IPTPA ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAM
A
CERTIFIED RATING
SPECIALISTS
few months ago , the IPTPA developed three simple guidelines for all clinic organizers who were using IPTPAcertified coaches and wished to have the endorsement of IPTPA . These guidelines are meant to maximize the instruction value offered to all participants .
1 . Student to instructor ratio should be no more than 8:1 .
2 . All instructors should be IPTPA certified .
3 . All player participants should be grouped in like-skilled groups .
IPTPA also developed clinic evaluation forms for participants to fill out in an effort to get feedback on the clinics ’ organization and format . One issue that has been identified as a result of that evaluation process is the disconnect between a player ’ s view of his / her skill level and the actual skill rating . Most of the participants who are suffering from that disconnect are NOT tournament players , so they do not have an USAPA rating . The vast majority are self-rated players who consistently overrate themselves . As a result , our efforts to develop likeskilled groups at IPTPA-endorsed clinics prior to the start of the clinic have suffered . Considerable movement of players from one group to the other occurs , creating an inefficient start to clinic activities but , more important , many players leave unhappy and confused because they believe they are higher rated players and were not placed in the correct group .
Players who lack tournament experience and an USAPA rating only have the experience of playing in their local group or club . Their view is marginalized because of their lack of exposure to other players . Oftentimes , a player in an advanced group at his / her local club misinterprets the current IFP Rating
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