by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor (interviews by Daniela Gomes)

Currently Matt Stanforth is the Table Tennis England National Youth Coach and has been on duty several occasions with the England’s Women Team. He has chosen to focus particularly on the transition of players from youth to senior ranks.

The mentors for the Englishman will be the coaches at the Chinese Table Tennis College in Shanghai

“A lot of coaches put their names forward, so I´m very pleased to be accepted. As a coach you are always looking for ways to learn and develop; you never stop growing.” Matt Stanforth

Meanwhile, Patrick Wuertz is the Head Coach of Health, Wellness Table Tennis Australia; his mentor will be Dirk Wagner, his focus being to learn more about player development

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part at the Mentorship Programme. I am extremely excited to learn from the ITTF and Dirk Wagner over the next year.” Patrick Wuertz

Dirk Wagner, the mentor for Patrick Wuertz; for Luisana Perez, her aim is to learn more about planning training programmes plus addressing the topic of sport specific physical training.

“This opportunity is terrific news for my development as a coach. It is a big pleasure to be selected. Thank you to ITTF for the opportunity.” Luisana Perez

Currently Luisana Perez is a National University Team Coach and has proved a most popular and successful ITTF Course Conductor. Notably she enjoyed success in Latin American competitions and partnered Fabiola Ramos in the Women’s Doubles events at both the Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2004 Olympic Games.