by Ian Marshall, Editor

Organised under the auspices of ITTF High Performance and Development, the expert on duty for the initiative was Venezuela’s much travelled Francisco Seijas, a familiar face throughout Latin America and beyond.

Notably, he has conducted a wide range of courses at various levels throughout the region, whilst time and again he has sat courtside at the world’s most prestigious events, advising members of the national team.  Furthermore, he also spent time honing his coaching skills in Europe; in particular, he studied for a period of time in Sweden.

Overall, a total of 14 coaches attended, ten men and four women, representing three South American countries; in addition to the ten course members from Ecuador, three travelled from Colombia and one from Peru, both neighbouring countries. Most significantly, those present from the host country represented different provinces.

Venue for the proceedings was the Pichincha Sports Centre, Pichincha being the name of the province in which Quito is located.

A most comprehensive course was conducted with special attention being addressed to technical, physical and psychological aspects appropriate to the sport of table tennis. In common with all other courses conducted by Francisco Seijas, the schedule followed was well-organised with attention being paid to detail.

Extensive discussions were the order of proceedings; everyone responding to the efforts the Venezuelan coach, all increased their bank of knowledge and departed motivated, ready to put theory into practice.

Intense but without doubt, it was a most successful venture one from which all gained benefit.