By RUSSELL BENNETT
ONE of the highest qualified tennis coaches in the state says the sport in the local area has been “sent back a decade” and he feels “shafted” by the decision to remove him and his coaching programs from the Pakenham Regional Tennis Centre (PRTC).
Paul Osborne, who owns and operates ‘Ossie’s Tennis Coaching’, has been coaching at the PRTC since 2010 – a move he said was a ‘win/win/win’ for his own business, the local tennis community, and the tennis centre.
On 1 July this year, Aligned Leisure took over the running and management of the PRTC and Mr Osborne applied to be the head coach and manager in order to have everything under the one umbrella. He said he even offered to sell his own business to Aligned or Cardinia Shire Council so that he could continue at the PRTC.
But he said he received an email from Aligned saying they were now after ‘a fresh start’ when it came to the running of, and coaching at the facility. As a consequence there are now 300 local children and five coaches each week who will no longer be involved with the OTC programs at the PRTC.
Mr Osborne said the centre was a commercial tennis centre, not a club, and would become the ‘white elephant’ he says it was prior to 2010.
He has been with the Pakenham Tennis Club on Anderson Street since 1996, but moved to the PRTC in 2010 due to the overwhelming demand for court space. The PRTC has 18 plexicushion courts, while the Pakenham Tennis Club has six synthetic grass courts. Now he says the youngsters he coaches are now forced back to Anderson Street – on just four courts, given the other demands on them through the club.
“I feel shafted by Tennis Victoria, Cardinia Shire Council and Aligned Leisure,” he said, adding “It’s a business decision that I have to accept”.
Mr Osborne said the move sent the local tennis scene back a decade and he predicted “a tough six months” for the sport locally.
He said he had retained “100 per cent” of his clients since being removed from the PRTC, and that the father of one young player who used to be based with him there had since ripped up his membership of the Richmond Football Club – which owns Aligned.
He said others who attend the Cardinia Life gym were prepared to do the same, adding that “there are people who live 30 metres from the PRTC who will go to the Pakenham Tennis Club instead”.
Mr Osborne said he had been forced into being a direct competitor of the PRTC now, but still aimed to run the centre in the future and was adamant he would get it operating at a profit in year one.
Cardinia Shire Council’s team leader of recreation and facilities Heather Callahan said Aligned had outlined its plans to run its own programs at the PRTC, which included coaching, school participation and social programs.
“Importantly, the programs proposed by Aligned Leisure were fully supported by Australia’s peak tennis body, Tennis Australia,” she said.
“The proposed program in fact exceeded Tennis Australia requirements, reassuring council as to the scope and quality of the future program.”
Ms Callahan said Aligned had appointed an “experienced tennis professional” who would start work at the PRTC from 18 July and would immediately start recruiting other qualified coaches for the facility.
Tara Hetherington is a parent of children coached by OTC.
“I cannot begin to tell you how disappointing it was to receive Paul’s email, stating that he would no longer be able to conduct his coaching business at PRTC,” she said.
“Paul (and his staff) are an integral part of tennis in the Pakenham and surrounding areas. He is a dedicated and committed coach whose passion for tennis and encouraging children to play and, more importantly, enjoy and love the sport, is second to none.”
