As a junior player Garfield’s Paul Osborne blazed through the local tennis scene, winning five senior club titles before the age of 20 and securing a place at state-level competition.
Now in his mid-30s and with a young family, the popular tennis coach is still pushing for excellence – on a larger scale – as Cardinia Shire plans for an ambitious multi-million dollar court facility at Pakenham.
THERE is more to life than tennis. Those are the words of renowned Garfield-based tennis coach Paul Osborne, who has been involved in the sport for almost all of his 34 years.
The birth of his children, Riley, 4, and Damon, 2, with his wife of four years, Emma, has put his life into perspective.
But the revelation also owes to his experience as not only a coach but a mentor to hundreds of children over the years.
“When the kids you’ve been coaching for a while get to the 15-year-old stage, my job is about more than just tennis – it’s about teaching them to be better people,” Osborne said.
“Kids often indirectly say something not to do with tennis, such as they’re having trouble at school or with their parents, and you just have to put your psychologists’ hat on.”
Parents have even approached Osborne to help communicate the importance of school to their children.
Circumstances such as these are all part of what he took on when he realised his calling in life was to be a tennis coach.
Osborne mixed tennis with football – and even a summer of cricket – in his younger days, but it was the former that he always shone brightest in.
His father and Fountain Gate Tennis Club president, Rob, introduced him to the sport as a four-year-old. Osborne played Section One in juniors as a 12-year-old and achieved the same feat at senior level just two years later.
It was at 14 that he won the first of five consecutive senior club championships at Doveton Tennis Club.
Osborne continually switched clubs to seek a higher standard of tennis and ultimately wound up playing State Grade Pennant for Caulfield Recreation Tennis Club in 2002.
But he never dreamed of playing at the elite level despite once trading groundstrokes with former top-50 player Andrew Ilie in the semi-final of a prestigious junior tournament.
Two-time grand slam finalist Mark Philippoussis won the other semi-final in the tournament.
“I was more realistic and knew I was never going to make it. There were others who were so far ahead – and that was just in Australia,” Osborne said.
“I played for the love of the sport, the love of competition and to be the best player I could be … it wasn’t tough knowing I would never make it as a professional player.
“There is only one (Roger) Federer in the world – everyone else is in the same boat.”
Osborne wanted to be a physiotherapist, but did not score high enough marks and instead undertook a teaching degree at Deakin University to become a physical education teacher.
There he discovered his natural ability for working with children and soon became a head coach at Gembrook and Pakenham Upper tennis clubs.
Osborne graduated and spent six years as a teacher until his coaching commitments, which now involved Pakenham and Upper Beaconsfield tennis clubs, grew to the point he no longer needed a second income.
His business – Ossie’s Tennis Coaching – also includes Nar Nar Goon nowadays and he is involved in the BOSS Tennis Academy with two other coaches, Mark Stevens and Nick Board.
Osborne has spent the past decade lobbying council for better facilities and should soon be rewarded with the planned $3 million, 18-court tennis complex in Pakenham.
“There are obviously going to be tournaments we’d like to run there and it’s going to put Pakenham on the tennis map,” he said.
“At the moment if kids want to go to a big tournament they need to go to Traralgon or the closest big tournament the other way is in Boroondara, whereas this will bring a lot of those players to Pakenham.”
Osborne is also a past president and current secretary of the West Gippsland Tennis Association and is the vice-president of the Berwick District Tennis Association.
His contributions at Pakenham Tennis Club, where he met his wife, resulted in him being awarded life membership last year.
“That was my greatest off-court achievement – that was huge,” Osborne said.
“I actually got up in front of 50 people and couldn’t speak for the first time ever. You don’t get a lot of thanks for what you do, so it was great to be recognised.”
Osborne still plays Grade One Pennant for a veteran-laden Upper Beaconsfield team, which its Dendy Park rivals have dubbed the UB40s, and also competed in his first Australian Seniors Championships last week.
“My grandmother (Valda McKeon) retired at 83 … she’s 91 now and is still going strong, but not playing tennis,” he said.
“My long, long-term goal is to play as long as her!”
Osborne is hoping to become part-time manager of the new Pakenham tennis complex and expects to slowly rein in his 30-hour weeks on the court to focus on that side of the sport.
There may be more to life than tennis, but Osborne’s love affair with the sport shows no signs of waning.
“I’m still playing and loving the game and get to enjoy my job, which a lot of people don’t get to do,” he said.
