(by Daniela Gomes, ITTF Development, Education and Training Projects Officer)
Hopes Training Camp concludes in Fiji
Commencing on Friday 13th and concluding on Friday 20th October, the Hopes Training Camp took place in Fiji; the event preceding the beginning of the official ITTF World Cadet Challenge Training Camp. Hot and humid conditions greeted the young Hopes players at the Suva Vodafone Arena, getting ready for the prestigious event.
At the recent ITTF World Hopes Week and Challenge the top four girls and four boys taking part were selected based on global reach and universality. The 2017 Hopes Team is composed by athletes and coaches coming from 11 countries and all continents.
Heart and soul, the legacy: former Hopes giving back
Head Coach Dejan Papic conducted the daily training sessions both on morning and afternoon, a total of six hours per day.
“I think that the training camp proved that the Hopes concept worked because we had a former hopes player, Dario Arce from Latin America who has truly put his heart and soul into the camp and lifted our level a lot. We also had another former hopes from Oceania, Finn Lu who joined the camp. Our main goal was not so much the WCC results, it was to prepare and improve players through the training camp. I think they practiced really very well. All reasons to be satisfied!” Dejan Papic
Although the number one goal of the programme is to encourage National Associations to run talent identification programs, the push for the growth of young talented players comes hand in hand with coach education. Dejan Papic was the expert in charge of coach education and all throughout the week, group and individual mentoring took place, with a focus on players’ analysis and training periodisation. Key themes for the future work of the coaches with their players.
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