2003 USATT Coach of the Year Awards

By Tommy Perkins

 At the November USATT Board Meeting, nominations were passed around to select USATT’s National and Developmental Coach of the Year Awards.  The board voted based on nominations submitted and coaching achievements. The results were as follows:  

National Coach of the Year –Teodor Gheorghe, USATT National Women's Coach

Teodor "Doru" Gheorghe coaches Gao Jun at the 2003 Worlds. Gao came within one game of making the semifinals, losing 4-3 in the quarterfinals. Photo by Diego Schaaf, ©2003. 

Teodor “Doru” Gheorghe’s most astounding accomplishments this year was coaching Gao Jun to the quarterfinals (first time since 1959 an American reached the quarterfinals in singles) at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, which placed her in the top 20 in the world and qualified her for the Athens Olympic Games. He also led the National Women’s Team in Santo Domingo at the 2003 Pan Am Games to Gold and Bronze in Singles, and Gold and Silver in Doubles.

Honorable Mention: Sean O’Neill

Developmental Coach of the Year – Mitchell Seidenfeld, USATT Certified Regional Coach

Mitch Seidenfeld carries many titles including Program Director for Table Tennis Minnesota, USATT North Regional Coaching Director, and Midwest Regional Coordinator for the National Schools Program for Table Tennis.  Mitch is responsible for six different Coaching Programs in 2003 that are run on a continuous basis, which include various age groups and playing levels.  Mitch has also coached three Minnesota State Champions, not including the Men’s Singles competition he himself won.  In addition to that, Mitch’s students won numerous medals at the Junior Olympics and Junior Nationals in Detroit, MI, and two medals at the National Senior Olympics in Virginia Beach, VA.

Honorable Mention: Dennis Davis

USATT would like to thank and congratulate the “2003 Coaches of the Year” for their success, outstanding commitment, and support to the sport of Table Tennis and its athletes.  USATT would also like to thank those athletes who took the time to submit nominations for their coaches and the abundance of coaches who voluntarily give their time to share their knowledge of the sport of Table Tennis.