Bailey is on a mission

Technical Director of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Table Tennis Association (SVGTTA) Khalique Bailey is on a mission to give the sport renewed energy, by getting more persons involved.{{more}}

On Bailey’s agenda for the next six months is a plan to develop a Grassroots Table Tennis programme for youths across St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Fresh from an International Coaching Enrichment Certificate Programme in the USA, Bailey is mandated to develop such a programme, for his thesis, leading to his certification.

Bailey made this known, Wednesday, November 24, at a press conference held at Olympic House, Lower Kingstown Park.

He said: “This involves basically working together with the Ministries of Education and Sports, through their Physical Education teachers, to become certified, as novice table tennis instructors; ensuring that they are equipped to teach young persons in the communities, schools, organizations, etc, the basics of table tennis.”

Bailey is hopeful that at the end of the project there will be increased youth participation in table tennis. He is also hoping to identify a cadre of instructors and coaches and stage a pilot table tennis competition for beginners.

The Table Tennis Technical Director also wants to see at the end of the project and beyond, greater media coverage of the sport and full participation of at least six schools.

“At the end of it, I want to see participation of about 120 participants,” Bailey said.

Bailey explained that as a means of achieving his objectives, he is hoping to utilize the existing certified level One Table Tennis coaches and other existing structural frameworks.

The Technical Director, additionally, has plans to select emerging talents for future high-level training.

Bailey, the second Vincentian to attend the international high-level programme, said it was a great experience for him to be able to gather information and put what he has learnt during the six-week period into practice.

Before him, Rosmund Griffith was the first to attend such a high-level intensive course, where she dealt with track and field athletics.

During his six-week stint, Bailey spent the first two weeks at the University of Delaware, and the second fortnight in the company of elite tennis players and coaches.

Bailey was also assigned to two of the US top Under-14 female players, who are preparing for the World Championships next month.

The final two weeks was spent at the US Olympic Training Center at Colorado Springs in Colorado.

Bailey was exposed to various sports development training, sports management, sports injury and prevention, sports psychology and physiology, among other areas of instruction.

He will be travelling next year to Lausanne, Switzerland, to defend his thesis in May, and if successful, will pave the way for implementation of his activities. (RT)