After the departure of previous junior tennis coach Emma Deep, junior tennis coaching was non-existent in the town.

However local high school PE teacher Brendan Gale has taken over the reigns, and will recommence the popular junior coaching program after the current school holidays.

After holding the first registration day last Saturday, Brendan was more than pleased with the numbers that turned up for the registration, with approximately 40 budding young tennis players signing up for coaching.

“There were about 40 children registered on Saturday which is great, and I am still getting inquiries,” Brendan said.

Brendan said he was basically “filling the void” after the departure of Emma, as he had heard numerous families and children were missing the opportunity of the tennis coaching. Brendan said he intended to run the coaching clinics in a similar format to what Emma had provided.

“The tennis coaching will hopefully develop the skills of the players, while at the same time provide fun tennis games and activities,” Brendan said.

The initial idea was to hold the coaching on Saturday morning, however Brendan said if numbers continue to increase, coaching will also be conducted on Friday afternoons.

Through developing junior tennis in Cootamundra, Brendan said he enjoyed coaching and was looking to build a connection between junior and adult tennis in the town.

He is also hoping to encourage juniors to be involved in competition tennis, and eventually have junior players and teams participate in inter-town competitions.

Brendan said the junior players will play under a modified junior tennis program through AVIVA Tennis Hot Shots, where players use modified equipment and a modified game structure.

Cost of the registration under the Cootamundra Tennis Association for junior players is $20, which includes court hire and insurance for players while using the facilities during coaching times.

Coaching will commence on the first Saturday morning after school returns (July 26), and conclude on Saturday, September 20, providing nine coaching sessions for the term.

The cost for the coaching will be $4 for a half hour session and $7 for a one hour session. Players aged six years and below will generally have half hour lessons, and players seven years and above will have one hour lessons.