Watson heads to USA

STARLET Heather Watson has won a place at the exclusive Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida. The 12-year-old Ladies' College pupil will be following in some famous footsteps: previous academy attendees include Serena and Venus Williams, Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, Monica Seles and Anna Kournikova.

'It is an opportunity that was simply too good to miss,' said father Ian yesterday, who received confirmation or her place while Heather and Michelle, her mother, were at a tournament in the UK.

The multi-sport campus sits in 190 acres at Bradenton. The NBTA has 35 hard courts, 10 clay courts (including one red-clay court) and six indoor courts.

Also on the site are the David Leadbetter Golf Academy, the IMG Soccer Academy and baseball and basketball academies, as well as the International Performance Institute, a language school, a sports medicine centre and mental conditioning academy.

'The family went on holiday for two weeks, which included having Heather booked into the academy for one of its week-long courses,' said Mr Watson.

The Watsons arrived on a Wednesday; Heather was interviewed on the Friday and checked in on the Saturday with 30 other youngsters.

'Then we left her so she could see what the academy was like,' said Mr Watson.

'When we went back, the academy staff said that usually they had a long recruitment programme, but in Heather's case they wanted to offer her a place straight away.

'They gave us a letter and the first word on it was ?Congratulations?.'

Mrs Watson added: 'The staff there staff loved Heather's attitude; they said she was just so positive in life.'

'We were offered a provisional place while we were there and they asked that we make a decision before leaving the country.'

Heather impressed the staff on court as well, reaching the final of a competition while she was there.

'Heather entered a tournament; she got through the first round on the Friday morning and then the second round in the afternoon,' said Mr Watson.

'We had to check her in again for the semi-final on the Saturday; she was up against a big American girl, but she won 6-4, 6-1, so we had to go back again on the Sunday.

'But on the Sunday we were just a little bit late arriving - about five past nine for a nine o'clock start - but then they told us that we were actually an hour and five minutes late because the clocks had changed and we hadn't realised.

'Heather's opponent had waited for an hour before she'd left, so Heather had to forfeit the match.'

There was a final interview on the Wednesday after Heather had met all the coaches and the head teacher of the school.

'She's seen it all, she's been to the school, she's stayed in the dorms and there is not one thing that is not superb,' said her father.

On a typical day at the academy, Heather would start her schooling at 7.30am. After four-and-a-half hours' study, there is a 90min. lunch break, followed by four hours of tennis coaching, though that includes physical and mental training programmes.

The academy is keen to ensure that all students receive a well-rounded education.

'At the NBTA, we have dedicated our lives to the development of our students. We built this program based on three guiding principles: discipline, responsibility, and effort,' Bollettieri is quoted on the academy website.

'Our goal is to help every student reach his or her full potential, on and off the court. We do not just produce players, we build people. Yes, we build champions, but we are more interested in helping our students develop in all walks of life.

'Our track record is impressive, but the success has not been by accident. It takes years of hard work, planning, monitoring, evaluating and setting goals to develop every single player.'

'The NBTA staff prides itself on being the hardest-working, most innovative and dedicated staff in tennis. We have put everything in place for you to succeed. All you have to do is provide the will, the effort, the determination and the commitment.'

The family has wasted no time planning the return to the academy. Heather flies out on 25 August and after three days of pre-term induction, term starts in the first week of September.

Her stay runs for nine months, until 31 May 2005.

'Heather will be staying in America the whole time, although Ian and Michelle will be travelling out to see her.

The academy does offer sponsorship deals, though not for someone as young as Heather. Her father said that instead they had been offered last year's rates and had been offered help by the UK Lawn Tennis Association.

'Jeremy Bates, head of performance, has been in contact personally and he's backing us. We worked out that it would cost us no more than if we continued Heather's schooling here and sent her across to the UK for tournaments,' he added.