Expect Greatness October 31, 2008
Posted by Mikael in Mikael's opinion.Tags: ittf GJP, ittf junior circuit finals
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Friday morning in Idrottens Hus and it is time for the juniors to take the floor. Twelve boys and twelve girls – two groups of six and three from each group advancing , an interesting formula that should appeal to both the top ranked players and at the same time give the lower seeds plenty of opportunities for an upset or two.
We discussed the quality of the two fields yesterday evening - the ITTF CM Raul Calin , point man for the ITTF Junior Circuit and myself. Clearly much higher ranked players has opted to go for the girls title. The top seeds Ma Wenting from Norway and Yuki Fujii are both close to top ten in the world. Look at the boys event and you will find that the majority of the top twenty juniors in the world have dropped the task of qualifying for the circuit finals this year. Although the scope for this event always will remain centred around the development of junior table tennis, it is not a good trend. We should be able to attract also the best players for a yearly showdown. Great challenge it is for the ITTF to reinstate the high status – make investments and attract good fields. The dynamics , such as planning , organization and promotion of the circuit are important and ideas must flow. Never ending task actually to try to lift the values of junior investments around the world.
On the other hand we have here in Helsingborg an open race in both categories . I had a long talk with the Egyptian shooting star Omar Assar the other day as he was preparing to give it a go. Very well prepared from over a month of different preparations in China and in Sweden, Omar Assar now faces the difficult challenge of knowing what to expect from himself. He needs to be aware of the possibilities to have ultimate success and win the tournament and at the same time try to balance his own expectations. I said ; NO FEAR , just GO for IT – but we will see. The abilities to prepare well and execute when you need it the most are not easy to find.
Yang Ha Eun - Korea
In the girls event I just love the fourteen year old Yang Ha Eun from Korea. Had the pleasure to see her practice in the camp Friday to Sunday and called her in a small evaluation the nr one prospect on site in Helsingborg. She has the look of a champion. Remember the name.
A question of preparation October 29, 2008
Posted by Mikael in Mikael's opinion.Tags: ITTF cadet challenge 2008, ittf GJP
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Just watching the 2008 Team finals in Idrottens Hus.
Team Europe, is in both finals and i am not surprised. The boys team defeated the Swedes this morning in very convincing style and the girls fended off the young North American girls without too much trouble.
The Europeans have from the very beginning embraced the ITTF Cadet Challenge and made it a priority. Zita Pidl the Team manager added fire and heart to the project from the very beginning and the coaches Gundars Rusis and Jarek Kolodziejczyk have really done a solid work with the players that have passed through over the years.
Personally i like how they – Zita and the coaches have paid attention to details. By putting clear guidelines and strong emphasis on preparation and a special training camp in Brondby , Denmark – it is a well prepared team showing in Helsingborg. They have, when the 2008 Challenge reaches the final day, been together for fourteen days in practice and competition. Good work my friends and thank you to Mrs Zita Pidl for taking the Cadet Challenge idea to another level.
Team finals going on right now and you gotta love the French boy Simon Gauzy who must be the biggest European talent in more than ten years..
Simon Gauzy – Team Europe and France – One of the most promising players in Europe for the moment.
Boys; Europe vs Asia 3-0
Gauzy def Kim (KOR) 3-2, Lorentz def Shin 3-0, Gavin Evans def Pang 3-1
Girls ; Europe vs Japan 1-3
Kusinska vs (POL) lost Miyu Maeda (born 96 !!) 2-3, Madarasz def Sato 3-1, Szocs lost Tanioka 0-3, Madarasz lost Maeda 1-3….
Japan (girls) and Team Europe (boys) takes the team events.
Milestone or stepping stone for North America? October 29, 2008
Posted by glenntepper in Glenn's point of view !, Uncategorized.Tags: ITTF cadet challenge 2008
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Last night there was some medal deciding matches, and certainly one of the most interesting and exciting was the Africa-North America Girl’s match.
In such matches there is always heroes and villains, the winners and the vanquished.
Dina Meshref, from Team Africa, after showing great improvement and a great attitude in the training camp, did all possible to be the hero, taking 2 matches against the talented duo of Ariel Hsing and Lily Zhang.
Impressive also was the fact that she won both of her matches at critical stages with the match score 0-1, and again at 1-2 down to save the match.
North America though finally took the match, 3-2 with each player contributing one match, placing North America in the medal matches for the first time. Enough to make even the usually poker-faced clever tactician and coach Emilia Gheorge break out into a broad smile.
Much is written about Hsing and Zhang, but we should also recognise the contribution here of Ann Deng who won the critical match with matches locked at 1-1, convincingly 3-0.
Coming back to Ariel Hsing and Lily Zhang….certainly the brightest prospects to come out of North America for many years, and 2 more intelligent, friendly and grounded girls you would be hard placed to find.
During my recent stay at ITTF Headquarters in Lausanne, I was reading past issues of the USATT Magasine-Ariel and Lily dominate many of the pages with stories of tournament successes, playing with Bill Gates, movie appearances. “Only in America” would young girls with some talent from a USA minority sport be afforded such oppurtunities. Their mentors must be careful that it is all kept in perspective-a job they have done very well so far.
These girls are the “real thing” but let’s not get too excited. There is a lot of hard work required to “make it” on the international stage and more importantly there needs to be a structure to support and nurture their talents, while keeping their feet firmly planted on the ground.
US Table Tennis is undergoing a massive restructure right now. US Olympic Committee has taken over and a new Board with a wide representation from both inside table tennis and key professionals from outside table tennis. Let’s hope that this can provide the much needed pyramid development structure needed to allow these girls the stepping stones to progress to the next level.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step…”
Ariel, Lily and USATT have taken several steps forward, and taking a medal at the ITTF Cadet Challenge is certainly another move in the right direction, but let’s remember the road is long with many bumpy sections ahead.
I suspect the professional European girls may give the North American girls a valuable lesson in the semi-final later his morning.
Yesterdays win over Africa to enter the medal rounds was definteley a “stepping stone”.
A “milestone” will be when they come back in future years to take the gold…..
A Fine Family October 28, 2008
Posted by Mikael in Mikael's opinion.Tags: ITTF cadet challenge 2008, ittf GJP
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Spent a few minutes this morning chatting with the Soderlund family on site to back young Hampus Soderlund , by many touted to become “the next one” in Sweden. Born 1994 and with another year to go in the cadet age Hampus will reach the top sooner rather than later . Steeped in the Peter Karlsson mode – with great work ethics and a very special bright approach to table tennis , this young boy really stood out during the training camp , firing on all cylinders.
Much of the same strong work ethic i remember that his father Magnus Soderlund brought to the table when I for one season , more than twenty years !! ago , had the honour to coach him in Falkenberg . Magnus was practicing under the supervision of Bo Persson and had together with a number of other promising players special school arrangements in order to play two times a day. One of the top student in the class was Peter Karlsson who already had a foot in with the Swedish National Team at the time . Today Peter works as a special adviser to young Hampus who actually, despite his young age , has played a few matches for his club Mariedal in the Swedish Elite league this season posting an impressive 3-1 record.
There are tons of simularities between coach – father – and player in this case. All three of them come from the same district in Sweden - Västergötland and possesses a hard to describe bright , refreshing and honest view on life and sports . We will see a lot of Hampus Soderlund during this event and each of the matches he will be playing in Helsingborg has a great learning value. Ask me and i would in a heart beat exchange fifty competitive matches in Sweden against the few matches he played the opening day of the 2008 ITTF Cadet Challenge. To learn to handle pressure and expectations is what its all about. Hampus came out full of energy but nervous and tense today. Will be better i am sure as the week in Helsingborg comes along.. and for the future this is a great learning experience for him and i guess the family as well.. With Mother Soderlund also playing a crucial role in the success so far it was a proud and i have to say very fine family cheering in the stands today.
I am by the way a firm believer in the value of MANAGMENT skills as an important tool for Elite coaches.
The Value of “Team” October 28, 2008
Posted by glenntepper in Glenn's point of view !.Tags: ITTF cadet challenge 2008
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Bringing together a team of players from each continent is not so easy.
Different languages, different cultures, different time zones, different access to coaching and high level training, different expectations.
Here at the ITTF Cadet Challenge the role of the managers and the coaches cannot be understated.
As is often said a “champion team” will beat a “team of champions”.
This already occured in the last edition when the European Boy’s Team pulled off a huge upset defeating the formidable AsianTeam.
It is no coincidence that the tight knit european team has had the same manager and coaches for all 6 years of the ITTF Cadet Challenge.
To see the difference in the teams, you need only to look at the team’s benches.
Is the “team” actively supporting and encouraging their team mate, or are they sharing a joke, looking at other matches, hoping their team mates will lose so they will play the next match, or sitting there with a bored expression.
Let’s look again at Europe which is really the model for others to follow.
Close liason from qualification to the first ball played.
A strong emphasis on the honor, pride and responsibility associated with representing your continent.
A training camp in Europe before the ITTF Training Camp, to build team spirit, set the ground rules and expectations.
“Team building” includes strong work on the table, lots of individual and collective discussions, and social activities away from the table to build the relationships and bonds.
Of course the “team of champions” very often still wins, but being a “champion team” can certainly narrow the gap….
Watch out for the Latinos![at least the Paraguayans] October 28, 2008
Posted by glenntepper in Glenn's point of view !.Tags: ITTF cadet challenge 2008
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Impressive first day for Aguirre included 2 wins against Europe and Japan!
Marcelo Aguirre, again proved to be the danger man, taking 2 matches against Japan, but Latin America going down 3-2 anyway[albeit at 3-2 in the final match]
A great performance considering he also took 2 matches against eventual winners, Europe last year.
At the training camp early Marcelo was looking a little lethargic and lacked motivation, but following with a strong “rocket” from Mikael Andersson, letting the coaches know in no uncertian terms that with oppurtunities comes some responsibilities, soon knuckled down to some hard work. [Marcelo was selected for the "tripartate" Olympic position for Beijing]
“Match of the round” was undoubtedly Sweden-Africa in the Boy’s Teams.
The Egyptian duo of Bedair and Shouman lost the first 2 matches at deuce in the final game against Soderland and Tran respectively.
Coach Niclas Almstrom, would have been “on edge” having called “time out” at 10-7 up in the 5th in the Tran-Shouman match only to see the lead evaporate to 10-10. An audable sigh of relief came as Tran took the next 2 points and the match.
Tunisian Adem Hmem took the third match to keep the Africans alive, which brought the 2 No 1′s to the table, Hampus Soderland and Mohamed Shouman.
Surprisingly Soderland hasnt shown the same fight in this morning’s competition as he did in the training camp.
In the training camp, he was “far and away” the player who left his heart and soul[and considerable sweat] on the table. Shouman 3-0, to level the match scores at 2-2.
So, Anthony Tran of Sweden and Omar Bedair of Africa to the table to decide the match and a possible medal.
Bedair , the pumped up and very audible left hand attacker, with Tran much more passive but with a nice wrist.
In a match of fluctuating fortunes, and great long distance rallies, the match was tied at 2-2.
In the decisive game, Tran’s composure was the key, leading 7-0. Bedair came back to 4-7 before a fault took the pressure off. Tran taking the match for Sweden at 11-8
Of course I cannot finish a blog on the first session without mentioning my fellow “aussie” Oceania Team’s Kane Townsend having a strong 3-0 victory over Europe’s Julien Indeherberg, in their 4-1 loss…..
Serious Travellers October 28, 2008
Posted by glenntepper in Glenn's point of view !.Tags: ITTF cadet challenge 2008
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Lily Phan-serious traveller, Oceania Table Tennis Champion, Concert Pianist...
When meeting old friends and making new ones, the subject of who has to travel the furtherest and how many hours time difference is often the topic on first meeting.
As an Australian, I would often have the dubious honor of travelling further than anyone else, but here we have 3 contendors who make my short journey of 30 hours from Australia look like a casual Sunday drive.
Gavin Evans of England, and Kane Townsend and Lily Phan of Australia have certainly done some serious travelling. All three competed in the first Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India, literally immediately prior to the Cadet Challenge.
Evans would take the silver medal for kilometres travelled, having travelled from England to India, survived 5 days of “Dehli Belly” [ "All was good for the first 5 days, but then I relaxed a bit with the food I chose and paid the price" said Gavin, now obviously in "full flight" again during the training camp], back to England, 7 hours to unpack, wash, dry and repack prior to joining the European Team at their training camp in Copenhagen. Whew, I feel tired just writing that……
The gold medal though goes to my fellow aussies…..
Firstly an internal flight to meet the Australian team, Australia-India, Commonwealth Youth Games, India-Australia, internal flight, unpack-wash-dry-repack in less then 24 hours, Australia-New Zealand, Oceania Training Camp, New Zealand-Singapore, Singapore-London, London-Copenhagen, Copenhagen-Helsingborg!!!
I am sure though that Kane had more success with the food in India than Gavin…
Being a vegetarian, more than 40% of the Indian population of 1.2 billion is also vegetarian, so was spolit for choice.
This morning in less than an hour Gavin’s europeans will take on Kane’s Oceania team so we will soon see if the kilometres travelled or the food eaten have any effect on the results……
Lily Phan’s Oceania team also takes on Europe…
Lily, by the way, has some serious choices to make in the near future.
As an already very experienced concert pianist, she has been offered a scholarship at the prestigious University of Melbourne to follow this pathway. A good result this morning may influence that decision or least find a way to combine both passions
While of course as an ITTF staff member I am totally neutral, as an Oceania person, I will nevertheless cast an interested eye on both matches…
The Tournament All-Nighter October 28, 2008
Posted by glenntepper in Glenn's point of view !.Tags: ITTF cadet challenge 2008
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Tournament Organisers are a resilient group of people.
Andres Karlsson,Thomas Dahl, Ulf Rodin and their team have been doing some long hours, keeping up with the usual demands of a World Championships, together with those unplanned such as people arriving at the wrong airport or missing the train stop in Helsingborg or not arriving at all.
I was with Anders yesterday as he was checking multiple hotels to see if one late arrival had accidently checked into the wrong place.
The 24 hours before the first ball is struck though is usually the toughest.
Late arrivals, umpires-referees-equipment testers-administration support all arriving at the same time.
Transforming the venue from a training camp layout to a World Class competition venue is usually an “all-nighter” on the last evening.
Mikael Andersson, the fearless and unshakeable leader of the Global Junior Program, thought he may start the demolition of the training camp setup early as during the last session of the training camp, he sent one of the control desks on the upper level crashing to the ground, with him on top!
Incredably, the phone conversation which was going on, as he perched himself on the edge of the not so stable table, continued as he lay on the floor with legs pointing skywards, many concerned coaches running to his aide and most players stopping to check what the thunder like noise was about.
That is the calm required of a leader! [Though I suspect the recipient of the phone call learnt a few new swedish words that wont appear in the dictionary]
Back to our organisers….incredably Anders Karlsson in addition, to his tournament duties, snuck away with his beloved BTK Record for an Elites Series match with Goteborg last night. For sure this morning, the eyes will be red but the smile or lack there of will tell the story of their teams result. For those here, see if you can pick the result before you ask……
To the first ball, now less than 2 hours away…
The Australian Chef.. October 27, 2008
Posted by Mikael in Mikael's opinion.Tags: ITTF cadet challenge 2008
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Beleive it or not ?… The opening dinner for the 2008 ITTF Cadet Challenge took place in the city hall of Helsingborg this evening.. Everything went according to plans – and the food was actually extremely good. We were treated to Chicken with a hint of Thai spices and rice with salad and good bread.
Now to my point; The Mayor of Helsingborg sitting beside me was quite proud of their serving and admitted that as they did not have a proper kitchen in the building they had to use a catering firm…
The company delivering the food ; “The Australian Chef”located in Helsingborg.
Couldn’t believe it and when i then over heared my dear blog’in colleague Mr Tepper telling each and everyone around his table that he usually “cooks exactly the same dish” it felt unreal for sure. Teppers plate was by the way completely cleaned in less than two minutes tonight.. something of a record i am sure.
Good news for Team Africa who will face Sweden in the most interesting match in the boys team competition tommorrow morning ; The Red Chili was back on the table. Young Adem Hman, the Tunisian wonder boy, didnt forget to bring it this time either and all the Africans hade some of the red spread on their bred this evening.. By the way so did many on the honorary guests as well.. The taste was VERY good.
The scene is set. The 2008 ITTF Cadet Challenge is ready to roll. It will be a good one and it wouldnt surprise me a bit if North America comes down with their first medal in the history of this event; Ariel Hsing and Lily Zhang are as good as anyone of the girls competing here.
Walking on Water October 25, 2008
Posted by Mikael in Mikael's opinion.Tags: ITTF cadet challenge 2008
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There were days when i firmly believed that i could walk on water..Not literally – but surely from a coaching point of view. Checking in for my sixth ITTF Cadet Challenge, my hotel room in Helsingborg is just beside the very same ferry terminal that used to be such a breaking point of my life.. Twenty five minutes, took me either to work, as the national coach in Denmark, or coming the other way brought me home to my family. I must have made the trip over or back some 1000 times over the seven years i worked in Denmark between 1988 and 1995. Emotional it is.. In my white Saab 9000 – standing right here in line outside my window i did do some thinking – that’s for sure.
I was young – hot and ambitious. I thought i could move players forward - make them think differently – become better and all of that. The year was 1988 and i started to commute from my home in Halmstad , Sweden to the training center in Denmark. Remember writing a long article following the decision to get out and break my contract after the seven years. The text is still in fresh memory and the titles sums up the years i spent in Denmark ; Seven Years as the General and Front-soldier. With my players we digged in – worked hard – had disappointments , but more importantly paved the way for some young talented Danes to move in when we eventually left the scene.
Back to the walking on water… The ITTF has done marvellous things for young players and really shown them – their coaches and their associations a possible way forward. Sometimes and more so lately i get the feeling that the players we support are swimming more and more alone. Its obvious that the national and the continetal assocations desperatly needs to get their act in order to give the young striving athletes the proper support and managment.
I hate to see the ITTF stand alone – owning suddenly the 100 % repsonbsibiliteis for young supported players. We cannot walk on water and we cannot become the driver of the bus.
On site in Sweden are some very intersting young players.. Adem HMAM – the young tunisian still looks like a round million if you look at this stroke technique alone. Ariel HSING- the hard working and eager girl from Northern California practised well today. Also look for the fifteen year old young girls Nadeen El Dewlatly from Egypt to become something fresh and interesting in the very near future. There are , as i am always pointing out - no shortage of talents out there.
The ITTF Cadet Challenge is a great event. Idrottens HUS – here in Helsingborg is the perfect arena with the stone walls breathing great table tennis. One of the very first international events held in this building was the Scandinavian Open – SOC in 1960. Some of the key voulonteers with BTK Rekord still remember those days. From my pint of view i remember coaching one of the best matches i have ever seen with a ninteen year old Jorgen Persson defeating Jan Ove Waldner in five games in the 1984 Swedish Championships.
