Oshodi reaffirms ITTF Africa’s support for coaches

The President of the African Table Tennis Federation (ITTF Africa), Wahid Enitan Oshodi, has reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to empowering African coaches to compete at the same level as their international counterparts. Speaking during the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF)-organized National Hopes Week, Oshodi stressed the need for coaches to develop alongside their players by […]

The President of the African Table Tennis Federation (ITTF Africa), Wahid Enitan Oshodi, has reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to empowering African coaches to compete at the same level as their international counterparts.

Speaking during the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF)-organized National Hopes Week, Oshodi stressed the need for coaches to develop alongside their players by consistently engaging in training programs and educational courses to deepen their understanding of the sport.

Referencing the recent Level 2 Coaching Course held in Tunisia, Oshodi reiterated that additional opportunities would be made available for coaches dedicated to nurturing the next generation of African stars.

“First of all, you need a pathway. Coaches who participated in last year’s ITTF training camp, which included the Level 1 Coaching Course, are part of this pathway.

“We want to see what the coaches are doing and bring the players they’ve been working with. For me, the main criterion is age. We need these kids playing U-9 and U-10 to develop into top players early. The best players in the world now are U-21, so we can’t do things differently. From what we’ve seen so far, Nigeria is on the right path.”

He went on to highlight the progress being made in Nigeria through initiatives like the NTTF National Hopes Week.

“With NTTF National Hopes Week, we hope to see more talents emerge quickly. We have 30–40 children from all over Nigeria taking part, and the talent pool is much larger than that.”