Are you looking for ways of making your club or programme stand out? Innovation, Imagination and Initiative are the keys to success. Here are ten dynamic ideas you can use which are guaranteed to give you an unbelievable advantage!
1. JUNIOR ATP / WTA TOURNAMENT
For ten years we have operated a ‘Junior ATP Tournament’ at Christmas time. This has been run as a mixed 12 & Under event and each player, instead of using their own name, plays under the name of a leading ATP or WTA player! The children are given stickers to wear and are referred to that name throughout.
We use a personal address system and incorporate commentary and press interviews. As an added bonus, we have got the ATP Tour European Office to provide the prizes each time.
Hint: make sure that whoever you think the eventual winner might be plays under the name of ‘Tim Henman’ or ‘Andy Murray' etc. That way you get a British triumph every time!
2. CLINICS TO MUSIC
This is an underrated medium and particularly effective in squad training. You can get a good outdoor cassette and personal address system from an educational supplier for about £200. Use motivational tracks such as ‘Eye of the Tiger’, although anything with a lively beat will do.
Virtually everyone will relax and perform better when accompanied by music they like. Those readers old enough to remember Ivan Lendl may recall he had a sound system set by his private court and always practiced to music.
3. FANTASY TENNIS LEAGUE
This can be a great point of interest for clubs in particular. Appoint four team captains and provide a list of club members with suggested ‘values’. The captain must then pick teams according to a set ‘budget’ and matches are then played out. Formats can vary but we’ve always incorporated singles plus stipulations that all of the squad players must be used at least once, minimum number of juniors, female players, etc. This is a good event for the ‘off season’ after your league matches have finished.
4. ‘TOP GUN’ JUNIOR CAMPS
Jazz up your holiday programme by offering a really tough activity week for better standard players. If these are during tournament time, offer them on a daily basis so the players can combine both. To make these really effective you’ll need:
- a low pupil/teacher ratio
- assistants who can feed well and give lots of verbal encouragement
- a basketful of balls on each court
We add in extra activities such as uni-hoc or handball plus lots of competitive on-court situations!
5. SPECIAL CHALLENGE MATCHES
We all love the big occasion and the chance to emulate top athletes. Events which have both atmosphere and a ‘raison d’etre’ can become an essential part of your annual programmes as well as bonus for your bar and catering. Some of the common themes we have tried, are listed here
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Annual exchange fixture with club/centre in another part of the country. All clubs should consider this type of ‘training’ arrangement. At Liverpool we have solid connections with clubs in both Great Britain and abroad which have proved really worthwhile.
Matches with other coaching squads/inter-league matches. Featuring representative sides from one group/area of clubs against another e.g. we initiated a 20 a side Wirral v. Liverpool annual fixture.
Local derby. How about a one-off annual challenge match against your biggest local rivals. Get a local business to donate a trophy or the clubs could initiate one to honour a long serving member.
6. WALL OF FAME
This is a key on-going motivational tool. Set aside a wall of the club which will be devoted entirely to members who have achieved special distinctions, who will have a photograph with a caption describing their achievements.
The Liverpool Wall of Fame was open to juniors who have been Lancashire or Cheshire age group champions plus seniors who have given outstanding service to our Community Tennis Programme. Other ideas can include an annual photo of the club tournament winners or club teams who have won league or divisional championships.
7. AWARD EVENINGS
Allied to the Hall of Fame is an annual evening to reward players efforts. Many coaches already do this, although the best I have seen was David Emery’s ‘Star Search’ Scheme formerly at Winchester LTC. Players accumulated points during the year to qualify for prizes which ranged from grips and stringing to visiting the Orange Bowl tournament in Florida.
Award ceremonies offer a very good public relations opportunity to show parents some payback for their commitment. Categories can include most improved players, sportsmanship awards, etc, or possibly gold, silver and bronze certificates for various levels of attainment. You should be able to get prizes from the local sports shops in return for exposure/mention on the night.
8. SENIOR/OLDER JUNIOR MINI TENNIS TOURNAMENTS AND MATCHES
A good feature in the winter months, especially for the clubs with squash sections. Used as a training aid, Mini Tennis is remarkably effective and great for fitness. Try to use tennis ball size sponge balls as the larger ones are too unwieldy. Also avoid doubles – it only really works for singles. We hare regularly use this on wet days to keep our older juniors active. If you don’t have access to indoor courts at your own club, ask at your local sports centre.
9. USE OF VIDEO RECORDERS
Already extensively used by performance coaches, this is also great for adult groups and ladies mornings as well as recording club events. One particularly successful activity during a junior camp was to have the children produce a five minute screen play demonstrating a particular stroke.
10. T-SHIRTS, T-SHIRTS AND MORE T-SHIRTS
On our office wall we have a collection of t-shirts from schemes and coaches around the world. The image they create is the first impression of what they advertise. Make sure yours are well-designed and colourful. A good screen-printed t-shirt can cost under £5 and remember it’s worth paying extra to get ‘dayglo’ colours which will make players want to wear them all the time. You can use t-shirts in many ways:
- Give to all who enrol in junior programmes
- Give to juniors when they join the club (more attractive than shoe tags)
- Give as tournament prizes
- Give with racket purchases over a certain figure (in which case the local retailer will invariably pay
for them)
- Give to pupils who book a course of individual lessons
Finally... make sure your image is complete by using dynamic titles which can catch the imagination for your activities (e.g. Rock Solid Award, Grand Slam Clinic, Top Gun Course, etc).
You can also use touches of humour – feeling that the word ‘beginner’ had a stigma which would be unattractive to potential participants, we hit upon the attractive title of LEPERS instead (it stands for ‘Less Experienced Players Enjoying Recreational Sport’). Alistair Higham adopted similar lines a few years ago when he launched NASTI (Nottingham Adult Social Tennis Improvers).
Use of such acronyms can be extremely effective but make sure they are ‘politically correct’ before starting!
Remember overall, that an imaginative programme is a successful and credible programme which players will want to be involved in. Get out there and make it happen!
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