Will the US ever become a world superpower in the table tennis world?  Will the US ever have players ranked in the top 10 in the men’s and women’s world ranking list?  Will the US team ever have a chance to win the World Team Championships?
 
The main obstacle is China.  So in this article, I’m going to use China as the main target.  These points listed below are merely speculation and I don’t have any hard proof of these points.
 
#1 Athletes
The US needs to select athletes from a young age.  There are many good athletes in other sports and they dominate the world in other sports.  However, when you look at the top table tennis players in the US, they aren’t anywhere near the level of Ma Long, Zhang Jike, and other Chinese superstars.  At the recent US Nationals, Jim Butler and Kunal Chodri were in the final.  Both of these players have excellent consistency and ball control at the 2600 level; however, they don’t even closely compare to Ma Long in the physical aspect.
 
#2 Starting Young
When the Chinese players start at age 7 and train many hours each day.  By age 22, they have already racked up 15 years of hard training.  The US needs to start players young if they hope to reach the top.
 
#3 More Competitions
From what I have been told, the top Chinese training centers put a huge focus on basics for the first 5-10 years focusing primarily on footwork and strong topspin strokes.  Wang Rui and Kai Zhang recently told me that they didn’t fully develop their games in China because they were only able to play a few tournaments per year.  They both said that this is a major weak point in the Chinese training system – too much practice and not enough competitive matches!  If these US kids want to fully develop, I feel that they need more competitions from a young age.  Ideally, I feel that the US kids should be practicing 4-5 days/week and competing every weekend in a competitive league or tournament.
 
#4 Allow them to quit
If the kids don’t want to play, I would recommend them to quit.  These US kids who have the possibility to become world-class need to have a desire to win and a desire to train every day.  If they are forced to play, then the quality of training won’t be there.
 
#5 Play Longer
With the Chinese training about 30-35 hours/week, they usually reach their peak in their twenties.  If the US kids could practice 15-30 hours/week and maintain it (with quality) for 25 years, then they could possibly reach their potential around age 32.  However, the financial support must be in place for this to be possible.  Many US 18-year-old stop table tennis to go to school or get a job.  If they could play longer, from age 7 to age 32, they would have a better chance to beat China.
 
#6 Better Training Strategy
The Chinese base is good with footwork and solid basic strokes.  However, if the US can implement better training plans that included training defense, short game, serve return, and game tactics better than China, then it would possible be more efficient hour for hour of training.
 
#7 Weapons
Even from a young age, the US players need to develop strong weapons.  Developing solid all-around games is nice, but one of the keys in developing a world champion is developing weapons that can hurt other elite players.
 
#8 Consistent Daily Training
From age 7, the US players need to develop consistent training routines that involve at least 4 hours of practice each day.  With parents that are dedicated, and kids who are willing to cut out video games and television, it is possible.  Here is a sample training routine:
 
Monday
School 8am-3pm
Practice session #1 3-5pm
Dinner, homework, family time 5-8pm
Practice session #2 8-10pm
Sleep 10:45pm-7:15am
 
Tuesday
School 8am-3pm
Practice session #1 3-5pm
Dinner, homework, family time 5-8pm
Practice session #2 8-10pm
Sleep 10:45pm-7:15am
 
Wednesday
School 8am-3pm
Practice session #1 3-5pm
Dinner, homework, family time 5-8pm
Practice session #2 8-10pm
Sleep 10:45pm-7:15am
 
Thursday
School 8am-3pm
Practice session #1 3-5pm
Dinner, homework, family time 5-8pm
Practice session #2 8-10pm
Sleep 10:45pm-7:15am
 
Friday
School 8am-3pm
Practice session #1 3-5pm
Dinner, homework, family time 5-8pm
Practice session #2 8-10pm
Sleep 10:45pm-7:15am
 
Saturday
Tournament day (OR the below schedule)
Practice session #1 9am-noon
Eat, homework, family time noon-4pm
Practice session #2 4pm-7pm
Eat, rest 7pm-9pm
 
Sunday
Rest
 
A note to my reader…
If you are over 7 years old, there is still hope for you.  I personally started pinging around at the local club when I was 12 and actually got very serious training in Canada when I was in my twenties.  My friend (Sameh Awadallah) started playing when he was 21 years old and made it to 2600 level at his peak in Egypt.  Grubba started when he was 15 years old and made it to top 10 in the world.  Many of my students who are 50+ years old are actually improving really well.  So, there is hope for you to improve.  I chose age 7 as an ideal age for a player to start if he/she wanted to become world champion.  However, even if you are 8 or 20 or 60, there is still hope for you to improve as well J