LAWN TENNIS

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 84, 9 April 1938, Page 11

LAWN TENNIS

COACHING OF JUNIORS

The importance of the use of films in the coaching of players was stressed in the report of the junior advisory committee presented at last nights meeting of the Wellington Lawn Tennis Association. Films had been made showing smashes, faults, notable players and tactics, and these had been greatly appreciated, particularly by the older players, it was stated. The younger ones had not been quite so keen. Coaching had been carried out in primary schools, where the films had been shown, and much interest had been displayed. A number of the coaches who had signified their intention of giving their services had later dropped out, and the committee had been understaffed, continued the report. Next year it would be necessary to pick coaches who would guarantee to carry on. Some of the juniors who had been picked for coaching had shown little enthusiasm. It was suggested that the ideal scheme would be for each club to have a representative among the coaches who could carry on the tuition of the juniors belonging to his club during the week. • . . Mr. W. Stirling, a member of the junior advisory committee, reported on the use of films. He had'shown the juniors various types of strokes, he said, but when they attempted them and found their cultivation difficult they had dropped the idea of changing their style. During the process of the change, Mr. Stirling said, the players' standards dropped and they generally went back to their old manner of play. A number of players were inclined to look up to the leading players in their clubs and .copied them—even to their faults. He thought that coaching should not stop at the age of 18, but should be continued until at least 21, as. players with more mature minds were better able to appreciate the value of increasing their strokes. He suggested that the coaching of four or six of the best players should be continued after they were 18, and that these players should be trained in the manner of the Nunnelly Casket or Wilding Shield teams. He felt that they would never win the casket or the shield with the present teams. They would have to coach their juniors, and he suggested that something be done on the lines of the overseas schemes. The chairman agreed that coaching should not stop when a player was 18. Four or six juniors should be carried on to receive more intensive tuition. Although these players would have a good idea of tennis, they would still have weaknesses which could be rectified. __^_