Liam and Chloe de la Mare are two of GB’s most promising padel talents but their father and coach Matt admits he is ‘reaching the limit of his knowledge’ in seeking to maintain their rate of progress.
Liam, 15, and Chloe, 14, train at Guernsey Padel Club with Matt around five times a week. Both siblings fly regularly to the mainland to play in adult tournaments and both were selected for the LTA junior padel camps, the third of which took place in Bristol last month.
In April, Chloe (then just 13) became the youngest ever winner of an LTA Grade 2 padel tournament as she partnered 14-year-old friend Rosie Quirk to an astounding string of victories, most notably against GB Seniors player Karen Hazzard and Eloise Tait, who trains with the GB women’s squad.
Liam partners his father at tournaments and they have been pushing some of the top 15 GB men’s players into close three-set matches. Matt admitted: “I’m getting more and more shots, so it won’t be long before I step aside and Liam finds a stronger partner!”
Both Liam and Chloe have been supported by renowned coach Dan Troy who flies to Guernsey every few months for training sessions and sends over advice and training drills videos. However, Matt fears Liam and Chloe will miss out on opportunities to progress further unless they are given more support.
“I train them hard and I’m doing as best I can,” Matt told The Padel Paper. “Really I’m just a year or two further down the line than they are. I learn through YouTube but I’m probably getting to the limit of my knowledge as a coach. So where do we go from here?”
The short term answer to that question is… Alicante. The De la Mares, Rosie Quirk and another top British junior, Stan Hunt, flew to Spain last week to train ahead of entering the U16 draw at this week’s FIP Promises Alicante. Dan Troy has flown out to coach them at the tournament.
Liam said: “It’s really exciting to be going on these trips in order to improve and play against more experienced players in the UK and Spain. It gives me the chance to to learn from them and implement the skills into my own training.”
The junior FIP competition will help to build up the children’s experience against their European peers – and at least partially offset the disappointment of the LTA deciding not to enter a GB team for September’s FIP European Junior Championships in Budapest.
“It [the decision] is really disappointing,” commented Matt. “If the LTA can get someone into the vacant Performance Manager role who has an absolute passion for padel, then hopefully we can progress with the LTA. I think that’s what everyone wants – otherwise we’ll have to do it our own way.”
In the meantime, both Liam and Chloe will continue to work hard and make the most of opportunities that do come their way.
“I tell them, ‘Work as hard as you possibly can – and work when you know other people aren’t working.'” he said. “They both have an excellent work ethic so they will hopefully make the most of their talent.”
Chloe confirmed: “I like working hard but most of all I just find padel really fun. I would really like to see how high we can get in the ladies’ rankings. Watching the top players play and seeing if we can get to that level is really exciting.”
Although coaching your own teenagers inevitably leads to them “butting heads” occasionally, Matt says it is “a privilege spending loads of time with my kids doing something that they’re both passionate about.”
The Padel Paper wishes Chloe, Liam, Matt and mum Lucienne all the best in Alicante this week and looks forward to following the juniors’ progress for years to come.
