For the first time in more than three decades, Segun Toriola will not be competing as an athlete at an African Games, the 13th edition of which comes up in Accra, Ghana this year. Rather, the seven-time Olympian would play a new role at the Games as he leads the technical crew of the Nigerian table tennis team to the multi-sports fiesta. Toriola’s record as the first and only player to win the men’s singles title at the African Games for four consecutive times – 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 – is not under any challenge at the upcoming fiesta. What is at stake is how Toriola would manage his transition from a star table tennis player to a successful coach of the sport. In this encounter with SPORTSAFRICANA.COM, the Paris-based legend admits to the huge task before him, having been brought in by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) to chart a new path forward for Nigerian table tennis following the retirement of erstwhile National Coach, Nosiru Bello, late last year.
While his sterling achievements in the game are indisputable, Segun Toriola’s appointment as the acting national table tennis coach by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) received mixed reactions from stakeholders. Some queried his coaching credentials. Others insisted he has what it takes to paddle the canoe as the national coach.
But is the legendary player surprised that his country has turned to him at this point in time to carry on the table tennis torch as national coach?
“I’m not suprised at all with my appointment as the acting national coach because I know that the NTTF wants the sport to develop,” Toriola told SPORTSAFRICANA.COM.
“The best option to improve table tennis in Nigeria is probably through me, having played to the top and being conversant with the modern game in all its ramifications. I’m not suprised because I have the experience and I understand the sport” he adds.
Toriola’s playing exploits in table tennis are well known. What is there to be seen is how he proves himself as the gaffer calling the shots off the table, from outside the quadrangle where his charges do battle.
“I’m bringing a lot on board as a coach,” he says. “For example, how to develop the game and improve the players, especially the young players. Right now, we need to work hard on the young players. We need to recreate the old days when Nigeria produced a lot of young players, especially in the female category. Right now, that’s the strategy I want to follow. We are going to introduce a lot to the players, to the federation for the improvement of the game in Nigeria.”
Specifically, Toriola identifies structural reform as a necessary step to take in order to raise the level of the game in the country.
“The first missing link we probably have is the structure,” he states. We need a very good structure if we want to improve. We need good plans to help the players and coaches to improve,” he stresses.
However, Toriola is aware that implementing his vision for Nigeria’s table tennis would meet several challenges: “With the situation on ground right now, I know it is not going to be easy. But I believe that I should be able to do it because of my experience in the sport.
“I’m hoping to get the needed support from the federation to ensure we put in place good plans and structure. Fortunately for me, all the members of the federation are ready to support. I know it is not going to be easy. Any coach who wants to train players to the world-class level of stars like Quadri Aruna will have to put in the shift; it is not something that comes overnight. It takes time. But we need to start from somewhere. With my experience and understanding of the game, it is going to take some time because we are talking about producing top-class players.
“Table tennis is not a magic sport. We have to work very hard. But with my experience and that of others, the players and the federation will achieve their dreams. Without the support of the federation, it won’t be easy to achieve anything.”
Speaking further on the possible challenges he envisages on the job, Toriola adds: “In terms of challenges, there are many of them. We are really down and we don’t have enough players. This is one of the big challenges I will address.
“Another challenge is funding. We want to work very hard on our plans and build a good structure. But we need funds. We need funds for the young players to be trained. Without funds, it is going to be very hard. We need funds that we can use to train the players. We will need equipment. Funds will also be needed to camp the players for training. Regular training camp is very important because we cannot start camp out of nowhere. For example, they have a training camp for two to three weeks and the next six months there is no camp training, the gap between the first training camp and the next – six months – is too much. So we need funding so that it can help us to give the players excellent, constant training as there is a lot of things the coaches have to do. We should not only take them to the hall and set them up for practice; we also need to guide them to become world-class players.”
Nevertheless, Toriola believes that his long experience as a top player will come in handy as he navigates fresh waters in table tennis from the stands as a coach. “If we are talking about the task and how easy the job will be for me, my experience and understanding of the game will count. Even up till now, I am still playing, so the knowledge I have of the game, the players will easily get it from me. I am going to start from the scratch, which implies that the coach will work very hard and stand for himself. It is not enough for players to be good. They need coaches to support them to improve their game. With the situation of the sport, I need to start from zero. Fortunately for me, I understand the game so it is going to help me,” he says.
Setting priorities for himself, Toriola states: “My first priority is the younger ones, how to improve them because we lack players right now. We have few players and we only have Aruna at the top there.
“We have to think about the future, I mean 10 years from now. For me, I’m already thinking about what happens when Aruna retires. So we need to bring up young players. Watching Aruna playing will raise their spirit and make them want to be like him.”
Toriola’s baptism of fire as the national coach will be at the upcoming 13th African Games, which rightly plays on his mind at the moment: “A lot has been going on in my head about the African Games because this is my first African Games as a coach.
“I have been playing at the African Games since the 1990s. My first outing was in Cairo, Egypt in 1990. I have been winning medals for Nigeria. I won four African Games men’s singles titles in a row. No player in Africa has done that at the African Games.
“The upcoming African Games is a big challenge because it is my first time being there as a coach. If I am to be there as a player, that would have been a different story entirely, which will make me relax. But as a coach for the first time, I want to make the country proud just as I always did when I was there as a player.
“I feel nervous about this African Games being a coach because what I’m thinking is ‘I must make the country proud through my players’. I am looking forward to it and I believe the players are, too. I spoke to some of them and they are eager to burst on the scene and achieve great things. I hope it turns out to be a big success for us.”