Tennis coach and assistant supervisor on the full-time FAS tennis coaching course. She was based at Bushy Park for the five-week Kit Kat summer programme for 7 to 17-year-olds which is financed by Nestle, local authorities and the Irish Sports Council
"The Kit Kat coaching is about tennis for everybody - for the rich and the poor. The idea is to get the masses playing tennis so rackets and balls are all provided. The course costs £6 for the whole summer. This year I had 300 children in Bushy Park for five weeks. "I have been coaching nearly three years now. I began to play tennis when I was about 12. One of the neighbours was slagging me and I just took it from there. I loved it and thought, `well that's it; I'm never going to get slagged again'. So I played loads of tennis. I travelled and played with kids in parks in Rhode Island and Australia. I've always loved working with children. I was studying marketing, but when I came home from Australia I decided to do the FAS course and I loved it so much I just stayed with it. I had loads of work experience in schools and clubs mainly with children and that was great.
"I never had to put anyone out of a lesson. You can reverse the trouble-makers and actually have fun with them. We have a sin-bin, so anybody that gets really bold might have to sit on the bench for a few minutes.
"Children start off with very basic skills, just using a racket and a ball, then go on to using tactical and technical skills. At the end of the five weeks they should be able to rally. More experienced players are taught game-plans and psychological tactics.
"The older ones are gas. They want to play more mixed doubles. But the younger girls wouldn't be too happy about mixing with the boys. Some kids want to get on to a Leinster squad, some just want to have fun and for others it's a group interaction.
"There is an Inter-Club Park League which allows players to compete against other clubs. We had North Kildare up at Bushy Park recently and the Inter-Park Event will be held in Limerick on August 22nd.
"There are talent searches the whole time so any kid who shines will be taken on for more coaching. It's up to the coach to put the child forward. There are assessments with physical tests, and tennis-specific drills. If they can do a certain amount - say, 50 balls in a row on a racket - then you can develop them and hopefully they'll get on a squad. "A coach has to grow with the athlete. The highest qualification is level four, which is working and travelling with international players, and level one is for coaching beginners.
"A 40-week coaching course is operated by FAS in conjunction with Dublin Parks Tennis League. Trainees qualify as an assistant coach and then get their level one. Some of them might become a leader at a park or assistant during the summer for the coaching.
"There is a new Canadian system of coaching which teaches tennis as an open skill, so that if you hit a ball in a certain way it's not necessarily incorrect. Tennis Ireland adopted the technique about five years ago and it allows children to develop their own individual style. "I love the technical side of the game, but the real thing for me is having lots of little tots around me. That's the whole fun of it. They're just hilarious the things they come out with, and the slagging that goes on - it's not about winning for them."
In conversation with Ann Scott
Kit Kat's five-week summer programme has finished but the Saturday morning leagues run from September 20th for eight Saturdays. Children can either register on the morning or contact their school or library for their local park or venue.
