(by Bella Xu)
When I mention the U.S. Junior National Team Trials to those unfamiliar with table tennis, I think they often imagine groups of cute kids playing friendly games of ping pong on miniature tables with their parents smiling and chatting whilst taking pictures.
Scratch that completely.
What really happens is PURE. CHAOS. Here’s a more representative image: children screaming at the top of their lungs; coaches shouting at astronomical levels; parents arguing like they’re starring in presidential debates; umpires calling for backup umpires. Kids crying. Parents crying. It’s like The Hunger Games—table tennis style.
You’ll hear a coach deliver the most beautifully empowering speech filled with excellent mental and tactical advice in the span of a one-minute timeout that nearly moves you to tears. You’ll watch as the student turns around with newfound determination and heroic confidence. You’ll notice a glimmer of hope in the eyes of the parents. You’ll hold your breath as the kid tosses the ball into the air, and then…. misses their serve.* They’ll then proceed to ignore everything that their coach has just said. In some extreme cases, kids will even start doing the complete opposite as advised. To be fair, extreme nerves can often cause the same effects as amnesia. So, it’s no surprise coaches usually resort to just repeatedly saying the phrase “slow down” instead—for the sake of their mental health.
Sometimes though, players are able to enter that flow state where they’re so locked in that practically nothing can distract them (besides the moms doing air pushups from the side of the courts, trying to tell their child to calm down). All the yelling going on has faded into the background. It’s like the competitors have noise-canceling headphones on and are unable to hear anything around them, including—no, especially—when their opponent gets an edge ball. Strangely, they never fail to hear when they get an edge ball themselves though.
But there are also those kids that make you question if they’re really here to compete or not. They’re the ones who are so invested in the match on the table next to them that you would think their life depended on it (or maybe they made a million-dollar bet on one of the players). I’ve even witnessed some people taking side glances in the middle of a point. I guarantee you some kids are simply dominating their opponents and trying to look a bit more nonchalant. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some crazy rallies coming from these young, semi-pros—because you’re really not considered a pro unless A) you can beat an 11-year-old Chinese pro and B) you train practically all day and have obtained impressive international results. And when your own match primarily consists of you and your opponent not knowing how to receive each other’s serves and having max rally lengths of about two or three shots, the game on the table beside you starts getting a whole lot more interesting.
I think I could probably give more, in-depth descriptions of junior tournament experiences, but I’ll end this here since I know most people don’t have the attention span for that long of an article. Anyway, all this is not to say that people shouldn’t attend the junior team trials; in fact, I think it’s actually the complete opposite! All the chaos that accompanies the rollercoaster of the competition is what I think makes it so exciting to participate in, or even just spectate.
And as a final disclaimer, this article was from personal experience and I am very much guilty of doing all of the comical things mentioned. So, I really have no right to be speaking (and I am extremely grateful for my coach’s limitless patience with me). But hopefully this was at least a little entertaining—and perhaps relatable for some people!
*Credits to Hannah Song for the “stepping up to the table and immediately ‘missing the serve’ detail” (she also speaks from personal experience)
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