Juniors Competitions
Tally Ho offers competition for junior tennis players (who are registered as members of the club) on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Ages usually start at 9 or 10 years of age and go up to and including 18 years of age. Tally Ho competes in the Waverley District Tennis Association (WDTA) competition.
Junior Convenor: Richard Morris, 8802 9845, 0409 029 954.
Club coach: Danielle Jones, 0408 125 378
Danielle and Richard select the teams each season.
Competition details:
There is a summer competition which runs from October to March and a winter competition that runs from April to September. Play is every Saturday or Sunday morning, except school holidays, and teams comprise of three or four players with one player rostered off each week. The season is for 14 weeks.
There are various gradings to suit beginners (D Grade) through to top juniors in A Grade and Presidents Cup.
There are boys, girls and mixed teams which are made up depending on the numbers of players we have available and their standards.
Most matches involve each player playing two doubles sets and a singles set (best of six games) although beginners sometimes play only doubles.
Matches start at 8am Saturday, 9am for the Sunday competition through to 12.15pm at the latest, though home matches usually finish by around 11am.
Cost of competition:
There is a “ball money” fee payable each season per player - $35 (Winter 2022). This amount is advised by the team manager at the start of each season. Players also need to be registered members of the club and details of the cost to join and membership forms are available from this website.
Getting started:
We recommend a good way to start is to join one of Danielle’s group coaching classes to establish basic skills, sufficient to commence competition. If you have already played or have good skills we can organise a one off hit to establish your standard and suitability for competition.
Other activities:
Squad: For the junior player who is very keen on their tennis and wishing to develop their skills, the WDTA have squad training with the emphasis being on developing skills and playing in tournaments.
Club Championships: We hold the Junior Club Championships for Tally Ho each year usually in September/October, and have various year levels with an overall boy and girl club champion.
Social: Although we provide development opportunities such as squad for the very keen players, our emphasis is on children participating and having fun while they play competition. We encourage children to develop good team skills, learn the basic rules and etiquette of tennis, enjoy the game, whether they win or lose, and to get some good exercise. We regularly hold end of season/year BBQ’s and encourage teams to have practice hits whenever they can (once per week if possible).
Tennis gear:
It is essential they have appropriate tennis shoes that don’t mark or damage the courts. Neat, comfortable clothing (no large logos, etc) are recommended. A hat and sunscreen are recommended all year round but particularly in summer. The club now has available club polo shirts and “hoodies” so that we present well as a team. Contact Richard Morris should you wish to purchase any of these items.
Parent Involvement / Team Managers:
We encourage parents to come and watch their children play and provide encouragement to their children and to meet the other parents. All parents are required to assist with transport (once or twice a season) and provide some supervision when at home. These responsibilities are rostered by the team manager. Each team has a team manager which is essential to ensure the teams function and are organised well. We are always looking for volunteers in this role and you do not require any experience, just enthusiasm and a willingness to commit a small amount of time to help organise the team. Responsibilities include:
- Organise a roster for the team for the season. The template is provided and you just need to nominate the players “in” each week and the duty parent (transport when away and supervise when at home) and circulate to all team members
- Organise players each week. The roster will do this for you and will eliminate the need for phone calls each week except if someone is unwell, when you will need to try and organise a fill in. If you have trouble contact the junior convenor
- Collect the ball money from each team member for the season
- Organise recording the scores for the season. These are then used to help determine selection for finals teams and for the following season
- Distribute and collect the tennis balls and scorecards for your team when at home.
- Encourage and support the team and if they are keen, organise some team practice.
Our prime aim is to ensure the children enjoy their tennis, meet new friends and have plenty of fun. If they win, that’s a bonus.