William Henzell #2 Interview

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Original content and more at http://matthetherington.blogspot.com

Henzell On The Home Stretch to Olympic Qualifiers

Having been training in Austria and playing league and international pro tour and world events, I thought it was time to ask Oceania Champion, William Henzell, a few more questions about his time in Austria. Of course he has been working hard to produce top quality videos covering his time spent adapting back to professional level full time training at the Werner Schlager Academy. Those videos can be found at his youtube channel tabletennisedge. Thanks for a second interview and great feedback!



How long have you been in Austria now, training at the Werner Schlager Academy?

I’ve been here for almost 5 months, since September.

You said upon arriving there that it was among the best training facilities you had ever trained in. Tell us a little more about the facility itself and what makes it such a fantastic training centre.

The playing conditions are basically perfect with good lighting, climate controlled, Gerflor table tennis flooring, good tables and balls. The people involved in running the place have been the best part. It’s been a privilege to have coaches like Richard Prause, Dirk Wagner and Mario Amazic working on and caring about my game. They have collectively been responsible for the development of a third of the top 20 players in the World so I’m very lucky.

William_Henzell_460x300.jpg

Image from the AOC


In terms of training, do you think the WSA is the central hub which Europe really needs to be developing and utilising more in order to compete with China and other asian countries?

Sure it can be a very important part but there are many parts that will need to work. More kids coming into the sport and better grass roots coaches are important as well.

Many of your videos have shown a focus on physical training and gym sessions. We have all noticed a great increase in strength and agility. How vital do you feel those sessions have been in improving your standard of play and how much time in each week are you spending on physical maintenance and improvement?

My movement has improved and I am able to stabilise my body much better when moving. I believe it’s very important for further progression and improvement. However it can take time to adjust to having extra strength and work in with other parts of your game.

The amount of time is between 3 to 5 hours per week depending on my schedule and what competition matches I have coming up.

You competed in some ITTF pro tour events and also major world events, the Intercontinental Cup and the World Team Cup. Obviously the Intercontinental Cup was quite a disappointment for you, to have come so close to victory. Are your feelings towards that event still negative or in retrospect has there been a more positive spin on the event?

I’ve won and lost so many matches over so many years that there are very few matches that stick in my mind for too long. There is always something new to focus on and to aim for. Qualifying for the Olympics has remained my focus here.

In just over a month you will compete in the Oceania Olympic Qualification Event, Olympic Qualification is basically everything you have worked for in the last year. Do you feel you have worked hard enough to have a certain level of confidence in qualifying over the other Oceania contenders?

I don’t think I could have done much more over the past 6 months to be prepared for the qualifying. It will count for a lot and at the same time for nothing at 0-0 in my first match qualifying match though. I just have to trust and believe that I’ve been doing the right things and that it will pay off when it counts the most.

You have had the opportunity to train with some amazing international players at WSA, who has been your most valuable training partner and who was your favourite to have the opportunity to train with?

I’ve trained with so many different players at WSA and very rarely with the same player twice in a week. The session with Smirnov was fun as are the sessions I’ve done with Joao Monteiro. They have such a good contact on the ball for their shots and it’s the next level up in intensity and quality. I had some great sessions with Bobocica over Christmas and New Year when all the other players and coaches were away. I think we had 3 or 4 practice matches in a row that ended up with 2 points difference in the deciding set. I’m very pleased for him that he played so well in Hungary (round of 16) and Slovenia (quarter-final). He works so hard and deserves it.

William's Journey #12

I think though most of our sights are gazing towards the Olympics, some of us may be interested in a future outlook. You gave up your job to train for this prestigious event. The lifestyle is taxing on your body as you have mentioned. Have you thought about what you will do after the Olympic Games are over?

I’m not sure yet. Professional table tennis is not easy however neither is a full-time desk job. I’ve spent almost half my life in Europe (going on 13 years in total) and I have really enjoyed being back home in Australia for the past few years.

You have produced now 13 videos following your journey. What has the feedback been like? How long do the videos take you to produce and is it something you will look to again in the future possibly?

There have been 13 video diary entries on youtube and 10 – 15 technical videos on my coaching website ttEDGE.com that have been based on my experiences here. The feedback has been better than I could have hoped for and I feel that people have really appreciated getting an insight into what life is like as a professional table tennis player. What kind of things you work on, the challenges you face and how many ups and downs there are along the way.

I hope to be continuing the series up until the Olympics in July however it will kind of lose its shine I don’t qualify for the Olympic team!! I’ll be continuing to make videos for ttEDGE and we are nearing 100 videos on there now.

Video editing is more time consuming than you could possibly imagine and a 5 minute video can easily take 5 hours to complete if you put the effort in.

Final Question

What is your highlight from your time overseas so far?

My highlight was the one-on-one session I did with Richard Prause, who was German national coach for a number of years, leading the team to Olympic and World Championships medals. I had one of the best coaches in the world working on my game as well as 2003 World Champion Werner Schlager sitting next to the court offering his 2 cents worth. It doesn’t get much better than that.

William's Journey #13
 

Dan

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Dan

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This is a fantastic interview! Love the way William appreciates every minute of tips he gets from experienced coaches. This is important in improvement... to take the best from what you hear.. I also love the way he is so motivated, he will achieve his goals no doubt about it!. Looking forward to Williams progress and future vids :)

Thanks Matt
 
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No worries, yes it's always a pleasure interviewing William he really is a top guy. I first met him in person after the first interview I did with him, we were on the same plane from Melbourne to Hobart going to the Australian Open and the seat next to him was empty so I went down to have a chat about all things table tennis! :p I hope he gets what he deserves, a place in the Olympics and for a NZer to say that really means something because our players are competing for that spot haha
 
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You're so right Matt, he shouldn't even have to go for the trials. Not that he will have any troubles getting a place for the Olympics. Just go along with his world ranking. Only the remaining places have to be determined through the trials. Focussing more on the youngsters.

Btw, great interview mate, as usual....:)
 

Dan

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No worries, yes it's always a pleasure interviewing William he really is a top guy. I first met him in person after the first interview I did with him, we were on the same plane from Melbourne to Hobart going to the Australian Open and the seat next to him was empty so I went down to have a chat about all things table tennis! :p I hope he gets what he deserves, a place in the Olympics and for a NZer to say that really means something because our players are competing for that spot haha

Aha whats the odds of that lol! Must of been a great experience :)

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 using tapatalk
 
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Of course, I spoke to him a few more times during the competition, unfortunately he was feeling very under the weather so it was mainly asking how he was feeling today/ was he going to play etc. Very much look forward to next time though, perhaps I will look at attending the Qualification tournament to watch the matches :p we will see
 

Dan

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Dan

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Of course, I spoke to him a few more times during the competition, unfortunately he was feeling very under the weather so it was mainly asking how he was feeling today/ was he going to play etc. Very much look forward to next time though, perhaps I will look at attending the Qualification tournament to watch the matches :p we will see

Aha yeah they will be awesome! 2012 Olympics is exciting, I hope he makes it, im sure he will :)
 
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I met William at the Werner Shlager academy on his last day before he and his partner were due to fly back to Oz... Thank you William, for taking the time to talk to me, after my coach set it up - it was an honour and a pleasure - both you and your partner are absolutely top, top people - I hope you had a great flight, and I for one, will keep my fingers crossed for you and making a lot of noise for you in London!!!
 
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