A ball machine for Cary Park Junior Tennis Club
Sport
We want to buy a mechanical ball machine so that juniors can practice repetition drills without having to pay for expensive coaching time.
About this cause
We are a small community-based tennis club catering mainly for juniors under the age of 18, although we do have an adult section. We are run almost entirely by volunteers, who run the office, maintain the six courts and 18-hole putting green, and organise tennis for local children, schools and junior members. Only our team of three coaches are paid. We get no help from our local authority other than a small contribution to our sink fund, and our volunteers actually keep the surrounding paths and seating trimmed and tidy, even though it is not our responsibility. This seating is used by local people, many of whom are residents of the many care homes in our vicinity, who love to sit and watch the youngsters being coached.
How this cause brings people in the community together
Any tennis expert will tell you that the single most important aspect of coaching young players is repetition drills. For this, the youngster has to face ball after ball coming at him or her at the same speed, and the same angle. Only a mechanical ball machine can achieve this. A hitting partner, such as a mother or father, or friend, cannot maintain the consistency needed. Only an experienced, qualified coach could achieve this and they are expensive - particularly if used for simple practice instead of coaching time. Every privately run tennis club has at least one of these machines, often more. But as we are a small community club run by volunteers, we aren't able to afford one. We face the prospect of either our juniors being disadvantaged or going to a rich club elsewhere.