by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Manager
A total of 17 coaches attended, 16 men and one woman travelling from eight regions in the country, as well as one member from Indonesia. Notably, ten members were Para coaches; three were full-time coaches, the rest part-time.
All responded to the efforts of Christina Chee and appreciated the new ideas and progressive methods that comprised the itinerary.
Rima Ferdianto, the course member who had travelled from Indonesia, was most certainly highly motivated.
“Every day is an interesting day; always there is something new to learn. Thank you to the organisers the Table Tennis Association of Malaysia for accepting me. It has been an honour and worth travelling to Kuala Lumpur. I learned a lot and I will apply all theories learned in my practical coaching. Thank you to Christina for inspiring us to be the best coach that we can be.” Rima Ferdianto
A positive reaction, it was the same from Oh Kwong Foi, a former national team Class 7 Para athlete, a Commissioner for Oaths in Kuching, Sarawak State and currently involved in coaching Para players.
“I had a valuable experience not to be forgotten; all aspects of the course were equally important and useful”. Oh Kwong Foi
It was the same reaction from Raslan Mat Rahim, the Assistant General Manager of Malaysia Telecom, a part-time coach.
“In order for an athlete to succeed, besides table tennis skills, sport education and in-depth of sport science knowledge is needed for coaches like myself to help players reach their potential.” Raslan Mat Rahim
All the coaches concluded the programme with high marks in both theory and practical aspects.
“My thanks go to the Malaysia Sports Institution National Sports Academy and to the ITTF for their support, as well as to all the coaches for their passion and hard work. My thanks also go to the host, the Table Tennis Association of Malaysia for organising the course.” Christina Chee
Pertinently, on the first day, Chan Foong Keong, Honorary Secretary of Table Tennis Association of Malaysia, was present alongside with Mr. Soong, the General Manager.
They delivered encouraging words to all the coaches expressing the hope that other countries in the South East Asian region would promote the ITTF Coach Education Course for the benefit of the region.