ASK LUKE

---

ASK LUKE Head Coach, Voyager Tennis: ATP world ranking 262 singles; ATP world ranking 169 doubles; winning over 500 professional matches; wins include Murray, Ferrer, Kiefer; coached by Tony Roche 01-07; Federer ’s hitting partner 05-07 excessive tournaments and protecting what they have rather than taking the time to get better. Where does Voyager Tennis provide performance programs? We have performance programs at 4 centres: w A full time daily program at Sydney Olympic Park which is integrated into Mcdonald College, so that students complete their daily tennis training within the school timetable

Now that Pat Rafter has taken on the lead role ‘Performance Tennis’ for Tennis Australia - what’s his focus? Pat was made head of Performance Tennis for Tennis Australia back at the beginning of the year. His job is to guide player development for 12 year olds and up - so that Australia continues to create players who can compete on the world stage. As you know, tennis is an increasingly international sport - with many countries producing stars. Australia has to run just to stand still. So if we want to be a force we have to be very bold and creative. Pat’s key early initiatives include: 1) putting an end to distance education for ‘performance’ players - he wants kids to stay in school and be part of a proper school culture and regime; 2) shifting the emphasis from tournament results to player development - he wants young players to prioritise improvements over chasing ranking points. What does that mean for young aspiring Professionals or those wanting to go to US College on the North Shore? Performance players need to be in a school that delivers a strong tennis program - and add squads and private lessons as appropriate. Performance players need to focus on game improvements above all else - it is critical to make sure players are not playing

w Evening squads at 3 centres: WRC North Manly, Next Generation Ryde, and Barker College Hornsby - all coached by ex-tour professionals. See www. voyagertennis. com for details. How does Voyager Tennis help performance players maximise their

improvements? Voyager Tennis currently works with more than 50 players in the top 20 in NSW for their age groups. Here’s what we deliver: w ensure intensity during practice w ensure deep focus on how to construct points w deliver focus on footwork, fitness and physical training to support tennis w ensure continuous improvement on all aspects of shot production and technique w using matches as check-ins on progress and as learning opportunities w

provide coach feedback and match

analysis - via our tournament coverage w encouraging planning, keeping notes, game ownership, resilience and passion What results has Voyager Tennis achieved with its players? We have already helped many players achieve US College tennis scholarships and have a whole lot more coming through. Many of our players are experiencing significant game improvements - that is helping them achieve good results in tournaments. Check out our Facebook page for examples What is it like being a full time performance student? See this documentary on YouTube - Pursuit of Champions - the link is https://www.youtube/com/ results?search_query=pursuit+of+ch ampions+singapore It was filmed by a Singapore production company who wanted to explore the life of one of our outstanding players, Ethan Lye, who has moved to Voyager Tennis from Singapore to join our full time program at Olympic Park. It has lots of great insights into how a talented 14 year old trains to be his best. How can people contact you if they have any questions? Please email me: luke@ voyagertennis.com I look forward to hearing from you.