Table Tennis England The Winning Edge Issue 7 | Page 6

THE
WINNING EDGE
UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES
Co-presenting the second weekend of the course is Simon
Mills, Head of Talent and Performance at TTE.
His speciality may be the elite side of the game but in explaining what to
expect from his modules it’s clear that, as he put it, “the principles can be
applied anywhere.”
A key figure behind the performance pathway, Mills is keen that the TTE
trademarks – what English players should become known for – are not
only understood amongst coaches but also taught in the right way.
“One of the most powerful things was needing the coaches to go away
and reflect on what they’re doing and not doing. For example, one of
our trademarks is being excellent at serving and receiving. Coaches knew
that, but recognised that they don’t spend enough time practicing it. So
we were challenging the goals within coaches’ thinking. They came away
with a lot of questions about what they’re doing and how they’ll help their
players learn.
“A lot of coaches are embedded in a technique focus. We’re not saying
that’s not important, but we’ve got to look at how it’s applied and how it’s
learned. So on this course we challenged some of the things that coaches
think they know.
“For example a player might have a forehand topspin where the arm of
the elbow is tucked in. Most coaches will talk about needing that arm to
be further away from the body. The traditional view is to get them to
move the elbow away, to use the wrist and forearm more.
“However, we’re saying that that might not be a technical issue, that
might be a physical issue. They might not be strong enough to consider
moving their elbow away.
‘ This Level 3 looks at how we build
‘
relationships, communicate and
understand ourselves.
“Coaches need to know or think more about how you support the player
in that situation to learn a more efficient forehand, not simply tell them to
do it the correct way.
“Whether that player is on a talent pathway or a 45-year-old looking to
improve, the principle is universal.
“I do this course coming from the performance domain but the principles
can be applied anywhere. Understanding what conditions create the
optimum learning environment are very much applicable to any level of
the sport. We challenged coaches to take that information and apply it to
their context – be that club, school or high performance.”
WE
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Course Guide
Coaching Courses and Workshops