A scientific approach to tennis
Inside court, Burnside’s Susan Williamson helps to put some of the most dangerous criminals in Scotland behind bars.
On an entirely different type of court however, she’s been hand picked by Judy Murray to coach the tennis stars of the future.
In her day job, Susan, who is originally from Castlemilk, is a forensic scientist with Police Scotland, a position she has held for 16 years.
Specialising in blood patterns and DNA analysis, the 49-year-old has worked on a variety of cases ranging from simple assaults to murders and rapes.
Giving evidence at trials and analysing crime scenes is all in a day’s work for the former Tormusk Primary pupil, who is also a member, and coach, at her beloved Rutherglen Lawn Tennis Club.
You’d be forgiven for thinking her profession sounds like something out of US crime show CIS. As Susan points out, however, nothing could be further from the truth: “That’s what everybody says!”, aughs Susan. “I don’t watch CSI and none of my colleagues watch it, it’s a joke to us. Obviously there’s elements of it which are similar, like the research and science side of things, but we certainly don’t go about without gloves or face masks and all dolled up with make up!”
However the biggest difference between the show and reality are the character’s ability to transcend all fields of forensic science, something which would never happen in the real world, according to the former Grange Secondary pupil: “There’s a number of disciplines in forensic science and you’ll focus on your own discipline. My specialism is blood plasma and DNA analysis, so I wouldn’t do drug analysis or finger prints. There’s people in CSI who seem to be able to do it all, that’s the thing we laugh about the most.”
Although Susan enjoys her work, she admits it’s important to have a distraction from the more morbid aspects of the occupation.
She was to find the perfect outlet when she tried out the age old racquet sport eight years ago: “I took some tennis lessons at Rutherglen and it’s really taken off from there.
“It’s a great way of putting away all the stresses of work and the gruesomeness of some of the things you have to deal with to one side. It’s good exercise, and now coaching children is just awesome, I absolutely love it.”
From being a complete novice Susan was soon competing in tournaments and winning trophies. She’s now captain of the Rutherglen Lawn Tennis Club ladies team - who have won their league two years in a row - and has also reached the finals
of the police championship.
However the most rewarding aspect of the sport was to come when she started coaching last year.
She added: “I’m not in it to win trophies, for me it’s all about the sport. Being able to coach was a big thing for me as well, I love teaching and seeing people develop. Tennis has given me so much and I want to give something back.”
After gaining her LTA Level 1 and Level 2 coaching certificates last year, Susan started a class for children called “Tennis Tigers” at Rutherglen.
Not content with being a crack forensic scientist and tennis coach, Susan turned out to be a marketing genius: “The LTA’s official logo is ‘earn your stripes’ so I decided to call the class ‘Tennis Tigers’.
“It seems to make a difference, instead of just tennis coaching, the kids love to say ‘we’re going to Tennis Tigers’, and they talk about their tiger club to their pals. It helped to get the word round!”
After holding her first tiger session in October 2013, word quickly spread and she now runs two classes a week.
However it was at the Viewpark Drive Club’s open day in April this year where an impromptu visit from Judy Murray resulted in Susan being presented with an exciting opportunity: “Judy Murray came to our club and I spent some time with her on the court. About a month after that I got an email asking if I could be involved in the Miss- Hits pilot scheme.”
The ‘Miss-Hits’ tennis programme is designed to get girls, ages five to eight-year-old, in to the sport. It’s a feeder programme into the LTA Mini Tennis scheme and thanks to Susan, classes have started here in Rutherglen and Castlemilk.
Sessions are an hour long and take place indoors, they make use of characters such as Faith Forehand and Bella Backhand who are dubbed the ‘spice girls’ of tennis. It uses dance moves (or “warm up to music”) as well as fun coordination-based activities to embed basic movements and ball control with an understanding of strokes, scoring and the culture of competitive tennis.
Susan added: “A lot of girls don’t like to be outside if it’s cold, boys are a wee bit more hardy, that’s why the sessions are indoors. There’s a lot of softballs, feathers, balloons and things like that.
“There’s not enough girls in sport in general and the same can be said of tennis, that’s why programmes like this are so crucial, not enough people play the sport and don’t realise the potential benefits.
“Tennis is a sport that should be put out there a lot more, it’s got a great social element and it’s a great confidence builder.
“You get such a good feeling seeing the kids progress, I just can’t describe it. Even if it’s something as simple as them learning how to return the ball it’s an amazing feeling.”
Susan runs her Miss-Hits class on Wednesday starting at 6pm at Castlemilk Community Centre (£3), and on Thursdays at the Scout Hall on Crawfurd Road in Burnside (£4) from 6pm till 7pm.
For more information on the class contact Susan on susanwilliamson7@sky.com.