Table Tennis Coaching

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31365, 10 May 1967, Page 17

Table Tennis Coaching

QANTERBURY will be well represented when the boys’ national table tennis coaching school, under the direction of Mr T. R. D. Flint, starts on Friday. At last years boys’ school there were none from Canterbury. A leading Christchurch player, K. J. Ward, will attend together with the very promising Avonside players, J. Weir and R. Mitchell. All the boys should derive great benefit from the school which promises to be very tiring. Mr Flint has done much coaching particularly in Canterbury since he was forced to retire from active play. He has quickly won a reputation as a firm but pleasant coach who knows the game from all angles. The national association holds him in very high regard as can

be seen by the fact that the school is being held in Christchurch for the second successive year.

The school will start on Friday with a series of round-robin matches among the 12 attending players. This will be a strenuous beginning. There will be three sessions- on Saturday. The morning and afternoon sessions will be given over to coaching and the evening session will be more of. a lecture when the local Oriental, Avonside players, Chin Sin Pin and L. N. Ming, will attend so the Western and Asian styles can be compared closely. Players will be encouraged to ask questions at the lectures.

On Sunday a Canterbury 12 will play the school. This should be more even than last year when a particularly strong representative six soundly beat the squad.

Ward, who did not attend last year’s school, played for Canterbury and won eight of his twelve matches.

Mr Flint will probably be assisted by the three very experienced players, W. T. Scott, V. N. Brightwell and J. Armstrong. He considers the boys are not of as high a standard as previous years. The Canterbury selectors (Messrs A. B. McCallum, Flint and R. G. Hart) will be watching the form of the Canterbury players for the quadrangular tournament with West Coast, Marlborough and Nelson at Greymouth on May 20.