Ann’s visit + Spontaneous Decision!
Last week we had Dr.Ann Quinn visiting our set-up of tennis in Scotland. Ann is Head of Sports Science at the LTA (and therefore my boss as strength & conditioning is within the sports science department!). The main aim of the visit was for her to get an idea of the overall structure, geographical positioning of facilities and players, and see some of the logistical difficulties we face in terms of training and competition. We were then looking at how best to support the individual priority players from a strength & conditioning perspective, and to secure/fortify the physical programmes at each of the Performance Centres.
On Tuesday I picked her up in Newcastle and we visited the Northumberland HPC (High Performance Centre) which has now become a part of my role remit. Next we drove up to Edinburgh and had a brief meeting with Dave Clark (Lead Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Scottish Institute of Sport) and Ellinore Lightbody (National Coach for Scotland). On Wednesday we visited the East Area Institute of Sport (ESIS) gym which some of our players train at, and then spent time at Craiglockhart Tennis Centre and Tennis Scotland. Thursday we met with Judy up at Stirling, discussing how we think I can best help player development from a strength & conditioning perspective (through working directly with players, and also through coach education). After that we had a meeting with the Scottish Institute of Sport personnel, which began with overviews of the Institute and LTA visions, and provoked good discussions on how both parties can best work together to promote the development of Scottish tennis. Finally we looked around the facility at Stirling (which is our National Tennis Centre), before I took her to the airport for her flight back to London! It was a very productive few days - Ann now has a much better idea of how things are being structured in Scotland, and I have a more clearly defined role in terms of my position as LTA strength & conditioning manager for Scotland!
The most exciting part of the 3 days for me was when Ann insisted (on Wednesday evening) that I book a last-minute flight to go out to Tempe for Sheila’s surprise 50th and the Arizona State Women’s Tennis reunion. I had really wanted to go, but had decided just before Christmas that with her visit, a ‘compulsary’ trip to London on Friday, and meetings/arrangements next week already in place I really couldn’t afford to go for just a few short days. However, with her slight persuasion – “life is to be lived…sometimes you only have one opportunity” and of course my personal favourite, “you only regret the things you don’t do” - plus Ellinore backing her up with comments such as “come on maz, I bet you can cover all of the work you have in your diary over the next week”! – I went home that evening and managed to find a very reasonable last minute deal for Friday morning and immediately grabbed it!
On Tuesday I picked her up in Newcastle and we visited the Northumberland HPC (High Performance Centre) which has now become a part of my role remit. Next we drove up to Edinburgh and had a brief meeting with Dave Clark (Lead Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Scottish Institute of Sport) and Ellinore Lightbody (National Coach for Scotland). On Wednesday we visited the East Area Institute of Sport (ESIS) gym which some of our players train at, and then spent time at Craiglockhart Tennis Centre and Tennis Scotland. Thursday we met with Judy up at Stirling, discussing how we think I can best help player development from a strength & conditioning perspective (through working directly with players, and also through coach education). After that we had a meeting with the Scottish Institute of Sport personnel, which began with overviews of the Institute and LTA visions, and provoked good discussions on how both parties can best work together to promote the development of Scottish tennis. Finally we looked around the facility at Stirling (which is our National Tennis Centre), before I took her to the airport for her flight back to London! It was a very productive few days - Ann now has a much better idea of how things are being structured in Scotland, and I have a more clearly defined role in terms of my position as LTA strength & conditioning manager for Scotland!
The most exciting part of the 3 days for me was when Ann insisted (on Wednesday evening) that I book a last-minute flight to go out to Tempe for Sheila’s surprise 50th and the Arizona State Women’s Tennis reunion. I had really wanted to go, but had decided just before Christmas that with her visit, a ‘compulsary’ trip to London on Friday, and meetings/arrangements next week already in place I really couldn’t afford to go for just a few short days. However, with her slight persuasion – “life is to be lived…sometimes you only have one opportunity” and of course my personal favourite, “you only regret the things you don’t do” - plus Ellinore backing her up with comments such as “come on maz, I bet you can cover all of the work you have in your diary over the next week”! – I went home that evening and managed to find a very reasonable last minute deal for Friday morning and immediately grabbed it!
Labels: tennis
posted by Mhairi
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