Table Tennis England The Winning Edge Issue 7 | Page 10

THE
WINNING EDGE
Dorset’s coach-led women-only project has been a barnstorming success.
“ L
inking to This Girl Can seemed obvious,”
said Andrew Millar, Head Coach at New
Milton TTC and instigator of one of the most
popular new sessions on the south coast.
“This Girl Can helped with the posters and logos,
while Table Tennis England paid the initial costs of the
project, allowing it to be fully-coached.
“Most of the advertising and building for the project
came from us though, whether that be social media,
the club, handing out leaflets or coverage in the local
newspaper and radio station.”
It may seem like an unfeasibly time-consuming aspect
of growing a new session, and one which requires skills
– like social media use – which many coaches don’t
have. But Millar insists that the bulk of the task can
be done by utilising the one resource all coaches are
familiar with: your club.
“I’m linked to the Weymouth league so I’ve got
friends there, I send out a weekly newsletter that
goes out to members and contacts. Through that
we attracted players from all over Dorset, more so as
word spread around.”
It also made the project more appealing to regional
coaches, who were more willing to travel from other
towns to help out if they believed it was a session
that had been planned and developed in a skillful,
serious way.
Most importantly it attracted participants that, for one
reason or another, needed the vibrant, women-only, fun
sessions that Millar was offering.
“We’ve picked up people who have played for 20 years,
who told us ‘I saw your ad and wanted to come back
and play.’ But we’ve ranged all the way from there to
complete beginners.”
With that wild variation in ability in mind, Millar
carefully planned each session to make sure no one
was left behind, or bored.
“Each session starts with a fun warm up - an around
the table game or bat skills. Then we get everyone
together for a demo, with a couple of skills and drills.
“We do these as practical drills for all abilities. They
watch the demo then go off to the tables to practice,
and the coaches help. Then we finish with games at
the end.