Dear Player,

Congratulations! You have received this letter because you have been identified as a hardworking and skillful young player who has the potential to develop into a future champion. We would therefore like to select you as a Regional Player.

You are probably wondering what it means to be a Regional Player; we will provide some more information below but we would also like to invite parents/guardians and your individual coach to a webinar where we can present more information and bring it to life. The webinar will be held on Wednesday 15th July at 19:00 – 19:30. We will email you a link to attend in the next few days but don’t worry if you cannot make it as we will record it so you can watch at a later date.

How was I selected as an LTA Regional Player and how many are there? You have been selected because of your good results at national competition or one of our national coaches thinks you have potential to progress. We made our selections based upon the Regional Player Selection Policy. There are a maximum of 250 Regional Players across GB.

Does this mean I get support to attend an RPDC? All LTA Regional Players are eligible for a subsidised training programme at RPDCs. We have increased our investment into all the Regional Player Development Centres so that they can offer affordable, high quality coaching.

What are the changes at the RPDCs? Each RPDC has a full-time Head Coach who is focused on working with players aged 10-14 and providing the best possible programmes for Regional Players. The LTA investment is focused on reducing the cost of tennis coaching across the programme. RPDCs are now able to offer both full-time and access programmes, including individual lessons at reduced rates.

What does an RPDC training programme look like? Each programme has a different approach and player development philosophy driven by the RPDC Head Coach but you can expect:

• High quality individual and squad coaching support, alongside aspiring peers, to help nurture player development
• Age and stage specific tournament schedules, as well as coach attendance at identified domestic and international events
• Programmes to include complimentary strength and conditioning support to maximise athletic development

How do I get a place in an RPDC Programme? Each RPDC has a certain number of places available for “full-time” and ”access”” players. In order to select players, every RPDC has a different process; we will share more information at the webinar.

How much does an RPDC programme cost? The LTA investment into RPDCs is focused on tennis coaching; this will further reduce the annual cost of attending an RPDC to players’ families by around 40%. A player who chooses to attend the RPDC for their entire programme will benefit from subsidised individual coaching, squad sessions and coach tournament attendance. Players who choose to access the squad training will benefit from lower costs for these sessions.

Where are the RPDCs? More information on the RPDC’s that are part of the LTA’s Player Pathway is available here.

Does this mean I will be invited to LTA Regional Training? No, we have decided to cease LTA Weekly Regional Training from September 2020 to instead focus on supporting the 14 LTA Regional Player Development Centres (RPDCs). You may however get an invite to an inter-regional camp and or development match during the year.

How long am I a Regional Player for?

We will review Regional Players at the end of their 12U year. If you are progressing well, you will continue as a Regional Player until the end of 14U.

What happens after 14U?

This will be dependent on your rate of progression during the year and your commitment to your programme goals. Whatever the next step, which we hope for a small number of players will be a place at a National Academy, we hope that you leave this opportunity well prepared for your remaining years in the game.

In closing, congratulations once again, this is a terrific achievement and something you should feel very proud about. We look forward to supporting you on your journey to become a champion both on and off the court.

Best wishes

Ian Yates

Head of National Performance Pathway

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