Education and professional qualifications of sports experts highest table tennis Serbian league

Abstract

The survey was conducted on a sample of 40 table tennis coaches from the most successful clubs in the Republic of Serbia, including the Super League (10) and the First Division League (10) for men and women (10 + 10). The aim of the research was to (1) determine the coaches' level of qualifications and competence in the 2015/2016 season, and to (2) determine the differences in the level of education and a desire for further improvement. The results indicate that most table-tennis coaches (40.0%) have only completed secondary school education, 50% work in the Women's First Division League, 40% work in the Men's Super League and the First Division League, while 30% work in the Women's Super League. In the higher division clubs we found slightly higher number of coaches with higher levels of education than in the lower division clubs. No major difference was detected in education between the coaches in the Men's First Division League and the Men's Super League, nor for the coaches in Women's Super League and Women's First Division League. The highest percentage of coaches (62.5%) have completed the course for operational coaches, and 15% have no formal sports education. For more than half of the surveyed coaches (57.5%) the coaching is a second job while for 40% is the main job (of which 50% work in the Men's Super League and 40% work in the Women's Super League. The coaches were dissatisfied with their financial compensation (72.5%), while only 27.5% were satisfied . Satisfaction is greater among those working in the Super League (50%) compared to those in Men's First Division League (20%) while the coaches in Women's Super League were more satisfied (30%) compared to the Women's First Division League (10 %). A higher investment in Super League coaches was observed and is probably driven by the higher rang and quality of competition Furthermore, the greater investment in the Men's Super League coaches compared to Women's Super League coaches was observed. The highest percentage of coaches held 5-7 sessions per week devided into two sessions per day. The greatest desire for further improvement was found among coaches who worked in the highest leagues for both men's and women's leagues. There was a greater desire for further improvement and advancement among the Super League coaches compared to the Premier League.