Duncan Prior Tennis

Introduction At the time of writing I am 47 years old, a full-time tennis coach for the Northwest Tennis Academy (Tamworth, Australia), play tennis competitively as a my main hobby, and have an eight-year-old daughter who plays competitive tennis. The mind aspect of sport has always been a fascination to me and what I focused on in both my undergraduate and postgraduate sports-based degrees. This post is an attempt to reflect on my key learnings by selecting five pivitol moments in my journey so far........ Pivitol Moment 1: The Inner Game In June 1997 (aged 18), I guaduated from Colchester Sixth Form College and took a gap year. I spent three months coaching at a residential camp in the Pocono Mountains, travelled in America and Canada, and then returned home to England. I then started building my hours as a coach and also focused on developing my own playing skills. For a number of years I had played my mate Dan who was a year younger than me and had come to tennis relatively l...

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Tamworth (Australia). I hope you have had a fun year and excited about the possibilities in 2026. I finished 2024 in England, arriving on the afternoon of New Years Eve! It was my first trip back since we emigrated in 2018. Katherine and Frankie stayed in Australia and the trip was mainly focused on spending time with my mum and brother. I stayed for nearly a month and it was great to reconnect with my roots. It was an emotional moment visiting my dad's grave for the first time. He has a lovely spot outside Lawford Church. I also enjoyed a walking trip to the beautiful Lake District, a visit to Kent, playing Padel Tennis for the first time, and watching Only Fools & Horses on stage in Ipswich.  I arrived back in Australia in late January and it was a shock to the system to be back into the heat of the summer and straight into a new term of tennis coaching. It has been an exciting time, as the Tennis Centre and Restaur...