3 September 2013 | Tennis West

On Friday 26July, Tennis West went on a road show to the Pilbara region. After flying into Karratha on Friday morning, Community Tennis Officer Callum Ross went to Baynton West Primary School to promote Tennis Australia’s national program; MLC Tennis Hot Shots. Callum ran 3 coaching clinics and saw 60 children at the school, all of who were very excited at the opportunity to be coached in a sport that isn’t very prominent in the community. On Friday afternoon Callum delivered a two hour coaching clinic at Bulgarra Tennis Club in Karratha which was open to children of all ages. All 13 children who attended the clinics really enjoyed themselves and loved receiving their free gift; either a MLC Tennis Hot Shots hat or a SunSmart vibration dampener.

Callum drove out to Dampier Tennis Club on Saturday 27 July to deliver a junior coaching Clinic for two hours. The kids loved having a go and despite the lack of coaching in the area, there is definitely some potential for these kids to become great players. Trish McQuade, the vice president of the Dampier Tennis Club said:

 “It’s clear that there is a real need for coaches in this area, given the number of children we have had turning up to the clinics. The club is looking for a new coach so they could play in town rather than travelling to Karratha. We lost our local tennis coach last year, so we are currently on the lookout for a new coach to continue with the good work that the previous one put in”   

At the conclusion of the clinic Trish added:

 “It really does make a difference to our community when we have representatives of a state body including us on their calendar. We had a great turnout and all of the children had an absolute ball, while learning new tennis skills. Their smiles got even bigger when Coach Ross handed out MLC Tennis Hot Shots hats.”

On Saturday afternoon, Callum made his way back to Karratha to deliver an “Introduction to MLC Tennis Hot Shots Course”. The three club members from Bulgarra Tennis Club (Karratha) and Wickham Tennis Club took part in the 2hr course to further their education in the MLC Tennis Hot Shots program and effective delivery. Both clubs are now currently Community Play venues and Callum believes that with this extra knowledge in delivering the program, the kids will benefit greatly. After the course Callum delivered free private lessons to any children and adults who wanted to improve their game. There was a massive response to these lessons and all were thrilled to have had some coaching.

Sunday 28July saw Callum making one last stop at Wickham Tennis Club before returning to Perth. Carmen Moore, Community Play Coordinator and a participant at the “Intro to MLC Tennis Hot Shots” course, has been doing a fantastic job at Wickham Tennis Club which is evident in the quality of the players seen during the junior coaching clinic. After the clinic, all participants received an MLC Tennis Hot Shot branded hat for attending. Tennis West would like to thank everyone in the Pilbara region who assisted with this road show. With your support we made the visit a great success.