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Clive coaches two sports
Clive Kinsella has two sporting loves in tennis and table-tennis and in both he has the ability to impart his skill, knowledge and enthusiasm to youngsters, mainly in the Fishguard area but also in Haverfordwest as a bonus.
He is very able in both sports but has rarely taken part in formal competitions, preferring instead to enjoy the fun of just playing against other players he knows, and coaching adult learners or children.
Hitting partner
Another job that he enjoys is acting out his role as ‘hitting partner’ for Natalie O’Brien, arguably the best girl tennis player to come out of the county for many years. Clive plays against Natalie at her family home near Goodwick on the floodlit Astroturf surface and it is his job to make sure that she practises her whole range of shots, keeps her footwork going and concentrates fully.
Coincidentally, it was with Natalie’s father Kevin that Clive started playing tennis at a very early age, using the pine-end wall of the house and hitting the ball against it alternately, building up the hand-eye co-ordination and dexterity that has stood him in good stead ever since.
Promising in tennis...
At 15 he played in his first, and only, county tennis tournament in Haverfordwest, where he reached the semi-final but lost to the eventual winner. He also took part in school competitions after big brother Brian won the singles one year and Clive knew he was a better player!
...And table tennis too!
The Kinsella boys were also heavily involved in table tennis at Fishguard Youth Club under the guidance of Harold Rees and Brian John. They played in the North Pembs league against the likes of Margaret and Preston Carter, Cliff and Peter Smith, with the team made up entirely of brothers as Clive and Brian were joined by John and Steve in winning the league title for two years on the trot.
Sport took a back seat for a while as work took over but Clive returned to action in table-tennis in 1994 when Alan Didcott started a club in Fishguard and Clive was soon back coaching a huge number of young players with national coaches like Alan Griffiths coming down to give master classes. Talented youngsters like Natalie O’Brien were involved before she opted for tennis as Clive was head coach for a while but when he took a break John Kerridge was also a great help before gradually the interest fell away. But Clive is back coaching now and has been asked to go into schools to revive interest in the game.
Need for change
But he is adamant that more help is needed so that the keenest are not put upon and decisions are made in the interests of the players, rather than administrators at the top.
“I feel very strongly about this,” he says, “because I have seen it happen at every level. If the load is spread and funding is put in place to make it easier for players’ families then both sports would really take off in the county. Things like lottery funding should be available to anyone who shows promise but it isn’t always the case in other sports as well.”
He still enjoys playing tennis on the courts at Ysgol Bro Gwaun with Tom Rees-Jones, Chris James and Richard Campbell but says that it at 47 years of age he now just enjoys it as a social sport to keep fit. Be that as it may, there is no doubt that Clive Kinsella still has a lot to offer developing players in tennis and table-tennis so long may he continue to enjoy his part in coaching both sports!
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