Six St Mary’s Calne pupils were recently invited to play tennis at the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis Club for a two hour training session with the Head Professional, Dan Bloxham. The trip soon turned out to be so much more than they had expected…
Upon arrival, the pupils and their coaches were informed that the No.1 Over 65’s tennis player was about to play a doubles match and needed a fourth player. Jumping at the chance to play at Wimbledon, Mr Hayes, St Mary’s Director of Tennis, was whisked off to the training courts to play his first ever match at Wimbledon.
As it turns out, the gentlemen were quite handy around the court and Mr Hayes got a very competitive game on his hands while playing in the sunshine with Centre Court’s presence lurking in the background.
While all this was going on, Mr Wright and the pupils got a tour of the Wimbledon Museum, Court 1, the practice courts and Henman Hill / Murray Mound before their training session began. And what a training session it was! The pupils got a true glimpse of the demands expected from an elite player, while learning new drills, concepts and skills that they may not have been exposed to before.
Dan, the Head Pro, delivered a two and a half hour jam-packed lesson, working on all court situations which the pupils embraced and reaped the rewards as their progress was clear to see.
When it was time to end, it was time to manicure the courts and head home, or so they thought. Mr Acheson-Gray and Dan had lined up a few more special treats for them all.
Starting off with a short walk to Centre Court, they left their things in one of the conference suites where the engraving of the trophies happens each year. The group then undertook one of the most famous walks in history, starting from the changing rooms, down the corridor and steps, past the Wimbledon trophies, through the glass doors and out on to Centre Court. For a brief moment, everyone was speechless, silent, and humbled as 15,000 seats sat vacant awaiting the championship’s return in just a few weeks’ time.
This moment will forever be ingrained in their memories as they imagined the likes of Bjorg and McEnroe, Graff and Navratilova, Federer and Nadal, and Williams and Williams battling out the most iconic points as if before their very eyes.
Time to head home, but not before heading to the Royal Suite and Members Lounge to have sushi and drinks on the balcony overlooking the courts where Andy Murray famously lifted the Wimbledon Trophy in front of the masses. Now it really was time to leave… but not before Naomi Broady (former world No. 76) came and spoke to the pupils about her experience of playing on Centre Court and giving a glimpse into the life of a professional.
