ACT’s Sam Miller mentored by the world’s best through ITTF Mentorship Program

Four-time Table Tennis Australia (TTA) Young Official of the Year Award recipient, Sam Miller, recently had the chance to further develop his skills and learn from the world’s top match officials during the ITTF Virtual Mentorship Program. 

The ITTF Virtual Mentorship Program was established by the International Table Tennis Federation in July 2021 to support promising and talented coaches and match officials by enhancing their knowledge and skills.

With more than 160 expressions of interest from across Africa, Asia, the Americans and Oceania, there was an overwhelming number of applications. Miller was one of 42 mentees to be accepted into the Program that saw him learn from experienced and respected experts over a four-month-long mentoring experience. 

After finding out he had been selected for the Program, Miller said he felt fortunate to be one of a limited number of mentees to take part in an extremely valuable experience.

“I had the opportunity to connect with international umpires in both Asia and Europe and discuss the rules and regulations and how they apply to match situations, particularly in situations where an umpire has to think on their feet quickly to make the best possible decision,” Miller explained. 

“I considered myself extremely fortunate to be able to share my experiences with my mentor Roman Klecker from the Czech Republic and fellow mentee Xiaorui Zhu from China and compare how tournaments in different regions of the world are officiated.

“As a result of completing the Program I have established a great working relationship with my mentor and fellow mentees and we were sad when the Program had concluded.” 

The Virtual Mentorship Program consisted of three phases with mentor and mentee working closely together. There were also theoretical online sessions at the beginning of each month along with monthly assignments.

One of Miller’s biggest takeaways from the experience was acknowledging that as an umpire he will be continuously learning how to apply the rules in match situations and the importance of clear communication with players, coaches and your assistant umpire to manage a match effectively. 

“The Program enabled me to feel comfortable to ask questions, participate in open discussions and provide honest feedback and how possible rule changes could be introduced for the betterment of the sport,” explained Miller.

With this experience under his belt, he hopes to be better at receiving feedback and advice so he can continue to improve his skills and abilities.   

“I have learnt that as an official, we cannot always achieve or expect to reach perfection. We should always try our best, be open to and absorb feedback, advice, reflect and learn from previous experiences, both good and bad,” Miller said.
 
Going forward, Miller has plans to continue his development and work towards becoming a National Referee. 
 
“From there I would be aiming to travel overseas where possible and officiate at International competitions, the pinnacle would be the World Championships and Olympics/Paralympics,” he said.