Last night, OTR hosted a team of 12 juniors from the Manhattan Racquet Club. After three hours of battle, 10 pizzas, and some very exciting tennis, the final score went in the Manhattan Club’s favour – 15 sets to 8.
The Manhattan juniors showed they were the more experienced side – more consistent, less nervous and just more seasoned in doubles. Several of their juniors compete regularly in the HKTA junior novices and series events and on the night, it showed.
Although our kids may have been less experienced, they were still competitive and hopefully learnt from the match. Two kids in particular stood out for us coaches: Taylor Walsh and Joseph Stuart. Both juniors played with heart; they played each point with intensity as well as sportsmanship. We were proud they were on our side.
It was an eye-opening experience for the coaches as well, and we now have something to strive towards in coaching sessions. We will be running more of these mini-challenge matches in the future, hopefully instilling more match toughness in our juniors.
Thanks to Manhattan Racquet Club. We will be training hard before our next meeting
OTR Men of the match. Joseph Stuart & Taylor Walshe
