Red Teams Dominate Tennis Edge Event

Two teams represented EA Tennis in the Tennis Edge team competition held at The Open Academy in Thorpe.

Both our teams beat strong Tennis Edge and Easton teams to set up a last round against each other. In the end the EA 1 team of Tom Signy, Louis Davis, Bobby Sheppard and Khesen Brown edged EA 2 (Ethan Terry, Harry Love, Jack O'Malley and George Parnell) by only 3 points.

EA Tennis Red Team Success

A young team from EA Tennis took part in the first Mini Tennis Red Team Event at the Open Academy in Norwich and came away with Gold thanks to some brilliant tennis!

The team of Ethan Terry, Tom Signy, Harry Love and Bobby Sheppard, who were a whole year younger than many of the other players, overcame strong opponents representing Easton College and Tennis Edge, based in Thorpe.

All four of the players managed to keep up their high standard of play throughout the afternoon and were rewarded with gold medals for their efforts.

Xmas Drinks Bottle Giveaway!

Merry Xmas everyone

With Christmas only around the corner and being the season of goodwill we would like to offer you a free EA Tennis drinks bottle when you sign up for our Christmas Camps.

Like every year we are running tennis camps for children aged 5 + at Recreation Road Sports Centre, Taverham tennis club, Wymondham TC and Dereham TC.

Our Christmas camps have a very festive feel and is an ideal way for your child/ren to get some final exercise before the big day arrives!

If you are worried about the cold weather, fear not! If the weather gets too cold, wet or snowy we have provisional booked indoor facilities so the Christmas camps will go on!

To register for the camp and claim your free drinks bottle email me directly at chris@eatennis.com

For more information or a booking form please visit the coaching section of our website

The Super Series Begins!

This week marks the launch of our new and exciting series of tournaments which we have called the Super Series.

The Super Series is a run of tournaments which is aimed exclusively to players within EA Tennis coaching programmes from around the county, therefore excluding high standard players who train within the academy.

The events will be contested within the following ages groups:

• Red 5 - 7 years old
• Orange 8 - 9 years old
• Green 10 - 11 years old
• Junior 12 - 14 years old
• Teen 15 - 18 years old

There are 6 events during this winter at each age group, players will gain points depending on where they finish in each event and the top 8 players will compete in the grand finals at the end of the Winter series.

The feedback to our coahces has been excellent so far with our players getting excited across all our venues!

The Super Series has been designed specifically for those players who attend coaching weekly, we want to give these players a focus to their lessons and what better way then to test their skills against other EA Tennis players from other clubs in fun and socialabe tournaments.

If you are interested in taking part speak to your coach who will have application forms ready for you.

October Half Term Tennis - enrol online!

This October half term we are running tennis camps and clinics in Wymondham, Taverham, Dereham, Eaton Park and Recreation Road.

We are now in our sixth year of holiday coaching and have seen over 6000 children in total. Our tennis camps remain hugely popular and have aided in the development of all our current stars.

To make life as easy as possible we have added a new method of signing up for all our coaching activity. Once registered on our redeveloped website you will be able to enrol online within a few minutes making enrolment quicker.

Using the link below sign up for some tennis this half term and try the new system....good or bad please let us have your feedback

For more info and to sign up: http://www.eatennis.com/camps.php

Tennis Camp Dates - 9.30 - 2.00 daily

The children will be placed in groups based on their ability and age where they will receive coaching and take part in some fun games. The camps are ideally aimed at children aged 5 - 12 years old with less than 3 years experience.

Wymondham Tennis Club - Mon 25th & Tue 26th October

Eaton Park - Wed 27th October

Recreation Road - Thu 28th & Fri 29th October

Dereham Tennis Club - Mon 25th & Tue 26th October

Taverham Tennis Club - Thu 28th & Fri 29th October

Tennis Clinic Dates

The clinics are aimed at slightly older and more experienced players then would attend the camps and is the next progression. On a clinic each player wil be worked more intensity and receive more in depth coaching to satisfy their playing level.

Wymondham Tennis Club - 25th, 26th and 27th October
2.30 - 4.30 pm (8 - 10 years old)
4.30 - 6.30 pm (11 - 16 years old)


We look forward to seeing you on court this half term!

County Championships round up

In the last week of August the Norfolk Closed Championships were held in Norwich to mark the end of the summer competitive season. It is a unique event in the calender as it is only open to players which live in Norfolk and one which EA players always compete in. The following are some notable highlights:

Under 8

Jack Gorman and Scott Whiting reached the Quarter Finals

Ewan Marshall reached the semi finals

Rocco Rizzo-Waters reached the final

George Self wins the event!

Milly Brooks finished third

Josie Jarvis wins the event!

Under 9

Cameron Whiting reached the semi finals

Under 12

Nathan Downes reached the quarter finals

Matthew Cott reached the semi finals

Alex McNaughton reached the final

Alex McNaughton and partner won the doubles event beating Matthew Cott and partner

Under 14

Maddie Brooks reached the semi finals

Maddie Brooks and partner won the doubles event!

Matthew Cott and Alex McNaughton both reached the quarter finals

Under 16 and 18

Michael Willgrass reached the quarter finals in both events

Under 25

Kris Jenkins wins the event!

Well done to all the EA Tennis players who competed in this event and especially to those who were victorious!

EA Tennis Camps and Clinics a real hit

This week was the last of our summer holiday activity after running tennis camps and clinics in Taverham, Wymondham, Norwich, Dereham and Harleston.

The team have worked really hard through the summer and have seen over 500 kids for coaching! The coaches had a great time running the camps and managed to identify some new talent, so watch this space!

We have been so lucky this summer with the weather, we had 25 days of tennis and we only had to cancel 1 day to the rain....who needs a roof!

Harvey Enjoys Wimbledon Experience

I was so lucky to have tickets to see this years Mens Finals at Wimbledon.I cant tell you how excited i was!

We were there early so wondered round to one of the outside courts where there was a demonstration going on by some of the children that train at the All England Club. Their coach asked me if i would like to join in.........i couldn't get on the court fast enough! We did lots of footwork and co ordination drills, some of the things we do in our squads.At the end of the session they let me keep one of the tennis balls we had been using.

I could of stayed longer but Mum had spotted that Rafa was warming up on the court next door so i had to go and watch. He was amazing! I managed to get right to the front, i was so close. The tennis balls were whizzing past as such a speed you could hardly see them and this was only a warm up.

We still had a while to wait before the final was due on so we had a good look round Wimbledon, even did some shopping! Haha.

We found our way to our seats and got ready to see Nadal and Berdych play for the title. Rafa looked really strong from the start and even though Tomas had a huge serve it didn't look like it was going to cause too much of a problem. There were not too many long rallies but the tennis was awesome, sometimes it was so difficult to see the ball.Berdych went on to lose in straight sets 3-6 5-7 4-6 I was pleased that Nadal had won as he is my favourite player.

After the final i really wanted to see more tennis, i was having such a great day. We went round to court 18 where a Mens senior invitational match was then going to start. We got a seat right on the side of the court so had a really good view of the game. Pat Cash and Mark Woodforde were up against Jeremy Bates and Anders Jarryd. It was so funny, they were doing lots of trick shots and talking to us in the crowd and being a bit silly. Even though they were having a bit of a laugh they still played some superb tennis and i could see how much they still enjoyed it. At the end of the match that Cash and Woodforde won i got to meet all four of them and they signed my new Wimbledon cap!

My day at the mens finals was really the best day i have ever had and i would love to be able to go again in the future.Thank you to EA tennis where i got my tickets through the ballot, it was a great experiance for me. I did and saw so much and it made me want to work even harder with my tennis!

Love takes Cromer Title

EA Coach Richard Love had a successful week at the Senior Cromer Championships winning the Over 35's title.

Despite a strong entry, Richard overcame the number 1 seed in the second round and the number 3 seed in the semi finals to set up a final against Robin Chipperfield who Richard had never beaten before.

Playing some of his best tennis of the week Richard won convincingly with the final score 6-2 6-3.

Richard now moves on to Devonshire Park, Eastbourne to represent Norfolk in the Over 35 County Championships, where a strong Norfolk team are hoping to gain promotion to group 3.

EA players shine in Surrey

EA players Michael Willgrass, Maddie Brooks, Alex McNaughton and Matthew Cott travelled to Surrey to take part in the Grade 3 tournament at St George's Hills for a week of competition and intensive training.

Historically this tournament has been of a very high standard and we knew the players mental & physical skills would be pushed to the limits. However with 6 months hard winter training behind them and some good form in local events coming into the tournament we were
quietly confident of getting some success.

Michael Willgrass competed in the boy's U16's and U18's. This was always going to be a big test for the self proclaimed 'mickster' as he is still only 15. Michael got an unfortunate draw in the U16's, after comfortably seeing off his lower rated opponent in the first round he found himself up against the number 2 seed. Michael competed hard and gave his all against his older, more experienced opponent before being outclassed and going down 6-3, 6-1. It was a similar story in the U18's as Michael was drawn against the number 5 seed. Again Mike gave
everything he had but in the end his opponent was just too strong - going down 6-2, 6-4. Michael was in no way disgraced and more than held his own against a player 4 ratings higher and a good deal taller than him!

Maddie Brooks also had tough draws in both of her singles events. This was to be expected as she is also a year young for the U14's and also competed in the U16's. Maddie however came into the event full of confidence after some impressive recent performances representing Norfolk at County Cup & beating some strong opponents in Aegon Team Tennis. The number 7 seed Brooks breezed through to the quarter finals of the U14's before bowing out to the number 1 seed in two tight sets. This proved to be no disgrace as her opponent got to the final of both the U14's & U16's girls events. Maddie again comfortably saw off her first round opponent in the U16's but then found herself up against the 4th seed. It was toe to toe in an extremely tight first
set but at 4-4 her opponent crucially edged ahead to take the set 6-4. This seemed to knock the wind out of Maddie and spurred her more experienced opponent on to steamroll the 2nd set 6-1.
Maddie also entered the U14 girl's doubles with Surrey's Olivia Berry. The girls were confident going into the event and so it proved as they battled all the way to the final, unfortunately they had to concede the final as Olivia was due to compete at the National Championships and their opponents refused to reschedule.

Matt Cott played in the under 12 event and was the highest seeded under 11 player at seed number 11 which was excellent considering he is in the first year of the age group. Matt had a tricky first match in blustery conditions against a very defensive player who played well. Matt was clearly showing a few nerves, with his older team mates watching, but focused hard and played cleverly to win 6-3 6-2. In the next round Matt faced a difficult player who was a year older and ranked higher. Matt struggled to keep up with the pace in the first set and was frustrated by his opponent but as the match went on Matt settled and competed hard to narrowly go down 6-4 in the second.

Matt was pleased with his performance but quickly turned his attention to next year when he would come back top of the age group and be looking to win the event!

Alex McNaughton was seeded number 2 in the boys under 12 event and cruised through the first three rounds without breaking into a sweat until the quarter final stage. Here he met Paul Monczakowski, who had defeated Alex in the final in Ipswich at half term, in a bad tempered affair Alex kept his head in a mature performance to come through 6-4 6-1. A good victory in the semis against a player ranked in the top 30 gave Alex a match up in the final against the highly rated Tiran Sanghera. Alex was clearly showing some nerves in the early stages of the match and let Tiran storm to a 4 - 0 lead but a battling fifth game gave Alex his first game in the match and inspired him to play some great tennis for the next 30 mins giving Alex set point at 40 -15 6 -5 up in the first set! But here Tiran showed some resolve and fought back to save the set points and then took the first set in a tie break 7 -4. The emotional effort to come back in the first set and then to lose was too much for Alex to cope with as he then faded away 6-1 in the second set....non the less Alex was delighted and felt he had made some great strides in his game to be able to mix it with some national standard players.

Alex had a second chance of a title by making the final of the doubles with Matt. After some long rain delays the boys finally went on to play the final against two players of a similar ability. By this stage it had been a really long week with a lot of tennis played and the performance in the final showed that, although the EA boys fought hard the quality wasn’t there so in the end they were defeated 6-3 7-6.

The trip was a huge success with the players gaining experience and knowledge during the week and all of them had some successful results

Bring on next year!

McNaugton takes the Cromer title

Alex McNaughton gets his summer started by winning the under 12 boys event at Cromer. Alex beat Taylor Hursthouse, a 7.2 from Nottingham, in a close final 7-6 6-4.

Well done Alex!

Cott wins Norfolk JCT

The Norfolk JCT took place at Easton College in which Matt was number 2 seed for the tournament.

A bye in the first round gave Matt a quarter final match against Tom Baker (Norfolk). At 3-3 both players were playing well and then Matt took the initiative to go 5-3 before taking the 1st set 6-4. Matt took the 2nd set 6-2 to set up a semi final with Ben Attle (Cambs).

In the semi final Matt looked more comfortable and proved to be the stronger player. He stormed through the match to take it 6-2,6-1 even though Ben was a year older.

This win took Matt to the final against William Cooke Wharton (Suffolk). William was the number 1 seed and has always proved himself to be a strong player. The pair had met several times in more than a year of tournaments and William had won every match. Matt would need to play to his very best to stand any chance of taking anything from the match. It would prove to be a good test to see how far Matt had improved having worked with the Norfolk Tennis Academy since September 2009.

At 5-2 to William in the 1st set it looked like history would be on Williams side. But Matt dug deep and managed to get to 5-4 before William found the way to take the next game to claim the 1st set. In the 2nd set Matt managed to put the 1st set to one side to go 4-2 up. It was looking good for Matt who was playing some of his best tennis. William fought back to 4-4 and seemed to be the more positive player before Matt called upon all of his match playing experience to power through the next two games to claim the 2nd set 6-4. This was sure to set up a nervous 3rd set match tie break. Matt seemed determined to alter history between the two players by storming to a 7-4 lead, they shared the next two points before Matt made sure of the victory with a 10-5 win.

After the match Matt described it as the best win of his young tennis career.

Spotlight on JJ!

It’s been a busy few months for EA Tennis rising star Josephine Jarvis. Josephine was recently selected to play for Norfolk Under 8’s for the first time, this feat is more impressive given that at the time she had not yet turned 7, making her a full year younger than all the other players in the team. Josephine and the other Norfolk girls (also comprising EA Tennis players Caitlin Parfitt and Millie Brooks) travelled down to Stevenage for an East Region Inter County event. This event pits the best Mini Red players from Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent against one another. Josephine had the daunting task of playing at number 3 (out of 6) and had 7 tough matches. However she more than held her own in a very strong field – winning 3 matches and narrowly losing 4 making her the most successful Norfolk player on the day.

Josephine also recently took part in a Mini Red County Talent Identification day. Each club in the county selects their strongest children born in 2003 to come along to a day of fitness and tennis tests. The day was run by Warren Sawyer who is the Talent Performance Co-ordinator for the East Region, his job is to identify and monitor the most gifted children in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge. Josephine obviously stood out on the day as she was one of only three children (and the only girl) to go through to the next round.

As part of the next round of talent identification Josephine was invited to attend a Regional Talent ID day in Stevenage and also a Regional Matchplay Event held at Culford Sports and Leisure Centre. Josephine was one of only 8 girls in the whole of the East Region to be invited to these events (and the only girl from Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge). Once again Josephine can be proud of her performances in both events and there was very little between any of the girls. It is obviously very early days but we think that Josephine is definitely one to watch for the future!

Josephine has been playing tennis for one year and currently trains as part of the Norfolk Tennis Academy under the guidance of EA Coaches Tom Kenny and Chris Evans. Josephine was spotted last year at one of our ‘Hotshot’ days at Taverham Tennis Club. These are free fun taster tennis sessions for 5 and 6 year olds with our team of coaches and assistants. As part of these sessions Chris and Tom are on the lookout for potential stars of the future. Particularly talented children may be offered a term’s free coaching, discounted individual lessons and like in Josephine’s case a scholarship to the Norfolk Tennis Academy. The EA Tennis Team will be coming to your area soon to run Hotshots days, if your child is 5 or 6 and would like to give tennis a try for the first time or you think they might have what it takes to be a rising star like Josephine then make sure you come along!

First Aegon Team Title goes to EA!

Two teams from EA Tennis took part in the Mini Red Aegon Team Tennis County competition held at Wensum Lodge in Norwich.

The EA Teams were made up of players playing in the Wymondham and Taverham programmes with the Taverham team made up of Josephine Jarvis, Rocco Rizzo-Waters, Cade Emerson and Samir Touhami and the Wymondham team of Caitlin Parfitt, Scott Whiting, Millie Brooks and George Self.

Both teams beat East Anglia tennis & Squach club into 3rd place setting up an all EA final. After the first 2 rounds of matches between the two teams EA Taverham had a 5-3 lead but Wymondham turned it all round to eventually clinch it 9-7.

Last year EA Tennis won 3 of the Aegon County Team Tennis events held and are aiming for even better this year!

Road to Wimbledon 2010

Parents and Players,

Every year EA Tennis hosts the Road to Wimbledon event, which begins with a closed club tournament and the winner going through to the county finals. The winner of the county finals then goes through to a national tournament representing EA Tennis at the All England Club, Wimbledon.

Last year Michael Willgrass, of EA Tennis, won the county event to qualify for the finals at Wimbledon and described it as the best tennis experience of his life! See the video clip below to see if you can spot him!

Our club tournament will take part on the 6th June, it will cost £8 to enter and the times and venue will be confirmed when we know the number of entries.

If you would like to take part in our RTW club tournament the only criteria is you are an EA Tennis player and were born between 1996 - 2000. To enter please email me back with the competitors name and date of birth.

This event is open to all EA Tennis players of all abilities....it is a chance to compete in a fun tournament, the more the better!

If you have any questions please let me know.

Regards

Chris Evans

The orange team win at Easton

EA Quartet power to victory.

Mini Orange team of Cameron Whiting, Harvey Lake, Emily Cott and Ewan Marshall were victorious at Easton College today taking 1st place.

In the 1st round EA only lost one match to be placed first in their group and so secured a draw to play for top spot or runners up. The team to join them there were Bannatynes with Easton 1 and Easton 2 playing for the 3rd and 4th places.

Cameron came up against Ben Harding and showed great form to take the match in 2 straight sets, winning with a score line of 10 - 5 10 - 6 It was a great match with both boys playing some good tennis.

Harvey was facing their number 2 and took a while to get into the match and lost the 1st set 5 - 10 He then seemed to move up a gear and showed that he meant business going on to take the next two sets 10 -5 10 - 5

Emily played a superb match to take the score for the team up to 3 - 0 and all was looking really positive. The event was tough for the only EA girl today as most of her matches were against boys but she showed great character to hold her own.

Ewan was the youngest of the team today and really showed he was up to the job! There were moments where the youngster had to really dig deep to keep on top of the opposition but he did this well.

In the final round the ‘Fab Four’ won all of their matches to come away wearing gold medals and feeling very proud!

They were a credit to themselves and their club, not only from their standard of tennis but for their exemplary behaviour.

Final places: EA Tennis 1st Bannatyne’s 2nd Easton 1 3rd Easton2 4th Acle 5th Thorpe 6th

EA adult sessions are up and running

EA Tennis parents braving the elements!

Dispite this winter being one of the coldest and whitest in EA history, many parents and friends have dug out their tracksuits and joined our coaches for our new adult sessions.

Players ranging from complete beginners to seasoned club players have been enjoying these new sessions, many with different goals to achieve. Some are playing to shed a few pounds after their festive indulgences, some to improve their tactical and technical knowledge, but most just because they love the game.

If you are reading this and thinking you would like to be part of the action, please find details of our current sessions below:

• · Wymondham Tennis Club, Ketts Park – Thursdays 9:30 – 11am

• · Eaton Park, South Park Avenue – Tuesday 9:30 – 11am

The sessions are on a pay and play basis at a rate of £6.00 per session, there is no commitment, you can just turn up on the day and play.

Maddie takes the under 14 and 16 titles in Ipswich

Maddie Brooks proved the class act at the Ipswich Sports Centres Christmas Tournament by taking both the under 14 and 16 girls singles events.

Since September 2009 Maddie has stepped up her training programme, working with the Norfolk Tennis Academy, and this showed in a tournament where she dominated her opponents. In the 14s event she breezed through to the final, overpowering her opponents, only dropping 2 games on the way. In the final Maddie continued her fine form winning the first set 6-0, in the second set things got a little tighter but Mad held her nerve to come through 6-3.

Competing in the under 16 event, Maddie was potentially 3 years younger then the opposition and this showed with some tough matches, especially in the semi final where Maddie faced Sophia Papworth. Maddie took the first set 6-3 but was shaken in the second set losing it 6-4 and as they went into the deciding tie break Sophia played some of her best tennis to lead 6-2, only needing 10 to win, but here is where Maddie showed her fighting spirit and improved fitness to battle back to win the tie break 10-6 reeling off 8 points in a row!

In the final Maddie faced Charlotte Hillyard which was an opponent she had never beaten before so it was a good test to see how far she had come. Maddie has always been a big match player and once again this was proven with a comprehensive victory 6-0, 6-3.

Congratulations to Mad, a great week!

Harvey and Cameron shine at Easton

This weekend was the Norfolk County Orange tournament hosted by Easton Tennis Centre.

The boys draw consisted of eight players from 3 different counties. Harvey Lake and Cameron Whiting were both there to represent EA Tennis.

Both players won their opening matches in straight sets with comparative ease.

In the next round the EA boys had some very tough opponants to face. Cameron played some great tennis but lost out in the end to Harry Wendleken of Cambridge.

Harvey found himself facing one of Culford's top players, Max Adams, but after a close 1st set which Lake took 10-9 he moved up a gear to take the 2nd 10-5 and win in straight sets.

Whiting then went on to play a thrilling 3 set match which he won securing the 3rd place.

Harvey met Wendelken in the final and continued to show some great form. In the end Harry just took the win from Harvey in the 3rd set.

Well done to both boys...next time gold!

Fine Performances from EA Minis

EA Tennis hosted another Mini Tennis Red Individual competition at Wensum Lodge in Norwich, giving players a great chance to get back into competing after a Christmas break lengthened by the snowy weather.

The event was won by Albert Salimov from Esporta Club in Norwich who beat an ever-improving Jack Gorman in the final. EA Tennis players took the 3rd and 4th places with Cade Emerson beating Millie Brooks 10-9 in the play-off match.

A special mention must go out to the parents of the players who had to endure a very cold sports hall to watch their budding superstars.

Players wanting to enter the next event at Esporta on 24th January need to visit the Competitions page on the eatennis.com website.