NEW Landsborough Tennis Club president Dan Black is launching a new initiative this month that will allow children to play for free.
Dan said he couldn’t wait to get involved in the leadership of the club, saying he was focused on building members, championing juniors and upgrading club facilities.
With experience in behavioural science, media and also martial arts, Dan said there were a number of initatives ready to roll.
“We are going to be doing quite an extensive revamp of the club facility which includes the upgrading of the kitchen and spending about $30,000 on refurbishing the front two courts which is going to happen in spring,” he said.
“My focus is to not only upgrade the aesthetics of the club, but every part of the club to build the member base…
“I also want to focus on the junior programs which is a real passion of mine working with kids and developing their skills.” Dan’s relationship with the club began when his twin sons starting to play this year, but he is now ‘all in’ and launching a unique junior program next month at their Family Fun Day. That initiative is Junior Aces – a free program which allows families who may struggle financially to get their kids learning tennis – you don’t even need a racket.
“The whole idea, which is a real first in the state, is providing a fully-funded series at zero cost so even if a kid doesn’t have a racket, we will provide them with one,” he said.
“There’s nothing like it that’s been offered on a professionally run basis,” he said. The program will be funded by businesses around Maleny and Landsborough including Maleny Credit Union, Landsborough Pub, and Landsborough IGA.
The Family Fun Day will be on July 24, which is when the program is officially launched and will also have rising tennis stars, a mini doubles tournament.