Fountain Gate Tennis Club coach Greg Gunn has been named Victorian Coach of the Year.By Paul Pickering
NARRE Warren tennis coach Greg Gunn has a keen eye for emerging talent, so he shouldn’t have been surprised by the recipient of this year’s Victorian Coach of the Year award.
But it seems his own modesty may have clouded his judgement.
Gunn, who has helped revive the ailing Fountain Gate Tennis Club over the past two years, said this week that he was stunned to have the accolade of the state’s top coach bestowed upon him by the Tennis Coaches Association of Victoria.
“I was pretty shocked and rather excited,” he said.
“But it’s really nice to see that all the hard work you put in is recognised.”
And while tennis is clearly more than just an occupation for this enthusiastic 39-year-old, there is no doubting his work ethic.
Gunn is combining coaching duties at Fountain Gate with a role as a talent identification coach for Tennis Australia and studies at the National High Performance Tennis Academy.
Having flirted with a career as a touring professional, Gunn has now dedicated himself to nurturing young talents.
“I’ve got a passion for developing players and bringing their tennis to another level,” he said.
At a local level, Gunn has been working towards opening a high-performance tennis academy at the new Independent Colleges of Australia (ICA) Casey campus in Narre Warren South later this year.
He said the program would allow promising young players to combine their sporting passion with academic studies.
And while he is more than qualified to coach at the elite level, Gunn says he gets the most joy out of introducing people to the game he loves.
“I’m big on participation and giving everyone an open door to play the game,” he said.
“It’s about getting kids up and playing and getting people active.”
Through his role at Fountain Gate, Gunn has introduced specialised programs for people with disabilities, as well as sessions aimed at getting mums out of the stands and onto the court.
In Gunn’s two years at Fountain Gate, he has seen the club enlivened by a vibrant new membership.
“The club is looking financially stable and it’s got a really bright future,” he said.
Gunn, who will be presented with his award at a ceremony in March, said he was humbled to have his name added to a list of esteemed past winners, which includes Australian tennis legend Frank Sedgman.
