In Ben Arous, 22 girls in the U15 and U19 age groups were able to train in the tournament venue, the Salle Omnisport de Rades, which provided them with ideal conditions for acclimatization to the environment and preparation for the event. The participants trained twice daily over four days, led by ITTF High Performance Elite Coach Massimo Costantini.

“In this short camp, it was important to stress the ability to capitalize on the first 3-4 balls to be played on the table. We achieved this with a mix of short, consistent, deliberate and game-like situations.” said Massimo.

With this focus, making the best use of one’s serve followed by a good attack became relevant; the following strategies depended on a player’s individual skills. The players, hailing from Nigeria, Algeria and Tunisia, understood and appreciated the value of these sessions and learned what to take away from them.

“Our aim in attending the training camp was to gain experience and to participate in several international competitions. The training camp was divided into two parts over 4 days of intensive training, followed by the international open. Our stay was good, and the schedule suited us. At the end, I would like to thank the Tunisian federation for their availability.” Meriem Rahali, Algerian national coach.

From Tunisia, the training camp schedule led us to Vila Nova de Gaia (POR), for the Girls U15 & U19 training camp from 12-16 September, followed by the Boys U15 & U19 training camp from 15-19 September. With a good feeling in this great training environment, players worked responsibly and with a clear objective: to improve. For this, they trained hard during the 2 daily sessions, starting the morning with service practice followed by a table tennis session, and table tennis, multiball and fitness sessions in the afternoon.

Besides the players’ hard work, the coaches cooperated throughout, with continuous exchanges on views and ideas around their and the other players creating a perfect dynamic.

The players gathering in Portugal for the High Performance Training Camp could maximize their journey by participating in the WTT Youth Star Contender, combining preparation with performance – the main objective of our training camps.

“Between the 15 and 19 of September I had the privilege of taking part in the ITTF Camp related to the WTT Star Contender in Lisbon alongside the Austrian player Julian Rzihauschek.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about the table tennis centre in Villa Nova de Gaia and I could finally verify those rumours personally. Here we have found just very good conditions for a valuable and, from my point of view, high quality practice. The efforts of the ITTF High Perfomance Elite Coach Massimo Constantini, all present coaches and players from Portugal, Spain and Argentina, along with a great understanding with other training camp participants from France, Egypt and Nigeria, have all led to a very fruitful time for the indisputable benefit of participating players. On behalf of Julian Rzihauschek and myself I would like to sincerely thank ITTF and PFTM for this opportunity and looking forward to use such “construction” (training camp prior to WTT Events) also in the future.” Jarek Kołodziejczyk (AUT)

From here, our journey continues: our next destination will be Muscat (OMA) from 3-12 October, followed by Gdansk (POL) from 13-20 October. See you there!

For all details concerning the upcoming training camps, please see our Training Activities Calendar.