“There’s more than just the option of playing” – Life as part of a University Tennis Club
• 4 MINUTE READ
As students across the country prepare to head off to university for the first time, we spoke to staff and students at Leeds Beckett University about the opportunities on offer through getting involved in tennis, no matter your level.
For students up and down the country, their first semester at university is just around the corner. For many, this means thinking about what sports they might try, given the high quality of facilities now available at many campuses, and heading down to freshers’ fairs to hear the pitches from the innumerable sports and societies on offer.
To some, sport at university, including tennis, is the reserve of those involved in high performance, and that the only opportunity on offer is playing competitively. For staff and those involved in the running of Leeds Beckett University’s tennis club, they’re on a mission to prove that university tennis, wherever you study, has opportunities for anyone who wants to get involved.
For Sky Liu, who will be the Men’s Club Captain for the 2024/25 academic year, being part of university tennis has allowed him to get involved in the sport in a way he had never previously considered.
“I only played a few club matches from the age of 12 onwards,” says Sky, “and at 14 I stopped playing due to the increased workload of school. Compared to most of the players at Leeds Beckett University, some of whom have played at an elite junior level, I had no experience being in a tennis atmosphere.”
However, after trying out in his first year and being put in the development group, Sky found there to be more opportunities than he initially thought.
“Before joining university, I had no desire to be involved with tennis at all, and I wasn’t aware that Leeds Beckett University had one of the best University Tennis Programmes in the country. Being at Leeds Beckett University has given me a chance to develop my tennis not only as a player, but my knowledge and skills to try to teach others.
“I have been thankful for the opportunities to become an LTA coach as well as a licensed LTA referee, and becoming a coach has allowed me to gain opportunities with various local clubs as well as being able to help within Tennis Academies as well as County Tennis.
“Leeds Beckett University has been an eye-opener on the opportunities that tennis and working with the LTA can bring (and) I already have opportunities to work in the tennis workforce when I finish university.”
Students at Leeds Beckett University have the opportunity to get involved in a lot more than just playing as part of the university's tennis club.
“Coming to uni, I didn’t intend on becoming a coach”
Another student who’s found a love for coaching is Tom Horsfall. At the other end of the playing scale to Sky, Tom was part of the junior setup at Ilkley Lawn Tennis and Squash Club, the home of the Lexus Ilkley Trophy.
“They have a performance programme there. I was mainly playing grade threes and grade fours (county level), but I saw Leeds Beckett as the natural transition of where to go in order to keep improving.”
Heading to university with playing firmly at the forefront of his mind, Tom began playing competitively for the university. But as time went on, coaching became a more and more enticing opportunity.
“Coming to uni, I didn’t intend on becoming a coach, I very much felt ‘I enjoy my tennis, but I want to keep it to just playing’. Initially I was encouraged by my parents and others to do it as a fall back, and a chance to make a bit of money on the side. From there, I was then encouraged to do it more seriously, and if I hadn’t have come to university, that wouldn’t have been something I’d have done.
“I think it's something I enjoy doing, but I enjoy the people that you meet and you work with in that environment as well, that side is massive.”
Student experience and student opportunities
For Steve McLoughlin and Paul Johnson, lead coaches at Leeds Beckett, ensuring that every student who comes through the door has the same opportunities as their peers is a key driver.
The university, which was named University of the Year at the 2024 LTA Tennis Awards presented by Lexus, has developed over the last 25 years into a major county and regional hub for playing, coaching, officiating and many other aspects of the tennis workforce, and helping students to engage with these chances has become a key selling point of the club.
“From the very start, even at the social sessions, we'll stand in front of everyone and we'll say, ‘Some of you might be first team, some of you might be somewhere in the middle of the team, some of you might be at the bottom, some of you might not be in a team at all, but there's more than just the option of playing here’” says Paul.
Paul knows the journey these students could go on, having trodden the same path. Arriving at Leeds Beckett as a student in 2012, he has gone on to develop his own career in tennis.
“When I came to uni, I always knew I’d play the game for life, but what I didn’t realise is that I would want a career as a coach. I finished my undergraduate degree and the opportunity to be a University Tennis Coordinator came up and I thought that would be really good. Having done some coaching qualifications already, I did my level four as part of that role, and then starting at Sandal tennis club alongside the uni, I realised ‘I love this’.
“I needed to start doing it to see how much I enjoyed it, and I wouldn't have foreseen however many years later that I'd be doing what I'm doing now, I love it.”
Paul is one of numerous students Steve has seen in his 25 years at the university come through and go on to become part of the tennis workforce. With Leeds Beckett alumni making up 52 of Yorkshire’s coaching workforce, and coaching at 16 out of 20 Leeds-based tennis clubs.
“We just tend to engage everybody,” says Steve, “and it’s really pleasing…it’s about 170 full-time tennis coaches since 2009 (that Leeds Beckett have produced), about 12 per year. They start off for a bit of money, and then they realise ‘I’m really enjoying my coaching’ and it becomes more than just trying to earn a few quid.”
For students starting this month at university, whether they’ve already got years on courts under their belts or are complete tennis novices, there’s something for everyone to get their teeth into with university tennis. Whether it’s officiating, coaching, becoming a university activator or playing, there is so much to try.
“Tennis at university and with your friends is just so different,“ says Paul. His and Steve’s message for those starting out? “Throw yourself into it. We have so many students who get to their final year and wish they could have one more, so jump in with two feet from the start.”
Universities
Head to our university page to check out our partner universities, with case studies and information on what’s on offer for those starting out at university this September.
