by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

A total of nine students attended; seven men and two women. Most came from the Kingston area but notably one member, Omar Tomlinson, travelled from Montego Bay, a four hour drive. The ITTF Coaching Manual formed the basis of the itinerary.

Venue for proceeding was the Excelsior High School Auditorium; the premises made possible than to the help of Stephen “Spoon” Grant. He arranged for four table tennis tables and the necessary ancillary items to be available.

 “Practical Sessions such as skills circuit, skills awards and TOPS Programme ended the first day; day two and three of the course consisted of a combination of techniques beyond basics, comprising warm ups, basic strokes, competition formats and rules plus multi-ball from basic introduction to advanced demonstrations.” Konata Beluchi

Notably Stephen Grant played a major role in making the Para element of the course possible. He contacted Mrs. Harris-Henry from the Mona Rehabilitation Centre who loaned one wheel chair and two crutches two assist with the practical sessions. Videos of Para play were also shown.

 “Special thanks go to our local federation and Table Tennis Jamaica. Our current President Godfrey Lothian assisted with this my first course. He provided six ITTF/PTT Manuals and also loaned us the assistance of the Special Projects Officer, Miss. Daneilea Hinds. She was a big help in the area of administration prior to the commencement of the course. I personally met with fellow Coach and Course Conductor Donald Salmon and acquired the additional manuals and balls needed to make the course a success.” Konata Beluchi

Matters concluded with tournament organization, rules and feedback from the respective coaches; now in order to gain the necessary award, 30 hours of practical coaching, of which five must be supervised, follows.