The LTA has appointed Steve Yeardley as Padel Manager working across both padel grassroots development and performance.
Yeardley’s appointment is part of a reorganisation in the LTA’s padel department following Matt Stanforth’s departure as Padel Performance Manager in June. The new Padel Manager will report into the LTA’s Head of Padel Tom Murray and will work with relevant departments from across the LTA to bring an enhanced focus on strengthening the grassroots of the game.
This includes developing initiatives to grow the player base, including programmes and making the competition landscape more accessible and appealing to players. Yeardley will also ensure a closer working relationship with operators and venues, ensuring the LTA provides appropriate guidance and support to help them grow the sport, including the coaching workforce.
Alongside this, Yeardley will help deliver the Padel Performance Pathway that identifies, develops and supports the most promising British padel players. He and the team of national coaches will support Great Britain’s national teams, including their camps and trips to tournaments.
He will also set about developing a network of performance training hubs, and work with other teams in the LTA to develop padel coaches capable of developing players at each age and stage of the pathway.
In all this work he will be supported by the LTA’s existing teams with extensive experience in programmes, coaching, facilities development, competitions and performance support.
Yeardley joins the LTA from Tennis Wales where he was Coaching and Volunteer Manager. He has extensive experience in coaching padel having previously worked as Head Coach for Padel4all and has been involved in developing a large number of padel coaching resources for the LTA website. These include working alongside Jo Ward as content developer for the LTA on recent LTA L2 Padel Instructor. He also co-authored the Coaching Kids Padel CPD coaching development workshop.
The appointment comes ahead of the formal launch of the LTA’s new padel strategy next week, which will contain further details on plans to grow the game and engage with the padel community.
Murray, LTA Head of Padel, said: “We have taken the decision to change this role to place a bigger emphasis on working with the rest of the sector, particularly operators, coaches and workforce. Steve comes from a padel background and knows people across the industry. He will be a great addition to the LTA. It’s an exciting time for padel and we’ll be saying more about plans when we publish our new padel strategy next week.”
Yeardley himself said: “I am delighted to have joined Tom and the LTA as Padel Manager. Padel is at an exciting time in the UK and I feel very privileged to have joined whilst we are continuing to see growth across all areas of this sector.
“Having been working within the padel industry for the past four to five years, I feel I can bring enthusiasm and energy to different aspects of the padel landscape to continue the superb growth of this sport. I really want to work alongside the fantastic padel operators that we have in the UK, to really make sure that together we continue to build into the wider growth of this sport, so that they feel engaged, valued, and fully aligned with the direction of travel with the LTA’s padel strategy.”
