Menu

17 April 2014 | Tennis Tasmania

Launceston tennis young gun Jake Elmer is looking forward to taking his place among the best 16 young players in the country.

The nine-year-old has been selected in a Tennis Australia talent identification program to attend a national development camp on the Gold Coast.

It will be the third successive year that Jake’s coach James Bolzonello has taken young players from Launceston’s regional tennis centre.

“They take kids through skill testing to see where they are at, follow their progress afterwards and give funding assistance towards playing in tournaments,” Bolzonello said.

The high performance environment of the camp gives Bolzonello an opportunity to learn from some of the best coaches in the country but he said his young charge is also well placed to get the maximum benefit.

“He’s on a par with the other boys I’ve taken across. He really wants it and always puts in 110 per cent. He has natural talent as an athlete.”

Jake will be in action tomorrow at the Tasmanian Easter Championships to be held at the Launceston Regional Tennis Centre with play concluding on Sunday 20th April. Players from across the country will be on-hand during the open and junior event with national ranking points as well as $3,000 in prize money on offer. With record numbers the tournament will no doubt be a success and we look forward to seeing you all there.