Alain Thomas will be directing these events.
Coaching report, by A. Thomas
OTTA Annual General Meeting, 27-10-01
General. Given that the Ottawa region is blessed with several national coaches and has recently shown the lead in junior development, coaching efforts have been concentrated in the Toronto area, where such development is clearly lacking.
Coaching certification. At the advanced level, certification is progressing swiftly for those Toronto coaches with international experience (i.e. Dejan Papic and George Damianov) who need to obtain proper equivalences for Canadian purposes.
At the grass root level, a Level 1 technical clinic was announced for Dec 2 and 3, 2000 by Dejan Papic (international coach) and myself (level 2), but aroused so little interest (2 potential participants) that it had to be cancelled. This prompted me to change my policy regarding these clinics, which will now only be offered as a response to a request by a regional director who has a list of at least 5 potential participants. An attempt to hold such a clinic in the Western Region (B. Bryant) failed to attract a substantial number of participants and was also cancelled.
Player training. At the beginners’ level, which I do not consider to be a provincial responsibility, several clubs are holding individual or collective coaching sessions. Noteworthy in this respect is the session for total beginners currently held at Mississauga Rattlers, which is attracting a record number of juniors (13).
At the advanced level, efforts have been made to continue East and West coaching for our elite juniors. They are described below under RHPC
Regional High Performance Centers. Several consecutive sessions were offered in winter, spring and summer 2001, by G. Damianov and other coaches. Except for July, where training was only offered in the East, parallel sessions were held in the West and East thanks to the diligence of several officials who made space available for training in their respective clubs. I am thankful to Ken Kerr (Rattlers), Loris Daw (Crescent Town), Carvo Grant (Maltenoes) and Jeffrey Huang (Progress) for their precious help in this area. Only a handful of juniors took advantage of this opportunity. At a review meeting held in June, with CTTA representatives in attendance, a decision was made to include interested elite senior players in these sessions. The meeting also allowed us to settle the issue of CTTA financial contribution to this venture.
As a result, we are starting the new RHPC session in a better financial position than last year, when the program was entirely funded by the participants’ fees. The question of leadership has also improved with G. Damianov’s availability for both East and West training. The main difficulty remains the absence of a ‘permanent’ center, which would give us control on space and above all TIME for elite coaching. For instance, East training could not start before November because of the closure of our main venue there (Progress at Stephen Leacock) and of legitimate delays in obtaining space in other clubs. Even in the best scenario, we are taking space away from regular club activities and a certain resentment by club members is unavoidable, especially when attendance is high and players have to wait for a free table. Because this enterprise relies on the good will of a few dedicated club officials, it has to be constantly re-negociated. The availability of a permanent center would certainly improve things dramatically and I hope progress can be made in this area in the future. ----------
NCCP Level 1 technical table tennis coaching clinic will involve a theoretical component (valid for all sports) and a practical component. Both can be completed after the technical clinic.
Benefits:
1) You will become a certified NCCP Level 1 coach valid for all sports Canada wide.
2) Personal growth derived from learning more about table tennis.
3) Opportunity to talk and have discussions with instructors and other TT enthusiasts.
4) You will have access and become part of a growing pool of certified coaches.
5) Travel and leadership opportunities with junior teams (Winter Games, provincial meets, club competitions etc.)
6) Completion of level 1 allows you to progress to level 2, then 3 etc. which opens more doors of opportunity.
COST: OTTA members $80 (including course manual and other materials) Others $15 extra
APPLICATION FORM
NAME:______________________________________
ADDRESS:___________________________________
TEL.#___________________________ EMAIL_______________________________
HOME CLUB__________________OTTA#____________
I WISH TO REGISTER FOR; ( PLEASE INDICATE WITH AN "X" )
____ -coaching clinic OTTA member $80
____ -coaching clinic non member $95
Make cheques payable to OTTA Western Region and send with application to Robert Bryant, 78 Olympic Drive, Kitchener, Ont. N2M 3S8
*****
1. LEVEL 1 COACHING CLINIC
When?
- Leave message at this site with complete name/address/phone #
Where?
Location will be announced when enough people sign up! Minimum 3 persons
Instructors:
- Dejan Papic, International coach from Yugoslavia
- Alain Thomas, OTTA Level 2 coach and experienced player
Who should attend?
Anyone who can play the game, is reasonably fit and interested in coaching beginners in his/her club or school.
Are there any other requirements to become a Level 1 coach?
Yes, a theoretical component (valid for all sports) and a practical component. Both can be completed after this technical clinic.
Benefits:
Apart from the personal benefits derived from learning more about table tennis,
- opportunity to return to the sport what you got out of it
- opportunity to learn more about your favourite sport through discussions with experts and other table tennis enthusiasts
- access to the pool of coaches used for paid or unpaid club coaching
- travel and leadership opportunies with junior teams (Winter Games, provincial meets, club competitions, etc.)
Cost:
OTTA members: $80 (including course manual and other materials)
Others: $15 extra
2. UMPIRES CLINIC. For CLUB UMPIRE or PROVINCIAL UMPIRE
When? We'll tell you!
Where? Whereever there are more than 3 persons
Instructor: Peter Kosek, OTTA, International Umpire
Benefits:
- Get to know better the rules of the game
- Travelling and enrichment opportunities through umpiring assignments.
Cost: OTTA members: $20 (including all materials)
Others: $5 extra
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APPLICATION FORM
NAME: _______________________________ ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________
TEL: ____________________ E-MAIL ____________________ HOME CLUB _________________ (OTTA NR.)_______________
I WISH TO REGISTER FOR AMOUNT
- the coaching clinic only ($80; $95 for non-OTTA members) ______
- the umpires clinic only ($20; $25 for non-OTTA members) ______
- both clinics ($95; $115 for non-OTTA members) ______
MAKE CHEQUES PAYABLE TO "OTTA" AND SEND WITH APPLICATION TO
Alain Thomas, 6245, Starfield Crescent, Mississauga, Ontario, L5N 1X2
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