Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I readily signed my son up for the Ogier Tennis Academy. Hey, after all - Les Ormes is only just up the road and what else is there for a working mother of two to do on a Saturday afternoon?!

My son demonstrated reasonable hand-eye co-ordination (a paternal gene, me thinks), and was lucky enough to be asked back for a further free Ogier Tennis Academy coaching session. From that, he was invited to join the Ogier Development Squad - and 'proud mother syndrome' set in.

That was four years ago. At the time, little did I realise that my son's tennis ability would improve so much and that I would learn a whole new range of vocabulary!

The coaches at Les Ormes have been fantastic. They have encouraged my son who has developed a love and passion for tennis, which I hope will last him for the rest of his life - or at the very least to the other side of his teenage years. He has been allowed to progress at his own speed without any adverse comparison to his peers and, just as importantly, he has made some great friends.