Joe Gerada has 40 years of experience in table tennis! He loves working with everyone seeking to mprove their game. Joe's proven methods consists of hard work, discipline and playing the game in good spirit. "I'll teach you to play and provide you with the techniques to reach your full potential”

Joe has worked with children for 20+ years and has coached State, National and International level players.

Whether you’re a Little Champ, Senior Cannonball, or looking to become the next Australian champion, Joe provides professional coaching specifically curated for your skill level and stage of development.

Melissa Tapper brings her experience and knowledge of an elite athlete to the LOOPS coaching team. As Australia's first ever dual Paralympian and Olympian and a Commonwealth Games gold medalist, Melissa's passion and drive is a unique addition to the LOOPS training environment, giving athletes a different perspective and positively challenges their way of thinking.

Melissa won Australia’s first ever table tennis gold medal in front of an home crowd at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, 16 years after the e the sport was introduced in 2002

While it was arguably the biggest achievement in her career, Melissa is no stranger to making break-throughs. Despite suffering from a brachial plexus injury at birth, which resulted in Erb's Palsy, Melissa started playing table tennis at the age of 8, made a state team at 12 and the national junior team two years after that. At 18, she was Australia's No. 1 female junior, the Under-18 Oceania Champion and the U-21 National Champion. Melissa’s success was fueled by a dream of making the Olympics – very inspirational!

Melissa became the first para-athlete to compete for an able-bodied Australian team at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, clinching a bronze in the women's team event. Two years later, she made Australian history by qualifying for both the Paralympics and Olympics!

Hannah & Olivia are great examples of the LOOPS community – part of the setup from the age of 7 when they started training with Joe Gerada, the Green girls rapidly moved up in National ranks winning Oceania and National Titles before representing Australia at International Level. Both were National Squad members for several years under the watchful eye of Simon Gerada (LOOPS Director & National Coach) where they balanced their academic studies and High Performance aspirations.

During the past 12 months, Hannah and Olivia have transitioned to coaching and mentoring, working with the LOOPS Squad daily whilst working towards their goal of becoming physiotherapists.

The Green sisters love table tennis and are diligently learning the art of coaching. They openly share their experiences and expertise in strength and conditioning with younger members of the LOOPS squad.

Phil brings years of experience in Business Management, Phil has overseen and built business' from the ground up including Cossack Pearls in Western Australia implementing administration, HR and Accounting Systems.

Phil is a Division 4 LOOPS Pennant player, enjoys hacking around the golf course with a 9 handicap, plays squash and now in his later years, enjoys a work/life balance helping business like LOOPS grow and spending more time with his wife who's a keen tap dancer.

Sui is the current Head Junior Coach, of Chinese decent. His Chinese approach to the game is sure to help everyone improve and enjoy the game he loves.

Sui Deng is a selected coach by General Manager Joe Gerada and LOOPS founder Simon Gerada. Sui is an accredited coach with a Chinese style of teaching which includes discipline and hard work along with specialist techniques.

Simon Gerada is a former Olympian, Australian Champion and played professional for over a decade. Recently, he has coached a number of National Squad and team members including Olympians, Paralympians, Commonwealth Games and World Championship medalists.

Simon Gerada, lived and learnt the game in China in the 1990’s, played professionally for ten years and studied the art of coaching from World Champions.

Simon has worked extensively in various capacities in table tennis – a professional athlete, high performance coach, management and administration - all at the highest level with global experience.

His table tennis methodology is developed around not only his Chinese table tennis training and understanding but also Eastern and Central European as well as Scandanavian table tennis ideologies. This is complemented by being immersed in an Australian table tennis environment.

Raj Datta is a strategic advisor, assisting business development and drives LOOPS’ communication. We are excited to have him on the team as we chart out the next phase of growth and development.

Raj has over two decades of experience in the corporate sector, having worked in Sales, Marketing and Business Development roles in Australia and the US. He shares LOOPS’ passion for table tennis - from playing himself, to encouraging junior participation, and supporting high-performance development. A great fit with the LOOPS culture!

Chermaine is part of the LOOPS DNA, starting as a 8 y.o. playing in the Little Champs program and progressed to representing Australia at World Junior level. Chermaine is now assisting the team on a part-time basis as an assistant coach, working with the head coaches, delivering Little Champs programs as well as providing individual training for members. Chermaine brings technical knowledge and is an authentic person with a caring personality.

Chermaine Quah is a former National and Oceania Champions, National Team representative, understand alternative rubber play, works hard and is an inspirational for all LOOPS members.

Nathan Pellissier is a Para-athlete with incredible drive. In a four-year period late last decade, Nathan had two hip surgeries and bone grafts, a necessary procedure as his cerebral palsy means his bones and muscles grow painfully at separate rates. He has completed his Bachelor of Business degree and also started a Master of Professional Accounting while preparing to compete at his first Paralympic Games.

Nathan has trained and competed extensively overseas and won a Team silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 with his Aussie teammates finishing behind the strong Chinese team.

"If you don’t have confidence, you’ll always find a way not to win" Introducing Finn Luu a 2021 WTT contender Italy Bronze medal, Australian junior champion, current 'With the future in mind' scholarship holder at the Victorian Institute of Sports.

And a Junior boys doubles bronze medal at 2020 Czech open, 6th place at 2020 Olympic trials, Cadet boys doubles bronze medal at 2019 Czech open, 2019 Oceania cadet champion, 14th place at world cadet challenge 2019 and proudly homgrown LOOPS Champion.

“When I came to Australia I wanted to become a national champion here and my dream is to represent Australia in the Olympics. I am happy to be the number one ranked player in the Under-17 and 19 categories at the moment,” says Sanaya.

She is currently the number one ranked player in the Under-17 and 19 age groups in Australia and ninth in the Open category and is presently a student at the Virtual School Victoria.

Xavier is currently ranked 93rd in the World and is a National and Oceania Champion who competes internationally for Australia in Europe. In 2022/2023 he was based in Germany playing league in Switzerland and England.

Xavier is originally from Tasmania, and relocated to Melbourne to learn and improve at LOOPS in 2015. Xavier returns to Australia twice yearly to compete in the National and Oceania Championships as well as Christmas to spend time with family.

"It has been over seven years since the day I started playing table tennis, I was six at that time. To come to this day, I have overcome a barrage of challenges" says Cherry. Cherry currently trains and lives table tennis seven day a week, attends Virtual School Victoria and in on the fast track to international level says coach Simon Gerada.

Cherry originally from Vietnam now lives in Melbourne, Australia, and thankfully has enhanced her table tennis dream and skills with so many skilful players in the LOOPS team since 2017 which has included a career highlight result in Europe placing 9th at the World Tour in Linz, Austria in 2022.