OOAK Table Tennis Forum

In respect of long term athlete development, at what age would you expect a child to take responsibility or ownership for their own development? This doesn't mean disown them and leave them to it. It does mean learning to think for themselves, find solutions to table tennis problems and have the motivation to actually get up and do what is required to physically become fitter.

Is it the case that to become an elite athlete, a child has to give up that childhood to dedicate totally to their sport, or is there some happy half way house and if so what is it.

By elite athlete I mean aim to become the best they can be, and aspire to be the best in their country / age group.

I know ,for a fact, coaches push for kids to start developing their own strategies as soon as they have covered the basics. I find the younger they learn to think on the game, the more experience they have at the table to come up with new strategies.

But some technical aspects can only be observed and guided by coaches. Not everything can be done by the player. Sometimes, simple things like sequences can vary wildly due to timing, player fitness, table, time of day, etc.

I think mostly it should be 80% player and 20% coach. As young as possible, provided the player is mentally capable of it.

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