Young back in the game | Bay of Plenty Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Bay of Plenty

Almost 25 years after he last played for New Zealand, Tauranga-based coach Jason Young is back in the national frame.

Young, 40, leaves tomorrow for Noumea, playing as part of a four-strong New Zealand men's team at the inaugural Oceania championships.

The week-long tournament, at Noumea's Ouen-Toro tennis centre, features a teams tournament followed by individual singles and doubles competition.

Young will link up with former New Zealand Davis Cup player Adam Thompson, teen Anton Bettink and Auckland-based coach Troy Turnbull, his best mate, against teams from Australia, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Samoa and West Pacific (Solomons, Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea).

The left-handed baseliner, who coaches fulltime at Otumoetai, Bay of Plenty's biggest club, said he'd been in a rush to get his game in good shape since learning of his selection. "It's quite inspiring and a great kick-start into the competitive season, although I've been hitting like crazy since I found out and really cramming with my fitness work."

The former national age-group champion didn't realise it was an open-age national team until late in the piece.

"When I put my name forward for selection I thought it was a veterans' tournament New Zealand was sending a team to, so when I found out it'd be all these young guys, and then Troy and I got in, I'm wondering what they were thinking. We'll give it a good crack though and hope the body holds up."

Tennis New Zealand is also sending a women's team to Noumea, spearheaded by former WTA touring professional Pavlina Nola.