St Monica’s Tennis Club is part of the Northern Suburban Junior Tennis Association (NSJTA). NSJTA Competition is a strong competition available to all junior players up to 17 years of age in the inner Northern suburbs. There are grades ranging from A Special to D Grade.
The competition is made up of clubs in the surrounding area – such as Essendon, Strathmore and Buckley Park – with some further travel to clubs such as Taylors Lakes and Sydenham. There is no travel to the opposite side of the city!
There are two seasons per year - the first season runs over school terms 1 & 2 and the second season runs over school terms 3 & 4. There is no play during school holidays and there is no play on weekends where there is a Public Holiday (eg, Labour Day) to allow families full flexibility in juggling sporting and family commitments.
Division A matches are mostly played on a Friday night. Division B, C and D are played on a Saturday morning.
First time players normally start in D Grade (Children would normally start to play competition from ages 8-10. Usually, the player has had tennis coaching for a 6-12 month period in advance of starting competition, in order to have a minimum level of skill in hitting the ball and serving). D Grade matches normally commence at 9.30am on Saturdays and the match would be completed in the morning (normally within 2 hours), giving parents the ability to manage multiple family sporting commitments.
Each team is led by a Team Manager (normally a parent with previous experience) who organises the team logistics (which may include a weekly practice session), and lodging scores with the NSJTA on a weekly basis. In D grade, each Saturday team usually consists of 4 players. The Club always allows for a team roster containing 5 or 6 players so your child doesn’t have to play each week and to allow added flexibility for families. Only a small fee is required from each player at the start of the season to finance the balls used each week.
Still not sure?
If you are unsure if your child will want to play an entire season, there is the option to include your child’s name on the roster as an Emergency only, allowing your child to play up to 3 games in the Season with no commitment.
For more information regarding junior tennis please contact: Rohan Prentice or Michelle Miller at stmonicastennisclub@gmail.com