PHIL WRITES ABOUT HIMSELF ON LINKEDIN: Phil is the PTR International Tester of the Year 2013. He has accredited over 3,000 coaches through the PTR in the UK over the past 20 years. In 2019 Phil received a Lifetime Achievement Award from PTR. A Full time tennis coach for over 40 years. Owned a junior tennis club for 10 years and now works as a coach education tutor for the Professional Tennis Registry in the UK. Phil is the Head Coach at the prestigious Olympic Indoor Tennis Centre at Lee Valley Olympic Park

Biographical look at the past, present and future in tennis. Well, this is my 60th year and 42nd as a professional tennis coach. I have had many wonderful years teaching this amazing game of tennis to thousands of people from complete beginner to high level tournament players. I have been extremely privileged to have met and worked with many great coaches from around the world and I do feel very humbled to have been in that position to do so. My "Love 40" biography two years ago covered my beginnings in tennis from 1976 up to my 40th year as a tennis coach in 2016. To add to this, I have become Head Coach at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in Olympic Park, a dream role in the context that I am a complete fan of the Olympic Movement, all of this is in "My Backyard" in Stratford, my home town. My daily role is to conduct both individual lessons, group sessions and ensure that the coaching team and centre programme run smoothly and professionally. I love doing what I do on court as much as I did back in 1976. This will never diminish over time. The future holds more of the same, coaching players, mentoring coaches, giving everybody that I meet the opportunity to fall in love with the game as I did. Tennis is more than just a "Bat and Ball" game as I sarcastically describe it to non-players. It is a way of life, a means to challenge oneself both physically and mentally. It helps life's decision-making skills and all this while having a lot of fun with the people around you on court. I have been so lucky to meet many great characters in the sport. Coaches, players and people from all walks of life of all ages and abilities. I hope that I have imparted useful skills to all of them as well as learning many new skills myself whilst doing it! Tennis also provides a great boost in protecting you from outside influences and problems you may encounter in your lifetime. A chance to go and hit some tennis balls and clear your mind for a few hours. Then regenerate your off-court thoughts into a more practical outcome. You can see things differently if you just release the pressure by playing tennis. My three major views for anyone playing tennis either as a coach or a player. 1.Have FUN! Ultimately it is just a game. You play because you love it. That simple! 2.Always TRY your best, even if it seems that it is not working out at the time. 3.Embrace the skills of learning different aspects of the game, not just the result of a match. I would like to thank each and everyone of you I have met and worked with in this great sport over the past four decades. I know that I have been very lucky, but I also know I have combined the luck with a lot of hard work and sacrifice too. Going into the fifth decade on court, I can promise more of the same from me, commitment and passion and a lot of fun along the way. Keep playing tennis…..Forever!

QUESTIONS FOR PHIL VIVIAN TCB: Where were you born and where do you live now? PV: I was born in Stratford, East London, which is where I work now in the Olympic Park. I currently live in the Docklands area.

TCB: You didn't play any tennis before 1976? PV: I was more into football and athletics, but I wanted to become a sports teacher and back in those days there was only 3 sports you could earn a living at as a coach. Football, golf and tennis. So I chose tennis. TCB: When did you start teaching tennis and how did this come about? PV: I was having coaching in Essex for one year (one individual and one group lesson), I then became hooked on it and qualified as a coach by the end of the year. I have been doing it ever since! TCB: How did you connect with the PTR? PV: I already had an LTA qualification, but no regular contact with them, you just passed the courses and got on with your coaching. So I decided to take the biggest international course available, which was the PTR in 1993. It looked more progressive and was a worldwide qualification so I was was keen to see what it would give me. TCB: What does the PTR Lifetime Achievement Award mean to you? PV: I am very proud of it. It shows that hard work and massive dedication can be recognised by your peers. After 26 years as a PTR member (an organisation which helped me develop my coaching methods), I have come up through the ranks to help with Coach Education, firstly as an examiner, then chief examiner and then onto running all of the courses available in the UK along with one day CPD courses. TCB: Is UK tennis and the LTA going in the right direction? Is tennis where it should be in the UK? PV: I believe that the LTA could recognise the coaching qualifications available with other organisations. Everything with them seems much to in-house. They need to recognise talented coaches in other organisations and add them to their system, not ignore them. Tournament-wise there has always been a problem with mini tennis development and I think there are big issues to overcome in this area.

TCB: If you had a magic wand, what would you change immediately in order to help tennis grow? PV: If I had a magic wand.....Tennis must trust its own fan-base and not compare itself to other sports like football. It is a fantastic sport with players from all over the world competing in major championships, so each country needs to spread the word of tennis as a sport in its own class.

TCB: Do you play or teach pickleball? What's your experience with the new sport? PV: I personally do not like Pickleball (or the name!) or any other subsidiary sport like Touch Tennis. You can do all of the skills required in those sports on a tennis court with a tennis racquet! The only exception is Padel tennis which crosses squash and tennis, that is fun. TCB: Do you still play tennis often? PV: I primarily just coach as I do around 40 hours a week. I think that is enough running around at my age! But I do love being on the court. It is my passion to teach the game! TCB: What is your racquet of choice? PV: I am sponsored by HEAD and I currently use the Speed MP. I love the responsive feel of the racket and the cosmetics are classy, too. 2019 saw the Speed silo take all 4 Grand Slam titles this year so it must be good!