Batley Sport & Tennis Centre in Howden Clough, West Yorkshire has appointed a tennis centre manager and a football development officer to create new coaching courses and develop community links.

Tennis centre manager Will Brannan has joined the centre, which is operated by Kirklees Active Leisure, after previously working at David Lloyd Leisure clubs in Leeds and Teeside as a coach and racquets manager.

He has big plans for the centre – which has four indoor and four floodlit outdoor courts – and said: “We want to make a lot more children and adults healthier, happier and fitter through tennis.”

Damien Ives, the new football development officer, will also target both children and adults, with the launch of the Future Football Champs Development Centre for boys and girls aged nine to 13 years old and new courses to train adults to become football instructors.

Ives – a level 3 UEFA coach who previously worked as a football, athletics and hockey coach for Kirklees Council’s culture and leisure department – said his main aim was to maximise the potential of the centre’s full-size third generation outdoor pitch.

The tennis centre at Batley was a £1m development funded by the Lawn Tennis Association, Kirklees Metropolitan Council and Batley City Challenge, which opened in 1995. The football centre development opened in January of this year. Details: www.batleysports.co.uk