Shannon has a real passion and talent for connecting with tamariki and rangatahi via tennis coaching. He is a brilliant role model and enjoys respect from children and parents alike. He always conducts himself professionally and diplomatically and contributes hugely to our club culture. Children respond well to his approach to make tennis technical and fun at the same time. He goes above and beyond to support young people who show promise in the sport including volunteering a lot of his own time. He seeks no accolades for his work yet deserves them.
Shannon gets to know the children and their families quite well so is sensitive to issues that may be affecting their behaviour and performance. He is all about each player and their team being and playing the very best they can be, rather than requiring them to achieve certain results. His youth teams regularly achieve results beyond what could be expected for such a small player pool, socio-demographic area and club size. Despite strong competition with many other sports clubs, he has excellent retention figures for youth who start out with his coaching programmes. His response is generally encouraging of all players, not showing favouritism for those with greater ability. His training and skill sessions are entertaining and it is obvious to see that young people are thoroughly enjoying themselves. He is highly adept at setting expectations for his teams so they stay focused and do not become despondent in the face of often much superior opposition. He requires his teams to play with positive regard for their opposition and to be proud of the way they conduct themselves on the court.
He makes sure everyone feels included. He chooses his language carefully, managing to say more with less which then means any praise or encouragement he gives out is received as genuine and welcome. His own ego does not enter into team performance - he is all about the team achieving at its optimum. He is polite and respectful with parents and other club members, earning him trust with them. He encourages games and competitions that underline collaborative effort, not just individual ability. He helps young people he is coaching receive the right kind of acknowledgement and support for their achievements. He maintains excellent control over his own emotions - modelling to youth that you can channel these in constructive ways.
There is little doubt about this - our club has been performing well above others in the Thames Valley region for years with youth player numbers and retention of those players season after season. For the relatively small number of senior players we have at our club, the youth numbers are proportionately very high. Very little advertising is done for our youth coaching, so the consistently high numbers of children and youth in Shannon’s coaching programmes are down to popularity with the young players, word of mouth from parents and recommendation. In a small player catchment region where there is competition from other sports, lower incomes, a dwindling overall level of participation of youth in sport, Shannon manages to maintain player numbers year on year. Shannon is completely comfortable working with children over the whole age range from Tiny Tots through to Juniors and understands deeply that children who enjoy participation, who have a good experience at coaching, will go on to become adult players and club members in the future.
Shannon is good at making everyone feel good about participating and developing even if this to a lesser or slower extent than others. I have many times observed his coaching sessions with young people and it is clear to me he has an aptitude for this kind of teaching - especially with the very young. He makes children feel good about their performance and results even if meeting much stronger opposition and the kids always know he has their back. He emphasises collective team approaches over individual performances so the kids learn to play with and for each other, not just for themselves. The retention figures for young players and the tendency for families to bring their additional children forward for coaching demonstrates how comfortable children feel in this environment and how much fun they have.
I would suggest that Shannon could equally be considered as a strong candidate for the Commitment to Youth Engagement award
