A DEDICATED young tennis coach from Rhyl has been handed the 2019 Denbighshire Sports Coach of the Year award.

Jonathon Dawes took the prize at the Denbighshire Sports Awards ceremony held at Llangollen Pavilion on November 7.

A day later, he took the ‘Coach of the Year’ prize - beating nominees from across Wales and several different sports - at the Welsh Sports Awards ceremony in Cardiff.

16-year-old Jonathon works as the head coach at Rhyl Tennis Club and is also a Member of the Welsh Youth Parliament, representing the Vale of Clwyd.

A former Rhyl High pupil, Jonathon was appointed head coach earlier this year after completing Level two coaching qualifications and has since set up inclusive sessions for wheelchair users at Rhyl Tennis Club.

He has independently set up, and run, a variety of fun tennis sessions for pupils after school, and during half term as a reward for pupils with great attendance.

His biggest achievement was running a Tennis Skills week at Rhyl High School, which gave more than 1,000 children the opportunity to play the sport.

Speaking on winning the 2019 Denbighshire Sports Coach of the Year award, Jonathon said: “I’m absolutely honoured to win the award 2019.

“I must say a big thank you to Cllr Tony Thomas for the amazing nomination and to everyone who has supported me on my journey as a tennis coach.

“Well done to all the other winners and nominees for the amazing work they do in the sporting community too.”