I want opinions on my chances of pro

[mamedium]

When I get to high school there will be periods where I go to Germany and china to train for like 6 months, I’ve already talked to my parents about that

maybe think about learning Mandarin starting now

 

[land_killer]

I think it is impressive that you know what you want at such a young age and willing to work hard toward it. I agree you started a little bit later than other kids want to go professionally, but I think your passion and determination will help.

I took private classes at MDTTC, coach here definitely has really great skills. But I feel my coach doesn't taught that much, more like practice with me.

 

[lightspin]

After hearing more about your coach and circumstances, I have a few more things to say:

1) I have seen kids whose parents hired live in coaches and budgeted 100-200k a year for training get stuck at 2200.
2) I have seen kids who didn't have the best training background, who seemed hopelessly stuck at 2200 suddenly figure something out and break 2600 later in life. This is still light years away from being top 50 in the world.
3) I have HEARD OF PRECISELY ONE kid start your age and make the top 50. This is worldwide. The person stopped going to school around age 12 and practiced 8 hours a day in a professional training environment not in the USA.
4) You are in the USA. You want a professional training environment? You will have to pay for it. $80x8x6x52. That will cost you $200,000 or so for training partners. 80 dollars an hour, 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year. That doesn't cover equipment, paying for the table, tournament fees etc. If you want a coach to fly around with you at tournaments you will need to pay even more money as you need to pay for their hotels and bills. There is a reason why almost all of the top players who learned how to play in the USA come from wealthy families or families that all play table tennis. Finding decent practice partners is a nightmare and costs money, unless they are related to you.
5) But wait? I am a super cool 2600 player (or whatever rating you think is cool, 2400, 2800, whatever). Won't other good players just line up and practice with me? NO. Finding good players to practice with still costs money. Most good players need to eat. They would rather coach and make money than practice with another good player. Why? Because if they don't eat, they can't survive. I know a few people formerly top 5 in the world who had to pay for practice partners in training camps to prepare for tournaments. Top 5. Think about that.
6) Even if you break into the top 50, because you are from the USA you will still need to pay for training partners and tournaments across the globe. Making a living just by playing will be almost impossible. Hopefully you will have rich parents who understand and pay the bills.
7) There are a few players in the USA I know who could be top 50 in the world but choose to coach full time because that is where the money is. That is also something to think about. They could be these really cool professional players traveling the world. Perhaps after a lifetime of playing, living the life of a professional player isn't as glamorous as it seems. "All that glitters is not gold."

With all that being said, play as much as you can and have fun. Looks like you are doing great so far. Making the national team and breaking 2600 are already incredibly difficult tasks to aim for. Top 50 in the world requires a ton of money, you not going to school and playing 8 hours a day, everyday even when you don't want to. But if that is what you want, don't let anyone tell you that you can't. Just be aware of what you are getting yourself into.

 

[joshmak10]

When I get to high school there will be periods where I go to Germany and china to train for like 6 months, I’ve already talked to my parents about that

This is good but 6 months is a lot of time away from school unless u plan to take school in Germany or China (lots of hassle to keep switching). It’s cool that ur going for ur dream but don’t give up ur education too!

 

[KTableTennis]

maybe think about learning Mandarin starting now

Yeah I’m in a Chinese language program

 

[ThePongCommenter]

2) I have seen kids who didn't have the best training background, who seemed hopelessly stuck at 2200 suddenly figure something out and break 2600 later in life. This is still light years away from being top 50 in the world.

Not sure if this is in response to the advice to get himself in a top training program as soon as possible. But these cases are incredibly rare. Getting surrounded by a top coach who develops your fundamentals early, along with high level and well trained training partners, is basically a prerequisite to even having a chance to reach the level that KTableTennis wants to get to.

 

[lightspin]

maybe think about learning Mandarin starting now

This cuts both ways. When I was training in China, a random player walked up and started telling my coach how much I sucked. What irked me was that constantly in China I was talked down to, even by this guy I knew I could spot 10 to in a game of 21 and beat. I then got pissed off and challenged him to a match for his monthly salary. He then turned down my offer and apologized saying he didn't know I spoke Chinese.

 

[piligrim]

There is a reason why almost all of the top players who learned how to play in the USA come from wealthy families or families that all play table tennis.

Its not only in USA. Kallberg, Harimoto, Ovtcharov, etc ...

 

[piligrim]

maybe think about learning Mandarin starting now

I think easier to become top 50 player then learn Mandarin )))

 

[lightspin]

Not sure if this is in response to the advice to get himself in a top training program as soon as possible. But these cases are incredibly rare. Getting surrounded by a top coach who develops your fundamentals early, along with high level and well trained training partners, is basically a prerequisite to even having a chance to reach the level that KTableTennis wants to get to.

I should have been more precise. The point I was trying to make is there is still some small hope of getting to 2600 even if you cannot afford a live in coach. You do need as much top level coaching as possible. Also even if you get stuck, good things occasionally happen through sheer determination. On the other hand even if everything is optimal, some people don't improve for whatever reason.

 

[mamedium]

This cuts both ways. When I was training in China, a random player walked up and started telling my coach how much I sucked. What irked me was that constantly in China I was talked down to, even by this guy I knew I could spot 10 to in a game of 21 and beat. I then got pissed off and challenged him to a match for his monthly salary. He then turned down my offer and apologized saying he didn't know I spoke Chinese.

speaking of a random player in China:
based on a true story (sort of)
a US team went to China for training. At the end of the day, the janitor walked in, clean the hall then challenged the US team. He beat everyone in the team, then left.
on the flight home, the US coach told everyone "what happened in the training hall stays there"

 

[Jackcerry_]

put some phisical training (especially legs training) the days when you play less with the robot (like 20/30 mins legs training is ok)
At higher levels you have to be a real athlete and strong legs will help you out a lot

 

[KTableTennis]

put some phisical training (especially legs training) the days when you play less with the robot (like 20/30 mins legs training is ok)
At higher levels you have to be a real athlete and strong legs will help you out a lot

Yeah I do a lot of leg training for track. My best mile time is 5:31

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

maybe think about learning Mandarin starting now

Or maybe French? France has developed a strong pipeline of male players.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

I didn't say he didn't need to sacrifice anything, I said it is possible to do without sacrificing school for 3x per day training sessions. It has been done before. Not easy, but doable. But all of the people who did it, did it with the help of elite coaches and clubs.

well, I think he is clueless and he sure isn't surrounding his resource group with people who knows how to make it happen (as you and some others have pointed out)

the first thing the kid need to sacrifice is his pride and put himself into a pro environment and from there he needs to see how much behind his age group he really is (which is a lot), so he knows how much he needs to overtake.
I am using USA U15 has a first goal, which is very weak compared to Taiwan's U15, and Taiwan's U15 can't even get into WR100, yet alone WR50. For him to even look at top WR100, he needs to be USA U19 by the time he is 15 years old basically.

every kid wants to become a top 50 player, that is good goal.
but sitting on TTD and wasting hours typing and not actually training is also another thing he needs to sacrifice. TTD will serve him no benefit in reaching that goal. Same as resource groups that are non existent.
school is only one of it, there is so much more, like leaving home in the next year, and stay full time in Europe or Asia for the next few years. One of the parents likely need to move with the kid too.

The more he is in denial thinking his current resource group is sufficient, the more time he is wasting, because when he gets older, the more impossible for the goal to reach.

This French girl I took a photo with.
The father placed her (8 years old) in the best program in France.
She is in Taiwan now for 5 weeks, in the best program for her age.
I ask the dad, how he can take 5 weeks off work.... it is a great sacrifice. The dad isn't from a table tennis background, but he is a boxer and has the right mindset.

The dad is really hard working - he spent 4 months bartering and managed to find "free accommodation" for his 5 weeks trips in Taiwan, easily saving him another 1500~2500 euros.
The dad went on all social media groups to share his story, to find the lower cost accommodation possible and hit guys calling him a scam artist and what not - he hold his composure and continued seeking freebies.

Frankly speaking, for a kid to have a goal, you need a parent or a manager to be the brain behind the journey.
and surrounding yourself with the correct resource group should be the first step.

you guys can follow this girls journey. Surely OP should too, since he has a lot to learn from her.
this 8 year old only started TT for a year (or less), and was in gymnastics before.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

put some phisical training (especially legs training) the days when you play less with the robot (like 20/30 mins legs training is ok)
At higher levels you have to be a real athlete and strong legs will help you out a lot

at his age, we already have physical trainers to plan training routines.

 

[ThePongCommenter]

well, I think he is clueless and he sure isn't surrounding his resource group with people who knows how to make it happen (as you and some others have pointed out)

the first thing the kid need to sacrifice is his pride and put himself into a pro environment and from there he needs to see how much behind his age group he really is (which is a lot), so he knows how much he needs to overtake.
I am using USA U15 has a first goal, which is very weak compared to Taiwan's U15, and Taiwan's U15 can't even get into WR100, yet alone WR50. For him to even look at top WR100, he needs to be USA U19 by the time he is 15 years old basically.

every kid wants to become a top 50 player, that is good goal.
but sitting on TTD and wasting hours typing and not actually training is also another thing he needs to sacrifice. TTD will serve him no benefit in reaching that goal. Same as resource groups that are non existent.
school is only one of it, there is so much more, like leaving home in the next year, and stay full time in Europe or Asia for the next few years. One of the parents likely need to move with the kid too.

The more he is in denial thinking his current resource group is sufficient, the more time he is wasting, because when he gets older, the more impossible for the goal to reach.

No disagreements here, I think we can all agree that an 1800 11 year old is not going to be a future WR50 player but it is a nice dream to have and he seems to be making good progress in his one year in the sport. A realistic but still highly ambitious goal would be to reach 2500 or 2600, making him among the best players in his country, but still light years away from being a top professional or even US Olympian.

That is a goal that is somewhat realistic maybe by the time @KTableTennis graduates high school. But as I and others have said which he seems to be mostly ignoring, he needs to get into an elite training environment at a minimum. I don't know specifics of his situation of course but as I said above I have never heard of his club or coach sending any players to the national junior team while as pointed out by @BlopChock the other club in his region does in fact have a history of producing national level juniors.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

No disagreements here, I think we can all agree that an 1800 11 year old is not going to be a future WR50 player but it is a nice dream to have and he seems to be making good progress in his one year in the sport. A realistic but still highly ambitious goal would be to reach 2500 or 2600, making him among the best players in his country, but still light years away from being a top professional or even US Olympian.

That is a goal that is somewhat realistic maybe by the time @KTableTennis graduates high school. But as I and others have said which he seems to be mostly ignoring, he needs to get into an elite training environment at a minimum. I don't know specifics of his situation of course but as I said above I have never heard of his club or coach sending any players to the national junior team while as pointed out by @BlopChock the other club in his region does in fact have a history of producing national level juniors.

Yep
No matter what talent you are gifted since birth, you need a strong resource group to nurture and develop it. Those that knows how to bring forward results (with good track records) will always be a better bet no doubt.

Rocking up to training with no quality training partner is actually a major setback.
With so much catching up to do, one cant afford to waste time like that.

Ps, kids our side sacrifice holidays and vocations.

I remember Feng Yi-Hsin’s mother treating me to hot pot once and the family of 4 was there with me. The family (less fyh) were leaving for holiday in Japan the next day, and leaving Feng behind who had to train. I asked if he wants to join the family holiday and he said he can’t and for like 6 years he didn’t go on a single family holiday.

This was probably 8-9 years ago and till now, no family holiday for him still. He is near WR50 though and his parents has spent probably near a million dollars if not more.

Feng comes from a TT family with his uncle being a national player too.

 

[JJ Ng]

I only have a couple feedback.

One, keep on playing only if you are passionate about the sport and you truly enjoy it.

Two, you should aspire to be the next Adam Bobrow or Dan/Tom from TTD. To be honest, there is no money in pro table tennis. Instead, if you truly love the sport and have some special skills, you will make more money and be more famous from social media than 50% of the players in the top 50 (I am assuming that many of the top players from China, Japan, Korea, France and Germany make a lot of money through endorsement deals. But those from other countries where TT is not that popular, they would kill for what Adam, Dan and Tom have).

I think practicing to get to WR top 50 is an admiral goal. However along the way, nothing wrong with fooling around a bit (like Adam's snake) and consider alternatives.

Honestly that would be my advice for my own kids if they were to pursue table tennis full time.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

I only have a couple feedback.

One, keep on playing only if you are passionate about the sport and you truly enjoy it.

Two, you should aspire to be the next Adam Bobrow or Dan/Tom from TTD. To be honest, there is no money in pro table tennis. Instead, if you truly love the sport and have some special skills, you will make more money and be more famous from social media than 50% of the players in the top 50 (I am assuming that many of the top players from China, Japan, Korea, France and Germany make a lot of money through endorsement deals. But those from other countries where TT is not that popular, they would kill for what Adam, Dan and Tom have).

I think practicing to get to WR top 50 is an admiral goal. However along the way, nothing wrong with fooling around a bit (like Adam's snake) and consider alternatives.

Honestly that would be my advice for my own kids if they were to pursue table tennis full time.

You are right
Need to become a special somebody, else you are just the same as other thousands of kids/players and become another nobody.