Welcome to the 17th edition of our blog interview series! This week, we’re excited to present an insightful conversation with Josias Nayaga, one of the leading young strength and conditioning coaches with the French Table Tennis Federation.
Josias Nayaga
What can youth coaches do to attract and retain kids in table tennis?
In my opinion, there are three crucial points to retain kids in table tennis:
- Entertain Kids: The kids should play! In the beginning, the goal for youth coaches is to help kids discover table tennis and have fun. Table tennis is not the easiest sport, and if you want to develop a good player, they need plenty of practice and repetition. However, when kids start, they’re more interested in playing and having fun than in becoming skilled. If the kids enjoy coming to practice every week, you’ve achieved a significant goal, and they’ll likely bring their friends next year. Therefore, coaches should focus on making sessions entertaining and enjoyable. This is where passion for the sport is nurtured.
- Make Them Progress: This ties into the first point because, while training should be fun, it’s also important to include elements of progression. Long-term motivation often comes from seeing progress. If players spend years without mastering new skills or tricks, they might feel like they’re wasting their time. Just as in music, where you want to improve and learn new songs, progress in sports is crucial. Different players have different goals: some are there for fun, while others are driven by the desire to improve. To retain these players, it’s important to cater to their need for progression.
- Build a Group: While individual sports like table tennis might not seem group-oriented, having a strong social group is essential for attracting and retaining kids. A growing group of players can attract new members who want to join and experience the camaraderie. Additionally, as players develop, some will become very skilled while others may progress more slowly. If there’s a strong group of friends, players are more likely to stay connected to the sport and their friends, even if their individual progress slows down. Without these social connections, it’s harder to retain players during periods of slower development.
Why is it important for young table tennis players to start developing their motor abilities (such as coordination, speed, agility, strength, and explosiveness) from an early age?
You can consider this question from both a performance and health perspective. From a performance standpoint, it is simple. Motor abilities are essential for succeeding in sports, especially in high-performance sports. However, if you focus only on the specific sport, you train only those specific abilities. Over time, this can limit progress. On the other hand, if you start early to develop these qualities, you help your brain and body create new pathways, new possibilities for movement, and new responses to information. This will lead to better health for the players because they will have improved body control, balance, and overall body usage. Before becoming table tennis players, kids should be athletes!
For daily life, this is even more important for health. These abilities can help maintain better health after adolescence, and this is highly valuable!
Are there specific windows of opportunity (sensitive years) when certain motor abilities are better developed compared to other ages?
I would say that the earlier you train motor abilities, the better it will be!
Coordination can be developed starting around age 6, or even earlier depending on the child's development. Speed development can begin around ages 6-7 and continue until about 15-16. This period is crucial because, after these windows, it becomes more challenging to make significant improvements in these qualities, and it will generally take more time. Remember that there are different types of speed (such as frequency, reactivity, and gesture speed), so a variety of drills should be used to train them.
For strength, you can start teaching posture and technique early, around ages 11-12, and progressively introduce weight training around age 15. This timing can vary depending on the child’s puberty and, most importantly, their lifting technique.
Do you have a progression plan for developing the reaction speed of young table tennis players? At what age should decision-making skills be incorporated into this development?
Reaction speed and decision-making skills should be worked on early, starting around ages 6 or 7.
A structured progression plan is essential, typically moving from simpler to more complex tasks. For reaction speed, you can begin with basic speed reactions, such as responding to a visual or auditory cue (e.g., sprinting when the coach claps). As players advance, introduce more complex reactions, such as differentiating between multiple cues (e.g., if the coach claps twice, go left; if the coach claps three times, go right). This progression should be adjusted based on the players' success, ensuring that the tasks are neither too difficult nor too easy.
How should footwork be trained, and at what age should it become more sport-specific?
Footwork should initially focus on helping young players use their lower body effectively. This includes developing an awareness of their feet, moving quickly while staying low, performing unipodal movements, and maintaining balance during direction changes. Young players need to practice sprinting, jumping, decelerating, and other general abilities required in sports.
Sport-specific footwork training can become more emphasized around ages 16-17. While it is not necessary to focus extensively on sport-specific footwork before this age, foundational skills should be well-developed. Mastering the basics will enable players to excel in sport-specific movements later on, making it easier to fully utilize their capabilities. Don’t neglect the basics!
Is there a place for plyometric training for young table tennis players? What training loads would you advise?
Plyometric training can be very useful for developing power and explosiveness in young players. However, peak growth periods are not ideal for intense plyometric training. It is recommended to incorporate plyometrics before and after these growth spurts, with a focus on progressive training. Begin with foundational exercises like learning how to land, then progress to jumping, and eventually to more advanced rebound techniques. The training load should be gradually increased to match the player's development. With proper progression, plyometric training can yield significant results.
At what age do you incorporate mental skills training, and how does it improve the performance of young table tennis players?
The timing of mental skills training is less about age and more about the point when players start competing. Once players begin competing, incorporating mental skills training is essential. Sport is highly mental, and competition in table tennis (or any sport) involves trying to win against an opponent. Young players need to quickly understand that it’s not just about their personal performance (e.g., "I played badly today" or "I don’t feel the ball") but about finding solutions to win matches. Early mental skills training helps players give their best in matches and builds a culture where they view each match as a new challenge rather than feeling pressured. This can be a game changer, as starting early creates a culture in the club where players are prepared to face competitive situations confidently.
What changes are needed in the development of young table tennis players so that they can eventually compete on equal grounds with Chinese players?
Very simple, this is the sum-up of all questions!
- We should start mental training very early and not wait until players fail to begin working on mental skills (that’s too late)!
- We should focus on developing athletes, not just table tennis players. This will enhance their overall performance when they become adults.
- Learn general footwork and physical training early to establish a strong foundation.
- We should entertain them because this generation needs engagement! They thrive on screens and social media, and we need to adapt. Table tennis is a game, and if they love this game, they will invest their energy and time to become better players and, maybe one day, compete effectively against Chinese players.
- Lastly, we should not be afraid to try new things. We may find comfort in following what others do, but that’s not necessarily the path to success. Champions often create their own paths. If we try to mimic the Chinese system, we will never surpass them; their system works for them. We should understand what is important to excel and then develop a unique approach that fits our own context to outperform them.
As a testament to the high quality of training and development of young table tennis players in France, brothers Felix and Alex Lebrun won a bronze medal in the men's team event, and 17-year-old Felix also earned a bronze medal in the men's singles event at the recent 2024 Olympics in Paris.
