Middlesex's Mark Bullock and Steve Riley (Will to Win Sport) were selected as winners for the London and South East Regional Award Winners for Development Coach and Community and Parks Award respectively.

Mark Bullock then went on to win the National Award at the LTA Virtual Ceremony on Thursday 24th June 2021.

‍Re-watch the ceremony here.

Mark was awarded the Development Coach of the Year award for his tremendous work in keeping players active, opening tennis up to more players and adapting to different working practices during the pandemic which included online delivery.

Mark has received tremendous praise from the parents and players that he coaches. In 2020 when we were all unable to get on-court he took the initiative to embraced and excelled in the delivery of online sessions and social media interaction.
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Despite the challenges we faced in 2020 Mark took on many roles and adapted well to the different working practices that were forced upon us. He produced regular Twitter & Instagram content and during the first lockdown in partnership with his wife set up his own You Tube playlist.

Alongside this he trained as an LTA Coach Mentor, specialising in Inclusive Tennis. Whilst we were able to get on-court Mark started coaching weekly online wheelchair sessions that are ran for a year with Choice International.

He attended regular training courses and used his online knowledge and skills to support and develop other coaches, enabling them to deliver their own online sessions. Mark also delivered a regular Saturday morning online tennis session for players with a range of impairments This has grown in numbers each week and current attracts 30 families.

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A quote from one family was

Thank you – we all love that the sessions feel fresh each week -it’s giving us something to look forward to and a great reason to get up early on Saturdays!

Read more on Mark's achievements here.

Steve Riley and Will to Win Sport responded positively during COVID-19 restrictions, making major improvements to their programmes and facilities for the benefit of local tennis players in the community.  

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Many of you may already know Will to Win as they have a significant presence in the county with pay and play park site at Regents Park, Hyde Park, Chiswick Park, Pitshanger Park and Lammas Park. Providing no fewer than 40 public access courts in Middlesex.  
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Despite the challenges we all faced in 2020 they implemented major enhancements to their tennis programmes and playing facilities.  Working in partnership with the LTA they installed gate access systems and a new ClubSpark booking process at 3 of their sites, enabling easy public access via online court bookings. Off court, they were also very busy keeping their distribution list of 44,000 players updated with regular weekly news and return to play information.
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Additionally, to cater for COVID requirements extra staff were appointed at all sites to ensure clubhouses and associated facilities were safe and accessible. Well done and congratulations to Win to Win for negotiating through a very difficult year and continuing to offer great programmes and facilities with excellent customer service to community tennis players in Middlesex.