6 players from Greenhouse Schools Tonyrefail and Ferndale combined with 2 from Tonypandy Community Club formed the Welsh side that travelled up to Bristol today for a test match. Filton sports academy has a full time Table Tennis project with players ageing from 17-21 and therefore it was always going to be a tough test of our young squad all still under 15.
The A team of Conor Edwards, Chris Griffiths, Nicole Hall and Jared Parsons found the going tough and lost out 15-1 against 4 top class senior players from the Bristol set up. Conor however produced an unbelievable performance to beat Dan Kolesnik 3-2, Dan is a top class player and ranked in the top 100 in England at senior level. None of the Welsh players were outclassed and there were many close encounters but the experience came through for the Bristol based squad.
The B team of Carys Webster, Naomi James, Steven Fawkes and Liam Winder gave a very good account of themselves and lost out 10-6 overall. All the team managed to pick up a win with Carys and Steve winning 2 out 4 of their matches.
It was a really enjoyable day for the players who I’m sure will only benefit from playing better opposition. Even though we lost, the effort, team spirit and attitude of the whole squad was terrific and they have a great future ahead. Maybe in a few years to come some of them may consider attending Filton College full time to combine studying with Table Tennis training.
Thanks to Bristol Head coach Choi Sze To, for making us welcome and organising the event. We hope to do it again at some point.
Stephen Gertsen
Head Coach- Ferndale Community School