Growing TT in the USA

[Der_Echte]

Then expect massive landing of the 2nd/3rd tier level players from China competing for that money, hehe And that is probably not a bad thing.

We already are having many of the 2-3 tier players coming here... and either playing or coaching or opening up clubs. Their existence have been a big force in creation of new clubs in USA and in areas with huge immigrant population, they are a draw for existing players. We should give fair credit to those who are taking risks to open a new club depending on hte demand to grow and the people to come, it isn't an easy thing to make a market or tap into a market in a new way.

If we didn't have foreigners opening up all these clubs, even in a huge metro area, you would have to drive a very LONG way (like many minutes to hours) to play.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

This is a great post Der_Echte.


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[Loopadoop]

There is a lot baseball played by children 6-21, after that some used to go to fast pitch softball as adults, most would transition to other hobbies as adults. Then came along slow pitch softball where most of the baseball players transition to as adults. That almost eliminated the higher skilled fast pitch softball transition, which is similar to say USATT players. Slow pitch softball has grown several times past even fast pitch softball at it's popularity peak. So to grow TT it has to be as user friendly as possible for recreational purposes. Ethnic diversity is great for the TT sport but at same time doesn't seem to promote hobby fellowship among the different groups. Fellowship makes Golf popular among friends.

 

[countrybread]

If you're starting from the ground up then the focus should be on the youth. Everyone can do their part to promote the sport in the circle of influence that they have. Mine is the church. A lot of kids go to church and ours has a table with an assortment of cheap paddles. I took a few that weren't broken and replaced the awful rubbers with cheap Yinhe and 729 sheets. Week after week I play table tennis with the youth during our free time, for the fun of it and to prepare for our annual sports competition with other churches. Trying to help them improve makes me want to improve, also.

 

[Suga D]

Rising the prize money doesn't have to be a bad thing in General. It could also be a signal that pros can make a decent living.

Imagine basketball salary would be so little. I don't think many kids would consider to play basketball as a pro.

Why limit oneself by saying either this OR that, but instead rather say this AND that.

Just a thought.

 

[violoniste18]

is there in Usa a championship with teams ? In some countries as France or Germany, this championship is very important, all players are motivated with. If it didn't exist, far less players will be playing table tennis !

 

[krro]

Is there a national team league in USA? In many countries this is the main thing for players, in Sweden thats the main focus as well for most players and also an income for the best players in the top division.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

There really are so many good ideas.

A pro or semi-pro level league in USA would take a pretty large initial investment. But that would definitely be something from the top down that would grow the sport. Especially if it could get highlight play on something like ESPN. That would actually be a really useful top-down investment that would go well with Der_Echte's bottom up initiatives.

Robert Chen used to have a pretty big club in NYC's Chinatown. (He now has a small club in Chinatown). There were 13 tables; most of them with decent space.

When I first started going there I really sucked. But this club really embraced newbies. When I went, there was someone who was part of the club staff who would either hit with me or set me up with someone to hit with and make sure that person knew my level and some ideas of things to help me work on.

A lot of new players who came to that club got helped past that stage where they couldn't play with any of the members.

Some still got frustrated and never came back. I was addicted and obsessed enough that not too much could have got me to quit.

But the model this club had where someone who was reasonably competent as a player was on staff to hit with newbies and help them improve was REALLY INTELLIGENT, from the standpoint of helping the sport to grow.

It is not what Der_Echte is talking about which would be great too. Schools with programs to get kids playing. Places like the outdoor tables in NYC are really an interesting thing as well.

I know more people who pick up the sport, or start again after years of not playing as a result of the outdoor tables at Bryant Park or Tompkins Square Park.

And I do think, if something can be done to get a big rise in table tennis participation in the USA, it would actually cause a boost in many other markets throughout the west.


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[Der_Echte]

A national league right now would take a HUGE amount of money to get even a half season done. I am talking MILLIONS of dollars to do one even half-azz and our national association doesn't have that money. COULD come from somewhere else, but the return on investment has got to be there for a network or a company to cough up the dough.

If somehow, a REALITY show about a TT player would have a compelling story with twists viewers could identify with, that could start something.

Even if it does, the ones interested in remote areas with any clubs don't have anywhere to play suddenly. COULD motivate a few more to take chances, but when you suddenly interest masses of people without a sufficient infrastructure, then it is a dead end soon. Also, building infrastructure without demand is a business dead end. A halfway idea is to get schools into it, or community centers/churches. Those are for the most part into it in a basement way, but without a state or regional structure. This is where an effort from national association or top down grant money can work.

For the one asking about teams comps, there is a weekend (THIS WEEKEND) where there are two huge team tourneys, but you gotta fly accross USA to do it, that runs $1000 USD for plane and hotel and meals at a minimum. In Europe, you take a train and distance is less to travel within your country.

 

[Der_Echte]

Carl makes a lot of great points about how existing clubs help or hurt growth, and I touched on a few of those with a previous post a page ago on this thread, but maybe I start a thread focusing on the role of clubs in USA for TT, good and bad.

If Europeans who never knew what a USA "Club" is really like, (at least 90%+ of them) then they would go crazy WTF. Still worthy to talk about as it really does have an impact, for good and bad.

Maybe another component in such a discussion would be our national association, maybe another thread topic too.

 

[Der_Echte]

I truly believe that when there is a large playing base with at least a school based infrastructure, it will create many opportunities for new clubs, leagues, organized or fun play, and growth. A big problem with the risk takers starting clubs is getting enough players soon enough to pay the bills or the facility, or being willing to absorb losses long enough until the numbers show up.

When there are enough school players competing, they will look for a way to get better, which creates opportunities for clubs and coaches. Moms will want the best for their kids and equipment companies win too, especially the existing well established ones, but creates a lot of opportunity for new outfits.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

A national league right now would take a HUGE amount of money to get even a half season done.

Hah, hide your cash prizes and hide your serves, Der_Echte iz comin' to town!

You gotta ask... where is the 50,000 smackeroos for the national winner gunna come from...

Oh come on Der_Meister. I thought having all that money in play for TT would be fun. Just go talk to Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. They can take care of the cash prizes and player salaries in the league. You can convince them. Those guys love you.

 

[Der_Echte]

I bet Carl could dress like a Santa or wizzard and have Abe or E. Sean as his elves and get twice that much from Manhattan SPIN crowd in two weekends if they dressed up and carried buckets for cash donations.

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[violoniste18]

where there are two huge team tourneys, but you gotta fly accross USA to do it, that runs $1000 USD for plane and hotel and meals at a minimum. In Europe, you take a train and distance is less to travel within your country.

Great distances to play is probably the main matter of growing TT in usa ... isn't it ?

 

[violoniste18]

... and there is too a very helpful thing in europe, governement usually freely rent gym rooms for TT clubs, so it's easy to have a lot of clubs in each town and to build a championship for everybody

 

[Der_Echte]

It is definitely easier to use existing infrastructure and get some financial help from city or state there and that helps for sure.

Big distance is one thing, but it is the way we designed our cities. We in USA wanted a lot of space so we didn't build everything close to each other and needed a horse, now a car to go everywhere.

If we could get it going in schools where there is already a big room or gym and there are already some children doing after school stuff, then we can repeat it even in areas that are not big cities, that creates some demand for a new club. Of course we do not have 100,000 decent coaches in USA to make a coach in each club in each area of 25,000 to 50,000 but with enough time players get better and grow into that.