THE
WINNING EDGE
WALK THIS
WAY
With our Coaching Pathway offering more options than ever for you in your coaching career , we meet a young coach whose journey has stretched the length of that path .
T ake a look at our pathway graphic on page 11 . What does it tell you about your options as a coach in our sport ? Why , in fact , do we call it a “ pathway ”?
We want all our coaches to be the best they can be . If that means an inspiring , skillful activator who pulls new people towards table tennis , then great . If that means an international-level coach , working with the world ’ s best , then that ’ s equally great , and the point is that it ’ s also equally attainable .
Highlighting that ability to skip down this pathway at your own speed is Paul Johnson , a Level 2 coach for nearly 10 years and , until one year ago , busy growing the sport through a club he set up in Gainsborough , north-west Lincolnshire .
“ Around August 2016 , Table Tennis England put out that they were opening up their Level 3 qualification to an application process , which was great news for me as I could just apply for the qualification ,” Paul recalls .
“ At roughly the same time , they also opened up applications for their first coach mentoring programme , where coaches would have a mentor from the national coaching staff . I saw this as a great opportunity for myself to learn from some of the national coaches , so I applied for that too .
“ I was accepted on to both the mentoring programme and the Level 3 , but was told that due to the workload of both I had to choose one . So I decided to do the mentoring programme first across the 2016 / 17 season , and then follow that up with the Level 3 in the 2017 / 18 season .
“ I was then invited to be a coach on the England 913 squad , and to attend some of the England Youth squad training camps too . Alongside this I ’ m also doing my Level 3 head coach qualification .”
That ’ s a rise , over just 12 months , from club and regional coach to the international scene .
We ’ re not telling Paul ’ s story because we want , or expect , you all to follow suit . What we do want is for you to feel that there is nothing holding you back from making the kind of leap that Paul made . And we also want your experience of the pathway to be supportive , challenging and inspiring , which is the kind of experience that Paul reports on over the past year .
“ As part of the coach mentoring programme , I was given Alan Cooke ( TTE Head Coach ) as my mentor . We have met to observe and learn from my international sessions , and to also have a chat about how things were going and how I was progressing as a coach . This was fantastic for me as it meant that I could get an opinion on my thoughts and also learn from Alan .
“ Having done a lot of coaching on my own and having now , within the last few years , started to work a lot more within a coaching team , I do think it ’ s important that you have a good support network around you , including other coaches that are like-minded and believe in what you are trying to do . That way you have people that you can trust to bounce ideas off and who can help and support you throughout your development .”