some thoughts on sports life

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if you had what it takes, would you have enjoyed being a tt pro?
in the beginning it might sound fun but when you really think about it.....

-travelling, travelling, travelling, you never stop travelling. airports, different time zones, tight airplanes with annoying people, always in a hotel.
-always the pressure to win every match
-not much pay in general, unless you are top 10
-at 35 you have to start considering a new career which most times involves coaching.
 
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Yes I would enjoy it. Meeting so many people with a similar passion. Coaching afterward would always be an option to make additional income. Anyone could stay in the table tennis industry after retirement even if they aren't playing. Look at TTedge. They decided to not give up table tennis and now they're profitable helping others learn. The ones who don't achieve their dreams are the ones who don't give it their ALL, or they give up before their dream can come true.




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The ones who don't achieve their dreams are the ones who don't give it their ALL, or they give up before their dream can come true.

We'd wish this to be true, but we all know it's not. You don't hear of the millions who don't make it.

However, perhaps what is important is not whether you reach your end goal, but the path you take when attempting to reach it.
 
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Yes I would enjoy it. Meeting so many people with a similar passion. Coaching afterward would always be an option to make additional income. Anyone could stay in the table tennis industry after retirement even if they aren't playing. Look at TTedge. They decided to not give up table tennis and now they're profitable helping others learn. The ones who don't achieve their dreams are the ones who don't give it their ALL, or they give up before their dream can come true.




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did you ever have to travel long distances and stay in hotels and similar places regularly?
it can be a nightmare.
and most times you arrive say after a 10 hour flight and the next day you have to play your best tt.
most times you don't even have a room for yourself and have to share it with teammates.
2 days later you are off to another 10 hour flight and another city.

I mean everybody loves playing sports and vacations (which means travelling in most cases).
but when you add pressure to win and travelling sometimes every single week (like nfl and nba players) it can feel like the worst job in the world.
 
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You can be a pro with playing mostly in your country. Of course you have to travel then, but no problem (if you're near to your training place). The desire to win is called ambition. If you aren't ambitious, you won't be a pro. If you lose more than you can handle, than you should go a lower league. And as a pro you still have to enjoy playing, otherwise you're burn out. And coaching is fun! I want to be a coach sometime in the future.
 
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yeah but think of top pros like samsonov or boll.
one week in china, then belgium, then germany, then russia, then USA, then korea.....
they are like commercial airline pilots in the end lol

I can't sleep in airplanes and it all seems so stressful.

other sports are the same.
nba teams can play in 3 different cities the same week during regular season.
they have their own comfortable plane, but still, they are flying.

I guess there are people made for that lifestyle who can cope with it, but to me it sounds like torture.
 
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