Head Coach, Ian Ford, was delighted with how the residents applied themselves over the full 90 minutes of the session saying, "They all did really well and showed both mental and physical stamina, and it was great to see how they all improved their skill level as the session progressed."

Colette typified the progress made. She started somewhat hesitantly and reluctantly but once she got in the swing she timed her shots like a seasoned performer and scored lots of points on the target games.

Hilda was a revelation. She had limited forward movement with her arm but was excellent at tracking the path of the ball with the sideways movement of her arm and she also excelled with her ability to balance the ball on the bat. The care staff were delighted to see that Hilda was as enthusiastic at the end of the session as she was at the start.

Veronica and Margaret worked as a pair for much of the session and displayed enough control and poise to suggest that they may have been keeping quiet about previous TT playing careers. Both did particularly well in the last section of the session when they were required to knock over small wooden football figures on the other side of the table to score points for their teams.

Beatrice was the joker in the pack contributing some amusing observations during the session but showing herself to be no mean player when she was in full focus.

Rene too acquitted herself well to the new challenge showing excellent concentration and spirit through the full 90 minutes, indeed a model learner!

At the end of the session the coaches left one of their tables at the home to allow participants to play under their own steam.

The session was witnessed by Ruth Lowry, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Chichester, who is set to advise the deliverers of the Silver Pingers project on how to conduct a formal evaluation of the project's impact.

The coaches will make their next visit to Westlake House in mid February.

Further information from Ian.ford@horsham.gov.uk