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East of Scotland Tennis bounces into partnership with Merchiston
East of Scotland Tennis have a new home for their coaching programmes after signing an agreement with Merchiston Castle School.
The regional tennis body will hire Merchiston’s tennis courts in the evenings between Monday and Friday to be used by players taking part in their under-18s coaching sessions.
A first-class facility offering unrivalled on-court opportunities, the Tennis Academy at Merchiston is a breeding ground for young tennis talent, earning the school the very top position for tennis schools in Scotland. Merchiston’s tailored training programme, combining expert 1-1 coaching, sports science provision, S&C and competitive opportunities, has seen the rise of multiple national and international tennis champions.
Now East of Scotland Tennis players will be able to make the most of the facility, in addition to the premium gym equipment at Merchiston, as they receive lessons from Level 3 coaches in one of the best facilities in Scotland.
It comes after East of Scotland Tennis has spent two-years hiring courts on an ad-hoc basis, with this arrangement now guaranteeing court time for junior programmes on a weekly basis.
Mark Gaffney, Board Member of East of Scotland LTA commented:
“Securing a home for the East of Scotland Country Training Programme at Merchiston is so important. It provides a consistent and quality base for our players and coaches to prepare and train following a period where we moved from site to site wherever we could access indoor courts.
“Basing ourselves at Merchiston allows us the opportunity to use impressive tennis and fitness facilities alongside opportunities to integrate with the Tennis Academy at Merchiston which provides variation and helps our players improve.“
The Tennis Academy at Merchiston has three all-weather floodlit tennis courts contained within a dome, allowing play throughout the year regardless of weather.
Callum Lloyd, Head Coach of the East of Scotland LTA Junior Programme said:
“I’m delighted to have Merchiston Castle School as the base of East of Scotland Tennis. Having world-class facilities to work with elevates the programme to another level and increases the offering we can provide to players representing the County.
“The indoor court space has allowed us to re-structure how we run sessions and having the gym on the court allows us to integrate the fitness during the tennis sessions. This is a really exciting time as we are already seeing the development in players as a result.”
East of Scotland Tennis have around 100 young players in their performance academy, which is a key part of the organisation’s goal to provide a performance pathway for juniors in order to develop current and future talent. The young athletes will have full access to Merchiston’s courts on weekday evenings, keeping in harmony with the school’s Tennis Academy’s busy training schedule.
Nick de Luca, Director of Sport & Activities at Merchiston said:
“There have been strong links between East of Scotland Tennis and Merchiston over recent years and we are thrilled to formalise and strengthen those bonds.
At Merchiston, we are privileged to have world class facilities, and being able to expose more young athletes to our space and academy, and giving them the opportunity to excel in their chosen sport is exciting for East of Scotland Tennis, the school and for Tennis!
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to everyone coming through our gates.”
ENDS
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