Why Should Kids Play Table Tennis?
 
     Kids love table tennis.  Even starting as young as five years old, kids love the excitement.  Many parents don’t see the benefit.  They must realize that table tennis training develops character.
     I hear many coaches trying the convince parents to have their kids take lessons because the kids can travel the world or get a $80,000 college scholarship, or become a pro player in Europe.  These things sound good on the surface, but many parents would still rather put their children into baseball or basketball.  Training and competing in table tennis actually develops character as I will describe in the following paragraphs.
     Table tennis teaches kids how to work hard.  Table tennis takes hard work physically and mentally.  No one develops a table tennis game in a week or a month.  It takes consistent hard work over ten years to develop to the top level.  This hard work will carry over to other areas of life, even college or career.
     Table tennis teaches kids about physical fitness and diet.  Fitness on and off the court is a daily routine for the top player.  Developing good fitness and diet habits will last a lifetime and change a player for the rest of his life.
     Table tennis teaches kids about success and failure.  Unfortunately, life is full of both success and failure.  How should a player react when losing?  How should he react when things aren’t going his way?  These same lessons will help him mature throughout his teen years.
     Table tennis teaches kids about marketing.  In order to fund travel and training, many students need to learn to market themselves.  Kids will learn how to talk to sponsors and how to best promote their products.
     Table tennis teaches kids how to handle pressure.  Many players can practice well but can’t convert it to the match.  The coach will teach the students what to think between points, how to react to good and bad points, how to handle conflict, and how to think clearly even in a pressure situation.  This is vitally important for any career whether it be a job interview, a speech, or any other public job.
     Table tennis really does benefit other areas of life.  The habits developed early will influence a child for the rest of his life.