If you can't get out, bring ‘em in.

Such was Table Tennis Yukon president Dave Stockdale's thinking when he booked former Table Tennis Canada coach Marles Martins to hold clinics at Whitehorse Elementary School starting tomorrow evening.

The sessions start Friday from 7-9 p.m. for the Canada Winter Games boys and continue through Saturday, starting with a coaching clinic from 12-2 p.m., a session for the young group at 2:30-4 p.m. and a second session with the CWG team from 7-10 in the evening. Sunday's sessions start at noon.

Anyone interested in attending the clinics can register at Sport Yukon or by contacting Stockdale at 668-3358 or through e-mail at stockdale@yknet.ca.

Otherwise, Stockdale said anyone interested can drop in Whitehorse Elementary during the scheduled times. The cost for the clinic is $10 per player.

Originally, Stockdale said he wanted Martins to work exclusively with the Canada Games team.

"That was the bottom line for me, was the Canada Winter Games exposure, because we don't get out to tournaments very often here; it's very difficult, there aren't that many to get to. And sometimes, when you go out there, you get into a situation where you get very few games,” Stockdale said.

"It's pretty tough sometimes getting the experience that you need. I thought they should have some serious top-level coaching from somebody who could maybe talk about strategy as well. It's a brand-new experience for all these kids, going to the Games.”

The Games team has changed since TTY held trials last fall.

Brothers Zain and Mustafa Syed chose to represent the territory with the squash team. Alex Zheng, Ehsan Idrees and Kyle Gonder now make up the table tennis team.

"That didn't really upset me, because there's a couple of young guys there that this would be a really fantastic opportunity for them to go and see this and really hook them into the game,” Stockdale said.

Martins' visit will also be an opportunity to work with other young players and coaches, Stockdale noted.

Eight to 10 coaches within the club have signed on to take the coaching course, which will benefit the grassroots level of the sport, he added.

"I'll have an idea then of how a top-class coach works with these guys. It'll be interesting to see someone else work with these really young kids, and see how he can bring them along in their development, get them excited about the game.”

At the start of the season, girls showed little interest in getting involved with the game.

That waning interest – which means there will be no girls' team heading to Halifax for the Winter Games – prompted Stockdale to begin a girls' program in November.

Since, girls ages six to 12 have been turning out.

"It's a matter of bringing them onside and encouraging them to stay with it,” Stockdale said.

"We have very few girls that are playing, but these girls, certainly if they continue to play, they would certainly be a strong bet for the juvenile team at the Arctic Winter Games next time.”