Takashima: TT Jamaica has four crucial areas to work on

Satoshi Takashima is leaving Jamaica on January 7. With his time as Jamaica's national table tennis coach at an end, he recommends four key upgrades on how the game is developed here. On top of his list is consistent training for young players and an increase in the volume of good coaches.

His suggestions arise from his observations over his two-year stay in Jamaica.

Speaking to The Gleaner on Sunday, Takashima said: "The first point is, we have to train youngsters, for instance Under-15 years old, for a long time in a consistent programme and the second, we need an exclusive venue for the national squad," he said. During his stay here, the national squad trained at Excelsior High School's auditorium and at the Jamaica Theological Seminary.

DEDICATED COACHES

"And third," he listed, "we need more dedicated coaches with good knowledge, and the last one, we need more human resources working with Table Tennis Jamaica (TTJ)."

On the latter item, he noted, "We need more human resources because now TTJ President Mr [Godfrey] Lothian and one lady, only two working full-time, and the other council members, they're volunteers. In other countries, support staff is extensive."

Takashima says his two years in Jamaica have hurried by.

"It took time to understand Jamaican culture, Jamaican players, and the first year, I think I just tried to get to know the players, and also the situation of the table tennis association and the situation of table tennis associations of other countries like Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and their players' standard," he said candidly.

"So, the first year, actually I just tried to learn about, in general, table tennis in Jamaica and then the second year, I got to know the coaches and the players," said the veteran coach who came to Jamaica as part of an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

"I think, for me, I did a much better job compared to the first year," he self-assessed. He however, admitted that he did not see any big development, big change in the standard of the players.

He believes his recommendations will help.

"I think it takes time," he said, "but we have to concentrate on training youngsters. We need more good coaches, also we need more human resources."

During his tenure, he has seen two Caribbean Senior Championships. Those tournaments have left him with a view that the Spanish-speaking territories are in the lead.

"In general, I think Spanish-speaking countries are a little bit ahead (of) English-speaking," he rated. "I think they train hard and players, they're in Europe, playing professionally."

Cuba hosted the 2017 Caribbean Championships at home and dominated, while the Dominican Republic took top spot when Jamaica hosted the tournament in September.

In addition to his national duties, Takashima visited various clubs around the island and conducted coaching courses.