A table tennis coach with
the Abia State Sports Council, Ifeoma Isaac, has stressed the need for grassroots coaches to liaise with school authorities to get authentic information on players.
Isaac told newsmen in Lagos that through such tactics, the issue of age-cheats and other distortions among players would be eradicated in the sport.
“School authorities must have fundamental information on every student on their registers and I believe such records are authentic because they are from their pupils’ parents at the point of entering the schools.
“We must begin to work on our grassroots, especially in the area of the ages of the upcoming players because table tennis is a sport that is being practiced according to age categories.
“For instance, we have three major categories and players are as well grouped according to their specified ages: cadet (0-12 years), junior (12-17 years), and senior, (18 and above),’’ she said.
Isaac said that in the case of competitions, coaches were the intermediaries between the school authorities and the organisers of competitions and that they should not fail in their duty to provide such data.
According to her, some upcoming players don’t know their real ages.
“We sometimes have problems of getting players real ages during competitions and it gives us some problems in grouping them.
“The problem even cuts across coaches, as they do not find it necessary to get the full details of players under their supervision from their schools,’’ Isaac said.
The coach, however, urged school authorities to offer assistance to coaches when they approach them with such requests, saying that it would enhance the development of budding talents.