Well done to Ali McClean (6), Saoirse Darby (7) and Molly McClean (7) who have been selected by the Parks Tennis to join an elite squad of juniors who will train in Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club for the next year.
These girls have been picked from a large number of children who participate in the Parks Tennis program. In total eight children have been selected from the greater Dublin area, though this year, only three girls made it on to the team – all from Rathgar Tennis Club!
The group train twice a week in Fitzwilliam, Friday afternoon and 7.15AM on a Saturday morning, coached by ex Davis Cup captain Eoin Casey and Head of Coaching in Fitzwilliam, Jimmy McDonogh. It’s a big commitment for these girls and their parents, and we wish them well.
JUNIOR NEWS
Congratulation to all the Junior League Teams who represented Rathgar in the DLTC League. All players and subs were great ambassadors for our club, and we hope they will continue to represent us in future leagues.
Special congratulations to the Boys U17 1st team, and the Boys U14's, who are both through to the Quarter finals.
The two matches are on this sunday in Rathgar starting at 3.30. Good luck Lads....!
Coaching
As most of you already know we have started a new junior coaching programme, with the club junior coach Mark O’Neill.
The programme kicked off on the 8th of Septemberfor an 11 week term. The children taking part are split into 7 different age categories, with a maximum of 8 children in each class. We have a total of 170 children taking part in the lessons this term, which is a great success, and gives a great buzz to the club every afternoon.If you are interested in taking part next term you will be very welcome, and we will be enrolling for this in December. Watch the emails for notification of the dates.
Competitions
DLTC Under 14 and 17 Autumn LeagueLeagues started in early September and we have 4 teams taking part. There is one boys and one girls team competing at under 14, and 2 boys under 17 teams. The teams have been having training with Mark on Friday evenings. There is one weekend of matches (and training) left to run and so far all our competitors are holding their own very well.
If you didn’t know about this competition but would like
to take part next time, please let someone on the junior committee know – we are very keen to have even more junior members competing for Rathgar. Templeogue Under 12 CupA great big thank you to Templeogue Tennis Club for the kind invitation to Rathgar Juniors to compete in their Under 12 Day Cup held on the 27th September last. Twelve teams participated in the event with a very high standard of tennis displayed by all players. Naas Tennis Club were the eventual winners in a closely contested final against the hosts Templeogue. We would like to thank our club members Cormac O’Herlihy, Conor Kelly, Ciaran Flanagan, Fiona Martin, Ann Marie McTei and also Rachael Egan from Templeogue Tennis club for representing our club on this auspicious occasion. They did us proud. Well done to all! A very enjoyable afternoon was had by players and parents alike and the success of the event demonstrates what can be done to encourage and develop Junior tennis.
