Bay Harbour: August 24, 2016

www.canterburytennis.co.nz
Cantabrian Tennis Player USA Bound
On the 1st June 2016, Jack Tiller
signed a national letter of intent
with Southeastern Oklahoma State
University, located in Durant,
Oklahoma, USA.
From the age of 15 Jack’s overall
goal in tennis was to gain a
scholarship to train, play and study
in the United States of America.
Through taking part in Canterbury
Performance squads since the age of
12, he constantly saw older players
being granted scholarships and
given opportunities to experience
American lifestyle through
tennis while gaining invaluable
experiences. Seeing others excel
in the college tennis system
encouraged him to start
preparation for enrolment in
Fall 2016.
In October of 2015, Jack
got in contact with John
Gardner, the head coach in
the Nelson/Marlborough region
and his company, Inspire Sports.
John’s expertise guided Jack
through a comprehensive checklist
of what he needed to achieve to
reach his ultimate goal of signing
with a college that fitted in well with
what he wanted. John’s personalised
programme was a great help. It
began with initial meetings with
Jack and his father so John could
understand what they were looking
for in a college. John then set out a
‘Plan of attack” on how they would
go about getting a contract. They
began working together through
each stage, which included NCAA
registration, skills video, personal
website, SAT and GPA results and
working through what colleges Jack
wanted to contact. Jack believes that
it would not have been possible for
him to work through everything
that needed to be done without
John’s outstanding expertise and
knowledge. Jack found John’s
attention to detail and reliability to
be outstanding.
Jack began talks with the coach
from Southeastern Oklahoma State
University in March of this year. The
coach expressed his interest in Jack
joining the college team and, after
talking through email, the college
made an offer for Jack to attend
their college and become part of the
Savage Storm athletic family. After
the initial paper work, Jack signed a
national letter of intent, committing
Jack to attending the university.
Through his years of training,
Jack’s ultimate goal was to get to
university. Jack is a self-professed
‘late bloomer’ in tennis. During his
junior years, he describes himself as
a mediocre player who was always
outside the top player category.
Through growth, maturity and the
help of the Canterbury training
programme, he was able to play
smarter tennis and achieve positive
results. Coaching by Alistair Hunt
and Matt Meredith has afforded
Jack the opportunity to learn from
the best and use their expertise on
court, creating a huge advantage.
Jack has represented Canterbury
in multiple ties including
Canterbury vs Marlborough,
City vs Country, Canterbury
team’s event and also the
Canterbury men’s team. In 2015
he won the under 18 Canterbury
Championships, a great result to put
on his college application form.
Jack has always loved the fact that
tennis is mostly an individual sport,
results are based on a player’s own
ability and there are no excuses. Jack
has always enjoyed competing in
Canterbury Interclub representing
his club of Elmwood. He is grateful
to Ashley Forbes for giving him
the opportunity to play top level
tennis in the premiere grade against
great players like James Meredith,
Remi Fennon and other top rated
players in the region. Jack feels that
it through playing top level players
that he has learned the most, even if
it involved losing.
During tennis season, Jack trains
or plays every day of the week. Each
week also includes four sessions of
hitting, two fitness sessions and two
days of interclub matches on the
weekends. During the off season
Jack keeps training with hitting
three days a week and a fitness
session and match play on the
weekends.
Jack chooses to keep his future
goals simple. His immediate goal
is to do the best he can to prepare
for college and to give himself the
best chance of success. For Jack,
this means being fit and healthy,
requiring him to train as well as he
can every time he gets on the court.
Over the long term, Jack plans to
take every opportunity he can at
Southeastern Oklahoma State in
order to reach his full potential
whilst there, not just in tennis, but
also in academic life.
For younger players aspiring to
play college tennis, Jack’s advice is
to never give up. Jack recalls many
moments in his time of playing
tennis when he thought he wasn’t
good enough, or wasn’t able to
compete to his full potential. Not
TENNIS CANTERBURY 2016 / 2017 CALENDAR
being the best player in the region
or the nation is not a problem;
it’s a challenge. By embracing
that challenge, working hard and
training, it is possible to shorten the
gap between the different levels in
order to compete in top level tennis.
Have a goal and go for it!
Jack invites anyone interested in
college tennis to feel free to ask any
questions. He will be happy to try
and answer!
AUGUST
26 Pre Season Interclub starts
SEPTEMBER
10 ASB Premier Interclub starts
23 Pre Season Interclub ends
30, 1 12s Development Camp (camp full)
OCTOBER TBA Midweek Ladies
TBA Business House
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Z Energy 2016 Junior Spring Open
8, 9 ASB Senior Interclub starts
14, 15 Junior Interclub starts
15, 16 Junior Trial for National Teams
17 Junior National Teams named for 2017 event
22, 23, 24 MC Junior Open (Ashburton)
27 TBC Primary Schools Teams Yrs 5/6 doubles only
NOVEMBER 11, 12, 13
2016 ASB Canterbury Primary and Intermediate Tennis
Championships (show weekend)
16 Primary Schools Teams Yrs 7/8 doubles only
NI Primary Schools Final (Waikato Tennis Centre /
21, 22
Hamilton)
22, 23 Canterbury Junior Secondary Schools Yrs 9-10 S/D
25, 26, 27 Tennis Canterbury Open (not junior)
28, 29 SI Primary Schools Finals (Timaru)
DECEMBER
6 Intermediate Schools doubles only
10, 11 Junior Interclub Christmas Break
11 ASB Premier Interclub Finals
11, 12 ASB Senior Interclub Christmas Break
14, 15, 16, 17,
18s Nationals Individual (Albany Tennis Centre / Auckland)
18, 19
17, 18 12s, 14s, 16s Wild Card Playoffs (Scarbro / Auckland)
TBA Tennis Hot Shots Tournament - Red and Orange Stage
JANUARY 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 18s Nationals Indiv (Wilding Park / Christchurch)
7, 8, 9, 10 16s Nationals Teams (Wilding Park Christchurch)
7, 8, 9, 10, 11 14s Nationals Indiv (Scarbro/ Auckland)
12, 13, 14, 15 12s Nationals Teams (Scarbro / Auckland)
12, 13, 14, 15 14s Nationals Teams (Scarbro / Auckland)
16, 17, 18, 19,
Wilson ITF Gd 4 TBC
20, 21, 22 TBC
16, 17, 18,
12s Nationals Indiv (Scarbro / Auckland)
19, 20
28, 29 ASB Senior Interclub Post Christmas start
TBC ASB Premier Interclub second round
FEBRUARY 3, 4 ASB Junior Interclub Post Christmas start
20, 21 Canterbury Secondary Schools Yrs 11-13 Open S/D
MARCH 10, 11 Junior Interclub finishes
18, 19 ASB Senior Div 4-7 Grade Finals
25, 26 ASB Senior Div 1, 2 and 3 Grade Finals
27, 28, 29, 30 Teams Finals (Scarbro / Auckland)
APRIL 23, 24 12S Development Camp (registrations open February 2017
26, 27, 28, 2017 Tennis Canterbury Junior Championships
29, 30 (TNZ Masters Tier 2 Event)
MAY TBD Winter Interclub begins
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