Kids make a racquet

Twenty of the Lower Great Southern region’s best junior tennis players had a rare chance to show off their skill to a Tennis Australia talent scout last weekend.

Tennis Australia talent development coach Callum Beale was at Lawley Park Tennis Club to look at the region’s top players between 10 and 12 years old, as well as provide professional advice to local coaches.

At the Talent Development Day, Beale took the players through some mentoring and training and held a parent information session. Beale’s job is to take the country’s top junior players and coach them to a level where the Australian Institute of Sport can take over their coaching and develop them into Australia’s next professional tennis stars.

Lower Great Southern Tennis Association’s junior co-ordinator David Kerr said Beale’s visit was an opportunity few regional tennis players got.

“We have a lot of talented kids in this region and there is a lot of talented up-and-coming players in the country,” Kerr said.

“Professional players like Casey Dellacqua are inspiration for WA’s regional junior players and shows that our nation’s future tennis stars can come from rural areas.”

Kerr said Beale’s experience was also valuable for the association’s coaches.

“The advice he was able to give our coaches was invaluable and great for their development too,” he said.

“It means we can continue to ensure we are giving our kids the best coaching we can and give them every chance to succeed in the sport if they have the ambition to pursue a professional career.”