SPREADING the game of table tennis to all areas of this country is a key objective of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) as it storms ahead with a new army of first-time coaches.

President of the GTTA, Godfrey Munroe, told the Guyana Chronicle that the ITTF/PTT Level One coaching course, which was held last week at the Malteenoes Sports Club, is a step in the right direction.

“Key to the GTTA objective and aims for hosting this programme was in view of targeting schools from the outlying regions as part of our decentralisation strategy of which we were happy to achieve in getting key participants from regions 1,3,4,5 and 6.”

The event, which was organised under the auspices of the International Table Tennis Federation High Performance and Development, was hosted by Shavin Green, a level one ITTF certified coach, who also serves as the general secretary of the Linden Table Tennis Committee.

Of the 15 participants who participated in the event, 10 met the required level. The budding coaches must now complete 30 hours of coaching with five hours of supervision for them to attain certification.

KEY PILLAR
Munroe said that the GTTA sees coaching as the backbone of development.

“The GTTA views coaching as a key pillar on which the sport must be developed. In this regard, the hosting of these types of programmes in view of providing the opportunities for more coaches to be developed and certified is a critical variable in the establishment of a coaching structure. This pathway is a key pillar for the development of a nucleus of well trained coaches with the right technical knowledge to work with athletes in schools, communities and clubs.”

Green told the ITTF website that his focus at the training seminar was to follow the ITTF’s philosophy and be as practical as possible in having participants develop skills, which would allow them to understand the concepts of coaching.

“I think we were able to achieve this over the days of the programme since I am sure those receiving their certificates will categorically have competency in the skills necessary to be a Level One ITTF certified coach.”

HAPPY WITH COURSE
The local table tennis head said that the association was happy with Green’s delivery.

“It was significant to have an internationally certified course conductor based in Guyana in the name of Mr. Shavin Greene. Shavin has truly demonstrated that’s he is a very competent course conductor; he exhibited great understanding and knowledge of the material, provided great examples, was very clear, precise and concise in the methods used; he has been a revelation.”

MORE COACHING PROGRAMMES IN 2019

Munroe added that last week’s course would allow the GTTA to develop and accelerate their coaching structure, which will allow them to host many more certification programmes.

“The plan is to host more ITTF certification coaching programmes in 2019 for coaches’ development and to help the coaches who have just completed certification and the ones trained before, working in view of developing and bringing more athletes to the fore.”