ASYTS

All Star Youth Tennis Scholarship Trust (ASYTS)

The All Star Youth Tennis Scholarship Trust (ASYTS) was set-up in 2007 to further the development of kids from the borough of Wandsworth showing significant promise in their ability to play tennis without sufficient parental financial means to take it to a higher level. The inspiration behind the ASYTS was Sebastian Wray who had dedicated himself to the sport of tennis and the Wandsworth Tennis Centre from the age of 11 and whom the coaches, Ben Jackson and Ben White at All Star Coaching, felt could benefit from a higher level of training and development which would ultimately be an advantage to the wider tennis community in Wandsworth. In 2008, Sebastian became the first beneficiary of the Trust and was given a grant to study at a Spanish Tennis Academy. Sebastian has subsequently gone on to become a successful full-time tennis coach at a local tennis club and put back into the Trust by coaching a regular weekly session.

It is intended that the Trust will benefit many young people in Wandsworth who are dedicated to the sport of tennis and have shown the same exceptional commitment as Sebastian. Although the funds at the Trust’s disposal are relatively modest, the aspirations of the trustees for wanting to make a difference are high. The Trust has coaching sessions in place for a range of standards.

The Trust has been funded by a combination of individual gifts, sponsored events and an annual fund raising day and is administered by four local trustees, Sean Molony, Ben White, Ben Jackson and Chandra Sekar. The Trust has been approved for Gift Aid Status with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs which will be applicable to all donations provided a gift aid declaration has been obtained from the donor. The trustees involved with the Trust continue to contribute their services and knowledge voluntarily to maximise the amounts that can be given as grants.

The trustees are trying to increase the awareness, remit and objectives of the Trust such that further potential future recipients of Trust Funds can be identified. The trustees would like to hear from potential future recipients and in this regard, Sean Molony, the Chairman of the Trust can be contacted on 020 77382869. We would be very grateful for contributions to the Trust from our fellow players at the Tennis Centre - please help us by sending a donation, using where possible the Gift Aid Declaration, to : Noah’s Ark, Mill Street, Boltonsborough, Glastonbury, BA6 8RJ

Focus of the All Star Youth Tennis Scholarship Trust in 2011

It is intended that the Trust will benefit many young people in the borough of Wandsworth showing significant promise in their ability to play tennis without sufficient parental financial means to take it to a higher level without the help of the Trust. Indeed, the Trust has coaching sessions in place for a variety of standards ranging from our grass roots community session through to high performance training sessions with leading coaches for our most promising prospects.
In 2011, the trustees have focused much of our resources on the coaching and development of three children that we have identified as being particularly suitable to be beneficiaries of the Trust. All three children have shown high levels of ability, a strong desire to be champions and are already participating in the Wimbledon Junior tennis initiative for talented children identified by Dan Bloxham, the Head Coach at the All England Lawn Tennis Club based at Wimbledon. Their enthusiasm for additional high performance coaching and development funded by the Trust, that would be difficult for their parents to afford without our help, has endorsed our commitment.
The following comments provide some details on the focus of the activities undertaken by the coaches involved together with comments from the children and their parents on how they have benefited from the work of the Trust.

Deji Thomas-Smith
Ben Jackson, an All Star coach and one of the trustees, has given Deji weekly one-to-one coaching sessions. He has taught a diverse range of technical, physical and mental tennis skills. This has covered such aspects as strength, speed, agility, focus, concentration, attitude, ambition, technique and even included some of Ben’s specialist knowledge in warm-up, stretching and breathing exercises.

"Deji has a good temperament, is learning well and his technique has improved. All in all, he has made great progress."
Ben Jackson

“All of the sessions that I have attended through the All Star Tennis Trust are great and help all of your tennis skills. You are never standing still. The sessions are very intense and you can be free and creative, improving your game using all learnt skills in tournaments and matches, eventually you can beat your parents.”
Deji Thomas-Smith

“The All Star Youth Tennis Scholarship Trust has provided my son with the tools, support and conducive environment needed to enable him to develop his tennis. This has come in the form of one-to-one and group tennis coaching, group fitness/agility coaching as well as the provision of court time and accessibility. These have all been instrumental in his tennis growth and development providing firm foundations upon which to build. Such a positive group of professionals dedicated to identifying and nurturing young talent.”
Wale` Thomas, father of Deji Thomas-Smith

The Henrys children
Steve Alger has trained Rashard and Aliya Henry at the National Tennis Training Centre at Roehampton on a weekly basis. Steve is a freelance high performance coach and was until recently one of the senior coaches at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. He still plays at the highest level and recently won a veterans tournament at Wimbledon. He has particularly focused on the philosophy of winning with Rashard and Aliya. This has covered everything from pre-match preparation through to mental attitude, confidence and the necessary technical skills. The children now have a greater breadth of skills which has been built upon their raw talent. Steve has worked on their understanding of the zones of the court, when you attack and when you defend, volleys, the short game, spinning techniques, back swings and the subtlety of hitting the ball. Steve has observed the considerable improvement that both children have made with less unforced errors and more consistent technique.

Rashard Henry
“I like my sessions with Steve because every week I learn something new. I have learnt to be a pragmatic player. This year I have progressed so much. I am so grateful to Steve and The All Star Tennis Trust at Wandsworth. Thank you.”
Rashard Henry

Aliya Henry
“I would just like to say thank you so much for supporting me over the last year. I have come a long way in so little time. The one-to-one sessions with Steve have helped me lots! I really look forward to my sessions with Steve because he is patient, nice and a great person to be around. Steve has taught me to be a pragmatic tennis player. His coaching has really helped me to improve, especially my backhand. I know that Steve will help me to become a champion one day.”
Aliya Henry

“We are so grateful for the opportunity provided for our children by the Wandsworth All Star Tennis Trust. There is no doubt that without this support we would not have been able to provide our children with this experience, for this opportunity we are eternally grateful. The one-to-one sessions that Aliya and Rashard receive from Steve are invaluable. His approach and coaching style naturally and instinctively developed through his ongoing years of playing experience has provided an in depth knowledge and understanding not only to the children, but to our whole family in terms of the level of commitment and dedication required to reach the highest level. Steve has provided a holistic approach to the tennis, both on and off the court; from the basics of preparing equipment and tennis bags to the very technical details of preparing the perfect backhand. This level of coaching will undoubtedly provide a solid foundation for Aliya and Rashard to continue to grow in their tennis development, eventually achieving their ultimate goal! As a family we really look forward to continuing this journey. Thank you for your generosity and continued support. Forever thankful.”
Parents of the Henrys children

Squad Sessions

Fitness sessions for these children have been conducted by Mark Sheppard who is a cutting edge physical trainer for high performance children based at the Westway tennis centre and this has been funded by the Trust. Mark is a specialist fitness and movement coach for professional athletes working at national standard levels. He has worked with Laura Robson and Elena Baltacha in recent years. He has assessed their fitness levels, advised on diet and developed an exercise program as part of their ongoing development.
Squad sessions have also been run by Nick Jones who is a high performance coach based locally and acts as a consultant for the Trust. As well as providing technical and training points for the children, he has also helped to advise the trustees on the future direction of development needs of the children.

Summary

"Having worked with and watched these performance players for the last year I have been very impressed by their development which is largely due to their focus and commitment to their training program. We have provided a balance of individual lessons, squad sessions, and physical training sessions, which has proved a valuable combination. They are an impressive group of individuals, each with the kind of attitude that will benefit their future development."
Ben Jackson

Ethiopia

The Trust has also set-up a tennis development program in Ethiopia with assistance ranging from supporting ball boys to intensive courses for local coaches in how to best teach promising children to play tennis. Earlier this year, Ben Jackson, once again spent ten days in the capital city of Addis Ababa running these intensive courses. The Trust has also supplied racquets and balls for the children.

2011 All Star Youth Tennis Scholarship Trust fund raising

The proceeds raised from the sponsorship of the 16 runners who are supporting the Trust by running in the 2011 Royal Parks Half Marathon will predominantly be spent on the ongoing regular coaching and fitness sessions sponsored by the Trust for these three promising Wandsworth based children together with the development of other children already identified as being worthy beneficiaries of the Trust. The aspirations of the trustees for wanting to make a difference are high. Thank you for giving your support to the work of the Trust so that these children have a chance, they would not have had otherwise, to become the potential champions of tomorrow.

Sean Molony
Chairman of the All Star Youth Tennis Scholarship Trust