La Mare Club revisit a former resource

THE La Mare Tennis Club is returning to its roots. The club based at La Mare de Carteret is behind a new scheme to teach the sport to Years 7-9 pupils at the secondary school, just as they did in the early days of the club.

'We're going back to our roots,' said the club coach, Richard Smeed.

'We're setting up an initiative to get more young people playing tennis. The club was started by Dave Stagg who was a master at the La Mare de Carteret and our strong links with the school have disappeared and we want to get them back.'

This week saw the start of a five-week course whereby Smeed will go in and coach the budding tennis players. It has been set up with the help of the school's head of PE, Mark Jones.

As the sessions are extra curricular, they will take place during the lunch break and have been supported by the Lawn Tennis Association.

The week following the end of the programme there will be an informal tournament at which the Channel Islands LTA development officer, Hugh Raymond, will be present to present the trophies.

'We're totally behind it and it's a great thing,' said Raymond.

'We're going to support it and we're sending over some balls and rackets. Most sporting bodies and not just tennis', are looking for clubs to link up with schools because if a club is with a school, the kids are more likely to stay in that sport.'

Smeed hopes that the initiative will grow and spread.

'This is a pilot scheme to see if it works and if does then we can broaden it to other schools,' said Smeed.

'Obviously we want to get as more kids involved in the sport. This is totally going back to the roots to make sure that we get a broader base for the sport.

'Tennis is a minority sport and it's not played at schools so the kids don't know how to get involved. When we finish, it gives them an entry into the sport.

'The good thing is we might find a budding little star.'