Above: Casey Fields Tennis Club coach and state-grade player Ben Goltz would love to see a state-grade side started in the local area.By Glen Atwell
THESE four tennis aces know what they want for Christmas – the chance to one day play state-grade competition in their own back yard, figuratively speaking.
Aaron Tran from Endeavour Hills, Chloe West from Cranbourne, Samantha Meares from Narre Warren North and David Fonseca from Eumemmerring, are among the cream of the local tennis crop, but face the prospect of travelling to Melbourne’s inner-suburbs to get a game of state-grade tennis.
The top grade Victorian tennis is usually reserved for the leafy suburbs surrounding Kooyong Park and South Yarra, but with an abundance of talent forming in Greater Dandenong and the City of Casey, pressure to form a local state-grade side is mounting.
Despite major growth in Melbourne’s south-east corridor, Dingley Tennis Club hosts the only local state-grade tennis and getting an on-court guernsey is not as easy as knocking on the door, according to Springvale North Tennis Club coach Stephen Sruk.
“At the moment Dingley is the closest option for players in our area to play state grade,” Sruk said.
“But it’s very hard to just walk up and get a game.
“It would be great to create a new local team and work young players through the ranks.”
The state-grade competition, currently contested by eight teams, is open to nominations, but Sruk said without the experience of a well-travelled player, it would be hard to convince Tennis Victoria to accept another side.
“Anyone can nominate a team – there are no restrictions on nominating – but it’s whether or not Tennis Victoria accept the application,” he said.
“The number one player has to be very well-known or have an impressive record, so it would be hard for a new team of unknowns to crack into the state-grade division.”
There is no doubt the City of Casey has the facilities to host a state-grade team.
Casey Tennis Centre, on Sweeney Reserve in Narre Warren, has six courts with plans to add another 22 in the future.
Nearby Casey Fields Tennis Club has 12 courts.
Casey Fields Tennis Club coach Ben Goltz, who also plays state-grade competition for Dingley, would love to see a local team introduced.
“There is an issue with the type of courts in this area,” he said.
“State grade is usually played on porous, but that’s not a written law.
“I live in Narre Warren South, so if a state-grade team started in the area, I’d love to come back and play.”
Most state-grade players are paid, so finding willing sponsors would be a big step in the right direction, according to Goltz.
Eumemmerring-based pennant player Fonseca said it was the goal of most young players to one day play state tennis.
“It’s what we aim to do. You go through juniors then into the pennant grades and state is the top level,” he said.
“There is enough local talent in Casey and Dandenong to put a side together, it’s just a matter of finding the sponsorship and the right players.”
