In 1991, Susan and Lucy, both talented, committed players, joined Essex Open as U12s.
“THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGING”
In 1991, Susan and Lucy, both talented, committed players, joined Essex Open as U12s.
On this particular occasion, we had an Essex Met league match against OPA at Landon School. In those days we didn’t have set dates and venues for this league. It was up to the clubs to arrange the fixtures between them.

I was both stunned and concerned when neither Lucy nor Susan turned up for the match. I knew they usually travelled together, so the possibility of them being stuck in traffic or worse crossed my mind. The game was played with just six players. Mobiles were not in common use at that time, but I knew there would be some phoning around from the team afterwards. It came as no surprise when, on returning home, I got a phone call from Susan. She was very apologetic and confessed that both she and Lucy had totally forgotten about the match.
At the start of the next training session, both girls immediately approached me with further apologies. I didn’t make it easy for them.
“It’s not me you need to apologise to, it’s your team mates. You also need to realise that the team played with only six players…….and won……without you!”
The effect of this on the girls was immediate. Both of them took the court, obviously determined to prove to me that they were still valuable members of the team. Susan played a blinder, she was superb! Lucy was desperate to do likewise, but tried too hard and ended up not being able to do anything right. And I just watched them, chuckling to myself on the sideline.
Neither girl forgot a fixture after that.
The level of commitment shown by Lucy, Susan and their team mates was a strong contributing factor to their winning both the U11 and U12 Nationals.

In previous Post-Its I have mentioned Lorraine, Aimee and Zoie. The high level of commitment from their team led to their victory in the U14 Nationals.
In those days I didn’t need to check availability of players. The girls or their parents were reliable in letting me know of sickness or injury.
Today I email fixtures to parents, asking for availability, and I’m lucky if half my squad’s parents reply. I have a reliable core of about 12 players who regularly attend training and are available for fixtures. Most weeks I have absences at training that are not explained.
Speaking to my fellow coaches, the problem is obviously not unique to me.
At junior level the commitment needs to come from the parents. At senior level it is the players themselves that to ensure that they don’t let their team mates down.
Pam Burridge