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january 2025 NEWSLETTER
WELCOME TO 2025, SURE TO BE UNIQUE, INTERESTING, EXCITING, CHALLENGING, AND FUN!
Player progression pathway from beginner to national level: To see clearly how Paul and I manage the Hawker Tennis junior program, and how player's can progress through the stages of development, follow this link!
Chase your dreams! - But how do we do it in a healthy way?: Kids are often encouraged to dream big, chase your dreams because you can do anything. Adults are often reminded not to lose sight of their own dreams, but far too many of us are chasing a definition of success being sold to us by society, that often only leads to stress, anxiety, lack of happiness, a sense of unfulfillment, and even illness. No-one seems to be teaching us HOW to chase our dreams and chase success in a healthy way.
Here's a simple way to look at it, inspired by Matthew Hussey's book 'Love Life'.
You can be a 'happy enough' type, or a 'never enough' type.
The 'never enough' person is someone who is always striving for more, more money, more power, more status, more victories, more success, and some of these people end up being INCREDIBLY successful, but they rarely ever become satisfied with what they have, no matter how well they do. On the face of it, what's so wrong with that? Why would you want to settle for 'happy enough' when you could be pushing yourself to achieve more?
You can do both, and here's the explanation, quoted directly from 'Love Life':
Happy enough isn't accepting less, it's a philosophy rooted in gratitude and acceptance. This moment, this life, this body, this mind, this is enough for me to be happy. I may choose to try for more, because more might be fun, it might add comfort to my life, it might add new experiences, it might add new connections, but I am not putting myself through it from a place of lack, but from a place of calm. It's amazing how much this allows you to attempt more, because all of a sudden, you have nothing to lose. If the thing we are trying to get doesn't happen, we haven't risked or lost our happiness by not getting it. When we think of someone with nothing to lose, we often think of it in a negative sense, as in, someone who has nothing. But when we are happy enough, we have nothing to lose because we can look at our life today and recognise that it is already enough.
With this reality, someone can feel that it would be awesome to become the best tennis player they can be, to find a perfect partner, to have a happy and successful child, but the absence of such things doesn't prevent us from being happy enough to enjoy the life we have today right now. Being happy enough gives us personal power, not from a defensive or cynical place, but from having agency in our own happiness, that coexists with an openness to the endless possibilities that life has to offer.
Emma Raducanu appears to be slowly working this out. After her 1st round win a few days ago at the Australian Open, she said 'I feel like I'm not necessarily trying to prove anything, I'm just doing it for myself. I'm a lot more comfortable with myself which helps. I've come to the realisation that I enjoy going to practice, and doing all my sessions, and feeling really satisfied with the work that I put in'. She went on 'Maybe in the past I've been very high and so very down if I've lost, but now I'm not necessarily just playing for the result. My goal this year, it's not to be too high or too low. It's great to win this first match for a few months, but I just want to look at it, celebrate it for what it is, and just kind of move on. That's going to be the same when I lose a match this year. It's not going to be a disaster either'. Now that sounds pretty healthy to me. She's basically not giving her tennis results power over her emotions and wellbeing, and that's a big part of what it's all about.
Deeper levels of happiness cannot come from success, or other people, or objects or money. Neither do we have full control over those things, so why would we give them power over our emotions, well-being and happiness? If you want to chase your dreams, then first take stock of everything that makes your life truly great as things stand today. People, things, and circumstances are fine to include, but doing this exercise from the perspective of gratitude and acceptance will provide the richest and most meaningful clarity for how wonderful and amazing your life is right now. Use this to build a platform, and chase your dreams from that platform, and you can never lose, and can never fail.
To conclude, don't ever be scared to chase your dreams, but also don't ever give your dreams the power to make you sad, angry, anxious, or to lower your self-esteem or self-worth. Good luck!
Hawker Jets make progress again in the Surrey Team Trophy!: Firstly, a big well done to all our juniors who represented Team Hawker during the Autumn term. We value every match, for the experience, camaraderie, and growth opportunities that they provide.
From our A squads, we won 3 division titles, and came runner-up in the remaining 4 leagues we played in, winning a total of 16 out of 21 matches. As a consequence, our U18 Boys, U12 Boys, and U11 Boys have all qualified for the knock-out stage of the Surrey Team Trophy. Our U11 Boys B team, managed by Paul, has also qualified for the knock-out stage after winning their league. This all means an exciting term ahead with more interesting and fun team tennis experiences to come!
To see the latest results, and read the latest reports, do check the Hawker Jets page!
Latest individual successes!: The junior tournament environment can be a lonely and stressful place, but it can also be loads of fun and a source of valuable life skills development! All the same, it's not easy to put yourself out there, and once again I commend all our Team Hawker players who headed into this battlefield ready to see what they could do.
Well done to Dora and Sophie, who both went out with a new calm and relaxed state of mind after one of our Friday squad sessions, and won their respective tournaments that weekend, crediting the mental work they did for helping them win. Sophie has had a great term, winning 2 tournaments, and coming runner-up in 3 others!
Well done also to Filip who came a close runner-up in an U16 Grade 3 at Christmas, playing a high level of tennis. Also, Aleks who made the final of a men's tournament, and Thomas who made 2 finals at U16 Grade 5 level.
2024 saw Team Hawker collect 32 tournament wins, not as many as our record-breaking 46 in 2023, but we did set a record for wins at Grade 3 level or higher, a total of 10!
Team Hawker Squads: This is where our strongest and most committed junior players can be found. The emphasis as always, is on developing players as individuals, maximising their potential to perform in competition, and using tennis to boost all aspects of their wellbeing. The by product of that continues to be lots of on-court success! Squad sizes are maximum 8 players on 3 courts, except B squad which is 12 players on 3 courts. There are a few spaces for high level players at U11, U14, and U16, and there are also B squad places currently available. Click the link for more info, and for new enquiries, please contact me directly to arrange a free assessment and chat.
Play PADEL at Hawker!: Our new Padel Tennis court is open and available to book and use. Bookings come with free equipment hire if needed. For booking and more information, please visit: https://padelmates.se/club/playtimepadelclubkingstonlondon
Junior Programme: Paul Stow and I work together to deliver the junior programme at Hawker. Please check the link for full details, including Hawker's new player progression pathway!
Skills & Drills with Nick: Skills & Drills are established classes for players who are competent with serving and rallying with yellow balls, and aged 9+. We focus on key developmental skills, and use a vast array of fun drills to put these into practice. There are class options on Weds 6.30-7.30pm (2 spaces for more advanced players), Thurs 5.45-6.45pm (FULL*), and Friday 4.30-5.30pm (FULL*). This is a great addition for higher standard players to add to their weekly training, and also a suitable session for competent players who can't commit to tennis, but still want to play each week.
*Waiting lists for Thursday and Friday are very small, so do enquire if interested. Please contact Nick.
Matchplay (Sponsored by Richmond/Sheen Sports): Matchplay is a great opportunity for local juniors who wish to compete regularly and without having to travel too far to gain match experience, and it gives the chance to develop their skills in the match environment. It’s open to players from other venues as well as Hawker, and caters for all levels Yellow ball from age 9 upwards. Please follow the link for more info.
MOST IMPORTANT BOOK RIGHT NOW - If you are even the slightest bit concerned about the effects of smartphones and social media on children and young adults: The book is 'The Anxious Generation' by Jonathon Haidt. This feature remains in the newsletter from September.
One of the key truths that the book works with, is that many parents of Gen Z kids are over-protecting them from the real world (which is where they learn and develop the skills and social tools to become well rounded adults through exploring their surroundings and interacting face-to-face with other human beings), whilst under-protecting them from the online world (where they are largely denied anything that will help that development, whilst being exposed to things that may directly harm it).
There are subtle reasons why this is happening, and it's clear parents ARE NOT to blame. The book explains it all. It is an extremely good book, it's not the best book ever, which remains 'Stolen Focus' by Johann Hari!
If you're a Johann Hari fan, you may be interested to hear what he said about 'The Anxious Generation':
'Every single parent needs to stop what they're doing and read this book immediately. Jonathan Haidt is the most important psychologist in the world today, and this is the most important book on the topic that's reshaping your child's life right now'.
New courts: Our new courts are still looking and playing fantastically almost 3 years on, and are available to hire 3 days in advance through our Clubspark page.
PAST FEATURES OF THE NEWSLETTER THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST:
Nick's competitive tennis experiment 2024!
The 5 MOST POWERFUL things that will fuel rapid progress (May 2024)
How to switch off the little voice in your head (May 2024)
Why teenagers don't listen to their parents EXPLAINED (January 2024)
Footwork and Timing in tennis EXPLAINED PERFECTLY! (January 2024)
Key ingredients to help a junior get to national level (September 2023)
The secret of Carlos Alcaraz's success! (April 2023, Edit September 2024)
The ABSOLUTE BEST quote for anyone who wants to achieve success! (January 2023)
BEST sports star interview answer EVER! (September 2022, Edit September 2024)
Richmond/Sheen Sports: You could go to an online retailer, or a budget superstore, and you may save a few pounds, but you won't get better overall value. Here's the best option, pay a visit to RichmondSports or SheenSports!
They are managed by enthusiastic and highly knowledgeable staff, equally passionate about sports as they are about the local community, where they support many local clubs and schools, including ours.
Your individual needs will be met in a way the bigger retailers can't match, in terms of better advice, a more personal service, and a genuine desire to fulfil your sporting needs whatever they may be.
Being part of Hawker Tennis also entitles you to 10% off, so you'll be getting excellent all-round value, whilst helping them to keep helping us and other local clubs.
YouTube channel: 60 videos, and though most date from the original Project 2015, they are still fun and relevant! The videos have received over 450,000 views between them! Videos Index
Tennisplayer.net: I'm an established contributor on this world leading coaching resource site, having written 2 lengthy series of articles, the first in 2016/17 on 1-2 Rhythm, and the latest on Marginal Gains in 2020. There is currently an offer of 30 days free trial to access the whole site!
Racism: Check the link for an ongoing blog which started after the death of George Floyd in May 2020.
Adult Tennis - Select 'Adult' filter to see all current courses
Feel free to get in touch about anything at all.
Warmest wishes
Nick
Remembering Joe Horner (it's all too easy to forget, so this memorial will remain on this page. I hope people continue to find enough time to reflect on the growing issue of mental health, especially in younger people): Joe was a regular face at Matchplay during many of his teenage years. He loved coming down to play, to mix with friends and enjoy the special atmosphere. His highlight was winning the 2009 Summer Tournament Doubles.
Sadly, Joe struggled with severe depression from his early 20's, and his mental health largely deteriorated during this time. He was very open about his problems, and had so much love from family and friends, but tragically in April 2019, he took his own life.
I have very fond memories of Joe, because he really understood what Hawker Tennis was all about, and fully appreicated being part of it even from a young age. He turned into a fine young man, so considerate of others, and always a pleasure to chat to.
After finishing education, Joe worked as a keeper at Chessington Zoo, and then moved on to ZSL at London Zoo. ZSL work worldwide on conservation to help save endangered species, something that was very close to Joe's heart.
For those who knew Joe, perhaps you would like to donate to this cause. through the link below, which is still live in 2025:
National Champions! - Men's Doubles Play Your Way To Wimbledon 2024