Ruby: Runner Up NSTA Women’s Open

Ruby lost in the final of the NSTA Women’s Open Division this morning, Feb 26.  She played well throughout the tournament and had some great wins against older more experienced opponents.
The winner, Sarah Munroe however, was too strong. Great experience and represented Manly Lawn well.
Well done Ruby!
IMG_8607.jpg
Source: Peter Quigly

MLTC Newsletter – 21st Feb 2023

Manly Lawn Tennis Club Newsletter – 21st Feb 2023

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS THIS SATURDAY FEBRUARY 25

MENS 40+ DOUBLES AT NOON

MENS 60+ DOUBLES AT NOON

WOMENS 40+ DOUBLES AT 3PM

SUNDAY 26

COMBINED 100 MIXED AT 9AM

Last Saturday the Mens 60+ singles was won by Rob Muir in a round robin of 5 players. Richard Badham was runner up.

The Mens 40+ plus saw some tough sets in hot conditions. Fernando Alves won his pool as did Geoff Dunstan his pool. The final between them was a long struggle in very hot conditions and with Geoff leading 5-4, play was stopped as Geoff was feeling unwell.  Sportingly Fernando did not want to accept a forfeit so the title was shared. Both players will go down as joint winners in our records.

Fernando should be congratulated for his sportsmanship and club spirit. This is what the Club Championships are all about!  So well done Fernando.

Sunday saw The Hilton Mace Trophy decided in the Combined 100 Mens Doubles. Sean White/Ray Dummett won their pool as did Alec Badham with his old man Richard.  In a great final Alec and Richard survived a seesawing  set to win 6-4.  All 4 finalists then shared drinks afterwards in the clubhouse.

The Womens 100 plus doubles was then played with some close sets again. Krista Oates and Johanna Isherwood were the winners from five pairs.  Congratulations to them as I believe this is the first time they have paired together.

Several members asked me if I had checked birth certificates as all the ladies looked so young!

Killara Tennis Club has asked if any of our teams are interested in playing a practice match against them? Either at our courts or theirs.  Any Captain who is interested please contact me.

Good luck to all this weekend.
Denis Crowley.

 

TRIVIA FRIDAY 3 MARCH

Arrive 6.30pm pre drinks and pizza trivia will start at 7.30pm.

Cost:$15 per person, pay into MLTC account BSB 062-197 Account 1000 0562, include your name and Trivia

RSVP by Wednesday 1st March

For seating purposes, teams of 8 should be arranged between yourselves and advised prior to the evening at the following email; [email protected] (Michelle)

Best wishes,
Virginia
MLTC Secretary

www.manlylawn.com.au

MLTC Newsletter 17 Feb 2023

Manly Lawn Tennis Club Newsletter – 17 Feb 2023

TRIVIA FRIDAY 3 MARCH

Arrive 6.30pm pre drinks and pizza trivia will start at 7.30pm.

Cost:$15 per person, pay into MLTC account BSB 062-197 Account 1000 0562, include your name and Trivia

RSVP by Wednesday 1st March

Upon arrival you will receive a complementary beer, wine, cider or soft drink of your choice from the bar. Pizza will be provided. For seating purposes, teams of 8 should be arranged between yourselves and advised prior to the evening at the following email; [email protected] (Michelle)

BADGE TEAMS 2023

The Badge Teams have been selected and are listed on our website and the notice board.

In the Mens Teams some players have been rewarded for their high percentages by being upgraded to a higher team.  The selectors felt a few changes needed to be made from last year. The new members have been placed in the lower teams as they have not played Badge before and need to show the selectors their talent and if successful will be promoted next season.  Consistency is the key to success in Badge. So good luck to all our new members.

A few Mens teams are light on numbers. This is unavoidable as we also tried to keep some friends together and an extra team was created.  The new rules this year only allow 6 players to be listed in a team. Six reserves only can be added over the course of the season. So teams with more than six players need to add the extra player  as needed each week. You do this by notifying myself or Virginia.

Players can also play up or down the grades as long as the replacement player   has a UTR of no higher than .5 of the player he or she is replacing.

So a UTR of 6.5 in Division 8 can replace a player in Division 9 with a UTR of 6 for example. If  a player has no UTR, permission is needed from Tennis NSW. Virginia and I will do this. All Badge correspondence must be through Virginia and myself as delegates.

You can reserve multiple times up or down the grades but still remain a member of your original team. The 3 match rule has been scrapped.

You need to play 3 matches during the season to qualify for the finals. If a match is washed out, the players listed down to play will qualify as one of their 3 matches for finals.

The Captains need to be aware especially of these rules.

Keirle Park

Since we have 4 Womens Teams and 8 Mens Teams, we have to use Keirle Park for two matches each week.  All Teams except Womens 1 Team and Mens 1 and 2 Teams will play a match or two  at Keirle Park.

Two Social Courts will be available each Saturday from 11.30am to 2.30pm.

We will play the higher grades in the later time slots unless an early time is requested.

Badge begins April 29 and gradings will be available in mid march.

Practice courts will be made available on Saturdays and Sundays for Team Practice in March.

A lot of news here but if you read it twice it will be beneficial. All teams should be aware of the rules.

Good luck to all our Badge Teams this year ( And The Bulldogs In NRL)

 Denis Crowley Club Captain.

Best wishes,

Virginia
MLTC Secretary
www.manlylawn.com.au

 

MLTC Womens Badge Teams 2023

WOMENS BADGE TEAMS 2023

MLTC Women Team 1.

1.Caroline Bhaguandas
2. Nicola Bray
3. Ruby Quigley
4. Bryanne Crabb
5. Lisa Green
6 Janelle Loftus
7.Claudia Chan
8. Emily Peake

MLTC Team 2.

1. Kirsten Bruce
2. Virginia Longfellow
3. Sarah Bunting
4. Krista Oates
5. Carolina Pena y Lillo
6. Olivia Marietta

MLTC Team 3.

1. ChristineThompson (c)
2. Shelley Parsons
3. Philippa Campbell
4. Penny Myerscough
5 Sophie Scarhill
6. Larissa Scott

MLTC Team 4.

1. Noriko Goto
2. Kate Platter (c)
3. Melinda Gray
4. Nacelle Kinsey
5. Pamela Muir
6. Sally Hay
7. Erryn Patterson
8. Rosi Winn

Thursday Ladies Mid Week Badge

1.Jane Bailes
2. Barbara Lynch
3. Lindy Meakins
4. Erryn Patterson ©
5. Lisa Rush
6. Michelle Stevens
7. Melinda Gray

RESERVE POOL- SATURDAY BADGE

Francine Borg
Julia Gunn
Johanna Isherwood
Sue Robinson
Michelle Stevens
Suellen Taylor
Marina Quigley

RESERVE POOL – THURSDAY BADGE

Narelle Kinsley
Pamela Muir
Sue Robinson

MLTC Mens Badge Teams 2023

MLTC MENS BADGE 2023

17-Feb
Entry Id Name (First) Name (Last) Availability Team Grade
10553 Justin James Every Week 1 1
10563 Sven Sylvester Every Week 1
10569 Oliver Welch Every Week 1
10469 Cameron Green Every Fortnight 1
10556 Andrew Riminton Every Fortnight 1
10521 Sean White © Every Fortnight 1
10559 Sam Withell Every Fortnight 2 2
10522 Todd Maloney © Every Week 2
10526 Jono Walker Every Fortnight 2
10463 Stephen Nettleton Every Week 2
10505 Stephen Wilkins Every Week 2
10528 Warren Green Reserve Only 2
10449 Howard Smith © Every Week 3 3
10351 Bede Kirwan Every Week 3
10297 Daniel Glynn Every Week 3
10298 Vincent Lheure Every Week 3
10284 Sean Jobe Every Week 3
10560 Craig Withell Every Fortnight 3
10541 Geoff Dunstan © Every Week 4 3
10323 Fernando Videira Alves Every Week 4
10490 Jon Corney Every Fortnight 4
10310 Milton Da Rocha Every Fortnight 4
10491 Michael O’Connor Every Fortnight 4
10403 Craig Stevens © Every Week 5 4
10489 Shishir Das Every Week 5
10483 Rob Muir Every Week 5
10282 Justin Hooley Every Fortnight 5
10404 Jarryd Stevens Every Fortnight 5
10303 Sam Deuble Every Week 5
10313 Alec Badham Every Week 6 8
10311 Richard Badham Every Week 6
10290 Graham Burman Every Week 6
10278 Denis Crowley © Every Week 6
10292 Chris Diaz Every Week 6
10295 Tom Donald Every Week 6
10410 Hugo Stegmann Every Week 6
10567 Brodie Alizzi Every Week 7A 9
10402 Michael Beesley Every Week 7A
10557 Aidan Gillies Every Week 7A
10291 Richard Goulding Every Week 7A
10502 James Graham Every Week 7A
10289 Sylvain Vigneault © Every Week 7A
10508 Lachlan Carroll Every Week 7B 9
10411 Brett Luntz Every Week 7B
10433 Tom Roth Every Week 7B
10509 David Atkinson Every Fortnight 7B
10517 Peter Butcher Every Fortnight 7B
10507 Stuart Charlton Every Fortnight 7B
Tony Hamilton © Every Fortnight 7B
10423 Marsh Rightmier Every Fortnight 7B
10476 Larry Kirwan Reserve Only
10555 Gavin McVean Reserve Only
10570 Ben O’Connell Reserve Only 1
Daniel Rodirigues Reserve Only
Andre Migliari Reserve Only
Harry Faeste Reserve Only
Bosko Novakovic Reserve Only

Approved 16Feb23

 

 

Senior Club Championships Feb 18

Senior Club Championships

The Club Championships will be played this weekend Feb 18 19
Mens 40+Singles Noon Saturday
Mens 60+Singles Noon Saturday
Womens 40+ Singles 3pm Saturday
Social 2 courts most of the day
Sunday  Mens Combined 100 Doubles at 9am
Womens Combined 100 Doubles
11am start instead of 9am

 

 

MLTC Newsletter 14 Feb 23

Manly Lawn Tennis Club Newsletter 14 Feb, 2023

Happy Valentine’s Day! Lots in this one, please go all the way to the end.

Trivia Night Friday 3 March 6.30pm

Cost:$15 per person, pay into MLTC account BSB 062-197 Account 1000 0562, include your name and Trivia

RSVP by Wednesday 1st March

Upon arrival you will receive a complementary beer, wine, cider or soft drink of your choice from the bar. Pizza will be provided. For seating purposes, teams of 8 should be arranged between yourselves and advised prior to the evening at the following email; [email protected]

If anyone requires vegetarian or gluten free pizza please advise. Mobile phones are not permitted while Trivia is being run.

Hope as many members and partners can join us with what will be a fun filled night while getting to know new and existing members better.

Look forward to a great night

Cheers

Michelle – Social Secretary

Badge – What you need to do if you are playing Badge this year.

Teams will be entered into the upcoming Badge Season at the end of this week. You must have supplied your current UTR rating as it needs to be included with your entry, if you haven’t provided it, it may affect the grading of your team. Please follow the steps you need to complete a player profile. 

Unsure whether you have a Competitive Player Profile or whether your Universal Tennis Account is linked to your Tennis ID. Follow the steps below:

    • Note: If you do not have an account setup and unable to login, follow the step outlined HERE
  • If your UTR Rating appears below your profile you have a Competitive Player Profile
  • Otherwise, select the ‘ACTIVATE UTR RATING’ button located below your profile and either create a Universal Tennis Account or link your existing account. Follow the steps outlined HERE.

Aged Club Championships

The Club Championships will be played this weekend Feb 18 19
Mens 40+Singles Noon Saturday
Mens 60+Singles Noon Saturday
Womens 40+ Singles 3pm Saturday
Social 2 courts most of the day
Sunday  Mens Combined 100 Doubles at 9am
Womens Combined 100 Doubles
11am start instead of 9am
We only have 3 courts on Sunday
Badge Teams will be selected and published at the end of the week.
Denis Crowley
Club Captain
Ladies Doubles – Friday night 24th Feb
We just have a couple of spots left in our ladies doubles comp on Friday 24th Feb from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Please email your name and partner to [email protected] or call Sarah on 0432 719210 to book in.
Member’s Survey
Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the member’s survey – we appreciate your feedback very much. Once we’ve had chance to go through the responses, we’ll share the next steps.

Best wishes,

Virginia

MLTC Secretary

www.manlylawn.com.au

 

Tennis Parent’s Quiz | ATP

TENNIS / July 1990
By Stan Smith with Cindy Hahn
I’ve known a lot of parents in my life. As a junior player, I knew them as friends’ moms and dads. As Director of Coaching for the USTA, I work with fathers and mothers of our nation’s top juniors. And, as the Father of two racquet-wielding children, I am a tennis parent myself.
Jim Loehr, the sports psychologist who oversees the USTA’s sports science program, says “When I work with kids, the relationship with their parents and how it affects their tennis is always my number one concern”
Some parents do a wonderful job. Others make me wish there were remedial parent-training courses. But all struggle with the pressures junior tennis places on tennis parents:
Has our son outgrown his coach? Can we afford the airfare to the nationals? Is our daughter burning out?
There’s no course to teach you how to handle this enormous financial and emotional investment, nor is there any tried-and-true answer for even the most common questions. But I can share with you some guidelines that may help, based on the research of sports psychologists, USTA studies and my own experience.
First, to get a sense of how you rate as a tennis parent, take the quiz below, which is based on one in Loehr’s book, The Parent / Players Tennis Training Program.
Use the scale below for your answers.
5 = Always | 4 = Almost always | 3 = Sometimes | 2 = Almost never | 1 = Never
1) Do you coach your child?_______
2) Do you watch all your child’s matches?_______
3) Do you look nervous on the sidelines?_______
4) Do you treat your child differently when he/she wins?_______
5) Do you ignore your child’s bad behavior on the court?_______
6) Do you tell your child he’s being unrealistic when he talks about a pro career?_______
7) Do you believe your family’s standard of living has suffered because of the expense of your child’s tennis?_______
8) Do you think your child should give up other sports to concentrate on tennis?_______
Total up your score and refer to the chart below:
8-16 = Good Job, as a tennis parent, you are a pro
17-32 = Slight problem, work on your strategy and consistency
33-40 = Problem parent, re-learn the basics fast.
Tips to Improve your Performance

1) Be a Parent, Not a coach.

In the beginning, it’s great to be your child’s “coach” to introduce him to tennis. He will be more interested in tennis if the initial exposure comes from you because kids naturally want to do what their parents do.
However, eventually, the parent needs to hand the coaching duties to someone else. Most parents don’t have the technical knowledge to instruct their children. But more importantly, the roles of coach and parent are so conflictive that it is nearly impossible for one person to play both.
A coach’s job is to build strong tennis players, the coach must criticize and compliment based on performance. The parent’s job is to build a strong person; they must provide unconditional love that instills self-esteem in a child. For one person to tackle both of these jobs is a formidable task, and the results are often disastrous.

2) Watch no more than 75 % of your child’s matches.

Your child needs to learn that he is the only person who can control the events on the court. It will also give him the confidence to know he can compete without his parents watching.
I also feel parents should watch 25-50 % of their child’s practices. Practice is the coach’s domain, and he needs your absence to develop a relationship with your child. Your absence will also promote your child’s on-court independence.
Parents that watch too many practices are sending a subliminal message to their children that tennis is so important, that they have to be at everything about it. It can also show a lack of trust that the parents may have in the coach’s ability to get the job done.

3) Always look positive during a match

Your child inevitably will look over at you, and your body language can make or break his confidence. Always maintain a calm, confident air, even in the third set tiebreak. If your child sees you with your head in your hands or pacing nervously, his feeling of pressure will only become more intense.
I know it’s difficult because all parents are nervous about their children. Charting your child’s match can help (we recommend momentum charting). This will give the parent something to do with their hands and something constructive to take their mind off the on-court drama. The charted results may also be useful to the coach.

4) Keep an even keel.

You may feel elated by your child’s win or deflated by their loss, but don’t show either emotion too much. This will help them realize that losing isn’t the end of the world and that winning isn’t everything.
Always say something positive (that’s easy when he wins), but even if they lose, avoid the temptation of becoming the coach. Let the coach do that job at the next practice session. Something like “Bad Luck, you competed well, you can get them next time” would be a good thing to say after a loss.

5) Reprimand your child for on-court misbehavior.

If cheating, racquet throwing, or abusive language becomes a habit, take some dramatic action. Pull the child off the court and reprimand him. Make it understood that under no circumstances is that acceptable behavior. If you ignore this misbehavior you are condoning it – and that is failing your responsibility as a parent.

6) Let your child dream.

Never take away your child’s dream, as unrealistic as it might be. Dreams are the fuel that keeps young people striving, learning, and exploring.
If your child says he wants to be a pro someday, and it’s obvious that he doesn’t have what it takes, don’t say “You’re just not athletic enough”, instead say something like “That would be great, But first you need to work hard at getting a national ranking. Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, and other pro players all competed on the national level before making it to the pros”
By helping your child realize what he needs to achieve to reach the goal, gradually he will see pro tennis is not the right track. He will begin to revisit the dream finding alternatives that can be just as fulfilling and more realistic.

7) Explore financial options.

Loehr recently talked to a woman who took out a second mortgage on her house to pay \for her child’s tennis. That is clearly too much of a financial sacrifice. When a family’s standard of living is eroded because of tennis it places enormous pressure on the child, even if the subject is never spoken about. The child is likely to feel responsible to win because of the major sacrifices the family has made for his tennis.
If your child is very talented, there are two ways to support their tennis. Families, friends, or local businesses are often willing to sponsor a talented junior, but make sure out check out any possible NCAA rules before accepting money. The USTA is another avenue of possible financial assistance. Check with your USTA sectional office about any assistance programs for talented juniors.

8) Encourage your child to play other sports.

Usually, when junior players get older (around 14 years old) they will have to forgo other sports if they want to reach their full potential in tennis. Until then, they should play all sports they enjoy.
In 1987, when the USTA analyzed other countries’ tennis programs, it found that nearly all their best players played other sports until the age of 12 or 13, and many until 14 or 15. A child will only develop half to three-quarters of their athletic potential by playing only tennis. Also, distractions from tennis help keep burnout at bay.
My 11-year-old son, Ramsey, has played baseball (he is a pitcher) for the last three years. This year, my wife and I thought maybe he shouldn’t play so that he could concentrate on tennis. But we decided that he should continue baseball. The benefits of playing a team sport, combined with the eye-hand coordination baseball promotes, and the pressures of being a pitcher ultimately will help his tennis.
Tennis Parent’s Quiz – TennisDrills.tv https://tennisdrills.tv/tennis-parents-quiz/

MLTC Newsletter 2 Feb 2023

 Manly Lawn Tennis Club Newsletter – 2 Feb 2023

In this newsletter reminders for signing up for Club Champs and Badge. Trivia Night, Members’ survey.

Aged Club Championships – Entries close 12 February. Entries are slow for the ladies, so please enter.

Saturday February 18 Noon. Womens 40+ Singles Mens 40+ Singles Mens 60+ Singles

Sunday February 19 9AM.  Womens Combined 100 Doubles Mens Combined 100 Doubles ( Hilton Mace Trophy)

Saturday February 25 Noon. Womens 40+ Doubles Mens 40+ Doubles Womens 60+ Doubles Mens 60+ Doubles.

Sunday February 26 9AM. Combined 100 Mixed Doubles

 

Badge – If you are wanting to play badge this season get your nomination form in asap, less than one week left to nominate. The ladies selectors will be at the courts the next two Saturdays and putting some ladies doubles on from 1-3pm.

https://www.manlylawn.com.au/2023/01/05/badge-2023-entries-now-open-web-sign-up/

Trivia Night – Friday 3rd March at the Clubhouse 6.30pm

Cost:$15 per person

RSVP by Wednesday 1st March

Upon arrival you will receive a complementary beer, wine, cider or soft drink of your choice from the bar. Pizza will be provided. For seating purposes, teams of 8 should be arranged between yourselves and advised prior to the evening at the following email; [email protected]

If anyone requires vegetarian or gluten free pizza please advise. Mobile phones are not permitted while Trivia is being run.

Hope as many members and partners can join us with what will be a fun filled night while getting to know new and existing members better.

Look forward to a great night
Cheers
Michelle – Social Secretary

Members Experience Survey
Please help us improve the club and your membership experience by completing the attached survey. It’s only 10 quick questions and the more people who complete it, the more helpful it is. If you’d like to give additional feedback anytime, please email [email protected] with your ideas and suggestions. Thank you!
Click here to start the survey – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3BLH6CS

Best wishes,
Virginia
MLTC Secretary

www.manlylawn.com.au

 

MLTC Newsletter – 15 Jan 2023

Manly Lawn Tennis Club Newsletter – 15 Jan 2023

Friday Night Doubles 

The club is trying this as a new initiative for the next 3 months – hopefully a chance to practice doubles for badge, get some good tennis and socialise too. Last Friday of the month – 6.30pm to 8.30pm – Jan/Feb/Mar. Bar will be open. We’ll then review based on feedback whether to continue is as we move into badge/winter.
Max 8 pairs (4 club courts), but we’ll look to expand to 6 courts (12 pairs) if numbers warrant it and extra courts are available. Entry is free for members. First in best dressed. This comp will be graded with players put into groups of similar abilities as far as possible. Email or text Sarah with yours and your partners name – [email protected] or 0432 719210. One comp per date:
  • Friday 27th Jan – Mixed Doubles
  • Friday 24th Feb – Ladies Doubles
  • Friday 31st Mar – Men’s Doubles
MLTC upcoming calendar dates
January
  • Thu 26th Jan – Australia Day Public Holiday – 3 members courts from 7am to 6pm with social on all 3 courts from 12pm to 3pm.
  • Fri 27th Jan – Mixed Doubles Friday night comp 6.30pm to 8.30pm
February
  • Sun 12th Feb – Age Club Champs and Badge entries CLOSE
  • Sat 18th Feb – 40+ men’s and women’s singles and 60+ men’s singles
  • Sun 19th Feb – Combined 100 men’s and women’s doubles
  • Fri 24th Feb – Ladies Doubles Friday night comp 6.30pm to 8.30pm
  • Sat 25th Feb – 40+ and 60+ men’s and women’s doubles
  • Sun 26th Feb  – Combined 100 mixed doubles
March
  • Fri 3rd Mar – Trivia Night – more details to come. Get your teams ready!
  • Fri 31st Mar – Men’s Doubles Friday night comp 6.30pm to 8.30pm
April
  • Fri 7th to Mon 10th Apr – Easter weekend
  • Tue 25th Apr – Anzac Day 
  • Thu 27th Apr – Thu Badge starts
  • Sat 29th Apr – Sat Badge starts

Best wishes,

Virginia
MLTC Secretary
www.manlylawn.com.au

 

Being a Ballkid in Melbourne | SMH

It takes a special combination of attributes to join the legends on court, writes Carla Jaeger. They have quiet feet. They know their roles and their moves. They know when to offer a towel and when to stay out of the way of a player who’s about to explode. And they do this without showing emotion or attracting attention.

The Australian Open ballkids will march onto the courts at Melbourne Park tomorrow and face the sweltering January heat, whacks from 200km/h fuzzy yellow balls, and the demands of the world’s best tennis players.

The 394 ballkids chosen for this year’s summer of tennis have been perfecting their skills through months of training. They’re there to make the game as efficient as possible; retrieving stray tennis balls, providing balls for serves, servicing the players with new or restrung racquets, towels or drinks, mopping up the players’ sweat to avoid slip hazards, and removing interloping insects and moths. All this they must do while remaining silent and trying not to attract attention.

But, try as they might to avoid it, there are moments when they just can’t help but capture the spotlight. Global audiences laughed when Moroccan qualifier Elliot Benchetrit asked a ballkid to peel his banana at the 2020 Australian Open (the chair umpire told him to do it himself); fawned when Rafael Nadal kissed the cheek of a ballkid he accidentally whacked in the face the following year; and scowled when Russian star Daniil Medvedev unleashed a tirade about the ballkids for failing to deliver the balls in the manner he wanted during last year’s men’s final (the umpire told Medvedev the ballkids were doing their jobs exactly as they’d been taught).

Eager to learn more about the faces under the Legionnaire hats, The Sun-Herald joined a training session with 16 of this year’s ballkids. The kids at Melbourne Park’s Kia Arena are among the hundreds selected for the tournament, narrowed down from more than 1000 applicants chosen through a process that begins a year in advance. The youngsters for this year’s Open range in age from 12 to 15. Some are entering their third or fourth year as a ballkid; others are making their debuts on the blue courts. Chaperone and ballkid supervisor Eliza Flower, who runs training sessions, said those chosen needed to have good athletic skills and attention to detail. It’s not compulsory to play tennis – though it certainly helps, as the kids need to understand how the scoring of the game works. ‘‘ The really good ballkids have quiet feet when they run, and they don’t interrupt play,’’ Flower said.

Once selected, the preparation begins with five training sessions in which the basics of the job are taught – how to communicate (ballkidding has its own language, but more of that later), how to roll the ball, how to anticipate where the ball needs to be, and how to service the players.

Oncourt skills are mastered at tournaments in November and December so the ballkids are prepped for January’s Open. From the day the tournament starts, the ballkids are on site at Melbourne Park and ready for action, spending eight hours each day at the venue, half of those on court – one hour on, one hour off.

The rotations on the court decrease to 45-minute intervals if the weather reaches a certain temperature. Other methods, such as wearing padded neckties soaked in cold water, are also used to cope with the heat. If the kids work late, they start late the next day, or are given days off. They are grouped into teams of six, known as ‘‘ squads’’ . These squads are assigned a court in the morning and will work together as a team for that day. When they’re not on the court, the kids are ‘‘ backstage’ ’ in designated lounges, where fruit, water and Powerade are available. ‘‘ The lounges are really good. They provide lots of games, and you get to roll the ball everywhere,’’ ballkid Molly Rizun, 14, said. It’s fun and games backstage.

But while on court the kids are hard at work, with their performance constantly assessed by a supervisor who gives individual and squad feedback after each match. ‘‘ It’s weirdly old-school ,’’ Flower said. ‘‘ They have pretty hard feedback and pretty much there’s always something they can improve on.” The kids want that kind of discipline, too. They come off court and ask Flower what they can do better. Flower often finds herself nitpicking over small things like tucking their thumbs when they communicate how many balls they have. One of the harder rules ballkids have to follow is not talking to the players or showing any emotion – which can sometimes get hairy. ‘‘ When some players get a bit angry at themselves – or us – and they yell at you, you just have to stand there with a straight face,’’ ballkid Esther Pound, 15, said. ‘‘ Sometimes it’s a bit hard. Sometimes you want to laugh, or cry, but you just have to stand there.’’ The kids are used to it, with many having copped a spray from at least one player during their time. One ballgirl, already media savvy, chose not to disclose which player screamed at her. ‘‘ I don’t want to get sued,’’ she said. Jaidyn McNeil, 13, was willing to take that risk, dishing the details of his experience with Nick Kyrgios during the men’s doubles semi-final at last year’s Open. ‘‘ He was getting really frustrated as he was losing the first set, and he nearly hit me with a ball,’’ he said. ‘‘ It was really funny, but I was also trying to keep a straight face because we’re not really allowed to kind of smile.’’ After they’re assessed, the kids are given an overall rank.

The better the ranking, the better the arena they’ll be assigned for their next match. The best kids are assigned to the finals , a badge of honour among the youngsters, and something that is announced at a ballkid party the night before the match. Some might consider the extensive training a bit over the top. But other tournaments’ problems show just how important good ballkids are to the game.

At the 2015 Shanghai Masters, players were left frustrated after game play was impeded by inexperienced ballkids who delivered unwanted balls to players, were unsure where to stand, and couldn’t get the balls to the other side of the court. The ballkids are not paid, but they are given a prize pack at the end of the Australian Open, which in the past has included GoPro cameras, speakers and iPods. That’s not why they sign up to take on the role, anyway. The group we spoke to most commonly said making new friends and meeting the players are the main drawcards of the experience. Though a new pair of headphones certainly doesn’t hurt.

There are six ballkids at every court. Four of the kids are positioned at each corner of the court, while the other two are at the net, on either side of the chair umpire. Kids are assigned a position on the court based on height: the shorter kids go to the nets, the taller kids go to the base. It’s the job of the base kids to provide the players with balls for serves, which makes the base positions the more desired spot among the kids. They work together to grab balls that fall within their designated sections of the court, communicate where the balls are, and make sure their balls are at the right part of the court, ready to give to the player who is serving.

Now, to decode the language of ballkidding . . . At any given time of a match, there are six balls on court. The kids need to know at all times where these balls are. Ballkid Finn McCreadie, 14, said communication was one of the most important skills. ‘‘ Are they at the base? Are they at the net? So that way you know where to roll [the ball] to, and give it to the players as fast as you can.’’ The kids use signals to communicate with each other and the players to show how many balls they have at any given point of the match. Aside from verbal communication – which they are only allowed to do with the chair umpire and each other – there are signals to show who has each ball. Servicing is the technique used to provide the players with balls for serves.

But servicing doesn’t just involve balls. Players can request anything from a new racquet to a drink of water, to the more bizarre requests – like when Kyrgios asked ballkid Thomas Rossi to get rid of a seagull. ‘‘ The seagull was annoying him, so he asked me to kick it off. I just ran at it, scared it away, and then he just continued playing like nothing happened,’’ Thomas, 15, said. Getting balls around the court is done by rolling them to the kids. The key is to be efficient , fast and not impede play.

Sometimes players will request things that ballkids are taught not to do. One French player, for example, only takes balls from one side of the base – even though the kids are taught to never roll a ball from one base to another. They’ll usually do it anyway. Because, at the end of the day, the ballkid is there to tend to the player’s needs. Receiving refers to the way the kids collect the balls being rolled to them by one of their fellow squad members. Concentration must be high as their teammates roll balls to them, one by one. Rolling balls need to be fast and not impede the play. Balls are distributed so the ballkids at the baseline can service players with balls for serving. When receiving at the net, ballkids will start either kneeling (when opposite the chair umpire) or standing (when beside the chair umpire). Ballkids need to pre-empt the movement of the ball before the end of the point based on two possible outcomes: player A wins the point, or player B wins the point. Tiebreakers are tough work, and much of the training is spent preparing for them: Ballkids must pay close attention to the game play because the scoring is different, and the ball changes courtside quickly. ‘‘ If they don’t know where the ball is, the players are kept waiting for the ball, and they get impatient,’’ Flower said. So, now you know how it works.

Could you be a ballkid? For even the most casual tennis fans, being a ballkid looks like a glamorous job. You get to meet your heroes and watch history-making matches unfold. But the reality can be tougher and some people are not up to the task. ‘‘ The best ballkids are the ones that know what the player wants,’’ Flower said. Sometimes, knowing what the player wants means doing particularly unglamorous things; like squashing moths, shooing birds who stubbornly perch themselves on the net, or even pushing through the pain of the grazed knees commonly endured when drying the courts after rain. Ballkid Lucy Higgins, 14, said that while these were the strangest bits of the job, they’re also the most memorable. ‘‘ You have to keep running across the court and squashing them [moths] and it’s , like, 1am,’’ Higgins said. ‘‘ It’s definitely not something we practise doing in the ball-kid sessions, so it comes as a surprise to many people.’’

As the kids show us, and the supervisors tell us, being a ballkid requires initiative and concentration, as well as agility and speed. It’s about knowing when to take over a sweat towel – with time to roll a ball to a squad member – while keeping track of the entire match’s play. All within a 20-second interval between points.

If you’re forgetful or have a poor attitude, the job is not for you. Kids who come to court unprepared, without their hats or water bottles, are taken off court and reassigned when another spot appears on the roster. This is known as being TBA (to be assigned) – a title considered undesirable among the kids. Then, on top of it all, you have to be willing to risk embarrassing yourself on the world stage. It’s a common fear among the kids to appear on ballkid error compilation videos, a genre popularised on YouTube that can garner millions of views, featuring kids running into walls, fainting and falling over. Perhaps most unfortunate of all would be to have a tennis player talk about your bladder control in a press conference, as American player Donald Young did in 2010, after a match stopped for 40 minutes when a ball boy wet his pants. But it’s all worth it if you can handle the heat, literally and figuratively .

Source: SMH

Annual Senior Club Championships. Entries Close Feb 12

Entries are now open for the Senior Club Championships in February. Dates are as below

These are the dates and events:

Saturday February 18 Noon. Womens 40+ Singles Mens 40+ Singles Mens 60+ Singles

Sunday February 19 9AM.  Womens Combined 100 Doubles Mens Combined 100 Doubles ( Hilton Mace Trophy)

Saturday February 25 Noon. Womens 40+ Doubles Mens 40+ Doubles Womens 60+ Doubles Mens 60+ Doubles.

Sunday February 26 9AM. Combined 100 Mixed Doubles.

ALL EVENTS ARE ROUND ROBIN FORMAT. Minimum of four (4) entries needed for event to be held.

ALL EVENTS WILL COMMENCE AT NOON ON SATURDAYS AND 900AM ON SUNDAYS.

Enter below.

Denis Crowley
MLTC Club Captain