Korean Next Generation

[MrThePortal]

Watching this video, the question naturally arises:
Any chance for the next generation of European players?

 

[SquareBall]

Normal to question they are hardly tall enough to play and they are so good ..

 

[Iczy]

Impressive skill.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Normal to question they are hardly tall enough to play and they are so good ..

The home of likely the best table tennis footwork nation

And i'm sure we can see why, just from watching these 2 young ones

 

[mahomedy13]

Very impressive!Their footwork!and Placement!

 

[nick]

Looking at their output of young players, I've thought for some time that Korea must have the best coaching system. Although not necessarily as strong as their Chinese counterparts, Koreans generally have better technique - it's all based on footwork, balance and timing,

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Looking at their output of young players, I've thought for some time that Korea must have the best coaching system. Although not necessarily as strong as their Chinese counterparts, Koreans generally have better technique - it's all based on footwork, balance and timing,

They have a very strict, hard working TT culture (somethign lots of country have no clue of)

For example,
Junior train min 6 hours a day from Mon to Fri
Weekends is min 5 hours a day.

So this is min 40 hours a week.

You can see a bit of the disicpline here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.669351323115793.1073741859.443481379036123&type=3

See how the players line up before and after training.

 

[Der_Echte]

When the student gets identified as an ATHLETE, the priority is being an athlete. They do not try to hide that status like USA does. The athletes have a pro coach, even if they do not have the modern state of the art technology setups USA schools got. They simply roll out tables, catch nets, ball, and coach smokes their ass, lines them up, chews on their ass, sends them back out, and it goes on. Training is brutal to an observer. They work on the simplest things early on. if you are a foreigner and link up with these early programs, you would think they are just basic training on the simplest stuff and nothing special to raise your level, you would be disappointed. This training gives them the basis to repeat everything under pressure.

 

[mahomedy13]

When the student gets identified as an ATHLETE, the priority is being an athlete. They do not try to hide that status like USA does. The athletes have a pro coach, even if they do not have the modern state of the art technology setups USA schools got. They simply roll out tables, catch nets, ball, and coach smokes their ass, lines them up, chews on their ass, sends them back out, and it goes on. Training is brutal to an observer. They work on the simplest things early on. if you are a foreigner and link up with these early programs, you would think they are just basic training on the simplest stuff and nothing special to raise your level, you would be disappointed. This training gives them the basis to repeat everything under pressure.

Thats what many countries lack.The potential to make 1 decision and stay focused on its objective!

 

[agold]

Thats what many countries lack.The potential to make 1 decision and stay focused on its objective!

When Russia was the Soviet Union, it was the best of everything (except, of course, table tennis), because if a Russian was good at something, Russia used the money for that person's training. China did that with table tennis. A good newish book is ping pong diplomacy. China devoted everything to table tennis, and it payed off. Is Korea going to be the next China? I doubt it haha

 

[Der_Echte]

Korea might get a once in a generation player, but right now, the sheer numbers and the Chinese system is very tough to beat.

 

[bricephan]

I have heard lately so many hidden stories (or I personally never knew before) about Korean training system in professional table tennis. The fact is that there have been always LOT of superb players who carry on Korean hope to challenge China at young age, but for some reasons, I would say its sort of "systematic" reasons, cause they eventually fading out their skills in middle age. One of them is related to culture, senior vs. junior/freshmen. There are hundreds of stories you can hear and see by yourself in everywhere, every corner, every aspect of live in Korea which have this cultural burden, senior vs. freshmen. Of course, sport is not exception and table tennis is surely one of it. For freshmen, training harder, following seniors orders and being beaten anytime are most common things which have already scared many good players or their parents to just give up their professional career early...

Therefore, we can find and watch a lot of awesome matches between elementary school pupils like this video, but they will just stop somewhere in middle school or maximum early high school if they could make it to the higher level, like city team or professional. I wont be surprised at all if we can't find their two name in above match in the next 5 years