@elothiantennis has a chat to the Weatherhead bros about their first tennis competition...
Bruce (7) and Aaron (9) Weatherhead started playing tennis at Dunbar Tennis Club which both boys absolutely loved. However, when tennis in Tranent started up a couple of years ago the Weatherhead brothers got involved in the sessions in their own town and have recently entered their first ever tournament at Craiglockhart Tennis Centre in Edinburgh.
The competition at was in support of Macmillan and it was an action packed couple of days with some excellent tennis on display. Bruce was up first in the Mini Red round robin competition and Aaron the following day in the Mini Orange competition. Stuart Brown, East Lothian Tennis DO caught up with the boys to have chat about their tennis experiences.
Q: How did you both find your first tennis torunament experience? Were you nervous?
Bruce: Good, I was a bit nervous at the start though but it went quite well!
Aaron: I was ok, I was the only one from East Lothian so didnt know anyone at the start so waa good to get playing.
Q: What was the thing you learn most about playing the game?
Bruce: Keep moving!
Aaron: Try and hit it in to the corners and keep it away from your opponent so you can get an advantage.
Q: What do you feel you need to practice the most?
Bruce: Running on to the ball and hitting it.
Aaron: Serving!
Q: What are the courts like that you have been learning on at Forester Park?
Bruce/Aaron: Rubbish, really slippy - they are really football pitches.
Q: How excited are you about the new courts at Polson Park?
Aaron: It will be such a good experience to have a full court just over the road.
Bruce: It's going to be so exciting to just come up and start playing?
Q: Would you like to have teams here?
Bruce/Aaron: Yes!
Q: Finally, now you have played your first tournament, would you play again?
Aaron/Bruce: Yes!
It is really important for any kid playing tennis, that they have fun when they train and fun when they play matches. It is all about learning to play and playing to learn. Make mistakes, learn from them and most importantly have fun. It is exciting to see kids coming through from Tranent and start to get a taste of competitive tennis out with their own town. While the courts at Forester Park were not ideal for tennis they have allowed the sport to grow in a town that, before, had no tennis at all. A huge thank you to Enjoy Leisure in Tranent who have kindly supported the tennis project at Forester Park.
It is going to be a hugely exciting year for Tennis in Tranent and indeed across East Lothian with Longniddry, Haddington, Musselburgh and East Linton all due to have new courts before the season starts.
A big thank you to Bruce and Aaron Weatherhead for sharing their experiences and we hope to see them back out playing more tournaments!
If you would like to get involved in tennis in East Lothian then please contact sbrown@enjoyleisure.com
