TENNIS: WIRRAL tennis clubs have fired a volley at the peninsula's flagship tennis and sport centre for 'poaching' their players.

The clubs, including Neston, Hoylake and Prenton, claim the Bidston centre is taking the cream of local talent for its team to play in the prestigious National Junior Club League, players they have spent years developing.

The centre has to enter a team after recently achieving LTA National Performance Club status which brings substantial funding from the LTA, funding that stipulates entry into the NJCL as a key performance indicator.

However centre manager Alan Betts insists the centre is merely offering the best young players the opportunity to receive £4,000 worth of top level coaching and improve their game, which they can accept or decline.

He added after making such an investment in a player, they are asked to make a commitment to the programme by representing the centre in the NJCL, while being free to play for their clubs in other competitions.

However a Wirral club spokesman, who did not wish to be named, said if the situation continues they will have doubts about producing players to a high standard because they do not want to see them enticed away.

"The feeling is why should we keep producing performance players - which the clubs want to do - if they get taken away," he added. "We understood that the LTA's Club Vision was about keep-ing players in their club environment.

"If a coach has taken a player this far, then they would know what was best for them more so than someone who has never worked with the player before."

The spokesman also said the centre's actions were costing clubs which have reached county performance level money.

"The funding for those clubs from the LTA is based in part on how they perform in the National Junior Club League, which Neston won two years ago, but now some of the best players cannot represent the club," he explained.

"That is the most prestigious competition, so it is like saying to Manchester United their best players they have developed at their academy can play in the Worthington Cup, but have to play for another team in the Champions League.

"We feel the tennis and sport centre should concentrate on producing its own players for this competition, instead of looking at players in Wirral's clubs.

"What they are offering should be in addition to what the players do with the clubs, not instead of it.

"The parents and the players, who are still only young, feel caught in a difficult situation."

However Alan Betts said no-one is forced to play for the centre with their arm twisted up their back - instead it is a free choice for the players and their families to join the programme or stay where they are.

"We achieved LTA national performance club status in recognition of the excellence of the facilities and coaching here," he added.

"Our performance coach Nick Lawrence is respected and renowned as one of the top 10 coaches in the country and

if you have a child with talent and you can get them time with one of the top coaches at a heavily subsidised rate, as a parent you will probably take that opportunity.

"However we are not holding a gun to anyone's head - if they want to take the opportunity they can, if they don't then they can carry on as normal.

"If they choose to join the programme though, then in return for the £4,000 investment of LTA and council money we are making, we would expect them to play so many tournaments for us, while still playing for their clubs in other events.

"It is not as if we have thought let's pinch players from here, there and everywhere either. We have the funding available, we have the expertise, and people have been coming to us saying can we help their children, to which we said yes."

He added: "The basis of this whole thing is to produce more players and improve the skills and abilities of the talented players.

"If the clubs don't think that offering young tennis players £4,000 worth of expert coaching and facilities is a good thing, then I can't see where they are coming from."

The Wirral centre manager continued that the centre intends to produce its own players, but this takes time.

"That is why we put our own development courses on and why our development officer Jo Hagen goes out into schools for outreach work to get youngsters involved in the sport," he explained.

"However Jo and Nick have only been here 12 months and can't just create players instantly.

"It does take time and in 12 months I am sure players from one of our courses will develop to a high enough standard because the talent is there."