The Outreach Development Program

Officially, this is my first opportunity to thank each and every one of you who voted in favor of my re-election as Vice President of the USATT Board of Directors (BOD). To those who did not, I hope to gain your confidence and respect during my tenure in the years to come.

The USATT Board of Directors is made up of 13 individuals, and while we are all dedicated to the development of Table Tennis in the United States in one way or another, there are certain realities that must be addressed and taken into serious consideration. The realities of which I speak are the Key Components and Ingredients for success, which are being noted here, along with some recommendations on how to approach planning to achieve them on the State and Local level.

Competency Connection

The following represent links in the Competency Connection that we need to establish in good harmony with our membership: Communication, Teamwork, Vision, Empowering Others, Planning and Organizing, Building Trust and Leadership.

In my observation to date, the USATT (we) have made good inroads with international organizations and good relationships are already in place with the ITTF, The Latin American Table Tennis Union and the Chinese Table Tennis Association. They have all shown a willingness and desire to cooperate fully with USATT and given that there is enormous potential for the sport of Table Tennis in the United States, the days ahead should be viewed as exciting times filled with opportunity.

While I am aware that the budget is the single most important factor, there is, however, one ingredient of significant importance to our strategic and development planning that’s missing from the above list: Volunteers.

Volunteers

We must now focus our attention on our infrastructure and Volunteers are an essential group in any sport. The administration of any national governing body depends on cooperation between the elected board, salaried staff and volunteers. The roles of each must be clearly defined and established as part of a comprehensive organizational plan. All major sporting events rely on the services of volunteers and we are no exception. We are now reaching out to you and relying heavily on you to come forward and volunteer your services. So please, do not simply ask what the Board can do for you, the time has come for you to ask what you can do to help USATT, the sport of Table Tennis and yourself in the process. My friends, we are in dire need of Volunteers and if we are to grow and succeed I am proposing to generate, through this article, greater participation by appealing to our members to volunteer for whatever function and in whatever capacity you feel most comfortable. Your services are needed and appreciated so please assist by joining forces with us so that together we can proceed with our strategic development plans.

The following categories represent some Programs in our strategic plan that will allow us to create a market for table tennis. Our number one priority is Membership growth through Grassroots development, which incorporates such youth organizations as Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs, YMCA’s, YWCA’s, Police Athletic Leagues and Municipal Community Centers. Some advantages associated with these organizations are that they all have facilities that can provide a table tennis environment. They all have staff and volunteers that can be trained to teach table tennis. They have youth and seniors. They can provide the best players of one youth center an opportunity to play others as the competition moves from area to region to state.

Through our Volunteer service and Competency Connection, more outreach programs such as State Associations, Regionalizing and Leagues can flourish and function more efficiently.

I know for a fact that there are many isolated cases involving individuals throughout the USA that account for something beneficial towards helping with the development process and we need to know who you are and where you are and what it is that you are doing so that we may be of assistance in some way. With this information we can incorporate you into our system. We need to establish a special network of these volunteers so that we can be united in our efforts and not continue to operate as individuals.

Long-Term Goals

Presently, throughout the USA we are blessed with a number of exceptionally talented young players, both boys and girls, who in my opinion represent the future of American Table Tennis. I am very optimistic that the 2012 Olympic Games will be held in the United States and that New York will be the host State for the Games, and therefore the most logical conclusion I can envision for our long-term goal should be for the year 2012.

The success of such a program, however, is dependent on many factors. The development and preparation of international athletes is a long and expensive process. But we must find a way. One of our greatest fears is how to hold onto our athletes once they reach the age for attending college. We must generate more and more scholarship programs as incentives within the school system. It is unrealistic to compete in the international arena without adequate preparation. To achieve this level of performance requires top-level training camps with top-level coaches, top-level practice partners with year-round exposure to top-level competition, both at home and abroad.

In conclusion, when reading this report, if you have other strategies for either State or Local efforts related to a Component or Ingredient, please forward comments to chiefghb@yahoo.com Thank you.