Patrick Guérin evokes for us the development model of the padel that favors his Pays de la Loire League. The president of this league also recommends taking advantage of the mistakes made with tennis and giving priority to helping local players in their progress.

Padel Magazine : Tell us about the development of padel in your league.

Patrick Guerin: "Today, we have a particularly efficient league center with four padel including two semi-indoor courts that allow you to play all year round. The most important thing is not to build tracks, but above all to animate them. And we try through the league to lead by example with the implementation of many animations padel, thanks in particular to our teaching team. Dorine Rabas manages the game padel and she is doing a very good job in the league. »

Le padel can help tennis regain its lost values

“I think we have more than ever met the objectives on the game padel. In two years, we have gone from 0 to 490 licensees padel. This shows the success of this discipline at the center of the league when it is historically rooted in tennis. The atmosphere, the environment padel reminds me of that of tennis 40 years ago. I think that's one of the reasons for its success. The after-padel is very important. It is a spirit that tennis must imperatively rediscover. And I think the padel can help him. Tennis helps the padel to develop. the padel can also help tennis regain its old values ​​lost in the clubs. »

“The other consequence of this emulation created by the padel, these are the partnerships that we create with companies. At padel, we attract people. For example, we work and collaborate with Decathlon. This brings a surplus of dynamism, which is very appreciable. »

PM: What are the figures of the padel in the five departments of your league?

PG: “Today we have 15 clubs and 38 tracks on the territory, counting the authorized structures [Editor’s note: private clubs]. We have 1050 ranked players and we recorded 141 approved competitions in 2022. On paper, I think we are therefore on a very good slope. Not to mention the team championships which are being set up with two divisions. »

Patrick Guérin President of the Pays de la Loire League

PM: What is your development policy?

PG: “Our development policy has four axes.

In terms of competition, we will in particular vote six scholarships in favor of our best young people. We are also going to organize gatherings, with detection in our five departments (Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe and Vendée) and carry out a one-week tour for young people. We are also going to organize a course supervised by Spaniards for two days.

The FIP RISE offered at the Angers tennis club will certainly be relaunched. Because international tournaments are important. It's good for the dynamism of the region. »

As part of our development aid, we allocated 8000 euros for the part padel.

“The objective is to develop interclubs, regional championships and the organization of a P1000 during 2022/2023.

Once the tracks are built, don't forget the supervision

In terms of high level, the league will also support players who intend to turn professional. This is already the case with Marie Lefèvre (n°8), Mélanie Ros (n°10) and Laura Buteau (n°16), for whom we will define financial aid to help them train. »

"In the field of training, we will create four scholarships for the most deserving under-18s, to help them break into the padel in France and perhaps internationally. It is also planned to organize a discovery day in each department and to develop the title for professional purposes to promote teaching padel. We also have six trainees whom I hope will obtain this title. »

PM: What are the pitfalls to avoid when it comes to padel ?

PG: “We should not build land of padel wild. It has to be thought out in advance. Once you have leads, you need supervisors. What I mean is that we have to be careful about where to put lands and then after, once those lands are built. Having tracks everywhere in France is good, but if these tracks are abandoned after a certain time for lack of supervision, it would be to repeat the mistakes made with tennis. »

Do things like in a rocket

“We must also take into account what has worked and what has not worked well with beach tennis to avoid certain errors in the development of the padel. I propose to do things step by step, like in a rocket: start at the base before going higher. »

PM: You have denounced a "drift" concerning certain players who can be described as opportunists...

PG: “I am not in favor of players from other leagues coming to take advantage of a league that may be less developed, during a regional championship for example. In the long term, the league does not win from this kind of strategy. Each league must have its own trajectory. Some leagues are ahead and have many very good players, as is the case in Occitanie or PACA. But it bothers me that players from these leagues come to see us, change leagues and then ask for help which is more intended for players from our league. It's a drift, we must be vigilant and give priority to local players. »

READ also our focus on the Normandy League

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