Exceptional young athletes are being given the chance to win a tennis scholarship worth more than £100,000 - and the first step will be a trial at Next Generation York on Saturday.

David Lloyd is launching a new version of his successful Slater Squad academy to identify and develop the stars of the future.

And the York leisure centre is one of only ten in the country hosting the initial trials on Saturday. Top coaches will pick out the cream of the crop for a second trial at Cambridge on June 13, from which four boys will be chosen for the scholarship and a mixed final 20 will be selected for the development squad.

But it is not just about young tennis stars - outstanding athletes from other disciplines are also in with a chance of winning the scholarship prize with coaches looking for strength and potential.

Marius Barnard, head coach at Next Generation York, said: "Back in the 1990s, there was the Slater Squad which was a full-time squad run by David Lloyd which Tim Henman and Jamie Delgado were both a part of and basically, he's trying to relaunch the same thing.

"We are going to pick kids under 13 who are the top talent in the area, who we think have the ability to become the best."

He added: "We are not looking just for kids that are great at tennis, we are also on the look-out for exceptional athletes. It's exceptional that we are looking for, not just someone who is in the first team at school.

"We are asking other coaches to send their talented young athletes, even if they have never played tennis before. There may be a great hockey player or a girl with strong legs who has only played hockey and never picked up a racquet.

"She would have good hand-eye co-ordination which is one of the things we will be looking for and the chances are that she would make a great tennis player because those skills are easily transferable and the potential is there."

Wannabe stars from the Yorkshire and North-East will descend on the Hull Road venue to be put through their paces by leading coaches who will be looking for speed, agility, competitiveness and hand-eye co-ordination.

The scholarships will include boarding and education at top boys' school Reed's in Surrey with coaching by David and John Lloyd, and Nick Brown on a daily basis, plus access to leading fitness and nutrition experts such as Tim Newenham, who has worked with Henman (pictured below) and Anna Kournikova in the past.

Meanwhile, the squad of 20 will train at a handful of Next Generation centres including Cambridge, Hatfield and Dudley, with York in contention to host a fourth scheme.

The academy also has the full backing of the LTA and several other tennis bodies including the Tennis First Charitable Trust.

Hopefuls aged 13 and under are asked to go along to Next Generation between 9am and 12 noon - there is no need to book - with suitable tennis kit.

Updated: 11:04 Tuesday, June 01, 2004