Donn Olsen – Coach With over 25 years of participation in table tennis as a player and coach, Donn brings an extensive background to ClubJOOLA. As a coach, Donn approached the discipline by combining formal study of coaching techniques with direct experience at the local, regional, national, and international levels. The formal coaching training includes completing the ITTF International High Performance Coaches’ course in the late 1990’s, participating in coaching clinics in six countries, and in-depth personalized coaching instruction by several internationally recognized coaches, including Stellan Bengtsson, Tickan Carlsson, Michel Gadal, and Henan Li. This extensive one-on-one educational process with these exceptional coaches proved to be of great value to Donn’s professional development. Complementing the formal training process is a broad base of experience in coaching. Donn considers it a great privilege to have coached at the highest level competitions the sport has to offer, including several ITTF Pro Tour events in Europe and South America, the World Championships, and the Latin American Olympic Trials. The most recent international experience was participating as the Head Coach of the Olympic Table Tennis Center in Guayaquil, Ecuador. These experiences have afforded Donn the opportunity to coach several international players, including two Olympians. A point of particular enjoyment and accomplishment was successfully assisting two players to a level of improvement for them to be selected for the U.S. National Paralympic Team. In the U.S., Donn has coached a very large number of players with distinctive backgrounds, from kids just starting out in the game to veterans with decades of playing experience. His approach with each player is to personalize the coaching instruction to the player’s individual needs and objectives. By recognizing their core interest is in improvement, Donn focuses on the areas of their game they most want to develop. By individualizing the approach to each player, the prospects of improvement are significantly enhanced. Donn is pleased to be part of the ClubJOOLA team, and looks forward to contributing to the growth of the club and the development of its players. |