It may be stretching it a bit to say that Joe Chadwick is coming ‘home’, but the new professional at Cheltenham Civil Service Tennis Club certainly knows this part of the world pretty well.
 
That’s because Chadwick, now 44, spent three years as a student in Cheltenham at what is now the University of Gloucestershire from 1992 to 1995, leaving with an HND in leisure management.
 
And while that is obviously a long time ago, the town and the surrounding area clearly made a bit of an impression on him because he is only too pleased to be back in Gloucestershire and doing a job he clearly enjoys.
 
“I’m also a personal fitness trainer but tennis is my first passion,” he said.
 
Born in Sidcup in South East London and raised in the South East of the country, tennis has been a big part of Chadwick’s life for some four decades.
 
“I started hitting a ball at the age of four against a garage door,” he said.
 
And once he’d progressed from the driveway to the tennis court it was soon apparent that he was a pretty decent player although he says, almost with pride, that he has never been coached as a player.
 
“I’ve taught thousands of hours of lessons but I’ve never had a lesson myself,” he said.
 
He’s been a tennis coach for 18 years now, a role he realised was for him after heading Down Under at the back end of the last century.
 
“I went travelling to Australia in October or November of 1999,” he said, “and that’s when I made my decision to become a tennis coach.
 
“I played a lot of tennis when I was out there, I played almost every day and I just loved it.”
 
One of the clubs he played at in Sydney was just a serve and volley from Bondi Beach and he played there every day for a couple of months.
 
“One of the regulars there was Pat Rafter,” recalled Chadwick. “He was really good with the kids. They weren’t starstruck because he was so down to earth.”
 
Chadwick coached in summer camps while he was in Australia and since then has worked in a number of different countries.
 
“I worked in America at the John Newcombe Tennis Academy in Texas,” he said, “and I worked in a country club in Connecticut.
 
“I’ve coached in Turkey and at the Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy in Spain.”
 
While tennis fans of a certain vintage will remember Newcombe as the seven-times Grand Slam singles winner and multiple Grand Slam doubles winner from the 60s and 70s, Ferrero may not be so well known.
 
But he was a very good player as well, winning the French Open in 2003, 12 months after finishing runner-up.
 
So it’s a pretty impressive CV that Chadwick has built up, a CV that includes the past seven years which were spent coaching in Dorset.
 
His remit at Cheltenham Civil Service is to build up the junior section at the club. Ask him how many juniors there are at the club and he says with a chuckle “zero” before adding “there’s quite a lot to do!”.
 
Hard work is something that Chadwick, a Level 4 LTA coach, is clearly not afraid of and he has already made an impression at the club since taking up his position at the end of July.
 
He has big plans to develop the coaching programme and reach out to the local community, including schools.
 
“We have plans to hold open days and offer subsidised coaching for juniors and adults,” he said. “The coaching and club membership will be open to anyone, not just people linked to the civil service.”
 
So what sort of coach is he?

“Tennis has to be fun,” he said. “While it is important for players to make progressions with their games, ultimately players, especially juniors, come along for the coach and have to go away happy.

“It’s important that the sessions are fun, challenging and within a safe environment. My biggest achievement would be for juniors to continue playing tennis for the rest of their lives.”
  
Chadwick is easy to talk to so it’s not hard to imagine him being an immediate hit with juniors and adults alike.
 
“I like working with juniors but I’m also going to be coaching adults at Cheltenham Civil Service,” he said. “I’m mainly a development coach working with beginners and improvers but I’ve coached Performance Players as well.”
 
He’s clearly a bit of an all-rounder when it comes to coaching and while his new role is obviously going to take up plenty of his time, he is still keen to play some tennis himself.
 
“I want to keep playing singles,” the left-hander said. “I’m ranked around 300 on the ITF Seniors Tour for over-40s, I enjoy the competition.”
 
And what of Cheltenham, how does it compare with when he was last here?
 
“I think it’s improved,” he said. “It’s better, there’s more going on. Everywhere is busier but it’s got a good feel to it, it’s good to be back.”
 
Cheltenham Civil Service Tennis Club are pleased he’s back as well.
 
Anyone wanting more information about Chadwick’s coaching plans should email joechadwicktennis@gmail.com or call him on 07872 645230.