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?43m spent on British tennis coaching annually WTF!


Gambo

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Read in the Daily Record today that Britain spends ?43m annually on tennis coaching (on another page in the same paper it says ?25m but like the tabloids i will use the figure that will make a better headlinewhistling.gif ).

 

 

Please someone tell me that whatever the figure is supposed to be (?43m/?25m) that there is a decimal point missing.

 

How, with our record in tennis can we justify throwing that amount of money at the sport.

 

I don't mind minority sports that we are not very good at or really all that interested in getting some money heading there way, but ?43 effin million. verymad.gif

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Mr Romanov Saviour of HMFC

Read in the Daily Record today that Britain spends ?43m annually on tennis coaching (on another page in the same paper it says ?25m but like the tabloids i will use the figure that will make a better headlinewhistling.gif ).

 

 

Please someone tell me that whatever the figure is supposed to be (?43m/?25m) that there is a decimal point missing.

 

How, with our record in tennis can we justify throwing that amount of money at the sport.

 

I don't mind minority sports that we are not very good at or really all that interested in getting some money heading there way, but ?43 effin million. verymad.gif

 

And Lithuania, who pumped us, have a budget of something like 50k.

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Nookie Bear

Kinda depends on where that money comes from.

 

If it is generated from Wimbledon (tickets, merchandising, tv rights etc) then fair enough, although questions must be asked on their talent-spotting process.

 

If they using lottery money then it must be stopped immediately.

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It is probably got something to do with Labour trying to win over middle England. I mean have you ever seen anyone even resembling working class at Wimbledon? They would much rather have their little darlings playing such a polite sport like tennis rather than some roughian sport i.e Football. Even though football or even rugby are far more popular than tennis will ever be.

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Denny Crane

Probably still clinging to the belief that state-educated children can't be tennis players. Fred Perry often told of the snobby attitude he encountered.

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jambos are go!

It is probably got something to do with Labour trying to win over middle England. I mean have you ever seen anyone even resembling working class at Wimbledon? They would much rather have their little darlings playing such a polite sport like tennis rather than some roughian sport i.e Football. Even though football or even rugby are far more popular than tennis will ever be.

Anti Labour nonsense. Used to know a Jambo called Donald Watt who was good enough to reach the final or win Junior Wimbledon. As soon as his talent was recognized money and coaching was thrown at him. It virtually all from LTA surpluses from wimbledon. The biggest tennis tournament in the world in a country with only a few decent players. The Tv money is tens of million or more. Probably a billion quid thrown at coaching ones the last two or threesecades and only Andy Murray as a truly world class performer on a regular basis. They say the weather is really to blame but Dunblane is hardly Dubai.

 

The lesson is that kids with talent at Tennis are quids in.

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They say the weather is really to blame but Dunblane is hardly Dubai.

 

 

 

True. But Mother Murray took him out of Scotland/Britain and the LTA system, to Spain at a young age. Not quite Dunblane either.

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Ray Winstone

And the funding in this country is still way behind the leading tennis nations.

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Frankenstein Jambo.

It is probably got something to do with Labour trying to win over middle England. I mean have you ever seen anyone even resembling working class at Wimbledon? They would much rather have their little darlings playing such a polite sport like tennis rather than some roughian sport i.e Football. Even though football or even rugby are far more popular than tennis will ever be.

What a complete pile of nonsense.

 

Tennis has been attended by a completly different audience since the 70's and 80's. Young and old, middle and lower classes, hip to the pop. This whole strerotype that only rich people attend tennis is complede bullpoo.

 

I happen to be a huge tennis fan and have attended a few Wimbeldon games, my favourte being Murray V roddick last year and I am certanly not middle class.

 

Complete anti labour post which is completly bull crap.

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True. But Mother Murray took him out of Scotland/Britain and the LTA system, to Spain at a young age. Not quite Dunblane either.

 

So although the LTA gets all that money, the best player to come out of Britain in the last decade or so (probably much, much longer) didn't come through their system?

 

The term 'not fit for purpose' is used quite a lot on here but surely this is a shining example. You simply cannot justify spending ?40 million odd a year and getting sod all in return.

 

But then what do you do, throw even more money at the sport to try and compete with other nations, or cut back and let it become a truly minority sport?

 

Like many British sporting instiutions these days, it seems like a major revamp is required.

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They spend it, they don't invest it. The LTA is forever being accused of elitism, so it's hardly a surprise that they react by splurging the profits of a fortnight on grass roots projects that give our roly poly youngsters a quick fix of physical exercise between bags of crisps.

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jambos are go!

So although the LTA gets all that money, the best player to come out of Britain in the last decade or so (probably much, much longer) didn't come through their system?

 

The term 'not fit for purpose' is used quite a lot on here but surely this is a shining example. You simply cannot justify spending ?40 million odd a year and getting sod all in return.

 

But then what do you do, throw even more money at the sport to try and compete with other nations, or cut back and let it become a truly minority sport?

 

Like many British sporting instiutions these days, it seems like a major revamp is required.

 

 

 

If you read the whole thread you will see that it is not the Taxpayer but Tennis who is throwing the ?40million plus into Tennis coaching from its own resourcess. Remember Tennis players get prize money not wages and most of that comes from sponsors. I strongly suspect that the LTA picked up the tab for Murrays sojourn to the Costas. Another point I did not make earlier. Any talented yougster (even in Scotland) will get their kit/rackets in abundance for nowt from the manufacturers as soon as they are taken into a national coaching scheme. Attack tennis as elitist but not as scroungers.

 

BTW how much money does HMG put into grass roots football compared to what it takes out of the national game. Players warn thousand,tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands a week. And at least half of it goes to the Treasury in income taxes. Nice little earner for the exchequer methinks. VAT on top of all that too.

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I strongly suspect that the LTA picked up the tab for Murrays sojourn to the Costas.

 

They did. But that isnt the point. For Andy to get where he is, he had to MOVE elsewhere to get the required coaching (independent from the LTA), regardless of whether or not the LTA paid for it. What are they currently doing to fix that inadequacy?

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jambos are go!

They did. But that isnt the point. For Andy to get where he is, he had to MOVE elsewhere to get the required coaching (independent from the LTA), regardless of whether or not the LTA paid for it. What are they currently doing to fix that inadequacy?

 

Murrays greatest advantage was to have an LTA trained mother. My comments on this thread are based on what I know about a game I have not played for decades. To correct misconceptions about how tennis coaching is funded. Tennis has enough resources to sort things out if it get its attack together including sending umpteen young prospects abroad to improve. Its main challenge is to get more youngsters to take up a great and enjoyable game. Maybe they should go to China and learn how to coach sports to Olympic standard from scratch.

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jamboinglasgow

Murrays greatest advantage was to have an LTA trained mother. My comments on this thread are based on what I know about a game I have not played for decades. To correct misconceptions about how tennis coaching is funded. Tennis has enough resources to sort things out if it get its attack together including sending umpteen young prospects abroad to improve. Its main challenge is to get more youngsters to take up a great and enjoyable game. Maybe they should go to China and learn how to coach sports to Olympic standard from scratch.

 

That method would never be allowed in this country. The Chinese method is to take a large group of kids and force them through a very strict and tough regime (the child has no say what they want to do) and through this almost destroying training method they whittle down to get a couple top stars. Yes you may have quite a few broken children destroyed by the training but you get Olympic champions.

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jambos are go!

That method would never be allowed in this country. The Chinese method is to take a large group of kids and force them through a very strict and tough regime (the child has no say what they want to do) and through this almost destroying training method they whittle down to get a couple top stars. Yes you may have quite a few broken children destroyed by the training but you get Olympic champions.

 

Works on a much smaller scale if Andre Agassi's book is to be believed. Also worked with the William sisters IIRC.

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shaun.lawson

Works on a much smaller scale if Andre Agassi's book is to be believed. Also worked with the William sisters IIRC.

 

Correct in Agassi's case - but then, this also left him rebelling as a teenager, and was probably one of the factors behind his eventual flirtation with crystal meth. His father simply didn't allow him a childhood. In the Williams sisters' case, they certainly had it tough, and the court they trained on as kids was right in the middle of as sketchy a part of town you could imagine - but they had good parents, who nurtured them, ensured they had good educations and were balanced people, and took care that neither played many tournaments when they first joined the tour.

 

But jamboinglasgow's right to point out how many children are broken by their parents' dreams. It wouldn't be acceptable in Britain, nor should it: sorry, but sport is not as important as anyone's right to a happy childhood. This point is sadly lost on alarming numbers of tennis parents the world over, and Andy Murray's biggest stroke of fortune was to have a down to earth mother with her head well and truly screwed on.

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shaun.lawson

This debate's been going on for as long as I can remember. The LTA are clearly incompetent - but they've had many changes of regime over the last couple of decades, yet nothing ever changes in terms of players being produced. Andy Murray's a product of Barcelona. Greg Rusedski was imported from Canada. Tim Henman emerged through David Lloyd's clubs, and had tennis in the family anyway: he had nothing to do with the LTA system, which has produced no-one even of international class, let alone world class.

 

I can't help but think tennis' chronic image problem counts against it, and clubs still aren't accessible enough even now. I've also long believed that if Andre Agassi or Shane Warne had been born and grown up in Britain, neither would've got anywhere: the snobs running tennis and cricket at the time would've seen to that. Meanwhile, the LTA sacked our one good Davis Cup captain in living memory - David Lloyd - because he rocked the boat and told the truth, which says it all really.

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rudi must stay

And Lithuania, who pumped us, have a budget of something like 50k.

 

apparently the LTA spent the same on a cafe as Lithuania spend on tennis each year. Just puts it into perspective..

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apparently the LTA spent the same on a cafe as Lithuania spend on tennis each year. Just puts it into perspective..

 

It sure does, must be a world class cafe.......................

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rudi must stay

It sure does, must be a world class cafe.......................

 

**** the tennis eh. Cafes, that's what's its all about. And we've produced the results with chefs as well, Jamie Oliver, Delia Smith. We're better at that.

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