JOOLA USA

Name: Peter Li

Equipment
Racket:  JOOLA Linus SWE
Forehand sponge:  JOOLA Energy
Backhand sponge: JOOLA Energy
Shoes: JOOLA Rush

What are your best titles or rankings?

Current Rating: 2367

2008 USA Cadet National Team Member (#2 on team)

2008 USA Junior National Team Member (#3 on team)

2007 Participant in the World Cadet Challenge Cup held in Cape Town South Africa

2007 North American Championship Cadet Under 15 Boys Semifinalist

2007 Cary Cup Championship Top Junior Achievement Award.

2007 USA Cadet National Team Member

2006 USA Nationals Under 18 Boys' Singles Final Four (at age 13)

2006 Butterfly MDTTC June Open Singles Semifinalist

2006 Butterfly MDTTC February Open Singles Finalist

2005 Butterfly MDTTC April Open Singles Finalist

2003 Under 12 Boys' Doubles & Team Champion, Junior Olympic Finalist

2003 Elementary School Boys' Singles Champion

2002 Under 10 Junior Olympic and Junior Nationals Boys' Singles, Doubles and Team   Champion

Best Rankings: #2 in Under 16 Boys, #2 in Under 14 Boys, #1 in Under 12 and Under 10

When and how did you start playing?

I first  picked up a table tennis paddle when I was almost 8 years old. I started playing because my dad, Ming Li, played table tennis and I was able to go and watch him play, along with many other people at the Potomac Country Table Tennis Club. My dad and his friends there encouraged me to start playing, so I started to play the sport for fun. I liked the sport, and soon got serious.

Who are your coaches, past and present? Who do you practice with?

My present coach is Jack Huang. My former coach was Cheng Yinghua. I have also been coached by several Chinese coaches when I trained in China over the summers. I practice with many of the top juniors and other players in Maryland. These include Joseph Wang, Amaresh Sahu, Richard Lee, and Qasim Aziz. I also practice with my dad at home.

Have you trained or competed overseas? Tell us about it!

I have both trained and competed overseas. I have trained in China over the summer for 1-2 months the past few years. The training there was different than in the US. It was more organized and probably more efficient than US training. The days were basically routine, having 3 hours of practice in the morning and 2 hours and 30 minutes of practice in the afternoon. We would do multi-ball training, drills, and some practice matches during the practice hours. Also, there would be physical training. Some examples would be frog jumps, jump ropes, weight training, running, and other exercises to get you more physically fit for table tennis. I have also competed overseas in the 2007 World Cadet Challenge Cup held in Cape Town, South Africa. During this competition, I was able to play many of the best cadet players from all over the world. Every continent selected 4 players to represent their continent, along with 4 players from the hometown and 4 players from a wild card team, which in this case was Korea. The competition was intense and I was able to see what was out there in the world of table tennis and also make some friends along the way.

Any interesting experiences during your table tennis travels?

My trip to Cape Town, South Africa for the World Cadet Challenge Cup was an interesting experience. There was one day during the trip for sightseeing. We saw many interesting sights and animals. One of these sights was the Cape Point. We also got to see a type of penguin that lives on land next to the sea. I forgot what they were called, but they were pretty small. Also, one year when I traveled to China for training, I was able to stop at Shanghai for a few days, where I saw one of the Pro Tour Volkswagen Opens. I was able to see many of the top players like Wang Liqin, Ma Lin, Wang Hao, and other top players in competition live. This was a very interesting experience for me.

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on my physical strength, serves, and third-ball attack.

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

My short-term goals for table tennis right now are to try to do well in the North American Championships coming in April, so I will be able to attend more international tournaments. In the cadet event, my goal is to get top 4, in order to be able to attend the 2008 World Cadet Challenge Cup. In the junior event, my goal is to be able to help the US Junior team win against Canada's Junior team in order to go to the 2008 World Junior Championship, since North America, only one country gets to go, either the US or Canada. My intermediate goals are to make the USA National Junior Team the next three years I am allowed to try out. My long-term goals are to make the USA National Men’s Team as many years as I can and to make the US Olympic team and participate in the Olympics.

What are your interests outside table tennis?

I also play the violin in my school orchestra. I participate in my school's cross-country team, indoor track, and outdoor track and field. I also enjoy watching television, video games, and hanging out with my friends.

You've been running into problems getting off school for your table tennis travels, even though you are a straight "A" student. What's going on?

The problem is that I have had a few tournaments that require me to miss school. So far this year, I have missed 9 days of school for the 2007 World Cadet Challenge Cup and 3 days for the US National Championships. The problem is that my school does not accept these absences as excused. I was only able to get 3 days excused and the rest were unexcused absences. Since they were unexcused absences, some of my teachers had given me 0’s on homework and class work assignments, affecting my grade. One teacher even gave me a 0 on a quiz, and would not let me make it up. I was lucky that it was not a big quiz, so I was able to slowly make it up through other quizzes. I understand the policy that most absences are unexcused, unless you are sick or have an emergency family problem, which requires a note, but my family and I think there should be an exception for my table tennis competitions. I am not trying to skip school or anything like that. My old middle school had let me go and I know that many other schools around the countries let students go, since there are always few big tournaments a year requiring you to miss school. My family and I think it is only fair to make these absences excused. I will be leaving school again for the North American Championships some time in April, so I will see what will happen then.

[Editor's Note: Peter is a straight "A" student. I went with him and his parents to meet with school officials about the problem of absences, but so far they have basically agreed that while he should get the time off while, they say it's against school policy and won't do anything about it.]