MOUNT ANVILLE SECONDARY SCHOOL, DUBLIN:When winter gives way to spring the hockey sticks are downed en masse as tennis bounces back to life. Seán Kennyreports.
ON A blistering, blue sky afternoon in May, Mount Anville's multitude of tennis courts are a riot of racquet and ball. It is a day made for tennis and the Astroturf gleams under scores of darting pupils. PE teacher and tennis coach Claudia Tierney gathers a group of second-year girls on a court for some impromptu questions. The answers volleyed back are a neat encapsulation of the close relationship between school and sport.
"We play at lunch times and on Wednesdays and in PE class."
"Everyone gets a go at it."
"Maria Sharapova, Tim Henman, Andy Roddick, Venus and Serena."
"The school's really good at tennis!"
The youthful directness of this last comment draws a laugh from Tierney. Nonetheless, it rings true. The school have been a dominant force in Leinster tennis for some time. Last year, they won four provincial competitions at various levels. Whether participation has bred success or vice versa, the school now send out 22 teams across the three age brackets of senior, junior and minor.
"Because we've so many teams, instead of having, say, a C team in a C competition, what we have to do is put our B, C and D teams in the B competition and then put our E, F, G and H teams in the C competition," Tierney explains. "So, as a result of so many people being involved, they are all being pushed to play at a higher level, which is good.
"This season there are eight senior teams, six junior and eight minor."
Mount Anville's south Dublin location places it in close range of a number of well-established tennis clubs, such as Donnybrook, Blackrock and Deerpark. Many girls have therefore encountered the sport prior to entering secondary school.
"There'd be a small number who wouldn't have played much, but the vast majority have some experience of playing before coming here. Our best kids, by and large, are coming from Donnybrook Tennis club."
Given the shortness of the school season, clubs are of particular importance to girls at the sport's competitive edge.
"To be very good, kids would want to be playing a lot.
"Most kids who are playing senior A this year would be playing competitively all year long in their clubs. The onus is now back on clubs to set up better, more structured junior programmes and to follow those through. Club development programmes are very much the issue in order to raise the standard."
Although the year-round business of young players' development occurs primarily in clubs, the school are better equipped than most to provide their own coaching.
After St Patrick's Day each year, the hockey sticks are downed en masse in favour of racquets. Nets are slung across a tranche of multi-purpose Astroturf used for hockey over the winter. This gives the school a total of 20 courts. It is a time of year Claudia Tierney looks forward to, when tennis bounces back into Mount Anville life with the spring. A past pupil, she played in the school herself. After 36 years coaching in Mount Anville, her passion for the game remains undimmed.
"My father was a very good tennis player; he played for Ireland in his youth. All my family play and tennis was a big part of my childhood. I've made so many friends and there's the sense of identity and belonging I have with my club, Donnybrook.
"I still play, not as well as I used to, but I still enjoy it."
After the St Patrick's Day changeover, every pupil receives at least one tennis lesson per week as part of PE. Those who compete play more, but the sport is all-embracing. Tierney enjoys the involvement.
"There's the satisfaction of seeing children improve. It doesn't matter what you're teaching, whether it's academically or otherwise, it's just watching children develop and seeing their ability to relate to other students and to play with people of different abilities. All of that is very satisfying."
Differing abilities on the court is a theme she warms to. Making schools tennis as inclusive as possible is a principle that has underpinned her role as chairwoman of the Leinster Girls Schools Tennis committee. "I feel strongly about that. For example, we used not to have a C competition, so we introduced one to cater for more students at a lower level. Having as many kids as possible playing, that is definitely the ethos. To get as many children out experiencing it as possible."
The school's fielding of such a large number of teams allows for development across the gamut of ages and abilities. Last year's Minor H team's triumph in the Leinster C competition had a sweet resonance in this regard.
"The Minor H team winning last year: now that gave me huge pleasure. It actually gave me as much, if not more pleasure than winning at a higher level because I felt it was a reflection of the average standard in the school."
From Minor H to Senior A, history has given the school high standards to maintain.
"Yes, but I'd say that's the same academically as well. They've high expectations. The girls are expected to push themselves as hard as they can. It's to be the best they can be."
Tierney points out that tennis, and sport generally, is the means rather than the end, as an integral part of the educational mix. Anyone can daydream of making it to Wimbledon. And why not dream? But the real reward of participation is less tangible.
"I'm passionate about PE because I think it has huge potential for personal development, which is actually inbuilt. And also, you have to express yourself through sport. You cannot just sit behind a desk: 'Yes, miss. No, miss.' You actually have to engage. And that's the challenge.
"I'm a year head as well and I'm also director of the Social, Personal and Health Education programme in the school. So you're wearing all those hats and you're not just looking at it as the activity in isolation. The activity is only the means towards their personal development."
INSIDE TRACK
Name:Alison Clarke, Mount Anville Minor A tennis team
Age:14
Tennis hero:Roger Federer. He's just different from everyone else
Sporting dream:To win Wimbledon
Highlight of tennis career:Winning the interprovincials with Leinster last year
Any perks from playing tennis?We don't get off homework but we do get off class a bit
Play any other sports?I play hockey and cricket in the school. I play club hockey with Muckross too.
Deep Heat: Sweet aroma or unholy stink?Sweet aroma
SCHOOL FACTS
School:Mount Anville Secondary School, Dublin 14
Founded:1853
Number of pupils:650
Sports played:Tennis, hockey, cricket, basketball, badminton, netball, athletics
Major honours:The school has won numerous Leinster schools tennis titles, including four at various levels in 2007
Notable past pupil:Former Irish President Mary Robinson
