New district tennis coach for Highland and Morayshire, Derek Brown, has spelled out his aims as he prepares to drive up standards across the board in the north of Scotland.
The 58-year-old is a proud “Doonhamer” from Dumfries and, after enjoying a stint at Nairn Sports Club from last autumn, he’s getting set to start his next job as Highland Tennis’ coaching chief in March.
Highland district are one of nine district associations in Scotland and are responsible for organising local leagues and district level coaching. In all, 16 tennis clubs come under the Highland District Tennis umbrella.
As a player, Brown played for the South of Scotland men’s team for a decade and was playing captain for some of that period.
In 2003, the draw of tennis proved too much for the ex-town planner, who became full-time head coach at Strathgryffe Tennis and Squad Club, one of Scotland’s biggest clubs, based in Houston, Renfrewshire.
While at Strathgryffe, Brown earned the LTA Level Five Master Performance Coach qualification and has twice been awarded the Tennis Scotland Coach of the Year prize.
He has coached two players to the top four in the Great Britain rankings, 12 players through to Scottish caps and around 40 players into the West of Scotland county teams.
Now, he will use his wealth of experience to oversee tennis in the Highlands and Morayshire across the age groups and help raise the standards.
Raising standard of young Highland players is first target
Brown explained what his aims are as he prepares for this latest challenge in what is clearly an important position for the sport in the region.
He said: “In my role as Highland district coach, I will be looking after eight to 18-year-olds. There are two main purposes for what I aim to achieve.
“Firstly, I have to raise the general standard of young players in the Highlands and Morayshire area.
“The end goal is to get more of the region’s players into the north of Scotland’s junior and senior teams, as well as to improve Highland district’s performance in the Scottish Inter District Championships, which are held annually in April in Kilgraston School in Perth.
“I am the appointed coach to do that and I will do this by running squads at several designated locations and the idea is that will start to raise the levels.
“I will also liaise with the individual coaches.
“So, a player might have another coach – I will see him in these squads and liaise with his coach to get the very best from that player.”
Large area calls for district coach
Scotland is split into four counties (north, south, east and west) for GB inter-County events and into the nine districts for local leagues.
And such is the large geographical challenge, Highland Tennis sought a district coach over the winter and Brown’s background made him the ideal pick.
Elgin-based Brown said: “Highland district has a couple of main aspects – internal leagues and selection of players from Highland.
“They have looked into appointing a district coach and not every district has one. For example, Dumfries and Galloway is so small, they wouldn’t do it.
“But Highland, which includes Morayshire, is big enough to appoint a part-time district coach and that’s where I come in.
“A large part of my coaching over the past 35 years has been with all levels of juniors and adults, helping develop their skills to improve their game.
“I have always played tennis and always coached tennis in my adult life. I didn’t become a full-time coach until 2003 when, after being a town-planner, I followed my heart’s desire to coach tennis.”
Gordonstoun role is also a winner
As well as this far-reaching role, Brown has also been appointed as a coach at Elgin’s independent Gordonstoun School for those students who show a real interest in tennis.
He said: “At the moment, I will go into Gordonstoun to provide tennis coaching to pupils who want to do it as an extra-curricular activity.
“So, the really keen pupils will be coached by me and that’s the starting point for that role as things stand.”
Murray brothers great for coaches
Of course, three-time Grand Slam champion Sir Andy Murray continues to inspire players of all ages throughout the nation.
Brown reckons Andy and doubles star brother Jamie always had the X-factor.
He said: “Andy Murray has helped all Scottish clubs over the past 20 years by raising the profile of tennis in Scotland and helping to increase participation in the sport as a whole.
“I hit with Andy as a young boy at a coaching conference in Largs and could see that he and his brother Jamie were a bit special at that age.
“They have both been fantastic reference points for Scottish coaches since they became successful.”
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