Maggie Meng

Para Table Tennis

Managing and Supporting Women Coaches to Enable Transitions 

Maggie Meng is currently preparing to step into the role of Head Coach for Table Tennis Australia in early 2025. Meng’s transition has been made possible by tailored support and professional development, to prepare for her new role.

Early Succession Planning is Key to Successful Transitions 

Meng’s transition to head coach began nearly three years ago, after the Tokyo Paralympics.

Current Head Coach for Table Tennis Australia, Alois Rosario, informed General Manager, Sue Stevenson, that he planned to transition out of the role after Paris. Stevenson saw Rosario’s transition as an opportunity to plan ahead and take a closer look at Table Tennis Australia’s succession plan.

“This sort of forced us to look at this,” Stevenson said. “When a head coach retires, what happens? Do we leave that to the last minute after the Paralympic Games and go ‘What are we going to do?’ […] It was a new process we needed to go through.”

Meng, currently the Assistant Coach, was identified as a potential successor for Rosario early on. But Meng was initially hesitant to take on the role. “I’m not from Australia originally. English is not my first language and then the sports culture is also different in Australia,” she explained. “So that’s why I didn’t feel confident and comfortable enough to be a head coach.”

For Meng to confidently step into the role, it was critical that she received tailored support. A dedicated Coach Development Plan was created to support Meng’s individual development needs.

“She was a bit daunted about taking on that role and the opportunity to apply for and receive grant funding in that coach development strategy space gave us an opportunity to implement things and provide support to Maggie as she transitioned into that role,” Stevenson said.

Creating an Individualised Development Plan

To prepare Meng for her transition, a Coach Development Plan was created, tailored to her individual development needs.

Stevenson and Meng worked closely with Michelle De Highden, HP Coach Development Senior Lead at the AIS, to create a Coach Development Strategy. Stevenson was able to apply for funding through the AIS to implement the strategy and received a $20,000 grant. This funding allowed Meng to access professional development training that was tailored to her development plan.

Stevenson used the AIS Coach Profile to identify development areas for Meng. Table Tennis Australia also developed a position description to help further identify what was required for Meng to smoothly transition into the role.

“Once we created that position description and between that and the Coach Profile, that helped us identify the competency gaps for Maggie and helped us then develop her plan,” Stevenson explained. “We needed to really fully understand what a head coach role looks like.”

This process helped the team identify opportunities for Meng to engage with professional development and build her competency. Communication and coach development were key areas identified in Meng’s plan. She worked closely with experts in these areas to develop her skills in preparation for her transition.

Meng worked with Communication Expert, Carol Fox, who helped Meng, “to become a better leader in the team” by building her communications skills and confidence.

“I didn’t know how to communicate or how to work closely or collaborate with other staff. And after two years, I think I have been improving in that area a lot,” Meng said.

“Her [Fox’s] husband worked in China for three years in the sport industry. So she understands what the culture is like [in China] and what the culture here is like,” Meng said.

Because of Fox’s understanding of both sporting worlds, she was able to help Meng bridge any communication gaps. Meng found this incredibly helpful, because it addressed her unique needs.

Also critical to Meng’s development was Coach Development specialist Ash Ross. “He helped me to become a great coach on and off the table,” Meng said.

Ross played a critical role in Meng’s transition. He helped identify development areas for Meng, assisted in creating her individualised plan, and supported her through the transition process. Ross also helped Meng as she commenced her development plan, providing feedback and reflection points for Meng to engage with throughout the process. Meng meets regularly with Ross, who provides feedback on what she’s doing well, as well as areas for improvement and growth.

Meng has found the tailoring of the development plan and sessions incredibly helpful. During the sessions with Fox and Ross, she can focus on the unique development areas she needs the most support with.

As an example, she shares, “Today I wanted to talk about how to maintain a good relationship with the athlete.” This then helped form the focus for her session with Fox.

Meng has also been able to attend the AIS Elevate Coach Program and courses on developing others and stakeholder management.

“Those three main courses helped me a lot to build up my confidence and fill in the gaps I had, like communication, leadership and the sports culture,” Meng said.

Flexible Support Enables Transitions 

In the lead up to Meng’s transition, she was also supported in taking on a new role—that of a first-time mum. The support Meng received during and post-maternity leave was critical in ensuring she could continue on the path to head coach.

“There was big, big support from my team,” Meng said. “They said, no stress, take how long you want in terms of maternity leave.”

While Meng was pregnant, she wasn’t able to attend international tournaments so her team, including Rosario and another event coach, took on her travel responsibilities.

Meng also received support that allowed her to attend the recent Paris Paralympics.

“I actually took my baby and my husband to Paris because Paralympics Australia offered us accommodation,” Meng said. “I was able to feed the baby and then also do my work in the daytime.”

Meng said that the support from Table Tennis Australia gave her the confidence to juggle both her coaching and family commitments.

Addressing the underrepresentation of women in High Performance coaching roles in Australia is a critical issue. Less than 10% of current High Performance coaches are women. Flexible working arrangements and parental leave, play a key role in enabling coaches like Meng to remain in sport. Meng’s story is a testament to this.

Without this support, Meng isn’t sure she would have been able to attend the Paris games or succeed in her transition to head coach. “I think it would be very challenging if I didn’t have that support,” Meng said.

Transitions Are a Team Effort 

The support Meng has received has been critical in helping her prepare for her transition in 2025, developing both her skills and confidence. “I feel really grateful for all the support from everyone. It’s really huge,” Meng said.

Stevenson says starting succession planning conversations early is crucial for ensuring a smooth transition for all members of the team.

“Don’t leave it until after the games to try and start having those conversations because then it’s too late and you’re throwing coaches into the deep end into brand new roles,” said Stevenson.

“Give coaches enough time to transition into a new role, identify gaps in their competencies and allow enough time for the professional development needed.”

Stevenson stresses the importance of taking a team approach to transition planning and coach development. “It’s a whole team, everybody working together to support the professional development of that coach,” she said.

Meng agrees, “Everyone’s involved in this.”

As Meng prepares for her transition next year, she says that the support she’s received has strengthened her confidence. “The support is really positive and helped me to transition very smoothly. Otherwise, I would not have had the confidence to do that.”

“I feel really honoured and lucky to be part of this team.”