18/03/2010 - Calling all Schools

School sport is usually best described as organised havoc. Little tykes and mites (and older ones) spend most of their time trooping in between changing room and classroom (and if you were me, at the back of that troop), so that by the time they have made it down to the sports field, the lesson is practically over, and it's time to troop all the way back again. Engaging.

Tennis is even more tricky. How do you possibly manage to cater for 20 + children in what is an individual sport that requires, space, equipment, and expertise? Like getting an elephant to do a tap dance. Or is it?

It was with this in mind that I made my way to one of the Tennis Foundation's Schools Tennis Roadshows, festivals of fun that have been taking place all over the country for the past few weeks.

And why? To brief secondary school teachers on the AEGON Schools Tennis programme, the brand new resource that British Tennis have developed to make delivering tennis in primary and secondary schools an achieveable objective, not just throwing darts into the ocean.

Today's roadshow is for London and the South East, taking place at the National Tennis Centre....and where to head? Past all the practice courts, down a few sets of stairs and along several corridors. Just like being Alice venturing down the rabbit hole.

The premise behind this resource is tackling two major barriers: teachers aren't trained to teach tennis, and they don't have the equipment. In fact, getting a generically trained primary school teacher to demonstrate a topspin forehand when they can’t even throw a ball themselves is a bit like telling someone to walk on water. So what the TF have done is develop two DVDs, one for primary, one for secondary, to do the coaching for them.

Not only that, there is also an 'Out of hours school kit' booklet, a whole host of drills, diagrams and descriptions ready made to help you run your own after-school club, and getting to grips with this is the first order of the day.

Led by the ever enthusiastic Phil Leighton, who could teach a stand-up comedian a thing or two about energy levels, he takes the teachers and Schools Partnership Development Managers through the drills, as easy as one, two three.

There may be sponge balls flying around with abandon, but these teachers seem to be having an absolute riot. As Phil says, the first step to teaching tennis is to enjoy it yourself. 'You don't need to be that knowledgeable,' cracks Phil...'I'm living proof.'

Fact of the day. You don't need a net to teach tennis...some barrier tape will do.

So, having bounced, thrown, hit and caught balls to their hearts' content, the teachers are equipped with the necessary skills, packaged up in a healthy bundle of fun, what next? Competition. Competition is what keeps young guns enthralled in a sport, the taste for winning, so getting youngsters competing as early as possible is vital.

The TF's Tom Gibbins talks everyone through how to set up mini tennis courts, how to organise point situations, and then lets the teachers have a go themselves. As you can imagine, with their competitive instincts unleashed, it all gets a bit tense. So much so that, hearing the hullabaloo, Jamie Baker stops by to have a gander. 'Wow!' he says.

The final part of the day is explaining the secondary school resource itself. Here Paul Regan, head of education at the Tennis Foundation, takes centre stage, Fila gear and all. Whereas the primary schools DVD is a slimline fit in your kitbag kind of thing, the secondary schools resource is a bit of an Incredible Hulk. Simply huge.

Alongside the DVD, there are five boxes of additional information and support to accompany what is outlined in film: Traditional delivery (including lesson plans), Modified delivery (Mini Tennis and Cardio Tennis), Cross Curricular Support (getting tennis on the agenda and relating it to English, History and French), Links to qualifications, leadership and volunteers, and finally, a framework to assess ability.

Say what? Yes indeed, there is a lot in there. The fifth and final part is probably the most groundbreaking..it provides teachers with a stage by stage assessment of where an individual should be to achieve a certain stage on the curricular framework. Why is this important? It's all part of making tennis more applicable and relevant to schools.

'This is just a first stab,' explains Paul. 'We're not telling you that this is the gospel. But it should help to make tennis more applicable, and therefore teachable, and get us that crucial presence in schools.'

So who can get this fantastic resource? In short, anyone and everyone. The Primary Schools DVD (which also includes free rackets and balls) is available to all primary school teachers who attend a training course, and the same is true of Secondary School teachers. Although there is no free equipment, the TF are offering free Schools Tennis Membership to each school, which provides them with 40% discount off equipment.

All that's left is for the teachers to gather up their ginormous boxes, talk to their local Tennis Development Managers about organising courses locally to train up more and yet more teachers, and off they trot. But not before I cornered one for a chat...

I think that's a big thumbs up.

To find out more about Schools Tennis, Visit the Schools Tennis website

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