Lewis Fletcher and his wife Catherine have picked up both national and international medals in deaf tennis for over a decade. They have competed in Deaflympics and are a driving force behind promoting deaf tennis in the UK.

Their business, Tennis Xperience UK was setup in 2006 to provide high quality coaching to adults and children alike. Catherine is a national deaf coach and Lewis has managed county teams at every age group. The Sporting Blog met Lewis for a (booze free) lunch and interview.

Venue : The Bell, Ramsbury

Format : Lunch, sensible.

The Sporting Blog: So Lewis, can you give us an insight into the specific challenges a deaf youngster might face in terms of learning the game?

Lewis Fletcher: If you break it down… it's communication; no deafness is the same, so there will be different communication needs. Some might only sign, some might speak well and so on. You might have a child whose whole family might be deaf, in which case the way you teach them would be tailored around their experiences and needs.

So when teaching, you have to overcome that challenge before you can start delivering the actual sporting side of a lesson. One thing I do think is that in tennis, coaches can change their style too much. You should try and coach the same way as you would a hearing person, no matter what the disability might be.

I tutor coaches in how to deliver lessons to deaf players, I run about 4 courses a year, and I make them wear noise cancelling ear protectors. I also get them to deliver a lesson without talking, using gestures only.