Podcast Final

The host discusses the decline in the popularity of table tennis, particularly among young people. He attributes this decline to negative stereotypes associated with the sport and lack of opportunities for kids to fall in love with it. He also mentions the steep learning curve of table tennis compared to other sports. The host shares his personal experience of playing table tennis and the challenges he faced due to his height. He concludes that table tennis can be a great outlet for physical and mental health and encourages listeners to reflect on what made them fall in love with the sport. Okay, we're live! Welcome to Table Tennis Talk, I'm your host, Chris, here to talk with you guys about all things table tennis. Today I just wanted to start by talking to you guys about something that's been kind of bugging me since I started coaching table tennis four years ago, and that's honestly the decline in the popularity of the sport among people of all ages, but most concerningly young people, because they're the future of the sport. I mean, even though table tennis is the most popular racquet sport in the world, and I mean, if you don't believe me, try Googling it, so even though I hear this statistic all the time, I think that statistic is misleading because the majority of the 888 million people worldwide who play table tennis are in mainland China, and I mean, if you want to compare that to the United States, we have 8,000 registered table tennis players compared to the 100 million players in China. So I don't think it's really a fair comparison, but even in China where table tennis is popular and the national sport, it's becoming less and less mainstream because of the rise of more manlier sports such as basketball, baseball, and even silly soccer. I was actually talking to someone, he was a former professional player from China a few weeks ago, and he casually told me in a Chinese accent, oh, if you play ping pong in China, you'll no get girlfriend, and the way he said it was so funny, but I found it interesting that it was because of this nerdy stereotype that comes with table tennis players that have caused the sport to decline. But while it's somewhat true that table tennis is a nerdy sport, I mean, I'm a nerd myself, I don't think it's solely these negative stereotypes which are to blame for table tennis's decline in popularity, especially when other nerdy racket sports such as basketball and badminton are becoming more popular here at home. So even though these negative stereotypes such as the girlfriend effect make a difference in the popularity of a sport, I think there are other reasons why table tennis is being played less and less. So while I was thinking about this the past couple of weeks, I asked myself a deep philosophical question, and it went along the lines of, what made you fall in love with table tennis? And I was thinking about this a lot, and asking myself, like, what makes you want to pick up the paddle and hit that ball every day? And I mean, it's a good question. What made you fall in love with table tennis? Why are you listening to this podcast about the greatest sport on earth? Was it the friendships that you made? Was it the fast-paced nature of the game? Was it the chance to exercise at an older age? I don't know. But you're listening to this, and it could be a combination of them all, but I just want you to think about that deeply, because what makes you want to pick up that paddle and hit with other people, and the reason why you fell in love with the sport, could be the reason why someone else falls in love. And I guess I'll talk about why and how I came to love the sport, and that happened in 2016 during a table tennis summer camp, and for the first time, I got to compete with other people my age, and as an 11-year-old kid, that made a big difference. For example, I remember playing with my arch nemesis, Nicholas, and from 2019 through 2022, the two of us were deadlocked in a table tennis arms race. I mean, it felt like the Cold War. And I think during that time, even though we would constantly compete and have great fights on the table, we would just enjoy each other's company, and I think that's what the joy of the sport comes from for me. Because even though we came from the same club, we would regularly face each other and go head-to-head as we'd compete for prize money and trophies. And for us broke kids, I mean, getting a plastic trophy and a $10 gift card felt like winning the Stanley Cup, and I could not stand the sight of another kid winning other than myself. I mean, I was very competitive, and I still am. And even though I was annoyed at losing to my arch rival, we were also teammates, and some of the best memories I had were traveling to North Carolina, Maryland, and Ohio to bring back the gold for our club in PA. So I think that one of the bigger reasons why table tennis is declining among young people is because kids aren't given the opportunity to fall in love with the sport the same way I did. I mean, here in the U.S., you might only have, what is it, like 240 USATT-affiliated clubs while in China they have 40,000. So again, it's not really a fair comparison to say that table tennis is the most popular racket sport in the world. But other than the statistic being very sad, I honestly think it's a tragedy because table tennis is not only great for socialization and competition, but it's also great for mental and physical health, and that's obviously what our world is struggling with as we live in the digital, lonely, and sedentary age, and I think the sport could be a great outlet for kids looking to express themselves in those ways. It's also true that if someone from China wanted to learn table tennis, they could go play in their basement, go to a local park, go to a table tennis club down the street. I mean, when you have 40,000 clubs, table tennis is everywhere. But here I have to drive at least 30 minutes just to get to the nearest club, and that's so sad because I feel like kids in the U.S. aren't given the opportunity to fall in love unlike their counterparts in China. So being a table tennis player in the U.S. requires a lot of dedication to travel. I mean, 30 minutes every week just to get there, and on top of that, we'll have fewer clubs, fewer competitors, fewer coaches, and fewer everything. But even though we are fewer, I am optimistic because even though we're struggling in that sense, if it weren't for my rivalry with Nicholas and table tennis camp in 2016, I would have never gotten to know that sport. So I guess this brings me to the second reason why I think the sport is declining, and I think that's due to the steep learning curve which comes with the sport. So this summer I started to learn how to play disc golf, and our family also played pickleball, but these sports are... they're also nerdy sports, but these sports are... they have less of a learning curve than table tennis. So in pickleball, disc golf, or eSports, which have gained a lot of popularity due to COVID because people are locked indoors, table tennis is much more difficult to learn. I mean, I think it's funny we mentioned eSports because I saw this video of a 90-year-old Japanese woman playing Call of Duty in GTA V, or GTA IV, I don't know which one. Has that even come out yet? Who knows? But anyway, that was off-topic, but no joke, look her up, her name is Gamer Grandma, and she says she plays 7-8 hours a day. It's insane. Anyway, I don't know why I just said that, but oh yeah, we were talking about pickleball and disc golf and I guess eSports, and how they've gained popularity since the pandemic. But I mean, if a 90-year-old can play Call of Duty, I guess it's pretty easy assuming that you're not competing at a professional level. But table tennis is much more difficult because I would say that someone who was at a beginner level trying to learn the sport would have to dedicate at least 100 to 150 hours of initial training just to reach what I would call a basic level, or about a 1,000 USATT rating. And I think that this is difficult for beginners because they have to learn how to rally, they have to learn how to understand basic spin, they have to understand the rules of the game and so many other things, while a video gamer, this might be offensive to some gamers, but all they need to know is what buttons need to be pressed to hit a target. So I think that this learning curve is especially true for kids since they'll be naturally shorter, making it difficult for them to reach the interior of the table. I mean, I'm forced to deal with this learning curve every day as a coach because I have three students. One of them is four, the oldest is 60. So I see this every day across different age ranges. And it's interesting to see how different ages try to overcome this learning curve. For kids especially because they're much shorter, it's harder for them to reach the interior of the table. So they'll constantly get taken advantage of. I mean, today I was practicing with a kid, she was five, and I just dropped the ball real short into the middle, and she was like, Oh, why did you drop the ball so short? I can't reach. And I thought that was funny, and I did it as a joke, just to illustrate the point. But this was a struggle for me as a kid, because I remember being this little kid, and I was playing against this middle-aged man who kept putting the ball what felt like an inch from the net. And I lost to him, and after I lost to him, I was really frustrated, and I stormed outside of the building because I felt as though he exploited my height, which he did, to win the game. And now as an adult, I see it as a good strategy, but at the time I saw it as an injustice. But I remember my coach Eric coming up to me, and he said something motivational along the lines of, Oh, you will get taller and better. But I think one of the reasons why table tennis is less popular among children is because video games can be played virtually anywhere, and you don't have to be a specific height while in table tennis. You'd have to be, I'd say, at least four and a half feet tall, or have a four and a half foot wingspan to get to the short balls. And this is discouraging for children who are trying to learn, so I guess the best thing you can tell them is, Hey, you'll get taller and better. So remember that table tennis camp that got me to fall in love with the sport? Well, at the same time, in 2016, I was also watching the U.S. Olympic team since they were in Rio, and I was sadly unable to meet the team since I was at the beach, but even though I never got to meet them, I got to watch them on TV, and that was really exciting. So while watching the Olympics on YouTube, my dad and I happened to come across this random YouTube video of an Olympic match from 2012 between a woman from the East African country of Djibouti in Brazil. And as a 12-year-old geography nerd, I was especially shocked to learn that there was a country named Djibouti, because my immature 12-year-old self would laugh out loud because there was a country named after a butt. But the story didn't end there, because about four to five years later in 2020, no joke, an African man ends up walking into our club and starts hitting with my dad. And I was in the middle of a close fifth game with another player when he suddenly interrupts my match. I mean, my dad never interrupts my match. He's always respectful of that. But when he did, there was this African man next to him who he was just hitting with, and my dad just asked me, oh Chris, where do you think he's from? And I had no idea, so I just looked at him and I said, I don't know, is he from Ethiopia? And the man just responded, East Africa. And he narrowed it down for me, and I just got real excited and I said, oh Djibouti! You must be from Djibouti! And his eyes lit up and he was like, yes, Djibouti City, I'm from Djibouti City! So, it was hilarious, I mean, this is one of the greatest coincidences of my life. I never thought that I'd meet a man from Djibouti, but a few seconds later, not only would I find out that he was from Djibouti, but he was also the coach of Djibouti's national table tennis team. And not only was he the national table tennis coach, but he was also the father of Yasmeen Hassan Farah, who was the same woman that I saw on that video, on that YouTube video in 2012. And honestly, the chance of this happening again would be impossible, as I said, like it's one of the biggest coincidences of my life. But it taught me an important lesson that's not even related to table tennis, but it's just a lesson in general, and that it's important to cover people of different countries through media coverage, because I'm actually surprised that the Olympics decided to broadcast this match, considering that the players were not even in the top 50 world ranking. But somehow the YouTube algorithm just somehow picked this match up and ended up popping it up on my phone, which I ended up seeing, which led to me noticing this African man who was hitting with my dad because of it. So it taught me, one, the importance of media coverage, but it also taught me to care about different people from different countries, and that's just so important to me as a journalism major. I mean, I think table tennis is in decline due to a lack of media coverage that comes with it. So that wraps up my third point about how table tennis is declining in popularity due to a lack of media coverage, but I feel as though this table tennis podcast has been honestly really depressing. I mean, we've been talking about the death of table tennis, but I feel like we need to end this on a more optimistic tone, because we could dedicate, honestly, another 100 episodes just listing out all the problems that exist in the sport of table tennis or just any sport in general. But let's not throw a pity party, let's talk about the positive things, and one of the positive things about table tennis that makes me hopeful for the sport is that we are witnessing a rebirth of the sport that we have never seen before. I mean, especially in the United States, we see influencers like Adam Bobrow, if you've never seen him, he has a million subscribers on YouTube just dedicated to table tennis. And we have Lilly Yip, she's a coach in New Jersey, and I mean, I've met Lilly, she's an incredible person who runs camps where people from all around the country will come and stay in New Jersey, in Dunellan, just to play with her and to watch her train her students. And we also have popularizers like Flint Lane who are spreading the love of table tennis around the country. So for the first time in U.S. history, because of Flint, we have major league table tennis, and just five days ago, they announced the creation of minor league table tennis. So it's important to give our favorite sport much-needed media coverage, and that will allow kids to fall in love with table tennis and be able to find a hero that they can look up to. So let me end this podcast with a hopeful story, because, again, I don't want it to be depressing. So even though there's a lack of table tennis coaches, a lack of table tennis clubs, a lack of table tennis camps, this is beginning to change, and even though table tennis beginners are faced with this steep learning curve, I think that we as coaches need to motivate them in order to learn the proper techniques. I mean, earlier today, I was just training with this kid who was struggling with his drills, and he was just sitting there by himself, and he was unwilling to train with the rest. So I went over to him, and I asked him if he was all right, and he just told me in an empty tone, I just can't do it. You expect me to shuffle my feet and do over 60 degrees while hitting a ball over the table perfectly every time? It's just too much for me. That's what he said. It's just too much for me. And I understood his frustration in overcoming the learning curve, because as a kid, I was faced with this, and as a coach, I see my students struggling with this. And the truth is that none of us will be able to achieve absolute perfection in our game overnight. Whether you're mile long or you're Uncle Joe from the basement, you're never going to be perfect in anything in life. So I just told this kid that it was all right to miss some balls, and I gave him the normal speech like, it's all right to miss something, but quitting's never an option. And even though it's a cliche speech that we always give, the never give up speech, I feel like it's so true, because we as table tennis popularizers cannot give up on our students. We can't give up on the beginners. We need to keep on motivating people, and that's what's going to bring the sport into the forefront and spread the love of the game worldwide. So thank you for listening to this first podcast. I really appreciate it, and I hope you guys can comment some ideas for some future podcasts. So I'll see you.