Adina Maria Cuchirita
Member of the Quebec team and the national team of Canada
Adina plays with Donic Bluestorm Z1 (2.1mm) for both forehand and backhand
Adina Maria Cuchirita, one of our sponsored athletes, recently took part in an intensive training camp in France. She trained at CREPS Boulouris in France from January 9 to 24, 2019, as well as in a club in the same location. She was trained by 2 coaches: Eric Angles and Anthony Geminiani. Eric is the father of the French player Enzo Angles. Her internship was organized by Quentin Scaglia, head coach of Club Prestige (Montreal, Qc, Canada).
The Creps de Boulouris training room in France
Adina trained with the CREPS sport-studies program in the afternoon, had individual training sessions with a coach in the morning as well as with the city’s adult club in the evenings. She regularly trained 3 times a day. Aside from that, she was working on physical conditioning or active recovery.
CREPS fitness room
Some remarks from Adina following her visit to Boulouris
“The environment was amazing and the facilities were really great for high level athletes, they have a very big room with lots of space, all kinds of equipment for physical training (skipping rope, trampoline, hoops, cones, tennis balls, steps, etc.) and good training equipment (lots of balls, good tables, etc.) ”
“I’ve also learned that high performance is very meticulous – seeing for myself the importance of every detail during training, as well as outside of the training room, makes me aware of the full meaning of being an athlete 24/7… ”
“To sum up, this internship really stood out in unexpected ways, both their different approach towards table tennis and the vision they gave me of high performance training.
Boulouris in France
Already, the discipline is quite different in this room where there is no in-between at this level of professionalism and intensity. I see that despite all that I thought of my own discipline, I still have some ways to go as an athlete. Many habits must disappear and even more must settle into my daily life.
As for the coaching itself, I come back from France with even more things to improve and in different ways. I have to break down each stroke, each movement, in order to take the time to feel everything in my body and master it as much as possible to move onto the next step. It can also be viewed as another way to address my personal goals and accomplish them.
I also see the level of physical preparation work that is required, how important it is to work on strengthening and various physically demanding exercises to get me to the next level. Of course, this implies recovery time, that should not be neglected, following each practice.
Finally and quite literally, everything that we do throughout the day, from the very start of the day until the lights go off at night, plays a huge role in our personal development and taking this into consideration, I now have a very different vision of high performance.”
Adina at the US Open 2019
Adina uses Donic Bluestrom Z1 2.1mm for both forehand and backhand. Here is what she has to say:
The Bluestorm Z1 allows me to quickly move from a quick counterattack at the table to an all-round game that includes mid-distance play, side spins and even lobs.
As for playing at the table, my top spins bounces are more regular and effective as well as my active blocks on the backhand.
Midway, I can more easily top spin with control or power depending on the tactical situation. My side-spins have better trajectories and I can even lob or chop effectively when needed.
My short game, my serves and my returns are very effective. At the serve level, they have more effect and create more confusion for my opponents. My short game is more precise easier to control and are more effective with the Bluestorm. My banana flips have more curve, more effect and are really more annoying for my opponents.
I highly recommend the Donic Bluestorm, especially the Z1.
BLOG 