The National Training Centre at Dublin City University hosted a Tennis Tens Blitz on 1st December. Three of Enniskillen Tennis Club’s junior members travelled down to attend it. All three were playing in the Under 8 category. This age group play on a much smaller court with modified tennis balls and size appropriate racquets. The emphasis in competition at this age is on playing lots of matches.
Children from all over Ireland were there. Enniskillen’s Aoibheann King, Kyle Deery and Rory Smith played incredibly well. Aoibheann played 5 matches in total and she won the majority of them. Her best tennis was brought out when she played a tough match against one of the best girls there, Mia Gavin from Ennis. She lost this very close match 8-10.In all her matches, Aoibheann played strong deep shots and tried to move her opponents about the court. Her trademark energy and enthusiasm are boundless!
Rory Smith only lost one of his six matches. His solid technical ability paired with his quick thinking on court led to a very strong performance in every match. Rory loves to come to the net to volley. He did this with good results. Despite his success, Rory’s only concern of the day was were he would be eating his dinner!
Kyle Deery won all six of his matches. His progress has been wonderful. His tactical awareness is his strength. At the end of one match his opponent hit a ball that was going out and thus lost the match. Kyle ran over to his coach, Louise McGann, and said with a big grin, “He shouldn’t have hit that!” (It was something Kyle used to do all the time).
Their coach Louise McGann is very proud of their performance and particularly pleased with their conduct both on and off court. These kids work hard in training but above all they love playing tennis. It is a great outcome for the hard work that Louise puts into the juniors at Enniskillen. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago she attended a PTR Junior Development course held in Belfast. She was thrilled to pass this at professional level. This is now added to her Adult Development at professional level. This continued growth in knowledge will certainly benefit all junior members at the club.
