GERRARD SOUGHT AS COACH

Press, Issue 30997, 1 March 1966, Page 20

GERRARD SOUGHT AS COACH

The Canterbury Lawn Tennis Association is keen to get L’. A. Gerrard as its official professional coach next season. A letter of invitation has already been written to Gerrard on the basis of discussions that were held with him when he attended the Gold Leaf tournament here two weeks ago.

In Auckland on Monday Gerrard indicated that he was considering taking up coaching as a professional either at the end of the year or at the end of next, depending on how well he did on this year’s tour overseas.

Gerrard will return from the tour in October and Canterbury would like to obtain his services then. One of the main aspects of Gerrard’s work would be under the Shell coaching

scheme. This season the Australian professional, L. Atkins, has spent two periods in Christchurch under this scheme, the first before Christmas, the second at present However, Atkins now owns squash courts in his home town of Adelaide and he will not return to New Zealand next season. He has already spent five seasons here as a coach. This means that Canterbury will have to look for a professional coach for the Shell scheme and Gerrard is considered an ideal prospect for this and after that on his own account. Gerrard, who spent a year in Christchurch a few years ago, is known to favour

the place and thinks that it has advantages for coaching in that there is not a Rrcat deal of rain in the winter. If Gerrard does not decide to change his status next season, then the association will be obliged to look for someone else at least in the meantime and the services of Atkins may well be sought to recommend another Australian coach.

Long-Term Plan

The secretary of the assoelation (Mr B. Crofts), who 13 responsible for the organisation of the Shell scheme, feels that a long-term plan could be put into operation with a full-time professional coach in Canterbury.

The coach could begin with groups of bov and girl players about 11 to 13 and attempt to take them right through to national senior standard. A similar scheme in Wellington took J. B Souter R. N. Hawkes and R. G. Clarke to national level.

This type of plan needs a good professional coach. Atkins is one who has convinced the association that such a scheme cannot be brought to fruition in five minutes. A five-year plan would be necessary with the initial players well chosen.

Such a plan could be tackled with Gerrard. It would be necessary to go to every centre in the province to find the players and to make the selection. A South Island example of this has been in Southland, where a professional coach, N. Hoskin, has found children in country districts who are now making their marks nationally with children from towns.

Gerrard has already had some success as an amateur coach with a group of lads at his club, Parnell. His physical training sessions, road work, as well as tennis practice attracted a great deal of attention in Auckland and the boys quickly reached a good standard. At the same time, the association may soon be able to open another avenue to a professional tennis coach—its associated squash rackets club which it is hoped will be in operation soon.