New kid on the block is a tennis talent

THERE’S a new kid in town and he is making an impact on the Bathurst tennis scene.

Jeorge Collins has wasted no time in climbing the Central West pecking order since relocating to Bathurst, playing as the number one member for the under 10s side in their recent trip to Cessnock for the State Team Tennis Tournament.

Collins and his family moved to Bathurst from Frenchs Forest just under a year ago, selling their Australian Tennis Academy business. The young tennis talent has enjoyed the change.

“I like it here. It’s a lot more different from Sydney and there’s a lot of kind people here everywhere,” he said.

While he and his Central West team didn’t progress far at the state competition, it was still a fun experience for Collins. 

“I think that I played pretty well, even though I lost a few, that doesn’t really matter. I think that it was one of the best times I’ve ever had playing tennis so far,” he said.

Prior to his trip to Cessnock, Collins had played just one year of tournament tennis.

He made it into the second round of qualifying for the Wollongong Junior Silver event and contested the Junior State Championships.

What makes Collins’ efforts more impressive is that much of the 10-year-old’s tennis has so far  been against rivals up to two years older than himself.

No-one is prouder of what Collins has been able to achieve in his short career than his father and coach, Martin.

The Bathurst move has been a helpful in several ways for the father and son, who have also begun playing local competitions together, something they haven’t had much time to previously do. Martin said his son’s past three years in the sport have seen him make an impressive amount of progress.

“He’s done very well for the amount of tournaments that he’s played. He’s been playing tennis since he was seven,” he said.

“It’s a great lifestyle change for the whole family, a lot quieter than what we’re used to. For him it’s been great out here too because I get more time to work with him.”

Jeorge made himself known to Central West selectors thanks to his impressive performance in this year’s Junior Development Series.

As a nine-year-old, Collins tested himself in the under 13s and managed to finish fifth in the Champion of Champions.

Collins has also been selected for the Super 10s competition, running over three weeks this month.