Tennis Prospects Are Bright: Top Players To Be Coached By Specialist Dinny Pails

Chronicle (Levin), 3 November 1949, Page 7

Tennis Prospects Are Bright: Top Players To Be Coached By Specialist Dinny Pails

The outlook for tennis in Horowhenua this season is very bright. Although some of the older clubs will not be entering the inter-club competitions, others have come forward after being in recess for a number of years. The Shannon Club. which has been a very keen participant in these fixtures for a long time, will not be entering a team this year and will be missed for although it has not managed to win the competition recently this club has always entered a very strong team.

J The Te Horo club also will not be playin0 this year, mainly owing to difficu.ty in travelling. This club is one of the youngest in the area and has not yet managed to develop a very strong team. It is hoped that it will not be long before they are once again back into, the competition with a team which will make the • other clubs sit up and take notice. The clubs which will be participating are Foxton, Ihakara, Ko-

putaroa, Levin, St. Joseph's, Weraroa, Ohau, Manakau and Otaki. • At the moment definite advice has not been given as to which grade these clubs will be entering, but it is anticipated that Foxton, Levin, Weraroa, Ohau and St. Josepn's will enter ..teams in both B and C grades. With the Levin club as sorong as it is, the B grade competition would appear to be a foregone conclusion again this year and it says much for the sporting spirit of the other clubs in this competition that they are prepared to play year after year without a hope of winning, but merely for the pleasure of the inter-club games and the benefit of tennis in the area. It is a pity that there are not one or two A grade teams which coul'd start a competition and leave the B grade contest much more open than it is at present. The C grade games also would ihen look to provide an opportunity for more open competition. It is hard to forecaso which will be the ultimate winner of this year's competition. For Coaching By PailsThe engagement of Dinny Pails by the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association for coaching will be | most beneficial to tennis this year. From this • area Don White and Colin Atmore are two players who are availing themselves of the opporiunity for coaching by Pails, and both should benefit considerably. They have been finalists in the men's championships in this area, being defeated in the finals by Maurice Smith. Lawrence Staples, of Manakau, is another promising player who would derive considerable benefit from a course of coaching, having also been a finalist in the men's championship and being beaten by Smith. The Levin club is also sending a class of seven junior players for coaching under this scheme. So far as the tournament is concerned, it is hoped that there will be another for this area during the season. A local tournament does much to get the better players together and give an accurate assessment of relative 1 strengths, not always possible in the inter-club competition alone. It is not, however, its only objective for a tournament is intended also to encourage the junior players. In the district which produced Evie Attwood there is very little outstanding junior i-alent ~at the moment. There are one or two junior players who are showing promise, but there should be more. All the clubs should follow the lead of the larger clubs and endeavour to see that the juniors are given coaching by the more experienced prayers and every opportunity to develop their games. Only in this way can it be expected that many more juniors will come forward each year and boost the game of tennis in this area.