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发帖数: 1578 | 1 http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/plano/headlines/2
By MATTHEW WATKINS
MATTHEW WATKINS The Dallas Morning News Staff Writer
m******[email protected]
Published: 31 December 2012 11:19 PM
On the night after Christmas, dozens of kids gathered to play pingpong in
dimly lit gyms behind two separate Plano strip centers.
Most of them were smiling and laughing as they sweated and swung their
paddles, sending little orange balls all over the hardwood floors. But these
weren’t basement warriors trying out their new presents. These were
promising athletes, some as young as 6, with dreams of playing on a national
table tennis team and maybe even in the Olympics.
There may be no better place in Texas to achieve that goal. Unbeknownst to
most residents, Plano is a pingpong hotbed. Dozens of kids learn the sport
after school every day at local academies that bring in professional players
from China to coach. Adults gather at city-run community centers for pick-
up games and tournaments.
Much of the activity is organized by the Plano Table Tennis Club, an
organization with more than 700 members that claims to be the largest in the
country.
“It is very serious business,” said Jon Liu, founder and president. “We
have the coaches, we have the crowd, we have the facilities, we have the
players.”
Those players are finding success. At least 15 local children participated
in the U.S. National Table Tennis Championship in Las Vegas this month. Many
are considered pros by USA Table Tennis, the sport’s American governing
body that rates players based on tournament play.
Two players, 15-year-old Tom Feng and 13-year-old Joy Li, are on USA Junior
National teams, which have eight members each. They will compete abroad.
Several other players have won or finished in the top five of major national
tournaments in recent years.
Two main factors seem to be driving Plano’s pingpong prominence. For one,
the city’s technology companies have attracted a large Asian population.
According to the U.S. census, Asians represent about 17 percent of Plano’s
population, about four times the state average. Table tennis is wildly
popular in many Asian countries and some families have continued that
passion in America.
But equally important, Plano has two private academies, Hua Yi Education and
QD School, that pick up students from local schools and teach them math,
Chinese and table tennis until their parents are finished with work.
Players like Katie Gao, 10, were practicing the night of Dec. 26. She trains
at Hua Yi and was working on her footwork and spin serves with a Chinese
coach.
The training is paying off. This year, Gao finished third at the U.S. Open
tournament, won two Junior Olympic events and placed second in another.
Her 6-year-old friend Katie Zhao can barely see over the table, but she
already hones her forehand and backhand three times a week.
“I think it is a very good sport,” said Shenghe Zhao, Katie Zhao’s father
. “It helps your body get healthy and the tournaments help you learn to
handle pressure.”
The sport has also had social benefits. Jack Zhang, a 15-year-old who was
one of two Plano players to reach the quarterfinals in one of the Las Vegas
tournaments in December, said excelling at the sport helped him overcome
shyness. On the night after Christmas, he was practicing with two close
friends he made through pingpong. Both of them, 15-year-old Jack Zhang and
14-year-old Brandon Chow, also have professional-level ratings.
Many club members have two pingpong tables in their house, one for matches
and one for a ball machine that lets them practice by themselves. Almost all
of the regular players have professional-quality paddles, purchased online.
Prices start at $200 and many players obsessively change the padding, which
can cost $90 each side, to adjust the effect on power and spin.
The adults of the Plano Table Tennis Club are less competitive, but no less
organized. Liu founded the club 15 years ago. The Taiwanese immigrant had
lived in the city for 10 years, but found it difficult to find places for
players who took the sport seriously to play. He tried to persuade city
leaders to make their recreation centers available, but they were skeptical
that there was any demand.
Liu organized a group of local players and lobbied the city for more
attention. After two years, the group had accumulated about 150 members. Now
, Plano rolls tables onto the Liberty Recreation Center gym floor on Mondays
, Fridays and Saturdays for open play. The city’s Tom Muehlenbeck
Recreation Center does the same on Wednesdays and Sundays. In an October
meeting, the Plano City Council honored Liu’s work with a mayor’s
proclamation.
Even with its original goal accomplished, the club works hard to promote the
sport. The group played an integral role in attracting the 2012 college
table tennis national championships to town. More than 30 members spent
hours training to be referees, so that one could watch over each table
during the event.
“You don’t even see that at the U.S. Open or the U.S nationals,” said
Clifford Wong, vice president of the club.
But, players said, the effort is about more than just a game — it’s about
community. Liu says he knows of at least 10 people who have gotten jobs
through networking with other players.
And Liu, who says his own son is more of a basketball player, maintains an
email list to update members about how the youth players are faring in
tournaments. Members who move away often ask to stay on the list to keep
track of the friends they made. Liu said the messages now go out to 10
different countries.
“It is beyond playing pingpong,” he said. “We are just a big family.”
On the night after Christmas, dozens of kids gathered to play pingpong in
dimly lit gyms behind two separate Plano strip centers.
Most of them were smiling and laughing as they sweated and swung their
paddles, sending little orange balls all over the hardwood floors. But these
weren’t basement warriors trying out their new presents. These were
promising athletes, some as young as 6, with dreams of playing on a national
table tennis team and maybe even in the Olympics.
There may be no better place in Texas to achieve that goal. Unbeknownst to
most residents, Plano is a pingpong hotbed. Dozens of kids learn the sport
after school every day at local academies that bring in professional players
from China to coach. Adults gather at city-run community centers for pick-
up games and tournaments.
Much of the activity is organized by the Plano Table Tennis Club, an
organization with more than 700 members that claims to be the largest in the
country.
“It is very serious business,” said Jon Liu, founder and president. “We
have the coaches, we have the crowd, we have the facilities, we have the
players.”
Those players are finding success. At least 15 local children participated
in the U.S. National Table Tennis Championship in Las Vegas this month. Many
are considered pros by USA Table Tennis, the sport’s American governing
body that rates players based on tournament play.
Two players, 15-year-old Tom Feng and 13-year-old Joy Li, are on USA Junior
National teams, which have eight members each. They will compete abroad.
Several other players have won or finished in the top five of major national
tournaments in recent years.
Two main factors seem to be driving Plano’s pingpong prominence. For one,
the city’s technology companies have attracted a large Asian population.
According to the U.S. census, Asians represent about 17 percent of Plano’s
population, about four times the state average. Table tennis is wildly
popular in many Asian countries and some families have continued that
passion in America.
But equally important, Plano has two private academies, Hua Yi Education and
QD School, that pick up students from local schools and teach them math,
Chinese and table tennis until their parents are finished with work.
Players like Katie Gao, 10, were practicing the night of Dec. 26. She trains
at Hua Yi and was working on her footwork and spin serves with a Chinese
coach.
The training is paying off. This year, Gao finished third at the U.S. Open
tournament, won two Junior Olympic events and placed second in another.
Her 6-year-old friend Katie Zhao can barely see over the table, but she
already hones her forehand and backhand three times a week.
“I think it is a very good sport,” said Shenghe Zhao, Katie Zhao’s father
. “It helps your body get healthy and the tournaments help you learn to
handle pressure.”
The sport has also had social benefits. Jack Zhang, a 15-year-old who was
one of two Plano players to reach the quarterfinals in one of the Las Vegas
tournaments in December, said excelling at the sport helped him overcome
shyness. On the night after Christmas, he was practicing with two close
friends he made through pingpong. Both of them, 15-year-old Jack Zhang and
14-year-old Brandon Chow, also have professional-level ratings.
Many club members have two pingpong tables in their house, one for matches
and one for a ball machine that lets them practice by themselves. Almost all
of the regular players have professional-quality paddles, purchased online.
Prices start at $200 and many players obsessively change the padding, which
can cost $90 each side, to adjust the effect on power and spin.
The adults of the Plano Table Tennis Club are less competitive, but no less
organized. Liu founded the club 15 years ago. The Taiwanese immigrant had
lived in the city for 10 years, but found it difficult to find places for
players who took the sport seriously to play. He tried to persuade city
leaders to make their recreation centers available, but they were skeptical
that there was any demand.
Liu organized a group of local players and lobbied the city for more
attention. After two years, the group had accumulated about 150 members. Now
, Plano rolls tables onto the Liberty Recreation Center gym floor on Mondays
, Fridays and Saturdays for open play. The city’s Tom Muehlenbeck
Recreation Center does the same on Wednesdays and Sundays. In an October
meeting, the Plano City Council honored Liu’s work with a mayor’s
proclamation.
Even with its original goal accomplished, the club works hard to promote the
sport. The group played an integral role in attracting the 2012 college
table tennis national championships to town. More than 30 members spent
hours training to be referees, so that one could watch over each table
during the event.
“You don’t even see that at the U.S. Open or the U.S nationals,” said
Clifford Wong, vice president of the club.
But, players said, the effort is about more than just a game — it’s about
community. Liu says he knows of at least 10 people who have gotten jobs
through networking with other players.
And Liu, who says his own son is more of a basketball player, maintains an
email list to update members about how the youth players are faring in
tournaments. Members who move away often ask to stay on the list to keep
track of the friends they made. Liu said the messages now go out to 10
different countries.
“It is beyond playing pingpong,” he said. “We are just a big family.” | h*******a
发帖数: 1753 | 2 德州豪宅就是大.
"许多俱乐部成员家里有两张球台，一张用于比赛，另一张跟机器手训练。"
“几乎所有的人都有$200或更贵的专业球拍，许多人沉湎于更换贵到$90一块的胶皮，
以取得调节力量和旋转的效果。”
Many club members have two pingpong tables in their house, one for matches
and one for a ball machine that lets them practice by themselves. Almost all
of the regular players have professional-quality paddles, purchased online.
Prices start at $200 and many players obsessively change the padding, which
can cost $90 each side, to adjust the effect on power and spin. |
|
