We survived the first day, having left our 5 star accomodation at 08:15 and got back there 13 hours later.
It was so foggy early doors that it was tough to see the other side of the practice courts. No joke. The courts were damp and slippy and covered in bird poo, which was nice. The tourney is played indoor but practice is outdoor once the matches start. We have 7 kids with us but could only get one court for 30 mins at 09:00 so it was 4 on court and 3 doing fitness on the path outside the courts. We had another court at 11.30am and one at 6.30pm so with 5 matches to negotiate at 3 different venues, it was a busy old day.
I went with the 11U girls to another club about 40km away in Thouars. We left at 11.30am and got back about 5pm. The club was part of a municpal sports ground with an athletics track, football pitch, 3 indoor and 4 outdoor tennis courts. The coach there had 260 kids in his tennis programme and worked with a team of 7 coaches covering 2000 kids in the surrounding area. I think that's about the same number of kids we have competing in the whole of Scotland! I'm not kidding.
There is a much more relaxed attitude to kids competition in France. For a start there's no parents (well hardly any) around because the regional coaches accompany their players as a team, staying with them in the hostel and transporting them in their regional minibuses.
You can video matches without asking for permission and the French kids all seem to understand how to play the game, which is quite different from "hitting the ball". They have alot of quality competition which in turn improves the quality of the players, and the numbers involved.
The funniest thing I saw today was the father-coach of a Swiss player who went on a vacant court to hit with his daughter while she waits for her opponent to arrive. They were glass backed courts with a viewing area behind. He was totally nailing every ball and holding each shot at the end of the follow through for at least 5 seconds - being a complete prat.
What sort of idiot shows off like that by trying to beat a 10 year old girl - especially right before her match, what good does that do her? I can't stand coaches who try to draw attention to themselves and think they are more important than the kids. You know the ones who shout louder or hit harder when they have an audience? Drives me nuts.
It got worse though when her match started he sat in the tiny viewing area and gave it major fist pumps or finger pointing at her when she made a good shot. You would have thought it was the final of a Slam. But his piece de resistance was when he made a gun sign with his fingers, pointed it at her, then brought the fingers to his mouth and blew on his imaginary gun! I almost fell off my seat. Absolutely hilarious. Can't wait to watch him tomorrow. Might even turn my camera on him.
More to come...