A lifelong ambition to develop his game while studying in the United States is about to become a reality for up-and-coming tennis star Max.

The 17-year-old from Norton has secured a place to study sport and exercise science at the Emmanuel University in Georgia.

And he is completing his time as a Bede Sixth Form College student in style after making it through to the national final at the AoC Sport National Championships.

Excited about the big move ahead, Max said: “My goal has always been to go to college in the States to develop my tennis.”

Following in the footsteps of some of his own coaches who trained in America, he explained that at the competitive university he is going to sport is a cornerstone of college life.

He is getting ready for the demands of training (in the heat) that will be built around his academic studies.

“It includes training for two hours on a morning and two hours on afternoon, for five or six days a week,” he said.

No stranger to putting in the hours, he currently trains around 20 hours a week or more.

Looking forward to the step up, he said: “I quite enjoy the intensity of the training, it gives you the motivation to want to get better.”

Max was just four when he took up tennis and quickly found he loved it.

“My parents got me into a bunch of sports and I took to tennis and football,” he said.

He made it into the tennis county teams by the time he was nine or 10.

Ultimately having to choose between his two favourite sports, he settled on tennis.

Taking competition in his stride, he was happy to represent Bede at the AoC Sport National Championships and make it all the way to the final where he took second place.

Doing the maths, he said with a smile: “On paper I should have beat him, but it wasn’t the worst.”

The AoC Sport National Championships celebrate competitive sport in colleges. The competition offers the chance for students to compete at a national level and represent their region.

A national placing for Max rounds off his time at college at the height of his game.

Studying A levels in economics, PE and business studies, he is now waiting for results in the summer.

An unconditional offer for university and planning for the relocation to Georgia is proving a great distraction.

Of his time at Bede, he said the 10am start time helped work around early morning training and, through the college’s Institute of Sport and Education (ISE) the college was able to offer the support he needed to fit his studies around his sport.

Excited for all that is to come, his ambition right now is simply to do the best he can and see where that takes him.

Good luck Max!