JOOLA USA

Name: John Leach

Age/DOB: 18/April 26, 1989

Home Club: Aurora Table Tennis Club, Denver Colorado

Equipment

Racket: JOOLA Fever

Forehand sponge: Mambo C Red, Max

Backhand sponge: Mambo H Black, Max

What are your best titles or rankings?

• 4-times USA Cadet National Team Member
• 2-times USA Junior National Team Member
• 10th Place, 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials
• 2-time Bronze Medalist in North American Junior Championships
• Silver Medalist, North American Championships in Men's Doubles
• Top Eight, 2007 North American Championships Men's Singles  

When and how did you start playing?

I started when I was around eight years old, when my dad decided to buy a table tennis table for our garage. It was sort of a birthday present to me, and neither I nor my sister (also a long-time player) thought it would become our sport.

Describe your playing style.

I'm a two-winged looper, and play at a medium distance from the table. I use a lot of unconventional serves, ones that were more common 20 or 30 years ago. I also like to think I have a relatively strong backhand for my level, but I could be wrong.

Who are your coaches (past or present)? Who do you practice with?

I've had coaching from many people over the years. I started with Dana Jeffries, a coach in Colorado Springs, whose club was about two hours from my house. I've also worked with Francisco Mendez, and I get a lot of advice from Mr. Richard McAfee since he moved to Denver a couple years back.  I've had considerable coaching from both Danny Seemiller and Mark Nordby, starting from when I was first on the Cadet National Team, and I continue to receive it to this day, which I am grateful for. My primary coaches for the past several years have been Mr. (Zhenshi) and Mrs. (Zhang) Li, whom I owe most of my developments to. Of course I also get a lot of help from my dad. Obviously I owe a lot to a lot of people.

What are you currently working on?

I'm in Germany right now, along with Trevor Runyan, so I'm trying to take advantage of the European playing style. There is more hard topspin play back from the table than in the U.S., and being under constant pressure to attack has its advantages, but I am trying to work on my short game (especially short service return) and footwork. Those are two things I need to improve regardless of where I am training.

What are your table tennis goals – short-, intermediate- and long-term?

Since I’m training overseas right, the short-term goal is basically to improve as many aspects of my game as quickly as I can. Pretty simple. Medium-term goals would be to have a satisfactory performance at the U.S. Open this summer, and I would like to perform well at the National team trials next time they roll around. My long-term goals are to keep playing the sport, hopefully at a competitive level, and to keep loving it as long as I do.

Tell us about your various overseas training experiences.

There's a lot to tell. I've trained in Sweden, Germany, China, Japan, India, and other countries. When I look back in 20 years, I will probably remember those days among the best of my life. Nothing really compares to traveling all over the world doing something you like, and it is something I hope I don't take too much for granted.

What are your interests outside table tennis?

I like being outdoors a lot. Colorado seems to make a lot of people feel that way, and I've got a pretty sweet view of the mountains right outside my bedroom window. I've liked biology a lot ever since I was a kid. Especially anything having to do with reptiles and amphibians, or other animals that most normal people find disgusting. Of course I like hanging out with friends whenever I can.

Tell us something really interesting about yourself.

I think my circumstances speak for themselves. There is nothing particularly special about me, except that I appear to be ridiculously lucky. I have a pretty unique life, and I'm trying to enjoy that for as long as time will allow.