Former Davis Cup coach praises local club

A high-ranking Tennis Canada official had some kind words to say about the Gander Tennis Club during his second visit to town.

Christophe Lambert, Tennis Canada's senior director, Atlantic Tennis Alliance (ATA), said the local club is on par with Tennis Canada's plan to grow the sport throughout the country. He said Pat Redmond, the Gander Tennis Club's president, is doing a good job promoting tennis, and offering different camps that youth are eating up.

Lambert was in town last week teaching a group of youth during the club's indoor camp. "What you're seeing in Gander is what you're seeing at Tennis Canada," said Lambert. "The minds at Tennis Canada are focused on numbers and growth. We want more clubs, and more people in the clubs."

Lambert has built a long and extensive tennis resume over the years. He's worked with some of the top tennis federations in the world including France, England and most recently, China as its national men's coach and Davis Cup coach. He spent five years with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), coaching Britain's top 17-18 year olds, and helped develop such players as the world's fourth-ranked player, Andy Murray, and Jamie Baker, ranked 262nd, during his tenure with the LTA.

Coming from a man who's coached on the largest tennis stage, he knows why it's important to get as many people playing tennis as possible. From a competitive level, the odds of reaching the elite level are slim. Also, if the local club sees a huge rise in member numbers, it may prove the club needs a bigger facility than a school gym.

"We need to grow a big number of kids because one out of 100 may become a performance player - that's the ratio. If we're able to get more kids involved with the program here, maybe the Town will see the need of an indoor facility," said Lambert. "Right now, (the Gander club) is doing a very good job with the kids, but when they grow up, they need to keep playing on bigger courts, so that's the new objective, I think."

Although using a school gym is great for youth, it doesn't provide the necessary room for teenagers who want to seriously compete. Because of this, Lambert said it's easy to see at national tournaments who's utilizing year-round training, and who isn't.

"If you want to be a competitive tennis player you need to be playing 12 months a year. Just to give you an idea, a 10-year-old kid needs to have 11 hours of activity a week," said Lambert. "That's a big number, and the problem for kids in Atlantic Canada is there are no indoor facilities and they have to stop playing. Then, when we go to nationals, we get smashed."

Lambert said the Gander Tennis Club is on the right track with its growth of the sport. After his visit to Gander last year, Lambert told Redmond what it would take to bring him back, and when the local club's president did it, Lambert kept his word.

"After I arrived for my first trip last year, I spoke with Pat and told him he had to do something during the winter. He said they never had an indoor (facility), but I told him there was a gym here, and told him I would come back if he organized something," said Lambert. "He did, it's done, and I'm back. It's the second time teaching this program, and maybe I can help them get more numbers. But they're doing a very good job here."

Lambert went on to say that it's the people behind the scenes that make the Gander club so successful. In fact, during his camp last year, Lambert was surprised to see so many volunteers out to lend a hand. It's something he doesn't come across very often.

"First, it's the big work of the volunteers - that's the main thing for me," he said, when asked what the Gander Tennis Club is doing right. "The Gander Tennis Club is the most successful I've seen just because they have a good volunteer core of parents. The last time I was here there were eight parents supervising, where we have problems finding one in other places. The volunteers are really motivated here. The second thing is they are trying to setup a plan for all the kids. They start with the half-court, then go to three quarters of a court, so the have a nice gradual program here. They have a vision...and I think Pat has realized he has a real good product."

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