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Judy Murray: Parent support key for youngsters


 

Originally published on 13/05/14

Great Britain’s Fed Cup captain was speaking ahead of a coaching masterclass with the country’s leading junior players at Roehampton Club.

She was joined in south-west London by a group of 12-15 year old boys and girls who are members of HEAD’s junior development programme, Team HEAD, as well as their parents.

“We need to appreciate the role of the parents especially in an individual sport like tennis,” she said. “Parents can make mistakes without meaning to on behalf of their kids if they are not informed. The parents have to make things happen and the more you can get them to understand what these things are and how they can best support their child on the journey the better.

“We talk about the stage of development their kids are at, what are the important things that the kids need to be able to do now and over the next two years, not just tennis but how they develop their bodies, injury prevention and that kind of thing.”

As well as running the coaching masterclass, Judy also hosted a Q&A session with the Team HEAD players and their parents.

She said the day was all about inspiring the young players and helping them fulfil their potential.

“Providing young players with good coaching and support is important to me so it was great to spend the day with Team HEAD’s leading junior players,” she said. “I’ve been using HEAD rackets for about 15 years and remember when Andy was part of Team HEAD. I understand how important it is for young players to have the right support around them so that they can fulfil their potential and enjoy their tennis.”

Team HEAD is HEAD’s global player sponsorship programme aimed at supporting young, talented tennis players, aged 11-21 years, in more than 40 countries around the world.

Players benefit from partnerships with well-known coaches like Bob Brett and Emilio Sanchez and both Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have come through the programme.

Judy Murray was speaking at a Team HEAD junior players coaching masterclass as part of her role as a brand ambassador of HEAD. For more information visit www.HEAD.com

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.