Schools

"I signed our school up for tennis, as part of our sporting school grant and was somewhat dismayed as the hunt for a coach, that could fit in with our timetable, became difficult. As the starting date neared, someone informed me that a coach, from Newcastle, would be running our sessions. I was a little dubious. Had they found the bottom of the bucket??

To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. Danial – from ACCESS Tennis - arrived and was so full of energy and enthusiasm that my students were immediately engaged and having fun.

Danial challenged them to do things they thought impossible – and sometimes they were, though the students had a great time attempting them.

Danial was well organised and set high expectation levels for behaviour and participation for all students. His energy, enthusiasm, sense of humour along with some exciting demonstrations, had all students hooked and eager for each session.

I am happy to recommend Danial as a tennis coach and will hopefully have the opportunity for him to return to our school in the future."

Tracy Morison

PDHPE & Sports Coordinator
Tenambit Public School

"I met Danial Stredder when he was coaching at the Queensland State Tennis Centre. I’d grown up playing tennis and now I wanted to be able to play as a family with my husband and four children, but because of our children’s disabilities (congenital heart defect, Down Syndrome, and autism ranging from mild to severe) it was going to take a very special kind of coach to make that possible. I asked around some local tennis clubs and was told that if anyone could do it, it would be Danial. So I gave Danial a call and he sounded so cheerful and optimistic that I was sure we’d found the man for the job. And indeed, he was. His patience was extraordinary, his enthusiasm infectious, his tennis skills marvellous – just what we were looking for!

We gave Danial an incredibly challenging brief: to take one adult who’d already played tennis, one who hadn’t, one child who would pick it up quite quickly, another who could hit a ball only if hit directly to them, another who was trying to get the idea of hitting the ball over the net rather than throwing the racquet over it, and another who was very young and put them all on a tennis court to develop skills, get some exercise, and have fun together in a cooperative rather than competitive way. Needless to say, Danial was well equipped to handle this challenge! He responded to our request for a cooperative structure by teaching the children to think of rallying as the goal (rather than trying to score points against each other as you would normally do in tennis). He was well prepared for each session, bringing a range of learning devices onto the court and developing personalised strategies that met our changing needs and successfully navigated the challenging journey to our goal of family tennis.

There was one week in particular I will always remember. We’d arrived at the court to find that the Tennis Centre had some music playing fairly loudly. This upset one of our children who is noise sensitive. She lay down on the court covering her ears and didn’t want to play. Danial’s response was amazing: he actually laid down on the court next to her and spoke calmly and encouragingly to her! The result was that she decided to get up and play tennis with him despite the noise! Watching Danial choose to do that really confirmed for me that he is one of those very rare athletes who, despite being strong and able-bodied themselves, somehow has a truly caring heart for those who find participating in sports a real struggle. He kept an upbeat mood on court every session, laughing and joking with all of us so that every member of the family was relaxed and happy and playing their best.

Thanks Danial! Keep up the good work! If there were more coaches like you the tennis world would be a better place for everyone."

A grateful mother and her family.