Madison Shoemaker and Jacques Joyal's tennis relationship has come full circle.
Joyal was Madison's first coach when she started playing at age seven. Joyal remembers taking her to her first tennis tournament, hitting foam balls and teaching her the game at the Wakefield tennis bubble.
Nine years later, Joyal has started coaching her again, this time at the Suncoast Racquet Club (SRC) in Sechelt.
"She is the most amazing young player I have ever come across," Joyal said. "She is very coachable, never says she is tired or doesn't want to do this or try that. She is always so focused and ready to play. She's an exceptional player for her age."That drive and focus, as Joyal puts it, are paying off for Madison.
During the fall school semester, she attended a school in California and helped lead the team to the state finals. She is now back finishing her Grade 10 year at Pender Harbour Secondary School.
She recently moved up in the Tennis B.C. rankings and is now ranked number one in the girls 15 to 16 division. She won the Junior Classic in West Vancouver recently and hopes to win provincials later this month at the Jericho Tennis Club. She has her sights on qualifying for nationals and the Canada Summer Games team later this summer. Her Grade 11 school year promises to be a big one too, as she starts the process to apply for scholarships to NCAA schools in the U.S. Her top choices include Berkeley, Stanford and the University of Washington. Right now she has a three star rating, out of a possible five, on tennisrecruting.net, a major U.S. recruiting website.
"The number one ranking is great," she said. "I've been able to have some better results and beat a lot of top players since I started training with Jacques again here in Sechelt. This new club has had a huge impact on my game."
Instead of heading to the Lower Mainland during the week to train, Madison trains with Joyal two or three times at the local club, leaving the travelling to weekends for tournaments.
"She is very goal-orientated, and her passion and joy for the game is why she is so successful," adds Joyal. "She has an all-court style, which is rare for female players, who usually just play a baseline game. I think she could turn pro as a doubles player - she's that good."
And Madison isn't the only junior player on the Coast improving their game. Through the efforts of Joyal and the SRC, a new junior program is flourishing.
On Saturday, June 13, the club hosted its first junior tennis tournament to rave reviews. Two categories were represented, and a total of 14 participants competed for the singles titles. The teens played full court with regular balls, and the U11 players played a three-quarters court size with a softer, lighter type of ball specially adapted to the three-quarters court play.
In the U11 final, Keenan Flemming bested Bradley Huddle-stone in two close sets. Miro Guerin won the consolation final against Connor Whitworth. In the teen's category, Andrew Flockhart was very deserving of the title after winning against Max Shoemaker in the final. Malcolm Brysen lost to Andrew in an epic battle in the semifinals. Unfortunately Oonagh Fogarty had to retire during her semifinal match against Max.
"Congratulations to everybody else who entered. The competition was fierce, but the sportsmanship was first class," said Joyal.
Trail Bay Source for Sports donated great prizes for the players and club members generously gave up their court time for the event to be held.
See www.SRCtennis.ca for more on tennis programs, summer camps and future events at the club.
