So we are all hoping and praying that Andy Murray ends the long drought ofunderperforming British Tennis by winning Wimbledon this year….. but to be honest any grandslam win would do.
But why are we still in such a dire position why do the hopes of the nation hang heavy on the shoulders of just one player? After all over the past 10 years the LTA have spent in excess of £100 million pounds in trying to find stars of tomorrow and lets not forget that Andy Murray was not part of the LTA programme he was coached by his family. As it stand we have just 3 players across the top 100 male and female.
For me it is simple we need to Crowdsource – 1 million more children in the UK need to be encouraged to play Tennis in order to create a larger talent pool from which to select new players from. This has got to be the No 1 priority for the sport in the UK without this focus we will keep investing huge amounts of money on a relatively small number of players who do not have the combination of talent and the hunger to win.
So here is an idea why not give every school in the country free tennis equipment and free access to local clubs and coaching. Alongside this ensure that a scouting network is in place to identify the emerging talent pool. Only when we have sufficient numbers of talented hungry players should more money be put into the elite part of the.
This Crowdsourcing approach requires a cultural shift away from the elitist LTA to a new body that can reach out to the wider community and inspire children from all backgrounds to give Tennis a go.
