THE Totally Tennis team has expanded again with the appointment of a new community coach.

Louise Penny, who joined the coaching team at the beginning of the month from Letchworth Tennis Club, in Hertfordshire, is a former county player.

The 23-year-old pursued her dream of becoming a tennis coach as a career after she graduated from the University of Luton with a degree in advertising and marketing communications.

As a first step, she took her tennis assistants course at Derby Tennis Centre in 2003 and, last year, successfully gained her first Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) qualification, the development coaching award.

She coached for 18 months at Letchworth.

Penny will develop tennis within the local community, building on the good work achieved by Totally Tennis so far.

She will concentrate on the development and expansion of the programme on the six outdoor courts at Stratton Park in Kempshott.

Another vital area of her community coach role will be the development of tennis in schools, giving the children follow-on opportunities within the Stratton Park programme, as well as at the indoor centre in War Memorial Park.

Her initial focus will be schools around Stratton Park, starting with Kempshott Infant and Junior schools and Park View Primary.

On offer to them will be the free curriculum coaching and after-school clubs, which form part of the Totally Tennis schools programme managed by schools co-ordinator Jo Brett.

Other opportunities at Stratton Park will include adult sessions, junior squad sessions and holiday courses, as well as Munchkin and Junior clubs, where players can come on a pay-and-play basis, making local tennis both accessible and affordable.

The community coach role is a joint venture between Totally Tennis and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, assisted by a grant of £10,000 from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Sports Partnership, approved by the Sport England South East Regional Sports Board.

Tennis development officer Alison Beard will assist Penny in her job.

Mentoring and developing other coaches, to increase the long-term benefits of the funding, will be another part of the role.

Nigel Long, Totally Tennis director, said: "Louise brings lots of skills to the Totally Tennis team and I know she will be an asset.

"We have all worked extremely hard to establish an accessible tennis programme, and Louise's work in the local community will be an enhancement of this."

Penny said of her appointment: "I have been looking to expand my skills in a more dynamic environment, where there is an emphasis on the organisation and administration, as well as the delivery of the tennis programme.

"I think the community coach role, as part of the Totally Tennis team, fits all my criteria."