County training takes place weekly for  selected Leicestershire players. Weekly training currently runs for boys and girls from 8U through to 18U. County training is designed to provide an opportunity for the best players to train together on a regular basis. The aim of the training is to give us a greater chance of being successful at both junior and senior intercounty events.

Current County Training Timetable  

The Board of Leicestershire Tennis, in consultation with the LTA, has agreed on the following criteria to provide a transparent process for players around selection for County Cup, other County Teams and County training.

The purpose of County training is to provide training for the best players in the county to represent the county in the two inter county Team competitions. This training focuses on playing matches in both singles and doubles. It also provides an additional opportunity for the top players in each age group attend an additional training session each week as part of their individual training plan. It is also seen as part of the LTA Player Pathway

https://www.lta.org.uk/play-compete/performance-tennis-players/player-pathway/player-pathway-overview/

We want to ensure that the way in which we select players to attend County training is objective and transparent so that players and parents know what they need to do to be invited. We also want players who will potentially represent the county in inter county competitions to have experience of playing regularly in tournaments and competitions.

For this reason, we use rankings points, which are gained through playing in tournaments as an objective measure for the top players in 11-18U age groups as the main criteria for selection, you can find out more about rankings and how to win points on the LTA website.

https://www.lta.org.uk/play-compete/competing/player-ratings-rankings/lta-rankings/

It is therefore important that players who aspire to playing for the county compete regularly in tournaments to gain rankings points in order to eligible for selection and invitation to County Training.

Leicestershire Tennis compete in two intercounty team competitions, 12 Counties event in Corby and in the LTA County Cup events. We believe that team competition in tennis, which is a very individual sport, is important for the following reasons:

• Playing as part of a team builds confidence and communication skills and is great fun!
• Supporting each other through the highs and lows of competition together helps to bring players together who might otherwise see themselves as opponents and teaches motivation and leadership
• Sharing the experience of competition can build friendships that last a lifetime

County  Training Selection Criteria   

1. 11U-18U

Selection will be based on a players Combined LTA age group ranking and will be taken from  second to last Friday of the previous term.  (For the Autumn term we will look at the first Friday after the Junior County Closed event)Players will be invited in ranking order until the session is full. (For most age groups it will be the top 4 girls and top 4 boys but for 14U/18 it is the top 8). If, for example, a player is Ranked 1 in 14U but 7 in 18U an invite to 18U will be offered. Age will also be taken into consideration for the 18U groups and older players may be invited before younger players rated above them if that older player is considered to be of an equal standard and more suited to playing in that group.

2. 10U & 9U group

10U: 4 boys & 4 girls selected for Green County Training Squad based on recent form (recent competition results) and  selection sessions to take place towards the beginning of each term for the following term which will also be open to all players in the county by Coach nomination.

9U:  Up to 6 boys and 6 girls Orange Squad based on recent form (recent competition results) and  selection sessions to take place towards the beginning of each term for the following term which will also be open to all players in the county by Coach nomination.

3. 8U & 7U

Up to 24 x 8U / 7U players will be selected for training based either on selection sessions to take place towards  at thebeginning of each term and will be open to all players in the county  or on the basis of Coach nomination.

Selection  to play for County Teams

There are 2 main intercounty competitions.

LTA Junior County Cup.

Played from February -July for 9U-18U age groups (excluding 16U). The format of these varies slightly with the 18U being a league with Divisiosons with promotion and relegation and most of the other age groups being local qualifying round with the winner going on to a National Final. For more details follow this link

https://www.lta.org.uk/play-compete/competing/junior-tennis-competitions/county-cup---junior-events/

12 Counties Tournament.

This runs in in the from November to March.

This is for all age groups from 9U -18U (except 11U) The format of these varies slightly with is a league with Divisions and promotion based on overall performance at all age groups.

County Cup Selection Criteria 

1. Attending county training regularly at your age group across the year if eligible for an invitation.
2. Ranking LTA/TE or ITF (TE or ITF will take priority over national ranking) (Recent form ranking at U9 & 10's)
3. Abiding by the Leicestershire player Code of Conduct 
4. Team selection picked on Friday one month before the qualifying event.

Any player not attending County training will only be considered for county  team selection based on: 

1. National Ranking inside the top 30 GB in your own age group
2. Tennis Europe top 500
3. ITF top 750
4. Unavailable for County Training due to being away at University
5. Unavailable for County Training due to attending a Regional Player Development Centre.

WILD CARD PICK:

The wildcard pick can be put forward by a player’s individual coach (or by the age group captain) to be considered for team selection. The Tennis Leicestershire Performance Committee will review any Wildcards put forward for consideration.

A  County Coach or Captain can nominate a Wildcard based on the player being away from regular competition because of Illness or injury or unforeseen circumstances which may have had an impact on their ranking.

COMPETITION AGE GROUP CHANGES

From 1 April 2020, the LTA will also be changing the competition age group system for players 18 and under, making it easy and simple to use and understand.

The new system will be based on year of birth, aligning it with the approach used for the LTA’s Performance Pathway, and matching the international age group system. To coincide with this change, improvements to the national competition calendar will also be implemented next year, including the British Junior National Championships having a new position in the calendar.

What does this mean for players?

From 1 April 2020 a player’s age group will be calculated based on their age on 31 December each year.