14 Sep 2016

Increasingly in the limelight owing to the performances on the international scene of Kirill Gerassimenko; the central Asian country Kazakhstan is rising in prominence. Talent identification, seeking players who may follow in the footsteps of the 19 year old, is very much on the agenda in Kazakhstan.

Organised under the auspices of the ITTF Development Programme, a recent Training Camp and ITTF Level Two Course was stage from Thursday 1st September to Thursday 8th September. Home for the whole itinerary was the Almaty, the country's largest city

by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

The expert on duty was Aleksey Yefremov of Belarus

A total of 16 players with different goals attended, for some it was preparation for the 2016 Asian Junior and Cadet Championships to be staged in Bangkok from Friday 16th to Wednesday 21st September; for others it was preparation for the new season.

Four full time coaches alongside members of the ITTF Level Two Course attended the Training Camp; players and coaches alike, showed boundless enthusiasm.

Two sessions

Each day the Training Camp was organised in two sessions, each four hours.

Notably, 40 players study and live at the National Sports Boarding School “Shanyrak”, where they are able to practise twice a day. Notably, Kirill Gerassimenko has been one of the students.

Focal point

“I introduced several exercises but this was not the main focal point of the Training Camp; my aim was to educate players how to train, to make the best use of their time and be totally focused”, explained Aleksey Yefremov. “A quick analysis plus the correction of technical skills, employing a positive attitude were subjects addressed; it was good to see everyone trying.”

A successful training camp, the ITTF Level Two Course was equally successful; a total 13 coaches were present of whom five were female.

Intense itinerary

“We had intense programme with theory, practical sessions, demonstrations and video analysis”, explained Aleksey Yefremov. “All the materials and the lectures used the Russian language.”

The task now for the coaches, who passed the Level Two Examination, is to complete 50 hours of practical work including five hours supervised.

Vice President delighted

“It was a pleasure to receive support from the ITTF Development Programme, to be able organize an ITTF Level Two course and Training camp, it is big step forward for national coaches”, said Malik Beisaliev, Vice President of the Kazakhstan Table Tennis Association, a regular visitor to the course.

“I believe that coaches will use the knowledge, which they have gained in their daily work; also it is good for our country that participants come here from different regions”, added Malik Beisaliev. “We are looking forward to have more ITTF coach education in future, especially this can be useful for young coaches who just finished the University of Sport and Physical Education and are starting to work with young players.” 

A successful course, it is more progress for Kazakhstan.

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Instructions from Aleksey Yefremov (left) prior to start of a training session (Photo: courtesy of Aleksey Yefremov)

High Performance and Development Aleksey Yefremov