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Back on Court
September 3, 2020 by Dominic Glasgow

Back on Court

After a summer with no school tennis or fixtures, we caught up with our Head of Tennis, Tommy Ogilvie on how the start of the school year looks on court.

Q. How does it feel to be back on court?

It’s great, I’ve been really looking forward to working again with our pupils. Personally, it was the longest period I've been off the court and no doubt for some of our players as well. It’s exciting, I’ve definitely missed it.

Q. Tennis was one of the first sports back, how has it been with the new restrictions?

Yes, there was a lot of responsibility on the first sports back, and it seems with the guidelines put in place, it has been a safe return for the sport. The easing of the guidelines over the summer has allowed a return to play for many of our pupils, which I know has brought back a small sense of normality again for them. At Strath, we are taking the safety element very seriously and I am sure the pupils understand and appreciate that. We will enjoy being outside as much as possible, and follow all the latest guidelines released from the governing body. We are very hopeful that it will be a safe environment for everyone here at Strathallan.

Q. What are you looking forward to this term?

Initially, it will just be working with the pupils, I’ve missed connecting with them on court, working through problems and trying to help them develop. People often think tennis coaching must be very repetitive, and yes we are all just hitting a fuzzy ball inside some lines, but from a coaching point of view, every session is different. The challenges, the people and personalities, the game, we don’t all play the game the same way! That’s what makes every session and every day different. I could be working with a pupil who plays once a week and helping them develop the basics to be able to play the game, to then helping prepare a pupil for a national competition, building a volunteers confidence to help towards a DoE Award, or just making someone’s day a little bit better, by making sure they have fun and enjoy the session. Something I was told that has always stuck with me is, the pupil(s) may be looking forward to that one thing in the day, so you have to make that the best experience you can for every pupil, no matter what’s happening in your day. So, I try to make sure I am helping the pupils as much as I can and to make sure they have an enjoyable experience.

In terms of what’s coming up, we will be running some different inter-house competitions this term, a separate junior and senior boys team event, and year group House tennis for the girls, so that will be fun to do. We will also be looking at running year groups competitions in our activities programme and some fun competition for Riley. It should be a good start to term.

Q. How does the start of term look?

We are going to run summer term sports until half-term, so all our Strath Prep School, 3rd and 4th form girls will attend tennis for games this term. So it’s a great way for me to start the term being able to coach girls from our Prep School all the way through to 4th Form. Senior boys and girls will have tennis as an option for games and we will be running our full activities programme. The activity programme gives every pupil in school, from Year 4 to Upper 6th the opportunity to play tennis at least once a week. I very much see it as tennis for all at Strathallan. Our performance programme is also up and running, we have a few new faces this year, so hopefully they settle in quickly and start shaking things up. Initially we will be working inside the Strathallan bubble, so all practice and competition will be internal. Another positive is the arrival of Mrs Ettle, the new Housemistress of Woodlands, who is a qualified coach. Mrs Ettle is very keen on getting involved with tennis at school and I am looking forward to working with her. So with this in mind, we will be running new sessions this year, and hopefully will be involved in new initiatives, if and when we can and the restrictions allow.

Q. Did you watch Andy Murray on Tuesday evening?

Yes, what a performance! It’s all everyone has been talking to me about, it has certainly lifted the spirits of even non-tennis fans. We are very lucky in this country to have such a great role model, that one match alone brought out so many great examples for any budding tennis stars! He’s definitely still got the heart for the fight, truly inspirational! Let’s hope his body recovers and he is physically as ready as he can be for the next round.

Q. Last question, What was your favourite Strath Tennis Challenge?

That’s a tough question. I was really pleased with the enthusiasm and creativity of current and past pupils and the families who engaged with this. All of the ideas they came out with were fantastic. It was a great way to stay connected during lockdown and a bit of fun during those times. I will definitely use some of the ideas for warm-ups and racket skills exercises.

If you would like any further information on our tennis opportunities at school, please contact Tommy on tennis@strathallan.co.uk



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Oh it's good to be back 😊 From fencing to field hockey, and everything in between 🏉 🏊‍♂️ 🏑🏏🎾🏐🏸⛳🎿🏆, it has been lovely to see so many pupils back on our pitches, in our sports halls and our swimming pool . . . #gamechangingeducation #strathlife #blueandgold #strathsport

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