Tennis NZ looking for head coach
Tennis New Zealand is on the hunt for a head coach after parting ways with Marcel Vos.
A controversial figure in the sport, Vos has decided not to take up a new position inside the federation, following a restructure.
Vos was offered the newly created head coach role, but Tennis NZ CEO Julie Paterson confirmed he turned it down.
‘‘It’s been over the last week or so that we’ve worked over the detail of what the role was going to entail,’’ Paterson said.
‘‘Marcel advised me that he wouldn’t take up the offer of that position.’’
Vos was initially employed as the New Zealand Fed Cup captain in 2008 and a year later replaced James Greenhalgh as Davis Cup captain, as well as taking the role of touring coach for New Zealand’s senior players.
In 2011 he was named New Zealand national coach, although leading player Rubin Statham said he had no interest in working with Vos.
In 2013 there was a vote of no confidence against him from five leading regional selectors and coaches, saying that they could no longer work with him.
Despite this, Vos kept his job and while Vos was the Davis Cup captain when New Zealand were promoted to Asia/ Oceania Group one in 2010, two years later he was still at the helm when they were relegated.
More recently he was called Tennis NZ’s performance coach and worked on Tennis NZ’s targeted athlete programme, where he helped set up a base in Amsterdam for New Zealand’s top young prospects.
However, New Zealand tennis fans are still waiting for next top singles player to break through since Marina Erakovic did so in 2005.
There’s hope that Erin Routliffe, Jade Lewis and Paige Hourigan on the women’s front, but there’s little else to get excited about.
Under the new leadership of Simon Rea as high performance director the Targeted Athlete Programme has been scrapped, with tougher criteria brought in and an emphasis on training being done in New Zealand, rather than overseas.
Tennis NZ will advertise for the head coach role later this week and Paterson says they would be open to applications from overseas.
‘‘I don’t think we want to narrow our criteria yet,’’ Paterson said.
‘‘At the end of the day, we’re looking for the best person for the job.’’
If the job was to go to a Kiwi, Greenhalgh, who currently works for Tennis Auckland, Clint Packer, who has brought through many of the best players from the Tennis Central region, newly appointed Fed Cup captain Neil Carter, and Dwayne Cleugh, who runs a successful junior programme at Campbell Park in Auckland, could be considered the front runners.