LRC
Liberty Recreation Center
I don’t think much can be changed at
Liberty Rec. Center based on priorities for various sports. They used to allow
tabletennis to have the entire gym for tabletennis on Fridays but obviously it
has to be changed because of need for children having to play basketball &
this is understandable to me since children come first though many tabletennis
players were not happy.
But my
wish list would be to allow coaching sessions between 5 PM & 6 PM on
Tuesdays & Fridays especially for children. This would be free coaching lessons on 4 or so
tables (by coaches registered with Plano rec) to capture students who will be
interested in taking paid one-on-one coaching lessons on the other 4 or so
tables. I know lot of children who play
basketball would be very interested in taking lessons if this is done properly
& strictly in a combination of free lessons to introduce these children to the
formal sport of table tennis in addition to paid lessons for those interested.
The current
coaching model with just one coach in the back room is a complete waste of time
because it does not seem many students are signing up. I am by no means
suggesting that the coach is not qualified. He definitely is qualified. But
all this formality of having to publish it & having very rigid timing does
not seem to me to be the most effective way. If coaching is going to be allowed by Plano Rec.,
then multiple coaches should be allowed to coach at flexible time slots of
their choosing as much as Liberty is willing to allow, without having to
publish it on your quarterly printed publication & digital publication of
various classes. There are many highly
qualified coaches in Plano (and nearby cities) some are former professional level
players including 2 Olympians. If the objective of Plano Rec. is to maximize income
from coaching proceeds, then they should allow more than one coach to run their
own coaching at flexible time slots but of
course within the boundaries of what Liberty Rec. can afford to give for
tabletennis. My opinion is that at least
5PM-6 PM is suitable for this.
From what I
have heard allowing other coaches to coach at Plano rec. is not the issue but
it is a question of where & when
The regular players
who use Liberty Rec. may not like me saying that one hour on Tuesday between 5 &
6 PM must be made available to coach children & beginners but IMO that
sacrifice is worth it if you care about promoting tabletennis among more
children.
Another thing
I noticed about Liberty is Saturday afternoon following Friday night. (Before I further comment let me again thank
the Plano Rec. staff for setting up the tables at TMRC & Liberty….I know from
my past experiences running centers where the players have to do this
themselves, what a hassle this can be
& it is a thankless job).
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