A time for decision-making

Right on the heels of the Caribbean Region Table Tennis Federation (CRTTF) Championships in which hosts Jamaica won one individual title and placed third overall, president of the Jamaica Tennis Association (JTTA), Keith Garvey, announced that all its coaches should resign with immediate effect.

Six teams participated in the men's team competition and two in the female, the other Trinidad and Tobago which blanked Jamaica 3-0.

Garvey pointed to the shortcomings of the country's players and timing, among factors contributing to the sudden decision to relieve the coaches of their positions, barely three days after the competition ended.

"I think that now is the best time for decision-making because all the programmes and the year are finished and this allows us to make our assessment on how we are going to move forward for next year," the JTTA president was quoted in a Gleaner report published yesterday.

Technical deficiencies

He also said: "We were not satisfied with all aspects of how things were carried out because one of the things that we noticed was some technical deficiencies that came out and if look at the Under-21 male final and also the team finals, we were up two-love and just couldn't close out the matches.

"We are very serious about producing results because I think for the past 10 years Jamaica have not won any major title at the senior level and what it means now is that we will have to have the right persons pushing juniors, so that in a couple of years, they will produce very well at the seniors."

Nothing is wrong with wanting to chart a proper course of development that will ensure that the sport remains vibrant and players improve to a level that will help them and the country to excel and win championships.

The president 'technical' assessment of the inability to close out matches despite grabbing the lead, appears more of a physical letdown than anything else.

Unless the coaches weren't ensuring that the players were training when they should have, or exercising at a rate that would have made them capable of lasting a match of at least five sets, the finger of blame also points in the direction of the association.

It is the parent body's duty, along with the coaches and technical staff, to develop proper programmes for competitions and improving skills and the game locally, to make its representatives competitive in international championships.

Concerns voiced by talented 15-year-old Yvonne Foster, who emerged Jamaica's only individual CRTTF champion (female Under-21) and coach Clive Grossett in The Gleaner, noted that the competition's timing was off because of the players' participation in the local club league (which takes them around the country), as well as getting the important high-level preparation that comes with playing internationally by way of practice matches.

Club leagues are an important part of any sporting development programme in any country and they also serve as preparation for international tournaments.

However, in a sport where Jamaica's talent is comparatively weak, local competitions alone cannot suitably prepare any set of players or national unit properly for international competition. And it comes with a price.

Garvey noted that Jamaica have not won any major titles in the past 10 years, but the players who were representing the country at that time, the Stephen Hyltons, the Michael Hyatts, etc., were playing regularly in top tournaments not only in the United States, but also in Europe where the players are generally far advanced. And even then, they weren't always winning.

International competition

So to expect Jamaica to just come and dominate a regional championship at this time with Open Singles champions like Kevin Farley of Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago's Rheann Chung, who admit playing a number of tournaments outside their country, is farfetched.

Without even the international competition and in a country with adequate and state-of-the-art fitness equipment readily available, stamina limitations should not be such a decisive factor in the outcome of any contest.

There is work to be done and having identified its goal, the JTTA needs to define a clear path that will not lead to the type of knee-jerk reaction in future, because of the shortcomings of national teams it should have ensured proper preparation.