already doing well.
I support everything you have said so far. The LTA do need to be
more supportive. The first thing people ask you when trying to launch
a new initiative is whether it is LTA approved, which to date has been
nigh impossible to get. Perhaps now we can get some meaningful
partnerships into tennis?
Can I ask if the Russians select by physical attributes in any way?
No, only when they get into the top squads do physical attributes
come into the equation.
Tennis is big out there. When you arrive at the airport there are
advertisements featuring tennis in some guise or another all over the
place. It’s one of the first things you notice.
What about tournaments in Russia?
They run tournaments every week but it is all very basic. Players call
their own lines, drag the courts themselves and so on. They just get
on with it.
They also run lots of tournaments for adults but this is not as big as it
is it, perhaps, in France or Belgium.
The LTA has never really focused on getting adults back playing
again, like they do in Holland, Spain and Sweden etc, where family
tennis is key.
Clearly the Russians are doing something right as they keep
producing the players!
So what you are suggesting is we focus on the ‘rusty rackets’
syndrome and get people playing again?
Precisely.
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Peter Risdon
Sue Mappin
Peter Risdon
Sue Mappin
Peter Risdon
Sue Mappin
Peter Risdon
Mini Tennis should be used as a teaching aid only and not as a be-all
and end-all.
Let’s start with the primary schools and get them competing within
the school, then introduce inter-school competition with mixed teams,
like a Little League, to create interest and demand.
There are no gimmicks in France where all the programmes are
sponsored by one company – BNP Paribas.
If you look at the USTA website there is nothing about producing a
great player. It’s all about health and fitness and socialising
Bob Johnson (Solo Sports – Prince), who couldn’t be here today,
says sales of tennis equipment and balls are down yet again.
From a brand’s point of view there are far too many schemes being
promoted as a so-called solution for growing the game.
He’s right. The tennis industry should want to be a part of all this
because if, say, Parks Tennis really took off, the opportunities would
be extraordinary.
You mentioned Wandsworth earlier. Are you aware of the Ron Gray
Ladder which is a competition run by one man that attracts masses
of players in the area? It started out in St George’s Park and is now
very successful, called the South London Tennis League?
I haven’t heard about that but I’ll make a note….
On another point, surely there must be some good use for old tennis
balls? Our club just throws dozens and dozens away…
We are looking for good examples with a view to getting behind
them. These sorts of initiatives deserve to be rewarded.
There’s a problem too with our coaches who struggle over the bad
winters and lose income.
Les Mellor That’s not actually true. I have coached fulltime over the past 10
winters without indoor facilities…
Sue Mappin
Henry Wancke
Sue Mappin
Just imagine, in Russia they only have one indoor court at the
Spartak Club and have far more severe winters than us. You don’t
hear the coaches making any excuses there. They just get on with it.
How are you proposing to approach the parks?
I have been checking out successful parks schemes such as Steve
Riley’s, Tony Hawk’s Free-for-All campaign, programmes in the
North East and Glasgow and others with a view to getting the LTA to
offer appropriate support.
Steve Riley’s Will to Win set up is interesting.
He has taken over the tennis in several Royal Parks, including Hyde
Park, Holland Park, Regents Park and Greenwich as well as in parks
in Chiswick and Ealing. Everything is computerised, with pro shops,
coffee shop, changing facilities and the places are buzzing. He wants
indoor courts in Ealing and this is where the LTA can be of positive
help.
I spoke to him about setting up a similar programme in Beeston as I’d
like to see the idea rolled out a bit. There is an ITI in Leeds, which is
located on the top of a hill with no bus service, and there are six
parks surrounding it. There are masses of kids in the area who would
play in these parks if they could become community tennis centres.
Some City Tennis Clubs seem to be working quite well but some are
not and need to be looked at. The key is to make people feel they
belong.
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Richard Jones
Sue Mappin
Richard Jones
Henry Wancke
Sue Mappin
Karen Fan
Sue Mappin
Les Mellor
Sue Mappin
Les Mellor
Sue Mappin
As we all know Wimbledon enthuses people and the age-old
question is how do we keep people’s interest in tennis for the rest of
the year?
Could the LTA offer direct support to schools during the month of
July to help sustain interest through until August? It would be a good
start…
That’s getting back to the LTA putting something on when the LTA’s
expertise should really be directed towards helping to put a
programme on by supporting it. What works well in Devon doesn’t
necessarily work well elsewhere.
People who like to work with large numbers at community level may
require assistance to help them deliver good technique at this level.
I’m talking about supporting through training of coaches, upgrading
facilities, paying for equipment and so on to enable them to continue.
Your comparison to golf is a good one. Tennis centres already exist
and there are many courts in the parks, which ties in with the
government’s initiative to re-generate park activities.
It is imperative to make sure that tennis continues to be played in the
parks as many courts are being converted to other use such as skate
boarding and so on.
You mentioned disability tennis…
I’ve spoken at some length to Sue Wolstenholme and Lynn Parker
and this is not an easy area. Coaches need specialist training,
especially for kids with learning disabilities.
We have made a start on this with the Cliff Richard Tennis Trail and
put together a training course for coaches so wherever we now visit
we are working with kids with disabilities. It is very rewarding for the
kids and the coaches.
We will be hosting the Para Olympics in 2012 and so must make
sure that we introduce kids to tennis. It is a fantastic opportunity for
them and I am hoping the British Tennis Foundation will accept the
challenge.
I am wondering how SMS can help? How do you rate the importance
of research in terms of measuring response to initiatives and so on?
We do a lot of work with tennis and such bodies as the LTA, ITF and
USTA, and some time back identified the ‘leaky bucket’ syndrome.
All feedback has value and we have to look at the problems from all
perspectives.
The USTA has Cardio-Tennis and Aces Tennis, both of which are
fantastic and it would be interesting to measure the impact of these.
I’m certainly interested in getting together with you, perhaps towards
the end of August?
With regard to Moscow, what do coaches over there see themselves
as?
The ones I met felt very much part of their club, they were proud to
be part of Spartak. The club has now been bought by a private
person so they were a bit unsure about their future.
My feeling is that coaching in this country needs to be promoted as a
respectable profession…
Interestingly, the Russian coaches had mostly come through the
junior ranks and so they had created their own apprenticeship
scheme, as has Steve Riley.
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Les Mellor
Sue Mappin
Henry Wancke
Sue Mappin
Barbara Wancke
Les Mellor
Unfortunately the ground rules for coaches keep changing at the
LTA. Is this part of your remit?
Well, in a way but there are no quick fixes for these things.
Will your recommendations to the LTA be based on existing
programmes then?
Why re-invent the wheel? Nigel Long, in Basingstoke, has produced
his own programme with the local authority and created his own
training programme alongside. It works.
The LTA has been the brand for far too long, when it should all be
about Tennis.
You mentioned Parklangley earlier. Here is a club that has taken
over all the local park courts in the area because its coaching
programme outstripped its own facilities.
It became a template in the LTA manuals, promoting 6 per group but
you have to be careful in setting a standard because everywhere is
different.
The LTA stopped recommending coaching rates about 10 years ago,
which has created problems because the paying public has no idea
what a coach is worth. That isn’t helpful.
Sue Mappin I have a friend whose daughter goes to ballet lessons and pays £6
an hour to be taught by a top ballerina. When she sends her son to
the local park, she gets charged £38 an hour for a coach who can’t
play… that doesn’t seem right.
Richard Jones
Sue Mappin
Richard Jones
Sue Mappin
Richard Jones
Henry Wancke
Sue Mappin
Henry Wancke
By the way, ballet is very good start for tennis because it teaches
balance and coordination.
I asked some Russian kids why they started playing tennis and
mostly it was because of their parents, most of whom played one
sport or another.
I corresponded with Ann Pankhurst some time ago about the type of
coaching materials she considered ‘good practice’ and she told me
this was not their role. I think it should be. If you can’t get good
practice advice from the LTA, who can you get it from?
If you go to the USTA website you will find lots of advice and
encouragement about involving people in the game.
The FFT in France produces a directory covering all products and
services related to tennis that is very helpful.
Can I see that?
I’ll get you a copy. It covers every aspect of running tennis in France.
Well, it has all been very enlightening and we really appreciate you
taking the time to discuss all this with us, Sue.
It’s clear that there is plenty more to say on this subject and I hope
that we can pass on further thoughts to you over the coming weeks.
Certainly. Please let me know of anyone who is doing a fantastic job
out there with a particular project.
On that note I’d like to thank you all, particularly you, Sue.
_________________________
Started: 14.15 Hours
Notes taken by Barbara Wancke
Ended: 15.40 Hours 08 August, 2006
Page 6 of 7

In Attendance
o Katie Alderman, SMS
o Paul Angell, Vantage Sport International Ltd
o Ian Beswick, TAB Services
o Jan Booth, Sunbaba
o Karen Fan, SMS
o Robert Fuller. The Silver Tennis Collection Ltd
o Richard Jones, The Tennis Gallery
o Mike Lynch, National Manager, BTCA
o Sue Mappin, The Cliff Richard Tennis Foundation
o Les Mellor, Treasurer, BTCA
o Peter Risdon, Celebrity Tennis Ltd
o Barbara Wancke, Tennis Interlink Ltd
o Henry Wancke, Tennis Today
Apologies received from
o Corinne Anysz, Love All
o Clive Asprey, Aldershot Tennis Centre
o Robert Boyd, sportsequip.co.uk
o John Bushell, SMS
o Dennis Cunnington, Tennis Today
o John Freeman, K-Swiss
o James Hawkins, Asics UK Ltd
o Bob Johnson, Solo Sports (Prince)
o Duncan Kettell, Milliken
o Gordon Lazenbury, Sportsense Ltd
o David Lloyd, President
o Peter Occleshaw, Life Vice President
o Irene Rhys-Evans, Robert Fuller Memorabilia
o Keith Sohl, Sutton Tennis Academy
o Sarah Swanick, Doe Sport Ltd
o Chris Trickey, SAPCA
o Ian Wood, Ian Wood Sports
o Keiichiro Yanagi, Yonex UK Ltd
Please feel free to contact Sue Mappin at the following address:
Sue Mappin
The Sue Mappin Consultancy
Harley House
PO Box 46C
Esher
Surrey
KT10 0RB
Tel: 01372 470648
Fax: 01372 470645
Email: sue.mappin@smcandassociates.com
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