The program was held at Sydney Olympic Park over a weekend and aimed to engage and educate the youth participants, so they can confidently set goals and make positive change in their environment.

The program helped them build leadership skills, develop a network of resources and contacts and gain transferable skills that can be used in all aspects of life.

Alyssa and Harrison gained some great life skills and new friends from other Tennis centres. They returned with some new innovative ideas, which they used at a Junior Tennis Fun Day. Activities that they learnt about included, a doubles tournament and some fun tennis games such as Spin Tennis and Dash for Cash, using Redskin Lollies.

Alyssa and Harrison then were selected as Volunteers at the Sydney International were Alyssa spent five days working in the Kids Zone and Harrison was a Ball Kid.

Harrison was identified for his commitment and talent and was rewarded with selection to act as a ballboy for the Women’s and Men’s Final.

Harrison advised it was an inspiring experience, being up close to the action and watching Australian stars Ash Barty and Alex de Minaur in action.

Luke Miners, a 16-year-old from the Aces Tennis Club has been training extremely hard and has been rewarded by excellent results.

Late last year Luke was one of only two players from NSW and ACT who qualified for the National Championships.

In 2019 his good form has continued with a Singles and Doubles win at the Gosford Gold Junior Tour event and a Doubles win at North Sydney. Luke is currently the second ranked 16-year-old in NSW and ranked 15^th in Australia.

Luke is definitely a player to keep a watchful eye on throughout the year.

Last week saw the start of the South East Region Junior Development Series. 

The JDS is a group of round-robin tournaments conducted around NSW for beginner to intermediate players. The JDS is a great introduction to tournament play for juniors who are developing their tennis skills.

The series culminates in a Champion of Champions tournament in each region, followed by the JDS State Final Representative event. 

There are 15 tournaments throughout the South East region between February to July. 

The tournaments are run as a round robin starting at 8.30am and running for most of the day. The cost is $25 which is payable on the day.

Tournaments are in Bega and Merimbula this weekend, with Wollongong’s first tournament on March 10.

It is a great way to improve your tennis and spend the day socialising with friends. For information go to https://www.tennis.com.au/nsw/regions/south-east or talk to your coach.

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