JOSEPH Wylde's Plate-winning coup at the Deaf Tennis Championships in Wales has pointed the way ahead for Southampton youngsters.

Wylde's performance was so encouraging that there will be several more children entering the tournament next year from the hearing impaired unit at Redbridge School.

The trip to Wales resulted from a deaf road show held at Southampton's David Lloyd Leisure Centre last October.

Mark Chance, a physical education teacher from Redbridge School, took a group of youngsters along for a taster session with Cheshire's Sharon Templeman, who won bronze at the 2001 World Deaf Games in Rome - and the interest spiralled from there.

The deaf group have been in training for the last sixth months and the Cardiff adventure was the culmination of all their hard work.

Wylde was the only youngster who actually competed in the tournament, but fellow youngsters Daniel Wheeler, Stephen Norris, Charlott Cross and Stephanie Dunne all got the chance to practise their skills in a tennis workshop.

Alison Beard, tennis development officer at David Lloyd, enthused: "They have come back from Wales with renewed enthusiasm after seeing some of the top deaf players in the country. Our hopes are that Southampton could some day produce some of these top players."