Sale Tennis Club junior Mia Goold has been awarded a prestigious Rafa Nadal Tour Trophy of Values in the 12 & Under age group.
The Rafa Nadal Academy is a junior tennis circuit launched in Spain in 2014 by tennis legend, Rafael Nadal. It has a strong focus on sport and education combining the tournament aspect with dynamic and fun educational activities for the players aiming to establish strong fundamental values.
Leading 12 & Under and 14 & Under juniors from all over Victoria gathered at Beaumaris Lawn Tennis Club in early July to compete in a Gold singles tournament and participate in the off court personal development activities.
During each tournament there are numerous fun learning activities run by the mentors from the Rafa Nadal Tour, focusing on the four key values of the circuit: Sportsmanship, Commitment, Fellowship and Effort.
The four key values are defined as;
- Sportsmanship is the appropriate and correct behaviour during the practice of any sport, as well as the acceptance of adverse situations willingly.
- Commitment is the players’ capacity to acknowledge, get involved and accomplish something that has been previously agreed to.
- Fellowship is the friendly and collaborative relationship between different people, which is defined by solidarity, sympathy, generosity, respect.
- Effort is the capacity to work with discipline, to accomplish the obligations and to behave with perseverance to improve oneself.
The personal development sessions are in the form of classroom activities with group work and physical activity sessions in pairs and teams.
The eight winning players from each states 12 & Under & 14 & Under singles events held as well as eight selected winners of the Trophy of Values progress to the end of circuit Australian Masters event.
While she lost to the second seed in the singles competition Mia was selected as the winner of the Trophy of Values, which recognises a player from each event that shows a positive attitude and behaviour on and off the court.
The Trophy of Values aims to recognize and reward those players at the Rafa Nadal Tour events who put into practice the Rafa Nafal Tour values - positive values, attitudes and behaviours that are essential to helping the players’ relevant personal and athletic development. The Academy facilitators and coaches on site observe all players both on court and during the values activities.
The Rafa Nadal Tour Australian Masters event is scheduled to be held in Melbourne in January 2022 in the lead up to the Australian Open. A maximum of sixteen players will be invited to compete in each of the 12 & Under and 14 & Under boys and girls Masters event.
Mia has had an outstanding 2021 already and the year is only half over. In March she won the Paul Egan Award at the Sale Tennis Club, the Club award for the most outstanding junior from the Sale WGTA junior teams. Mia was selected from the 70 strong junior squad and is the first female player to win this award.
Mia has also been selected in the Gippsland Sports Academy tennis squad. Gippsland Sports Academy offers talented Gippsland athletes the opportunity to reach their full potential in their chosen sport by providing services such as advanced technical coaching and sport science programs covering strength and conditioning, psychology, nutrition and hydration and personal development sessions.
Mia was also the Runner-Up in the School Sport Victoria - Primary Girls Tennis Tournament in the Victoria wide event and has since been invited to participate in the training and selection day next week to determine the final State primary school squad.
