Science, technology and working with data has been a growing area within modern sport in the last decades. In order to meet the demands and requirements of professional sport, many sports have placed great emphasis on working with data for the purpose of increasing the evidence-based, data-driven approach.

Data science and the involvement of technology contain several areas such as: result and match analysis; development tools and methods; physical and mental data collection and analysis. All of these help the coaches and sport leaders to gather insights on the athletes’ performance as they aim to maximise their players potential.

The sport of table tennis was rather late with the inclusion of science and modern technologies, however, in recent years players, coaches, clubs and federations have started to grasp the importance of this data. Table tennis is one of the most complex sports in the world, requiring the use of various skills and attributes while also being an extremely technical and mentally demanding sport.

It can be stated that working with data and clear information is one of the keys for future successes, all starting from youth development. Recently, a digital table tennis tool, Spinsight has been introduced to the table tennis community. The compass Foundation has been fortunate to be able to work very closely with the Spinsight method and a Spinsight expert to detect the table tennis skills of young players and offer a great development tool to advance their games with a clear purpose.

Players joining compass will undergo various tests to gather data on their strokes and technical level while coaches receive extended introduction and knowledge of their method. This highlights the importance of involving data analysis in the preparation and development of the players. As an advanced step, the supported players have the opportunity to work regularly with Spinsight with clear goal setting and feedback on their improvements.

compass aims to work with Spinsight at an early age in order to start the process and education of digital table tennis. Meeting the requirements of high-level table tennis, we believe that it is essential to involve Spinsight and the evidence-based approach into the daily work of the talents.

Science has found that there is an optimal learning age for motor development, which depends on both sensorimotor skills and the interaction of the sensory organs with the motor systems.

Movement learning takes place particularly well in early childhood, since the conditions for synapses (connections of nerve cells) are optimal at the age of  2 – 8 years old and the interconnection of many brain cells can take place, which are later necessary for cognitive performance.

New stimuli and repetition lead to the formation of new synapses between nerve cells. However, a large number of synapses are lost if they are not stimulated frequently during the best learning period. From as early as 9 – 10 years of age, the brain’s plasticity (malleability, ability to change) reduces dramatically so learning new movement sequences or changing automated ones becomes more difficult from year to year.

Jochen Leiß, chairman of the compass board said: “Table tennis is complex and requires a lot of repetition already at a young age as the sport is considered to be an early-specialisation sport. Therefore, there is a great importance to young players receiving the proper information so they can learn the right techniques during the most adaptive learning years. Good technical skills will significantly increase the chance of becoming a top level table tennis player.”

The mental preparation of elite athletes is of growing importance worldwide and as a result, this scientific field is developing dynamically. Table tennis is a very complex sport where mental and physiological aspects are key to success. Alongside this, we have been witnessing an increased amount of stress and expectations on the young athletes as well as growing pressure on parents and coaches to provide the appropriate mental support for the talents.

Dániel Zwickl, Managing Director of compass: “We believe that the mental, emotional and psychological support and continuous assistance for talents and their ecosystem, will gain increased importance in regards to the well-being of athletes and their entourage. This is why we are committed to doing further research and making a continued effort to provide the best possible support for our players.”

In the upcoming years, compass will strive to add further science-based technologies and methods when it comes to the compass development programme and the compass scouting and selection system. We are dedicated to advancing in this field and being an advocate in youth talent development in table tennis.