DARENTH TABLE TENNIS CLUB NEWS
last updated 06/05/2008
CLUB NIGHT
Mark Blackburn has kindly agreed to run Club Night for the next 3 Mondays while Janet and David take a well-earned rest far away from the sound of ball on bat. There will be no coaching on Wednesday evenings during May.
A HATFUL OF MEDALS
Five juniors took part in the Kent Closed on Saturday, 3rd May. Ollie White had entered but was disappointingly ruled out by a revision lesson. Callum, Jamie, Meg, Sam and Sean set out, looking forward to the occasion. We had a bit of a problem with the route the AA had planned for us – nobody mentioned that the road sign we were depending upon was broken and we sailed down as far as Shepherdswell traffic light before we could turn back. We made it with approximately two minutes to spare and Sarah Dowe (bless her cotton socks) intervening with Control to avoid Sam and Meg being scratched.
Sam made it as far as the quarters of the Under 18 Boys event where he lost narrowly to Jack Brown (Maidstone) in three. He had better luck in the Under 18 Doubles where he and Sean reached the quarters and almost put out the top seeds Richard Carden/Phil Thomas. They were a bit disappointed as they were 6-2 up in the fifth before finally bowing out 9-11.
Meg was thrown into battle immediately in the Under 18 Girls where she had tough opposition in Jasmin Ould (Tun Wells) and Danielle Gray (Ashford). Meg did fine, she pinched a game from Jasmin and then proceeded to beat Gray which put her through to the semis where she ran into Claire Harvey (Meopham). Meg was down to play doubles with Claire but she wasn't feeling generous and that was as far as she got. Meg ran into Claire again in the semis of the Cadet Girls Singles, with the same result but when these two teamed up in the doubles, it was a different story. First they won the Junior Under 18 Girls Doubles and then the Cadet Under 16 Girls Doubles. Claire had runners-up medals in all the singles she entered so it was quite a day for the girls.
The Cadet Boys Singles saw Sean (seeded 1), Callum, who hadn't entered the Under 15 Boys Singles but Control found a space for him in Group 2, and Jamie all ending up in the top half of the draw. Callum was in with Andrew Lockwood (Tun Wells) seeded 2, and Max Nevin (Maidstone). Callum seized his opportunity, beat Nevin and stretched Andrew to 5 to qualify for the next round as runner-up. Here he ran into Jamie who had won his group, disposing of James Diddams (Medway) and Daniel Chen (Bromley) to get there. Best chum he might be but Callum wasn't going to be an easy prospect for Jamie and he wasn't, as 11-9 in the fifth suggests. Jamie then had to raise his game again as he faced Sean in the semi finals. Sean had won his group with a bit to spare and cruised through his quarter. He might just have been a tad lucky to take the first but Sean never let Jamie get into his stride and won it in straight games. Astonishingly Chen put out Lockwood in the other half of the draw and it was he who faced Sean in the final. Sean got the first, coming back from 1-5 down, dropped the second and then went up a gear or two to take the next two.
Sean then paired up with Callum for the Cadet Boys Doubles and they worked well together as a team, not really having any trouble in reaching the final. So well were they playing, they took the first game from Joseph Hartland/Sam Beaumont (Medway) 11-0. Inevitably they dropped the second but picked up their rhythm again and ran away with the next two.
What a haul! Congratulations to all.
JUNIORS FLY OUT TO MASTERCLASS WITH FORMER EUROPEAN CHAMPION
Four lucky juniors from the club, Jamie Dunleavy, Sean O'Mahony, Sam Smith and Meg Sullivan, flew out to Jersey in the school holidays to attend a four day Masterclass run by former European and World No. 5 John Hilton, and Brian Kean, former Scottish international, Scottish champion and former Scottish National Team Coach. The venue was the Geoff Reed Table Tennis Centre, St Clement. The Centre was the brainchild of Geoff Reed who saw the needs of the island and had the drive to push the project through. It is part of an athletics centre and now provides very high standard playing conditions and has been put forward as a training camp for the Olympics. Dave and Janet accompanied the youngsters.
The Jersey TTA were extremely helpful throughout our stay arranging transport to and from the airport. Malcolm Gallashaw met us at the airport with two cars to transport us to the Hotel Ambassadeur where we were to stay. John Hilton (affectionately known as Johnnie H) was waiting for us in Reception, wearing a big grin as usual. We were introduced to Brian Kean who was to act not only as coach but also as fitness trainer. Once checked in everyone made for their own rooms to unpack. The hotel proved to be very comfortable with a high standard of cuisine. All the rooms had their own en suite bath/shower room, colour tv, tea and coffee making facilities. Most had hairdryers. Meg was delighted with her own single room "boudoir". She even had her own "bodyguard" (Jamie) next door. Sam and Sean had their own den, where they chirruped away happily like a couple of chipmunks. Dave and Janet were a couple of doors away in their own bed sittingroom. Whenever they got the chance the tribe usually headed for the indoor games room where they could play pool.
It was a busy four days beginning every morning with a thorough warm up with Brian followed by lots of mobility work. After lunch Brian put the juniors through their paces again before more training exercises and finishing with some form of match play. There was a mini tournament one afternoon but by far the most popular match play was John's version of Top Table whereby he and Brian selected their own teams from the 18 juniors present. The players from one team chose their own table and remained on it while the second team rotated so everyone got to play all the players in the opposition.
On the last afternoon John and Brian put on a short demonstration and some of the youngsters got to try out Brian's jumbo size fun bat, his "non-stick" rubbers (actually a large frying pan) and John's "polo" bat with a hole in it and some mini bats.
It was a very successful trip, the youngsters had a great time and all reckoned it was well worth going. John and Brian's assessment of the youngsters was that they all have great efficiency in their strokes and are all basically sound in their techniques and extremely tidy in all that they do. Their advice was that they need to build in much more match play into their practice which should give them a more hardened aspect to their development. It remains to be seen what they will achieve in the forthcoming end of season tournaments.
Happy memories.... Jamie making us laugh when we arrived, bombing out of his room yelling "hey, have you seen the size of my bed?", Meg, Dave and Janet trooping in to inspect, finding Jamie sprawled over two twin beds pushed together and wearing a beatific grin on his face .... of the tribe going down to the beach opposite the hotel one evening, laughing their heads off, sprinting over the sand, hopping over the rock pools and haring down to the water's edge and then returning to play ducks and drakes on a big rock pool until Sam decided to heave the biggest rock he could lift into it .... of Sean wailing "I've lost my watch!" as they came back up off the beach and Meggie shrieking in delight when she found it down by the rock pool .... Sam and Sean on the last morning, still having enough energy to race each other down the athletics track .... and the massage chairs at Jersey airport which they just had to try out.
Go again? You bet!
Left to right:
Brian Kean, Sam Smith, Geoff Reed, Sean O'Mahony, Jamie Dunleavy, Megan Sullivan, John Hilton
DONNINGTON HALL LIGHTING
The 9 tungsten halogen 500w lights and all the old fluorescents in the Main Hall have now been replaced by high frequency 2 x 70w high frequency 6 foot fluorescent luminaires. Dave took light readings prior to the Sevenoaks Closed and found that the light is about 500 lux over the playing area with all the lights on - better than he predicted.
Dave has designed the new lighting system with all users of the Hall in mind - they will be able to have all the lights on or various combinations thereof. The appearance of the Hall should be much better.
The Sevenoaks League and the Darenth Club have donated £250 each towards the cost of the new lighting.
BROMLEY LEAGUE
Congratulations to the A: Dave Bishop, Mark Heaton, Nick Larmer, Roger Pingram and Neil Warren for finishing runners-up in Division 1. Roger was second in the averages with 85%.
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