PERFORMANCE TENNIS AT RIVERSIDE

A commonly asked question by lots of our members is "what is performance tennis". Like a great deal of other sports, tennis is no different in the way that it consists of a pyramid, with a large base of players at the bottom who are either recreational players or players that have just entered the sport and are embarking on their tennis journey.

As players develop they move along the playing continuum from the recreational or development end towards the performance end.

Here at Riverside Chiswick and indeed across the Esporta estate, we are playing a part in the production and training of players that are towards the performance end of the continuum, a part that is both welcomed and supported by the governing body of the sport, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).

Within Esporta, there are 3 different levels of performance players, and as such players are able to access programmes that will help support whatever level that player is currently in and the level that they wish to aspire to.

To create a world class tennis player requires an enormous effort both on the part of the pupil and the coach with the training programmes being extensive in terms of the number of hours spent in that training programme to achieve the goal of top National and International tennis player.

This is a summary of the 3 different levels of performance player, here at Riverside:

ACADEMY LEVEL 1- Ranked 1-24 nationally in their age group
ACADEMY LEVEL 2-Ranked 25-100 nationally in their age group
ACADEMY LEVEL 3- Ranked 101-300 nationally in their age group

Each of the levels plays their part and players at each level of the pyramid are all important in the overall process of producing such players.

Just like other sports, we are always looking for the next crop of Tim Henmans or Andy Murrays and this is backed up by our Early Targeted Athlete (ETA) programme, where the best mini-tennis players from the ages of 6-10 years are offered a chance to train and compete more than once a week.

It is from this programme that players will emerge to produce the next cycle of talented performance players.

TRAINING FACILITIES AND STAFF

With the addition of 3 covered courts during the winter months (October-March), it is now possible for the performance programme to have a base in which to train and further develop without compromising court availability for members in the new building. It is also managed by Simon Ainley (Performance Academy Manager), previously a national coach, in tandem with the Racquets Manager, Richard Burns.

Simon has a coaching team of 3 experienced performance coaches (Darko Plavetic, Shola Roper, Elena Tatarkova) and a physical trainer (Baptiste Bardey) to help deliver the performance programme.

There is also provision within the new building to deliver coach education, an assessment room for feedback with players and assigned areas to catch up with their school work, when their training schedules are during busy periods.

As a member of Riverside what are the benefits of the Performance Programme?
Many people often ask this question as it is often viewed as something that does not directly benefit them. A good majority of the members who join Riverside often have coaching as their main motivation for becoming members in the first place. By simply being able to offer our coaching programme as a "cradle to grave" concept, covering all ages and standards, we are offering the complete product. Children can join our academy at the age of 3 and a half years of age with the idea that one day, should their playing talent warrant, they too could graduate to the higher echelons of the Riverside performance academy. 

Planning permission for the erection of the bubble, which has been turned down twice previously, was also granted on the basis for developing local talented youngsters, and has therefore directly benefited the Riverside club as a whole. During periods where there is little or no usage by the performance programme it gives the club access to an extra 3 covered courts in addition to the 12 we currently have indoors.

The performance academy offers the unique option whereby talented children can become members of the club without the need for their parents to become members themselves. Indeed, there are also lots of examples of parents whose children train in the performance academy who are also fully fledged members, supporting the argument that the coaching programme offering as a whole is a prime motivation for becoming a member.

It also attracts the best coaches which directly benefits the whole coaching team at Riverside. Development coaches working in this environment are learning better methods which they, in turn can pass on to pupils they come across in the development programme.

Children also have ready made role models that can inspire their future development as players and give them an insight as to what it takes if they are to aspire to become top national and international athletes.

These examples are a just a few of the ways that performance tennis directly benefits the Riverside Club as a whole, not too mention Esporta too.

Frequently Asked Questions

We would also like to take this opportunity to dispel some of the myths that currently exist around the performance programme at Riverside:

QN: What is the connection with and to what degree does the LTA have involvement?

ANS: The Riverside Club was the first commercial club to be granted LTA high performance status. Put simply this means that our programme together with players, staff and facilities satisfies the criteria for the delivery of performance tennis, according to the governing body of the sport. Certain players that form part of any HPC are then supported by the LTA through way of grants awarded for their status as nationally ranked players.

QN: Are Performance Academy Players members?

ANS: All players that play in the performance programme here at Riverside are bone fide members of the club. There are 3 different levels of membership to reflect the 3 levels within the performance academy.

QN: Will the performance programme impact on members use of the courts in the new club?

ANS: The idea of securing planning permission for a bubble was born prior to the fire in 2006, as a way of alleviating the pressure on indoor court availability.

The bubble is now an established base for the performance programme which means that during the winter months, there will be more courts available at peak times in the new building. There will still be a development coaching programme both junior and adult that operates through the week and weekend indoors, meaning that at the very minimum there will 50% of the courts available to members. We are mindful of the balance between those who wish to access coaching and those who just wish to play.