Table Tennis Yukon (TTY) is doing what it can to prepare its Canada Winter Games team.

Ehsan Idrees, Alex Zheng and Kyle Gonder will head to Halifax, N.S., for the 2011 Games in February.

To combat the younger players' lack of match experience, TTY brought in Marles Martin, former national team coach and current development manager for Table Tennis Canada, to hold clinics at Whitehorse Elementary School over the weekend.

"I believe that the potential is here, we just need to keep more and more contacts to make Yukon table tennis stronger and stronger,” Martin said, adding that the level of commitment in training is impressive.

"As a national organization, we have a very positive message we can bring back home, for sure.”

The reason for Martin's visit was three-fold: to hold workshops for coaches, to work with the Canada Winter Games team and to help the younger players in the club improve.

"I can see a lot more development in the way I'm playing,” said Gonder, 13, who was previously an alternate but was named to the Canada Winter Games team in December after other players quit to play another sport.

"(We've been working on) movement and stance and spin technique.

"I'm glad that we have the opportunity to be coached by a person of such a high level.”

Both Gonder and Idrees are 13 years old and will compete in the U19 group at the Games.

The coaching workshops allowed Martin to share information on different certifications with the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) and the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP).

Isolation is a major hurdle to overcome, Martin said when asked what separates Yukon's best with Canada's best.

"When you have a lot of competitions, you have that plan, that design, you're going to see more of the court, you're going to play more, naturally you're going to improve, especially if you have a strong environment,” Martin said.

Canada Winter Games coach Kevin Murphy agreed.

He said the best way to combat the lack of game experience Outside is to call in people like Martin.

"And if it increases one person's level of play here, hopefully that drags another person up to that level,” Murphy said.

"But you got to get Outside and play out there as often as you can. That costs money, so there's got to be some dedication. You can train only so much at your own club level, but unless you see other players, it's a different step.”

Murphy has been going to the Canada Winter Games for table tennis since he was 17 years old, competing twice as a player and coaching most recently at the 2007 Canada Winter Games held in Whitehorse.

"When I was a 17 year old going to the Games, that skill level exists in some of the 13 and 14 year olds nowadays,” Murphy said. "They may be playing players that are two or three years older than them, so it's going to be different levels of experience.”

Murphy's own experience taught him to set realistic expectations, especially given the team's relative inexperience.

"I'd like to see them win some matches that are in their capability – how many of those matches will occur, I'm not sure,” Murphy said.

"You know that perhaps Quebec, Ontario and B.C. are going to be the strong provinces. But you look at some of the other provinces that are probably less populated, maybe less players, and look at trying to set your goal there and win those matches.”

Martin added that Murphy and TTY president Dave Stockdale have prepared them well.

"So if something's missing, it's not because they're lacking something or their plans are not good, it's just because of the circumstance and the structure around the

Yukon area,” Martin said. "But I'm sure that they're going to get there in good shape.”