Club and Coaching Project

[DaveR]

The Club & Coach Project is a national programme covering up to 25 sports. It is sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, via Sport England. The ETTA Club & Coach programme aims to drive up and retain participation in targeted and selected PremierClubs, through increasing the quality of coaches and by providing additional coaching sessions. The aim links directly to the ETTA vision of ‘making table tennis the most popular and most successful indoor sport in England’.

Key performance indicators have been set and the ETTA intends to achieve these targets through the appointment of Regional Coaches. The coaches that have been appointed in the regions and the clubs that they will be operating in, are as follows:

North East – Matthew Stanforth (Northfields, Ormesby, Sunderland and Hartlepool)
North West – Katy Parker (Blackpool, Garstang, Lancaster and Morecambe)
Yorkshire – Sally Shutt (Fast Bats, Pudsey and Sheffield)
East Midlands – Andrew Rushton (Colin Deaton Memorial, Draycott and Long Eaton and Cliffton Chandlers)
West Midlands – Helen Lower (Colebridge, Smithswood and Wood Green)
Eastern –Natalie Bawden (Bury St. Edumunds, St. Neots, BATTS and Netts)
London – Aaron Fennell (Kemnal, 3 E’s, Ellenborough, Wembley and Harrow,
South East - Alex Green (Horsham, Crawley and Hollingsbury)

The coachs’ have to spend at least 70% of their time delivering coaching sessions to participants, or coach mentoring using ETTA initiatives and resources. The other 30% will be for administration and the coach’s own CPD, plus regional activities.

The newly appointed Regional Coach’s are already having an impact in the regions, however it has be be appreciated that this is mainly in the targeted and selected PremierClubs, as agreed with our funding partner, Sport England. It should be stressed that the selected clubs are contributing significant partnership funding to this project.

This is all very well and the statement "premier clubs" being targeted slightly worries me given the fact we need "grass roots" development otherwise the premier clubs will cease to exist. The whole programme like any development and coaching initiative must be applauded but please lets get the low level moving, with the next step following as a natural progression from that primary school stage.

Regional coaches are sometimes rarely seen in certain areas and with such a big area to cover this is not suprising however delivering 70% of their time coaching may not be achievable and how is it to be monitored? Not easy with only themselves to to their own admin?

The 30% administration plus CPD (Continuing professional develoment for those who have not heard such "trendy" terms) is again quite difficult and how is the CPD to be organised ? CPD is a great thing but criterea has to be set down and certain goals and objectives met to reach this criterea. I would like to hear from the source a little more in depth as to what the whole thing means and its aims in detail and realistic goals rather than just one or two yearly contracts that never really continue after the selected coach departs from the post.

[Belisar]

This promises to be an interesting set up.

At least one of the clubs named was talking of asking their coach to help set up an over 50's competition. That fits in with the ethos of making the sport more popular but I cannot see the ETTA getting a lot of license fees out of it.

Of their working day I understand travel time is part of it. Therefore if a coach needs to spend two hours travelling to and from a venue they only have six hours of actual coaching/admin to do. Given the wise range of area to be covered that is not completely out of order but I wonder if travel time is coaching or administration.

I wonder how many of these guys will be asked to coach at the England weekends and how that fits in with their schedule, is it extra or part of their time ? Could you even class it as CPD ?

This is an interesting step forwards. I would still like them to get a bit more involved in the schools side - even if it is to run some teacher insets. I know that is as much (or more) development than coaching but to me the two go hand in hand.

[Moggy]

This is all very well and the statement "premier clubs" being targeted slightly worries me given the fact we need "grass roots" development otherwise the premier clubs will cease to exist. The whole programme like any development and coaching initiative must be applauded but please lets get the low level moving, with the next step following as a natural progression from that primary school stage.


Well said Dave, my thoughts exactly. It seems unless you have committed to be a Premier club and jumped though all the hoops then you can expect to see minimal help. Strange when they receive quite a bit of money from us 'standard' players as we affiliate year in year out.

[Belisar]

As far as premier clubs go then they get pretty much everything, just check a list of previous clubs of the year. Basically if you want anything from the ETTA you have to be a premier club.

I do think this is short sighted. When I was running a club my RDO asked me to become a premier club and I offered to meet him with a cheque and the completed forms which I would hand over if he could convince me it was worthwhile. He declined !!!

However the flip side is that those who have taken the trouble to become a premier club (paperwork, personnel, structure, time and effort) should get some payback.

[DaveR]

I have seen many "premier" clubs by name only and the jumping through the needed hoops plus crossing "T's" and dottind "I's" the problem is are they developing further the grass roots level or even continuing the program of coaching?

There are many practice clubs etc but few with any "structure" which is the main problem within these such clubs, with a "knock about" being something of the norm rather than the nessecary coaching / training approach leading to better players.

I am also in favour of a "dress code" with a club such as any premier club or serious training establishment having a set code for playing in. These are not expensive but are very professional when outsiders either join or look in to view. I hate the silly casual jeans and trainers look which totally detracts from the professional image any Table Tennis club should portray.

A simple and clean cut shirt with club logo is all that is needed to project such an image surely?

[Belisar]

I am also in favour of a "dress code"

I kind of agree. Anyone who wants to progress in the sport needs to dress appropriately and the role of any club is to advise the players on this.

However there does need to be some measure that allows the casual kids to come and play (maybe a separate session). I would not want to see anyone put off by an atmosphere that they see as too formal and too far removed from the relaxed fun they are looking for. After all it maybe from these casual starters that you find a few who get the bug and progress.