Two guests join Abby on this episode: Katie Rose, an Air Ambulance Charity member raising funds through horse riding, and Dan French, a tennis coach from Rochester who trains amateurs to become pros.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 Good evening and welcome along to Invictus Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated
00:26 to wrapping up all of Kent's sporting action. I'm Abbey Hook and here is what to expect
00:30 on Monday 5th August.
00:33 Gillingham will look to continue their winning start to the season as they face Sutton United
00:37 tomorrow evening. A very happy Neil Harris there. Air Ambulance charity Kent Surrey Sussex
00:42 is inviting horse riders to saddle up for a sponsored off-road hack. And how good's
00:48 your forearm? We've been down to a tennis club in Rochester training up Kent's future
00:52 tennis stars.
00:53 But first, a quick round up of the headlines. Gillingham will look to continue their winning
00:58 start to the season as they face Sutton United on Tuesday evening. Ashley Nadeson's first
01:03 league goal was enough to secure a 1-0 victory against Accrington Stanley. That means Neil
01:08 Harris's side have won their opening two games. More on the games shortly. Tomorrow the Gills
01:13 will look to make it three wins from three as they travel to the VBS Community Stadium
01:17 to face Sutton who lost to Barrow at the weekend. Speaking after the win on Saturday, Harris
01:21 said "It's a massive game. They're going to be really, really good. So organised, so disciplined,
01:27 aggressive, so big. All eyes to tomorrow then."
01:31 Kent Spitfires continue their winning run in the Metro Bank One Day Cup as they defeated
01:35 Middlesex by 134 runs with captain Jack Leaning starting with bat and ball once again. Leaning
01:41 top scored with 68 as Kent posted 288 before claiming two key wickets as the visitors were
01:47 all out for 154 with 13.2 overs remaining. The skipper was one of five Kent bowlers to
01:54 finish with two wickets as Ben Compton and Daniel Beldrumman scored 58 and 60 respectively.
02:00 This Thursday, Matthew Walker's team return to the Spitfire ground as they welcome the
02:04 Nottinghamshire Outlaws with an opportunity to make it four wins from six.
02:09 And now with the Football League season kicked off at the weekend, here's how your round
02:13 up of how Kent's highest flying clubs got on in their opening fixtures.
02:18 We kick off this week's action at Thorton Park where Maidstone United faced their first
02:22 loss in the National League South against Bath City. The newly relegated Stones looked
02:27 to make it two wins in a row but were outclassed by a ruthless Bath City side. The Romans threatened
02:32 early as Tom Smith's shot from outside the area flew just over the bar. Bath City broke
02:37 the deadlock through Jordan Thomas as he got on the end of Scott Wilson's low cross to
02:42 give them the lead. The Romans then added their second after some
02:47 poor defending by the Stones which saw a brilliant ball over the top finished by Thomas to grab
02:52 his second of the game. Maidstone were handed a lifeline just before
02:57 half time after forward Wanju Smith was brought down in the box and awarded a penalty. Smith
03:03 took the resultant penalty but found his effort well saved by keeper Ollie Wright. Smith tested
03:09 the keeper yet again but found his header expertly tipped onto the bar.
03:15 Bath were able to keep the Stones at bay for the rest of the game and added a third just
03:19 before the final whistle as Tom Smith finished Elliot Freer's cross after another stint of
03:24 poor defending by the Stones. Manager George Alokobi said the game could have been different
03:29 if his side were more clinical. It's about taking your chances in both boxes.
03:33 I thought there was a spare where he was on top and we didn't manage to convert our chances
03:38 and they've gone in on the other end and they've converted their chances. It's about how well
03:44 you're organised and how good you finish in both boxes and that's the difference.
03:48 Elsewhere Gillingham won their first home league game of the season after defeating
03:52 Akrington Stanley at Priestfield in League 2. The Gills looked in control of the game
03:57 and broke the deadlock through striker Ashley Nathsen who opened his account for the league
04:01 season. The win was the Gills' third in the space of a week.
04:06 Meanwhile in the National League an Epsfleet United fell to a narrow defeat against Solihull
04:10 Moors. The loss was the fleet's first home defeat since Boxing Day, a run in which they
04:15 won 10 games and had only a single draw. Boss Dennis Kutriup said his side's performance
04:21 simply wasn't good enough.
04:23 We haven't done enough and we have to be honest there and if you don't do enough, especially
04:26 in the first half, then you don't win in the National League and last season sometimes
04:31 we came away with good 45 minutes, this won't be enough this season.
04:34 Down in the National League South and Dover Athletic were the only Kent side to get a
04:38 win this weekend after a 94th minute winner from Luke Baptist sealed three points for
04:43 the Whites. Meanwhile Dartford and Tunbridge still remain winless in the league.
04:48 And finally coming to the Isthmian League Premier which kicked off this weekend and
04:52 all of Kent's sides got off to a winning start. Folkestone and Victor had a perfect start
04:57 as Ibrahim Olutade scored a hat-trick to fire them to victory.
05:02 Air Ambulance charity Kent Surrey Sussex is inviting horse riders to saddle up for a sponsored
05:07 off-road hack through the Ashford countryside, all in bid to raise funds for its life-saving
05:13 work. Riders will follow an 8-mile route over a variety of terrain.
05:17 Well I'm pleased to say I'm joined by KSS event team member Katie Rose. Katie thank
05:25 you so much for coming in. Tell me a bit about your connection to this because you've been
05:30 horse riding for a long time now.
05:31 Yeah I've been riding since I was 13 and I've been working for the charity for five years.
05:36 In 2021 I had a bit of a freak accident where my horse kicked me in the face and it made
05:41 me realise that if it was worse, my injuries were worse, that I may have had the air ambulance
05:47 out and why are we not calling to the equestrians that really understand the importance of the
05:53 charity and thought let's bring the horse community together and help raise funds for
05:57 the charity.
05:58 And we can see on the screen now you on a ride as well. And I think when you look at
06:03 this story you think the air ambulance and you think horse riding and you think how do
06:07 those two merge but I suppose it's the danger that horse riding actually poses.
06:11 Unfortunately every sport comes with risks and especially with an animal that has its
06:15 own mind is definitely going to be causing a higher risk and last year alone we attended
06:21 43, I'm sorry 41 horse riding accidents and this year alone we've attended 15. So it really
06:27 does put in perspective that if you were to have a fall or an accident within a horse,
06:31 on or on horse, then we would be there to help you and give you the best chance.
06:35 And I suppose when you are out horse riding, we can see you're in the countryside there,
06:40 it must be quite hard to reach for I suppose an ambulance or something like that. So do
06:43 you think that's why you're seeing a higher number of calls?
06:46 Yeah, so we, because obviously as you say we're in a different location, we're in fields,
06:50 we're in cornfields, our air ambulance is able to land in local fields, we're able to
06:55 depict where you can be. I can't for what three words app enough, it gives you a direct
07:01 location of where the incident is. So I do highly recommend downloading that but it means
07:05 that we can get to the hardest of places including any terrain and location, especially with
07:12 horse riding.
07:13 And how often would you say, looking at horse riding and sort of, a lot of younger children
07:18 do it, you do it growing up, I did it for a bit when I was younger, I wasn't that great
07:21 but I loved it. It's a really fun sport that involves young people but do you think there's
07:27 enough awareness over the potential dangers?
07:29 Yes and no. I think, like I said, every sport comes with risk but with horses you just don't
07:34 know what's going to happen. I think when you're younger you do think less but when,
07:38 desperately when you're older you are more aware of the risk. I myself definitely am,
07:43 now that I wear an air vest, now that I've got a daughter I need to make sure that I'm
07:46 looked after myself and actually it's that kind of protection that's going to save some
07:50 vital organs for me in the future.
07:52 I suppose children are pretty fearless aren't they?
07:54 They really are, yes. Weirdly enough, those 41 incidents that we had, quite a fair few
08:00 of them were under 18.
08:02 And you said you wear an air vest?
08:03 Yes.
08:04 So you sort of see that with people when they're in motorsport and things like that, they have
08:08 a sort of air jacket that sort of inflates on impact, is it the same?
08:11 Yes, yes, so it's connected to the saddle, it's a horse pie air vest, a really good one,
08:15 it's literally flat but if I was to dismount unexpectedly it pulls a piston and it inflates
08:20 once I dismount off the horse and just basically protects my vital organs when I fall off.
08:24 Another level of sort of protection and dispersing that impact point.
08:28 Yes.
08:29 Now tell me a bit more about the charity, about the hack, what does it involve? We heard
08:33 a bit of detail in the intro but if you could go into it even more.
08:36 Yes, yes, so the KSS Ride, it's an 8 mile ride off Hack and it's all in support of the
08:42 Air Ambulance. We have been given beautiful permission to attend this beautiful estate,
08:47 Bealsington, we've got a lovely relationship with them and all proceeds are going to the
08:51 charity which is very important because as a charity obviously we rely almost entirely
08:56 on donations of the public and we have to raise over £60 million a year to keep the
09:00 services going. Obviously the support that we get from people is amazing, from the last
09:06 three years that we've done KSS Ride we've raised £40k and we've already raised over
09:11 £5k this year so it's amazing how much people can do and put money in the funds really.
09:18 And what's the response been like, how many people are attending or how many can you have?
09:22 So we have up to a space of about 126 but we've still got space available.
09:28 Wow, 226?
09:29 No, sorry, 126 riders.
09:30 That's 126 people and 126 horses.
09:31 Yes, yeah.
09:32 How are you going to make sure?
09:33 We don't go off at one go, no, they get allocated a start time when they want to go and then
09:43 they get given a start time so they go off in little stages with people they want to
09:47 ride with or on their own and it just gives them a little bit of a break and they get
09:51 a chance to walk and trot and counter.
09:52 And I suppose that's bringing back in the safety element as well, I was going to ask
09:55 you how do you ensure an event's safe when you've got I suppose nearly more than 250
10:01 beings there?
10:02 Well, we're hoping.
10:03 Yeah, so we have a very big risk assessment but obviously we have first aid there as well
10:09 but obviously just making sure that everybody is spaced at a good time, we've got good
10:13 marshalling, really lovely friendly marshalls on the route to make sure that everybody is
10:16 having a good time but also safe as well.
10:18 Amazing, and how can people sort of find out more information or how can they get involved
10:22 if they still can?
10:23 Well, sign ups are still available so if you just go to the website aakss.org.uk/events/ksride
10:31 then they can sign up through that one.
10:34 And next year, are you going to go bigger and better, are you going to be doing this
10:38 again, is it an annual thing or how often do you think?
10:40 It's been annually for the last three years, I'd like to see it grow so maybe we might
10:45 because obviously Air Ambulance Charity, Kent Surrey & Sussex, it's not just Kent, we are
10:49 also Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance so I'd love to kind of expand it out, hopefully get
10:53 to Surrey & Sussex, kind of similar to our heli-hike that's coming up this September
10:57 as well, we're in Kent, Surrey & Sussex for that so I'd love to see KSSRide do that.
11:01 We've got a bit more time with the show so tell me a bit about that hike too.
11:04 So that's a sponsored walk, it's a 7.5 mile or a 3 mile walk around Aylesford in Kent,
11:11 we've also got one at Cowdery and one in the Surrey Hills and that's from the three consecutive
11:16 weekends which is September 23rd, the October 1st and then the week after that is Sussex
11:22 as well.
11:23 We've also got heli-hike at night as well at Moat Park.
11:25 Oh that's really cool, how interesting.
11:26 So yeah if you don't fancy jumping on a horse, you can go for a walk, so you're tailoring
11:32 it to everyone, it sounds like a great event to be part of and a really important cause
11:37 as well.
11:38 Thank you so much for coming in, it was really great to talk to you.
11:42 Now it's time for a very short break but coming up we'll be talking all things tennis as we've
11:47 been along to a training session in Rochester.
11:49 Dani French, the head coach of Dan James Tennis will be right here in the studio with me.
11:55 How good is your right forearm?
11:57 We'll find out more with Dan shortly.
12:00 [Music]
12:06 [Break]
12:08 [Music]
12:13 [Music]
12:18 [Music]
12:23 [Music]
12:28 [Music]
12:33 [Music]
12:38 [Music]
12:43 [Music]
12:48 [Music]
12:53 [Music]
12:58 [Music]
13:03 [Music]
13:08 [Music]
13:13 [Music]
13:18 [Music]
13:23 [Music]
13:28 [Music]
13:33 [Music]
13:38 [Music]
13:43 [Music]
13:48 [Music]
13:53 [Music]
13:58 [Music]
14:03 [Music]
14:08 [Music]
14:13 [Music]
14:18 [Music]
14:23 [Music]
14:28 [Music]
14:33 [Music]
14:38 [Music]
14:43 [Music]
14:48 [Music]
14:53 [Music]
14:58 [Music]
15:03 [Music]
15:08 [Music]
15:13 [Music]
15:18 [Music]
15:23 [Music]
15:28 [Music]
15:33 [Music]
15:38 [Music]
15:43 [Music]
15:48 [Music]
15:53 [Music]
15:58 [Music]
16:03 [Music]
16:08 [Music]
16:13 [Music]
16:18 [Music]
16:23 [Music]
16:28 [Music]
16:33 Youngsters are not left out on this drive for a future with tennis.
16:38 [Music]
16:43 It's more about getting that base level right, teaching them the hand-eye coordination things.
16:48 It might not even look like tennis at the beginning, but we're helping them get that hand-eye coordination and that physical literacy.
16:55 I'm seeing really good progress and he looks forward to it every week.
16:59 He's making friends and also learning about the game, the rules, the techniques, building his skills. It's fantastic.
17:08 On Mondays, female players have their own space to compete with one another and win points.
17:14 I've really, really improved a lot. I mean, I'm still like not professional level, obviously,
17:23 but I definitely have improved from someone who's never really played tennis before.
17:29 I can now hit the ball, which I'm told is quite important.
17:34 I even got on the racket myself.
17:38 But there needs to be more improvements. Oh, there we go.
17:42 They may not be Serena Williams or Novak Djokovic, but these players do not joke with their racket game.
17:49 A lot of my players did start from a beginner level and so they kind of all appreciate where they're coming from.
17:56 So it's a very welcoming environment for that kind of player as well.
18:00 But the drills can be adapted and have been adapted over those times to kind of make sure that people are challenged appropriately for their skill level.
18:08 Get your tennis shoes ready because whether you're a novice or a lost sheep in the pro world, you can add this sport to your list of things to do in Medway.
18:17 Yinka Owate for KMTV in Rochester.
18:21 Well, I'm pleased to say we're now joined by Dan French, the head coach of Dan James Tennis in Rochester.
18:26 Joining me in the studio now. Thank you so much for coming in, Dan.
18:29 Now, from watching that, a bit of questionable shots there. How good was Yinka at tennis?
18:35 I must say, you know, there's no such thing as a bad student, I suppose.
18:40 We could all, we all need to learn these things, don't we? I know she had fun doing it.
18:44 She looked like she had a lot of fun. Yeah, she did, definitely.
18:47 Now tell us, when did you set up this tennis club? Where did it come from? What was the driving force behind it?
18:53 Well, the driving force behind it was just, well, first of all, I set it up February 2021.
18:58 So it's not been going on for that long, but it was quite simple.
19:02 I just drove past the Thomas Lavin School one day.
19:05 Every now and again, I'd see the progress of this construction that they were building and they were building this canopy above some courts.
19:11 So I got in contact with the school and I was like, are you going to do something with this?
19:14 And I was like, let's do an after school club. And they were like, yeah, that sounds like a good idea.
19:19 Did that from September up to February. And then I opened up my adult classes and I went full capacity and did junior classes in the April 2021.
19:27 Amazing. So you do a whole range of classes. We could see from Yinka's report there, you had all different ages learning all different abilities as well.
19:35 That's something you really champion. But take us through the different classes you have.
19:39 Oh, yeah. So it's in tennis. It's kind of broken down into different color groups based on their age.
19:45 So we have the blue group, the red group and so on and so forth.
19:48 And basically it corresponds with the color ball that they play with.
19:51 So a red player will play with a much slower ball on a smaller court.
19:57 And then as they get older, the dimensions will change and it will get bigger and progress to a bigger court.
20:02 So the ball itself slower, did you say?
20:05 Yeah. So they take the pressure out of the ball for the younger age.
20:09 If you've got a young player who's not very tall, you want the ball to bounce a little bit lower for them as well, because you can imagine it shooting up above their head.
20:17 And I suppose I've been watching Wimbledon and I was watching it when it was on and you see the speed that they serve at.
20:23 It's ridiculous. I suppose that's a bit daunting, but I didn't realize you could have different speeds of the balls.
20:27 Do you think people are surprised by that?
20:29 I think so, maybe, just as some players develop.
20:33 But yeah, it's very much down to, you know, it's more about stage over age really.
20:37 And that's kind of what the LTA, the Lawn Tennis Association, they kind of sort of champion.
20:43 Just trying to sort of make sure that people are placed where they can, you know, appropriately play the game.
20:50 And then once they're comfortable, it's much better to sort of get the techniques right and then progress them up to a faster ball perhaps.
20:58 And how different is it playing on sort of the ground like this in Yinka's Report and on grass or AstroTurf?
21:04 Or correct me if I'm getting my terms wrong, what's the difference between these sorts of things?
21:08 Oh no, your terms are absolutely fine.
21:10 I'm learning too, as Yinka's learning how to play, I'm learning.
21:12 Yeah, for sure. I mean, we got to see it first hand about a month ago.
21:16 So I organized a tournament called Wimbledon.
21:19 Brilliant.
21:20 We took our club over to another local grass court club and we tried our hand at grass.
21:25 And yeah, very different game. So particularly the ball's balance is very unpredictable sometimes.
21:31 A lot lower and a little bit faster as well.
21:34 But it was nice to have that experience and play on grass as well.
21:38 But you know, the courts that we have over at Thomas Avelin, they're all year round.
21:42 So it allows people to play, you know, for the whole year, all weatherproof.
21:47 So that's why I chose that venue to sort of set the club up.
21:50 And the people you have attending the club, as we said before, they're of all different abilities, ages.
21:56 Why is that so important to you, do you think, to get people in of all abilities and help them sort of learn and train?
22:02 I think it's massively important to me just because I think there can sometimes be a little bit of a stereotype around tennis
22:08 that it's not as accessible as other sports.
22:11 And so what I wanted it to be is like tennis for everybody.
22:15 So my approach to the whole thing is that you can be sort of flexible with your booking as well.
22:22 So you don't have to pay weeks in advance and all that kind of thing.
22:25 So people can just go onto my website and they can book on that way as well.
22:30 But yeah, in terms of just making sure that everybody is included, I want it to be a very welcome environment.
22:36 I've heard some stories in the past where perhaps some players have gone into a club and maybe they're not felt as welcomed.
22:42 So that's the one thing that I try and make sure that I do the best I can.
22:46 When someone walks in, you're part of us and we want you to be there.
22:50 That's amazing. Now it all builds up to some sort of competitive nature, some sort of competition.
22:56 So do you play in regional games, national games? How does it work?
23:01 Well, we're quite a fledging club, so we've only just got going.
23:04 So we're not really in Kent Championships or anything like that, but that'll be something that I'll aspire to in the future.
23:10 We do do little local competitions. So we've got one coming up next month in September called the Woodlands Cup.
23:16 And that's been around for quite a long time. I've played it a few times myself for other clubs.
23:21 And it's quite cool now that I can put my own club in it.
23:24 We did it the first time last year and we're going back again this year.
23:27 So usually that's held in Rochester. So we'll put a little squad in there and we'll see how we do.
23:32 And what would you say, I suppose, a lot of what you do is training young people, those different stages, not ages as you said.
23:39 What is it that's the hardest thing to grasp with tennis?
23:42 What do you see or does it sort of change between player or do you see sort of an overall thing that people take a long while to sort of get?
23:51 I think if I wanted to give a general teaching idea of what I've noticed over the last sort of years, a few years or so.
23:58 So I've been a coach for five years, but I've been running this club since February 2021.
24:02 But the main thing that I think a lot of people want to do is they want to get the racket right first.
24:09 And they're very interested in how to swing and all that kind of stuff.
24:12 But the reality is they need to be in the right position to play the shots. They need to be on balance.
24:17 So a lot of the work that we do is getting in the ready position so they're ready for the incoming ball.
24:23 Can they read the ball as well? And are they reacting to the ball?
24:26 Because if they don't do those three things, then there's no point in learning the shot itself.
24:30 So you find that a lot of the times a player might be a little bit off balance and then they start improvising their shot.
24:37 We want to try and sort of get something that can routinely work over and over again.
24:41 So it's about setting that base before you can then move on to the next thing.
24:46 So I suppose that's the general point I could say that maybe it's for everybody.
24:51 And we talked a bit earlier about the balls and the different sort of speeds and stuff.
24:55 What about things like the rackets and the other equipment? Do the rackets change?
24:59 Do you have smaller rackets for smaller people, for younger people?
25:02 Or do they actually change in the sort of grating they have? How much is in that?
25:06 Yeah, I mean, you know, the younger the player is and the smaller they are as they're developing,
25:12 they will start off with like a 21-inch racket.
25:16 A standard tennis racket for an adult is 27 inches long.
25:19 So just as they're growing and they're developing, they will just start to get longer rackets.
25:25 And it's more about comfort and feel. And I think the weight is quite important as well.
25:28 You don't want a young kid having too heavy of a racket so that they cause themselves a mischief.
25:35 And through all of this, we can see your love for tennis, your love of sharing it with other people as well.
25:40 But what about any other sports? Do you come from a sort of sports background?
25:43 Do you enjoy other sports, playing other sports?
25:45 Yeah, do you know, funny enough, I've not always been in tennis.
25:48 So I started playing tennis when I was about 11 years old.
25:51 So I was always football, doing Sunday League, played for a little team called Blackline Youth when I was younger.
25:56 And that was my dedication. And then I started playing tennis after that.
26:01 I think when the pandemic hit, I wanted to try lots of different things as well.
26:06 So I went a bit crazy, started trying triathlons and I bought myself a beach volleyball net and stuff.
26:14 And the tennis was one that stuck.
26:16 Tennis stuck, yeah. I mean, I love doing lots of different sports.
26:20 But because tennis is now my six days a week and it's during leisure hours, that's what I do.
26:25 And, you know, it's very hard to fit the other sports in.
26:27 So I'll probably go for a run or a cycle in the week, those kind of things.
26:31 But tennis is pretty much where it's at at the moment.
26:33 I'd definitely give the triathlon a miss if it was me. I'd stick to tennis.
26:37 Dan, thank you so much for coming in and sharing your story and your club with us as well.
26:42 You're welcome. Thank you, Abi. Take care.
26:44 That's full time on today's episode of Invictus Sport.
26:47 But don't forget, if you play a sport in Kent and you're part of a community, part of it, please get in touch.
26:53 See you soon.
26:54 [Outro Music]
27:06 [BLANK_AUDIO]