This month the conclusion of a coaching course of level 1 was held in Bournemouth Sports Table Tennis Club.
The course was managed by experienced player and coach Emma Harradine, with help with the assessment of the coach of Nick Davidson.
Seventeen potential coaches who are registered for the course. Six tables were used for the learning exercises, with fellow interns, who often played with their non-dominant hand and took the role of students.
This turned out to be a challenge for both players and the instructors, but caused a lot of hilarity when the ‘guinea pigs’ had difficulty in involving the ‘wrong’ side of their brains to try the ball, let alone in the way they were instructed!
The 17 candidates were a diverse mix of ages and geographical representation, including four junior players and some trips from Leamerton Spa and London.
The majority was not surprisingly local players, and with everyone who successfully completed the assessment on the second Saturday, Dorset now has 11 new coaches to add to the eight already registered.
The course and the location were arranged thanks to the coaching officer of Bournemouth and District TT Association, Mike Langford, who, unnecessary to say, was one of the candidates who completed the course.
As Emma noted, this is the start of the journey of the coaches instead of the end of the level 1 course, and with the number of local coaches that doubles, that journey looks promising for Dorset and the surrounding areas.
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