Coach of the Mancelle club STT, Jérôme Surand must now build a team spirit and collective dynamic with players scattered across the globe.
In high-level table tennis, the classic image of the coach present at every session, standing at the edge of the table, is gradually fading. In Le Mans, within the STT club, Jérôme Surand is experiencing this firsthand on a daily basis: part of his squad trains across the four corners of the world, a reality that profoundly changes the nature of his mission.
With players dispersed across several continents, the technician can no longer limit himself to correcting a stroke or adjusting a drill in real time. His work now consists largely of organizing, coordinating and maintaining the link between athletes who do not share the same daily routine or the same training constraints. He is thus moving closer to a managerial role, tasked with setting common objectives and ensuring they are properly carried out.
This evolution also imposes a particular rhythm. Training camps are short, sometimes limited to a few days before a competition. Cohesion, collective dynamics and a shared understanding of the game must then be built in a very short time, without the long stretches that once allowed a team to be gradually forged.
This remote way of working relies on monitoring tools, regular exchanges and great clarity in communication. It also presupposes mutual trust, since a significant share of the work takes place without direct supervision. For the coach, success therefore depends as much on his ability to transmit as on his aptitude for listening and adapting his message to each player.
Beyond the Mancelle case, this testimony illustrates a broader trend in high-level sport, where the globalization of careers and the multiplication of competitions force staffs to rethink their methods. The question remains to what extent this hybrid model will be able to sustainably reconcile collective performance with individual support.
With players dispersed across several continents, the technician can no longer limit himself to correcting a stroke or adjusting a drill in real time. His work now consists largely of organizing, coordinating and maintaining the link between athletes who do not share the same daily routine or the same training constraints. He is thus moving closer to a managerial role, tasked with setting common objectives and ensuring they are properly carried out.
This evolution also imposes a particular rhythm. Training camps are short, sometimes limited to a few days before a competition. Cohesion, collective dynamics and a shared understanding of the game must then be built in a very short time, without the long stretches that once allowed a team to be gradually forged.
This remote way of working relies on monitoring tools, regular exchanges and great clarity in communication. It also presupposes mutual trust, since a significant share of the work takes place without direct supervision. For the coach, success therefore depends as much on his ability to transmit as on his aptitude for listening and adapting his message to each player.
Beyond the Mancelle case, this testimony illustrates a broader trend in high-level sport, where the globalization of careers and the multiplication of competitions force staffs to rethink their methods. The question remains to what extent this hybrid model will be able to sustainably reconcile collective performance with individual support.
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Source: Ouest-France