David Sammel has agreed to take over from Mark Cox as the new tenniscoachUK President.

David is one of the leading coaches working in Britain today and has coached a number of former British players including Arvind Palmer, Barry Cowan, Miles McLagen and Martin Lee.

“I have been a member of the BTCA (now tenniscoachUK) for over 20 years and consider it an honour to be its new President” said David. “I have also been part of British coaching at all levels from club to Davis Cup and few coaches have the length and breadth of my international and UK experience both in private practice and within the LTA. This experience I will gladly share. “

“TenniscoachUK is an exciting organisation transformed by a progressive CEO in Mike Lynch and your Chairman Jim Edgar together with an invigorated board that will be bold, active and innovative and something which I fully support. I have always believed in a strong independent voice for coaches and it is our aim to become a strong union of British coaches that can be part of and influence the direction of coaching as a profession in the UK.”

“We will extend the hand of friendship to everyone including the LTA, manufacturers, retailers, sponsors, PTR and every organisation involved with tennis because the success of everyone is in all our best interests.”

“We will respect alternative views and healthy debate but in return command a respect for our views. Professional differences are healthy but in the end the majority view has to be respected and tenniscoachUK must become and remain an organisation for which you, a coach in the UK, can be proud to be a member. “

“The improvement of coaching conditions and standards is our job but in raising ‘our’ bar we challenge every member to raise their personal bar and get involved with us, for this is why tenniscoachUK exists ‘your voice through us’”

David takes over from Mark Cox, who resigned from the Board in December 2008. “ I felt my position had become untenable because there were some decisions being taken within the organisation that were fundamentally different from what I was comfortable with”, stated Mark.

“However I must emphasise I support the tenniscoachUK in its role, as a voice for British Tennis Coaches, and also recognise the need for the Association to become a more professional body which required the constitutional changes made at the AGM.”

Nick Elliott has also resigned from the Board because of work commitments as an LTA tutor.

Dave is currently running the MCTA Group, an international performance centre that includes Anna Fitzpatrick among its pupils.