After two cancellations, 16 enthusiastic girls and women players from 7 different clubs gathered for a camp organized by MBF and PTS Sherwood in Karjaa on April 5-6.
The coaches were experienced and knowledgeable coaches Katja Kohonen and Johan Kratz. The players were divided into two groups, beginners and advanced. Each group had two training sessions on both days.
In addition to the training, the main focus was on relaxation, fun and togetherness. The girls were happy to be able to spend time together in addition to training. For the first time, the participants were able to adapt well and enjoy the team spirit.
During training, the focus was on sauna bathing, swimming, playing cards and board games, listening to music, "playing chess", pizza night, night ping-pong, glow ball ping-pong, ping-pong played with various equipment (e.g. shoe, water bottle, scoreboard, pillow, soft toy, mini bat, monkey statue 🙂 etc.), billiards and having fun.
Each training session was preceded by a warm-up. The sessions included useful pattern Coaching, serving Coaching, ball box training, and also playing sets and games. Sunday morning began with a joint warm-up of the two groups led by Katja, followed by a doubles session, where each player in the beginner group received a pair from the advanced group and the winner's table was played.
The players trained hard and very diligently and focused throughout the weekend. Coach Katja Kohonen stated this as follows:
"I'm really grateful when Mika Räsänen called me in the winter and asked if I was interested in becoming a coach for the youth camp organized by MBF. In recent years, I have only coached in Kuopio.
It was wonderful to see how Finnish girls' table tennis has clearly progressed and we have young athletes with a very good attitude. It was nice to collaborate with Johan, MBF and of course the players at the camp.”
The feedback was positive and similar camps are hoped for in the future. The weekend not only strengthened the players' technical and playing skills, but also played a significant role in strengthening the table tennis community.
