Okay! I feel like americans Do not have great conditions to become really good since the sport Do not seem so big in the US and there are not so much structured training. But it feels like this are changing since it seems like alot of good asian players are moving there to coach. Do you think this Will be evident in the future? That the US have a good future in tabletennis because of this?
It is and has been evident if you look at the number of hardcore training clubs... where the club has a former elite player coaching with a strong structure and multiple kids training/growing...and the place is open every day training and playing.
I am not talking about a 4 table club that has one coach... unless it is a Korean dude ex-pro reading the riot act to 8 kids...
20 yrs ago, USA had 2-3 of these places.
Now, in 2108, I would say that number is around 60.
You could look at historical stats of the classes of kids, say ITTF Hopes, mini-cadet, cadet, and juniors... and look at how many kids in tose classes were in the 2000-2700 USATT rating range... from those days 20 yrs ago to now.
Back then, you had a handful... now you got too many to count.
For sure, the development of kids in these 4 classes is producing players that are doing better on the continent and internationally. It is night and day difference from 20 yrs ago, both with the "eye test" and recorded statistics data.
I would say in California alone, there are 20+ of these clubs... 2 hrs west of where I live, there are a dozen...
In SanDiego, your nations former WM champ... the one who did it at the earliest age ever (Stellan Bengston) setup a TT academy in San Diego... they got so many hundreds of kids to sign up, they had to refuse further entries into their program until they can move to an even huger facility... and that place has tables for kids to sit down and do homework while they wait on lessons.
So, it isn't just the Asian elite amateurs/ex-pros helping out my country, there are others too.
Yes, the current and future for an increasingly higher level of elite kids in the 4 classes looks better and better.
The problem with all this translating into more USA at pro level is that unless you make top 20 WR, you cannot make a living wage (unless maybe Bundesliga team hires you)… and it takes hundreds of thousands of USD just to crack WR250... so by the time kids get near these levels, the parents or kids themselves realize that they need to go to university to have any chance at a future and get out of full time training.
Maybe later, when USA can find a way to mobilize and organize the millions who casually play in basement or garage/patio... then schools start having tt as a sport... at that stage there would be a demand for high level ex players as coaches... then at that point more clubs and competition/demand for top coaches.... at that point an ex-elite player could command more than a living wage, just like other top coaches in other sports do... but those days may be long away.