Coach of the Year Award

Johnny O’Shea (Tennis Ireland Leinster Branch) has asked us to share this lovely tribute to our head coach Stephen on his prestigious award as Coach of the Year received last night from Tennis Ireland.

Congratulations Stephen from all the members of MLTC on this great achievement.

“Stephen O’Shea, Head Coach at Monkstown Tennis Club, has been named as the Tennis Coach Ireland (TCI) Coach of Year for the Leinster region in 2021.

Stephen has been Head Coach at Monkstown for more than 25 years during which time the club has established one of the country’s leading junior coaching programmes. Among the players to have come through this programme are Conor Gannon, the National Junior Champion in 2020 who is currently in the US on a tennis scholarship at the University of Tennessee and Julie Byrne, a multiple National Champion who has represented Ireland at Fed Cup level.

The award citation references Stephen’s “huge commitment to his long-term club (Monkstown LTC in Dublin). Stephen is rarely not on court at the club. He has developed a string of top Leinster and Ireland players over the last 25 years, as well as helping to ensure that thousands of players have enjoyed the game in a fun and constructive atmosphere and went on to a lifetime of involvement in our wonderful sport.”

Tennis Coach Ireland Director of Development Peter Farrell writes, “As the official representative body for tennis coaches in Ireland, Tennis Coach Ireland is delighted to present our Leinster Coach of the Year Award to Stephen O’Shea. This award is for Stephen’s truly extraordinary dedication to his club – Monkstown LTC. Stephen is a huge and important presence both on and off court at the club. Over 25 years he has helped develop thousands of players, ranging from those who went on to represent their country at senior level to dedicated club level players, who continue to benefit from Stephen’s excellent coaching. The high quality of the coaching systems and programmes that Stephen has put in place at Monkstown LTC were a crucial element in the awarding of the Tennis Ireland Gold Clubmark to the club in 2018.

Stephen holds the top coaching qualification of both Tennis Ireland and the sport’s world governing body – the International Tennis Federation. As such he is a great example to those entering the coaching profession of a commitment to career long development and progression. Speaking personally, I can say that Stephen’s level of expertise and dedication to his club is an inspiration to us all”.