Well done all younger players in the county who recently attended Under 13 training at BATTS. Stuart Gibbs (ECTTA Coaching & Development Officer) was impressed by the commitment and effort shown by everyone. We would also like to thank our coaches for the day, namely Martin Cole, Josh Dye and Graham Frankel. Thanks also go to Mel Jones of Rawreth Juniors TTC for help in administration and ensuring that training sessions run smoothly.

Please note that training dates for the remainder of the summer are as follows:

Sunday, 18th May: Essex Junior Development Squad (10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.)

Sunday, 1st June: Essex Under 13 Training Group (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.)

Sunday, 6th July: Essex Junior Development Squad (10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.)

There will be no training sessions in August. All training sessions will take place at BATTS Table Tennis Club & Sports Centre, Harlow (http://www.batts.org.uk/). We are grateful to the trustees of BATTS for their generous support in providing a venue for our training sessions. An email will be forwarded to all Essex Junior development Squad and Essex U13 Training Group members to remind them about these training sessions. We are aware that our player database requires an update, an exercise that will be undertaken at the start of the new playing season. If any club coaches believe that a member of their club has been omitted from the circulation list, we should be grateful fi they would contact either Simon Lowman (simon.lowman@btinternet.com) or Stuart Gibbs (stuart.gibbs12@sky.com) by email.

We look forward to seeing you all at the three remaining training sessions.

All players should note that the Essex Junior Trials will take place at BATTS on Saturday, 27th September and Sunday, 28th September. The procedure for determining county junior ranking for 2014-2015 and subsequent seasons in currently under review and information will be published prior to the trials taking place. While county rankings are not determined solely by performance in the trials, they are an important factor in determining a young player’s ability. In future seasons, greater commitment to participation in the Essex Junior Trials will be expected and young players will be expected to take part in this event if they wish to secure a county junior ranking or be considered for selection for one of the county cadet or junior teams.

We are delighted to inform our young players that a new Performance Squad will be established in September this year. This squad will target a smaller number of players likely to be selected to represent Essex in the ETTA Junior Inter County competition. This new squad will be coached by Stuart Gibbs. Stuart will be focusing on match play techniques and we are sure that those players invited to join this squad will benefit from his experience of playing our sport at international level.