We are pleased to announce the appointment of our coaches at Basset Down.  Steve Yeardley has been handed the Head Coach and Centre Manager role and Calli Smith has been recruited as the centre’s Development Coach. Both coaches are local to the area, RWB and Chiseldon respectively, and we are delighted to have them on-board.

Steve is a Level 4 Tennis coach with over 15 years of coaching experience. He was previously responsible for leading the flagship Wiltshire Tennis Academy, eventually going on to become the Tennis Manager at the Delta Tennis Centre.  Steve brings to the role a full range of programme management skills as well as high-level coaching expertise.

Commenting on his appointment as Head Coach and Centre Manager, Steve said:

“Padel is a fast-growing sport that is both fun to learn and addictive to play; as soon as you play the game for the first time you are hooked. Padel is increasingly becoming more and more popular, and I believe there is a huge growth opportunity for the sport in the UK.

I’m looking forward to being part of that growth with Padel4all, both locally at Basset Down and at a national level through my position as Head Coach and Manager at the centre.”

Joining Steve as Development Coach is Calli Smith. Calli comes from a squash background where he is one of the top County players and a Level 2 coach. Although only 21 Calli has plenty of coaching experience under his belt.  He has delivered multiple programmes across all forms of racket sports, from community grass roots to elite level.

Calli’s appointment follows a recent role within the sports dept. at Bath University where he was able to further advance his coaching skills and personal development within one of the best high performance training environments in the country.

Both coaches will be working together to deliver a full and extensive centre programme, with sessions aimed at ensuring every player can improve their padel skills. Steve and Calli join Padel4all at a very exciting time and as we get ready to open the centre, we welcome them to the team and wish them both every success.