THE initiative taken almost 12 months ago by the Huddersfield Table Tennis League to actively encourage the development of coaches is beginning to bear fruit.
For many years the Newsome based coaching sessions relied heavily on the two active coaches in the area – David Wood, who has been the League’s coaching organiser for over 30 years, and John Schoolar.
Now they have been joined by six newly-qualified coaches – Janet Adams, David Evans, Roger Morley, Oliver Shaw, John Vaughan and Chris Williams – which allows the League to be much more expansive in the programme of development.
Supporting schools with qualified coaching is seen to be a key to growth in participation in the sport, and this term has seen the introduction of regular after-school sessions at Honley High, Holmfirth High, King James’ and Kirkburton Middle School, all run by the League’s coaching team. There’s a waiting list too!
The regular Thursday evening coaching sessions at Newsome Sports College are proving very popular with over 20 youngsters regularly attending, plus an increasing number of adults .
A Saturday morning club has also begun, in conjunction with the Pennine Schools Sports Partnership, and more activities are planned for the future.
A newly-formed Huddersfield Junior League will start in the new year, meeting the demand for competition among youngsters. Any individuals, schools or youth groups interested in more details should contact the League as soon as possible – see the website www.huddersfieldtabletennisleague.co.uk
The League is also always trying to encourage more female participation and it is encouraging that one or two younger girls are coming regularly to coaching sessions .
There are also four ladies playing regularly in the League which, while this is a relatively small number compared with many other areas, marks significant growth locally.
Newest addition is Caroline North, who has joined Newsome Sports College. Caroline is a Huddersfield University student who played for several years in her local Essex league before moving north.
This week she enjoyed her first “maximum”, winning all her three sets against Deighton Leisure Centre B. Unfortunately it was not a match-winning performance, as her side went down 6-4.
Also at Newsome, playing for Scissett WMC C against Newsome A, was Sarah Napier. Sarah won two of her three sets, beating David Johnson and Francs Cioffi in her side’s 5-5 draw.
Janet West is a regular and popular member of the Woodfield Park B team, while Janet Adams, playing for Kingsmith B, is one of the top players in the League and a Yorkshire County player.
Next week, the Yorkshire Regional coaching organiser, Sally Shutt, will be visiting the Newsome coaching session, supporting the coaches and looking for young potential for the future.
Today marks the start of the English Open Table Tennis Championships in Sheffield. The greatest array of World-ranked talent to compete in England for over a decade has been assembled to compete for lucrative prizes.
The competition, held at the English Institute for Sport, runs through to Sunday and is a wonderful opportunity for people of all ages to see the best.
