Two players clutch hard rubber paddles, their eyes focused on the small white ball bouncing across the table between them. Their pulse quickens as they leap around their respective sides, struggling to send the ball flying in the opposite direction. They scorn the name “ping pong” because it is too informal. It is vernacular that mocks the rigor of the competitive sport by simply conveying the clacking sound of the ball as it meets the paddle. The name of the game is table tennis.

Former competitive table tennis player and junior Jason Li delineates how the zealous nature of scoring points is the aspect of the game he enjoys most.

“My favorite part of playing table tennis is playing someone better than me because it makes me feel accomplished if I manage some points,” Li said.

Table tennis enthusiasts constantly play not only to retain their skills but also to increase their rating by earning points and beating players of a higher rating. To be a serious player, one would need a rating of 1800 or more in accordance with the Elo rating system, otherwise they would be considered a casual player, still learning the ropes of the game. In the fifth grade, senior Ethan McBride witnessed two serious players in action and felt inspired to learn as well.

“If you are not trained, if you are just a colloquial player you would think ‘whoa that’s so good, look how they’re hitting the ball, that’s crazy’ and that’s what happened to me,” McBride said. “There happened to be someone there who was very very good and he referred me to my coach.”

McBride’s coach, Russ Hamilton, helped him fall in love with the game. Through Hamilton, McBride met fellow senior Max Bu, who had been playing since he was seven.

“My mom actually was the one who introduced me to it,” Bu said. “When I was younger, she would show me bouncing the ball on the paddle over and over and she’d ask me ‘how many times can you do this?’ and I just found that really fun. Then I got into actual playing.”

While Bu and McBride both still compete, McBride competes once a month at most in sanctioned, rated competitions like the tournament hosted at Texas Wesleyan.

“If I enter under 2400 that means I’m not looking to win the actual event just get the rating,” McBride said. “If I enter under 2000, I’m looking to win because there’s a cash prize. First place gets 100 [points]  in open competitions, open meaning anyone can play.”

However, after his coach moved, McBride took a break from the game to pursue other interests.

“I played five to six years ago very competitively and very seriously and then I quit for a while because my heart wasn’t in it,” McBride said. “Table tennis is the kind of game you have to love to play in order to at least be serious. It’s just my philosophy in general that you have to love something to do it.”

The summer after sophomore year, he called up Wang Shuai, the new head coach at Extreme Table Tennis and rejoined both as a competitor and a coach. As a coach, McBride provides both paid and volunteer services. He teaches young children at schools like Hua-Yi Education, which was started by his original coach, but also leads private lessons for older students.

“I do more coaching than playing now,” McBride said. “Surprisingly, people have sought me out. I got coaching at Hua-Yi approved as an NHS organization so if I’m coaching as a volunteer and getting hours for it, obviously I won’t get paid for it. But then I also have private students that want me to go to their house.”

Not only is McBride able to get money and volunteer hours from coaching, he was able to get off-campus Physical Education (PE) hours for playing table tennis at least fifteen hours a week because of the athleticism necessary for the sport.

“People don’t think that table tennis is a sport, but there’s definitely a reason it’s in the Olympics,” McBride said. “You do have somewhat of a break between points but when you’re playing points you are very active and your heart rate is way high.”

Bu agrees with McBride that people underestimate the amount of physical fitness essential to excel in table tennis.

“The reason people think that it’s not great exercise is because the table is so small,” Bu said. “The distance travelled isn’t that great as opposed to soccer where you’re running across this huge field. It’s just that there’s more repetition to the movement too. You’re moving constantly.”

McBride explains a concept that he often teaches his students, how more effort is required as one moves farther away from the table.

“As I back up, I’m covering less and less of the table,” McBride said. “I have to move more and more in either direction to cover the same amount of table.”

Not only does table tennis require physical endurance, but it also calls for mental strength.

“Table tennis is definitely a thinking man’s game,” McBride said. “Athleticism to an extent is really important but there is a lot of strategy and technical skill involved.”

Players must anticipate the moves of their opponent, just like in a game of chess. However, unlike chess, they must respond within a split second in order to score a point.

“I think strategy is a bigger part in table tennis than in a lot of sports,” Bu said. “For example, you could hit the ball with a lot of spin to try to mess them up or you could change the placement up.”

The benefits of playing tennis, ranging from the possibility of service hours to the physical and mental advantages, are no match for the most prevalent plus point (pun intended): the camaraderie one is able to develop with their fellow table tennis players.

“Some of my favorite memories are spent while playing with friends,” Li said. “I would definitely recommend playing table tennis to other people because it’s very fun, fast-paced and entertaining to watch.”