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ADVANTAGE TENNIS ACADEMY

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The Advantage Tennis Academy

About Advantage Tennis Academy

Advantage Tennis Academy was established at the Randburg Tennis Club in April 1999 by Gareth Gibson and Vlatko Najdek.
The Academy and the club grew from strength to strength and became highly respected in the Johannesburg area with the junior u14’s and the senior team becoming premier league champions in various Gauteng Central leagues over the years.
In September 2001 Vlatko immigrated to the USA to rejoin his family.
Gareth continued to grow and build the academy with the help of Kevin Gibson who returned from coaching at the Esporta Club in Coventry, England where he charted and assessed Andy Murray and gained much experience with the British futures programme, Ryan Beer who developed our cardio and fitness training programmes and Rachelle Dennett who ran our touring programme.
During this time Gareth represented South Africa at the KIA amateur Australian Open in 2004 finishing as world runner-up, our juniors toured the country and excelled in the SA junior tournaments.
In 2007 Gareth took up a position as manager of the Gulph Mills TC in Philadelphia for the Krinsky Group.
In his time in the USA he gained vast experience at the summer camps and working with international coaches.
He also represented South Africa IC at the Windmill Cup held in Washington DC in 2008.

Coaching Philosophy

Advantage Tennis Academy has a team of highly qualified, skilled and dedicated coaches who all love the game of tennis and are eager to pass this fabulous game onto others.
Our coaches have vast playing experience ranging from local leagues to international tournament play.
Our coaching ranges from social and club level, provincial squad to local and international travel with players.
Each coach has experience working with children and adults of various ages and abilities.
We believe in developing a sound technical base in our players at a young age and from there we implement a programme that covers the mental, physical and tactical side of the game.
As a team we have coaches who specialize in various areas of tennis and therefore make use of their expertise at various stages in our player’s development.
We take pride in the fact that not only have we developed players who have won the South Africa junior national championships, represented South Africa overseas and gone on to play college tennis in the USA but have also built relationships with families and players who have been with us throughout their entire school careers.
We look foreward to developing players for the future and helping South Africa build champions and people that make us proud.

Tennis Lesson Rates

Private (Per Lesson)

½ hr private

R100.00 - R160.00

¾ hr private

R150.00 - R210.00

1 hr private

R190.00 - R320.00

½ hr performer mini

R85.00

Rates for semi-privates lessons vary between coaches

Group (Per Term)

½ hr Ball Skills/Mini Tennis

R495.00

¾ hr Mini Tennis

R605.00

Level 1

R715.00

Level 2,3

R825.00

Squad

R880.00

Junior Match Play

R385.00

Junior Group Programmes

Ball Skills (ages 3-6)

Simple co-ordination, movement and balance, crossing the mid-line, throwing, jumping and running. Listening, understanding and using instructions. Respecting and learning to work with peers.

Mini Tennis 1 (ages 4-8)

Introduction of basic tennis fundamentals including serving, forehand, backhand, volleys and smash. Focus on improving movement, coordination and space awareness. Play on modified size court using soft balls.

Mini Tennis 2 (ages 6-8)

Reinforcement of technical knowledge. Play on modified size court using soft balls. Development of basic tactics, scoring and rules of tennis.

Level 1 (ages 8-11)

Use of regulation tennis balls and work from ¾ area of court. During matches, players rally from baseline on a half court with soft balls. Improve technique incorporated within drills and games.

Level 2 (ages 10-14)

Students learn additional strokes to develop their all court game. Maintain a groundstroke rally and serve overhand from the baseline. Application of technique and tactics incorporated within drills and games in singles and doubles match play.

Level 3 (ages 12-17)

Focus on footwork and execution of all strokes with a variety of spins. Rally consistently from the baseline with direction and power. Technique and tactics incorporated within drills, points and games. Preparation for SA junior ranking tournaments.

Squads (ages 14 and up)

High intensity programme focused on physical, tactical and mental aspects. Add power and touch to help win matches. Preparation for senior ranking tournaments and US college scholarships.

Cardio Tennis (16 and up)

Continuously elevated heart rate ensures aerobic training, while playing tennis. Short cycles of high intensity workouts and periods of rest like interval training. Improve game by hitting lots of balls each session. Stretching.

Term Dates

2009 Term 3: Monday July 13th - Saturday September 26th

2009 Term 4: Monday Oct 5th - Saturday December 12th

2010 Term 1: Monday January 11th - Saturday March 27th

2010 Term 2: Monday April 12th – Saturday June 19th (subject to change with the world cup)

Club Membership

Junior and senior club membership are offered at Randburg TC. As a full time member at either club you are legible for social tennis, club championships and league play throughout the year.

Organized Match Play

As part of your learning with Advantage Tennis Academy we would encourage you to take part in our various match play programmes.

Junior Club Championships

Junior club championships for u10 and u14 girl’s and boy’s are held every February at Randburg TC. The championships are run with compass draws which allows all competitors maximum participation whether they win or lose. The championships form the basis for our Junior League Team selections.

Junior League

Every May Gauteng Central Tennis Association runs an u14 league. The league runs for five weeks on Sunday afternoons starting at 1.30pm. Each team comprises of four children, girls or boys or mixed and the format is 1 singles match and 2 doubles matches.

Super Series

Children of similar ability are placed in a group and are required to play each other in a round robin format (1 match per week). Matches are the best of 3 tie-breaker sets. The super series is designed for players who are serious about playing junior ranking tournaments and the format is designed to help them develop their match strategy, tactics and to help them to start taking responsibility for their game.

Tournaments

During the holidays children of all ages and abilities can take part in our mini-tennis and tennis tournaments. Children are divided into sections according to ability and play a round-robin format followed by a knockout format. Our coaches are on hand to offer tips and pointers to all participants.

Sports-mania Events

Our sports-mania and mini-mania events run during the holidays. Children of all ages are placed in teams and compete against each other in grass court mini-tennis, court action cricket, soccer and volleyball. Extra points are awarded for sportsmanship and team spirit.

Corporate Fun days

Let our coaches entertain your colleagues or friends with a fun filled morning of exercise, drills and friendly competition. This is a great way to relax, socialize and build team spirit.

Coaches

Gareth Gibson

083 6002464

Gareth Gibson is a qualified and registered Professional Tennis Coach.
His playing highlights include representing South Africa at the KIA World Amateur Australian Open along with Ronel Louw, where they ended up in 2nd place out of 16 nations and in Washington DC at the Windmill Cup where South Africa were tied 5th out of 16 nations.
Gareth served as chairman of the Gauteng Central Tennis Coaches Association from 2000-2007 and on the national board of examiners from 2002-2006.
He spent 18 months in the US gaining valuable experience as manager of The Gulph Mills tennis club for the Krinsky group.
During this time he got his national USA 35’s age group ranking to 27 in the country and helped his club to a top 4 finish in the 2008 national club championships.
His coaching experience includes coaching the provincial junior squad, the University of Johannesburg team and traveling with top junior and senior players locally and internationally.

Kevin Gibson

083 6008904

Kevin Gibson is qualified as a Professional Tennis Coach and as an LTA Level 1 coach.
Kevin spent time coaching in England at the Coventry Esporta centre where he was responsible for the development of tennis in the region.
During his time there he charted Andy Murray as a junior player at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.
Kevin has extensive experience in developing junior squad players and he also heads up our holiday programme which includes tournaments and sportsmania events which are run every holiday.

Ryan Beer

082 8234736

Ryan Beer is qualified as a Level 2 Instructor.
Ryan has vast experience in the fitness and nutrition department of tennis.
He has introduced cardio tennis to our club and ensures that all our students have access to current physical training programmes.
He coaches children and adults of all ages and abilities.

CONTACT THE COACHES

Advantage Tennis Academy News 2010

Newsletter (.doc): Newsletter February 2010

Advantage Tennis Academy News 2009

Newsletter (.doc): Newsletter June 2009   Newsletter May 2009   Newsletter April 2009   Newsletter March 2009   Newsletter February 2009
Newsletter January 2009  

Advantage Tennis Academy News 2006

Other: 24Hr Coach-A-Thon

Advantage Tennis Academy News 2005

Other: Gareth's trip to the US   August Holiday Tournament

Rankings: Rankings December 2005   Rankings November 2005   Rankings August 2005   Rankings July 2005   Rankings May 2005
Rankings April 2005   Rankings March 2005

Newsletter: Newsletter December 2005   Newsletter November 2005   Newsletter September 2005   Newsletter August 2005
Newsletter July 2005   Newsletter May 2005   Newsletter April 2005   Newsletter March 2005   Newsletter February 2005
Newsletter January 2005

Advantage Tennis Academy News 2004

Newsletter: Newsletter December 2004   Newsletter November 2004   Newsletter October 2004