All members of our Coaching Team are professionally qualified and LTA & DBS Accredited to give you the assurance of the highest standards of coaching and welfare at the Club.
Everything Tennis at the Club is overseen by Mark Magrath (Head Coach) reporting to the Club’s Board. The Coaching Team are involved in all aspects of the Westside Tennis Programme and are dedicated to catering for all of your tennis development requirements. The team meets regularly to discuss the programme and to maintain the most professional offering to our members, tailoring the programme to benefit as many players as possible.
Our Coaches
Head Coach – Mark Magrath
LTA Level 5, Tennis Ireland Pro, LTA Tutor, LTA Accredited+, 20 Years+
Mark is a former ATP player, a LTA Level 5 Master Coach with experience of over 25 years. Prior to Westside LTC he was Head Coach at Bank of England TC and Senior Coach at AELTC for 20 years and works in all areas of the programme from schools to high performance.
Mark also developed and ran the ball kids programme for the Laver Cup, ATP Finals, London Olympic and Paralympic Games specialising in talent ID, development pathways and maximising opportunities for kids.
Mark is an LTA tutor, teaching coaches how to coach, and is one of the 5 elite coaches chosen by the LTA to train over 2500 coaches in the Davis Cup legacy ‘Tennis For Kids’ scheme.
Mark started playing tennis at 10 years old and represented his county at all junior and senior age groups, he also captained Irish Universities in the 4 Nations Cup and he still represents Ireland in the senior world team championships.
Individual session Rate: £60.00 p.h.
Tinus Nortje
LTA Level 4 Performance Coach, LTA Accredited, PTR Pro, 20 Years+
Tinus played at national level in South Africa and subsequently achieved a college scholarship in the United States. In 2010 he coached in Vale do Lobo Tennis Academy in the Portugal, where he coached some of the world’s top juniors. I was also a hitting partner for the likes of Goran Ivanisevic, Thomas Enquest, Thomas Muster and Henry Laconte. In 2011 he was also the hitting partner of former world no. 18 Alexandra Stevenson.
Tinus joined Westside LTC in 2006 and has coached regional and national level players. Tinus is closely involved with the junior performance programme where he aims to produce consistency and create more players of this level and of all ages.
Individual session Rate: £50.00 p.h.
Michal Contofalsky
LTA Level 3, LTA Accredited+, Slovakian Level 3, PTR Professional, 18 Years+
Michal started playing tennis at the young age and took tennis more professionally at the age of 10 at sports school for young top athletes. He played at the top level in Slovakia and has some experience with playing junior ITF tournaments. He enjoys coaching all age groups and abilities from beginner to aspiring professional. To see students, enjoy their progress gives him greatest job satisfaction.
Michal is technically based coach and strongly believes that working on good techniques early will ensure students’ continual progress in later stages of their development. He also knows working on tactical, physical and mental aspects of the game is equally important to develop a great player.
Individual session Rate: £50.00 p.h.
Theo Gechev
LTA Level 3, LTA Accredited, 8 Years+
Theo is a professional tennis coach, with a background in strength and conditioning which he makes specific to tennis for players that want to increase their physical performance and endurance. With me, you will develop technique, build your confidence, have fun, and enjoy this beautiful game.
Theo runs cardio tennis and sport specific physical training at the club
Individual session Rate: £45.00 p.h.
Radovan Muravsky
LTA Level 4, Level 3 PT, Accredited+, 15+ years
Radovan has been involved in sports performance as well as strength and conditioning training almost all his life.He loves coaching and every session is customised to his client’s level, demand, and end goals. He encourages and instils focus and discipline. Each session is planned to reach specific technical and tactical goals whilst also being enjoyable and fun. He always make sure that everything is explained in ways that are easy to understand.Radovan focuses on every aspect of the game and his clients continuously work on physical and mental targets, on court movement, oriented speed, agility and explosiveness.With his background as a personal trainer for over 20 years, he has helped a huge number of clients at all levels, to develop their love for tennis, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle.
Individual session Rate: £55.00 p.h.
Sam Ketterer
LTA Level 3, LTA Accredited, 20 Years+
I love coaching, I think it’s what I do best! I have 20+ years of coaching experience teaching adults and children of all ages and abilities, both privately and in groups. I say 20+ years because I genuinely stopped counting at that stage!
I began my coaching career at Frinton-On-Sea in Essex where I grew up and learned to play. Prior to arriving at Westside back in 2003 I taught at a variety of local clubs including Cranleigh, Wilton, Teddington, Old Deer Park, Barnes & Rocks Lane. I also taught at a number of different sites and schools in Richmond under a Richmond Borough sports initiative.
Westside was only supposed to be a stop gap for me. It’s an incredible place to coach!
Individual session Rate: £50.00 p.h.
Clare Knowles
LTA Level 3 coach, Miss Hits Coach, LTA accredited+, 10 years
Clare has 10 years + coaching experience at clubs in the local area including The Bank of England Club, Queens Club, Raynes Park and Southfields. Clare has trained a Miss Hits coach specialising in delivering tennis lesson to female players from a young age. She has also been a coach for the ATP ball kids when it was based at the O2 arena, creating a fun and disciplined environment for all the kids.
Clare is passionate about tennis and this translates into her coaching were she is determined to maximise every players potential no matter what their experience through creative and engaging sessions.
Individual session Rate: £45.00 p.h.
Sophie Cockell
LTA Level Performance 4 Coach, LTA Tutor, Accredited+
Sophie Cockell is a Level 4 Performance Coach LTA Tutor and has been teaching for 25 years in a variety of setting from clubs to performance juniors. She currently specialises in teaching women’s doubles and has written the doubles content for the LTA coach qualifications plus the programme designed to encourage women to play more tennis. Still a keen county player herself she brings the doubles court to life with a deep understanding of the differences between men’s and women’s doubles and how the game is played at club level. She teaches pay and play doubles classes throughout the week plus private groups.
