Does it take determination, discipline, desire, or maybe God-given talent, superior genes, the perfect playing environment and just a little luck? No single component by itself will make you a champion, but clearly the more key ingredients you possess, the brighter you will shine in table tennis and in life.
You have no control over who your parents are, so there is little benefit in spending time worrying about your genetics. For most American players, having an Olympic-level coach or full-time club in your backyard is unlikely, so there is not much point in being upset if you don’t have these. Good-luck charms or being Irish won’t suffice either, so what can you do?
The good news is that you do have control over many of the ingredients that help create a champion. A burning desire to succeed, the love of competition, an eagerness to improve and an understanding that each match possesses golden nuggets of knowledge that you can learn from are all important pieces of the puzzle. Remember, becoming a champion isn’t a part-time job, but a full-time commitment to excellence.
The pursuit of excellence is the fuel that champions rely on to push themselves to higher levels of play. It is said that it takes a something extra to make a champion and this is true. For those who would like to take the journey to the top of the mountain, here are ten winning traits to keep in mind. No one is born a champion. It requires many years of hard work and dedication. The journey begins with one small step and a belief that “I can and I will.”
1. Champions enjoy hard work
Serve practice, multi-ball, footwork drills, running, weightlifting and video analysis aren’t always the most fun activities, especially after a tough loss. However, approaching these tasks with vigour will provide a springboard that will let you leapfrog the competition. Champions use tournament results as feedback to adjust their workouts and goals. The day after a rough tournament, don’t be surprised to see a champion be the first to arrive at practice and the last to leave. During practice, each point should be treated with value and nothing should be taken for granted.
2. Champions plan for success
Remember that failing to prepare is preparing to fail. But, what is your plan for success? Do you intend to cram on Friday night before a tournament or hope to “get hot” in the final in order to achieve success? Champions don’t hope for victory, they plan for it. Becoming a champion takes time and requires thoughtful planning. Create measurable goals with timelines that are realistic based on your performance and rate of improvement. Write down your daily, monthly, and yearly goals, and place them in your racket case to review before and after each time you play.
3. Champions are confident and optimistic.
We play the ultimate individual sport: there is no one to hit a homer while you are on base or sink a free throw while you are on the bench; the ball is in your hands and hopefully on your racket during each rally. You must believe in yourself, if you expect to succeed. Champions know that with proper preparation they will play their best and thus they can rightfully believe they can come out on top. When the score looks bleak, they know it only takes one point to start a great comeback. If someone just pulled off an upset, interact with them. Ask them how they did it. Their positive energy will be contagious. At practice, look to associate with players who have self-confidence and high expectations. Negative thinkers and pessimists are powerful energy zappers who should be avoided at all costs at tournaments.
4. Champions visualize success
If you can imagine it, you can achieve it! Champions understand the importance of mental imagery and visualization. This is a common skill most youngsters have until adults begin to tell them that they can’t do something. Prior to practice and competition, it is prudent to daydream about the perfect performance. Find a quiet place to relax and close your eyes. Imagine hitting that winning shot against Waldner or beating an upcoming opponent. The more vivid the imagery, the more powerful the impact. Your subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between real and imagined events.
5. Champions are consistent
Champions know that success is the direct result of commitment and discipline. After a successful tournament, when it would be easy to take it easy, champions don’t break their stride and often take it up a notch. During events, champions know how to run their own mental program during matches and don’t wait until it is too late to make adjustments. Champions don’t get too excited when they perform their best nor get too nervous when they aren’t playing well. The key to being consistent is playing within oneself and not attempting risky moves that aren’t dependable at crunch time.
6. Champions are focused
Champions know that you can train hard and prepare well, but if you don’t have 100% concentration during competition, the chance for success will be haphazard. Before important matches, leave the building, take a break, clear your mind, and start to get focused for a point-by-point war. If you can win the battle of minds, you can play relaxed and at ease, but your attention must be on the task at hand. When your mind starts to wander, use a dependable technique like breathing control to re-focus your attention. Revisiting your written goals on a regular basis will make sure that you are always focused on your long-term success.
7. Champions are creative
Champions understand the need to think outside the box and to create their own unique style and strategy. Always following the lead of others, or becoming a carbon copy, is a recipe for mediocrity. Be original. Have your own set of serves. Learn from the best players. But, modify their skill set to fit your needs. Don’t be afraid to add parts of other games into your own unique style.
8. Champions never quit
Far too many comebacks have been lost when players gave up a point too early. In our new eleven-point scoring system, amazing comebacks are at hand, if one is willing to believe the game is never over. Momentum is huge in table tennis, and failure to give an inch on the final point of a game will often lead to a shift in momentum for the remainder of the match. Regardless of the score, a champion knows anything can happen, in either direction.
9. Champions help others
Champions know that by helping others you are helping the game. Coaching or encouraging others before or during a tournament will only help you in the long run. Don’t be afraid after a match to speak with your opponent or their coach to share thoughts on what happened. While all of us enjoy easy victories, it is the hard-fought matches that stay with us the longest. When practising, much can be gained by working with lesser players in the areas of consistency and control.
10. Champions love the game
The final trait which champions possess is a love and respect for the game. They recognize the past champions for their greatness and look to them for inspiration and guidance. Even when doing something else, champions figure out a way to tie it to the sport and use it to help their skills improve. With a love of the game comes the enjoyment of a difficult challenge. This desire and need to be tested will allow you to be at your best when your best is needed.
Each year at the U.S. National Championships, the United States Table Tennis Hall of Fame holds its Induction Banquet & Ceremonies honoring those players and contributors to be inducted that year. This year’s banquet was held at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel, the evening of December 18 during the tournament. Those honored were: Players: Ilija Lupulesku and Chartchai “Hank” Teekaveerakit and Contributors: Chuck Hoey and Bill Hodge. The Mark Matthews Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dan Seemiller.
I had the honor to present Hank for induction and to listen to his heartfelt speech. A number of people came by after the speech and said they could really sense how much it meant to me to have Hank inducted into the USATT Hall of Fame. My response was, “Hank was so much more than a player to our family. He was a great player but an even better person. He helped me more than I could ever thank him for by coaching me in big matches, being a world-class practice partner, a super teammate and competitor. But most importantly he was a brother to me and someone I still look to for advice and help.”
Hank, Sean, and Kaitlyn - Click the image to read Hank's speech!
Tonight, I am pleased to be here to celebrate the addition of not one, but two former Northern Virginia Club members into the USATT Hall of Fame. The club has always had a great mix of local and international talent including USATT Hall of Famers such as Larry Hodges, Barbara Kaminsky and the Sakai’s: David and Donna.
Chuck Hoey and Chartchai Teekaveerakit exemplified the great diversity one might see at the Northern Virginia Club on any given night in the 70’s or 80’s. With Chuck already inducted, I will share my thoughts on Chartchai tonight.
Chartchai “Hank” Teekaveerakit was born in Bangkok and learned the game at the age of 12 from Charlie Wuvanich and ChuChai Chan after they returned to Thailand. In three short years, Hank became the National Men’s Singles Champion of Thailand and participated in the 1983 World Championships in Tokyo at the tender age of 16.
The following year, my family received a phone call from Charlie asking if we would like to host a junior practice partner from Thailand. Little did my family know that this player would have such a big impact on our lives and that of USA Table Tennis. With the help of Tim Boggan and Gus Kennedy, Hank arrived at the ‘84 US Open in Vegas ready for action. Our family knew Hank was going to be much more than just a practice partner when he defeated Danny Seemiller to reach the quarterfinal of men’s singles, and the finals of the U2500 against Perry Schwartzberg.
After Vegas, Hank and I trained daily and played in as many tournaments both as possible. Bill Steinle of Virginia Beach would often be our mentor on these trips especially when my parents couldn’t attend. Lehigh Valley, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cedar Falls, Baton Rouge, Santa Clara, and Miami were all stops along the way we made as a team.
In January of 1985, Hank and I headed to the Angby Sport Club in Stockholm to help prepared for the World Championships in Goteborg. Hank had very impressive results in Sweden and battled with a number of top players while being coached by Nisse Sandberg. We ran into each other a number of times in local events and the outcome was never certain. I believe Hank won the first time we played and I think I won the second time. The special part of our relationship was no matter how hard we fought against each other on the table, the matches always stayed on the table. I am sure Hank hated losing to me as much as I did to him no matter if it was in Sweden, Vegas or in our basement before dinner time. Our competitiveness helped both of us excel.
As a teammate, it was great knowing that Hank was always there to win the next match no matter what. Our epic 4-2 come from behind win with Cheng Yinghua over a strong Atanda Musa led Nigerian team in Detroit was made possible thanks to Hank’s 9th match heroics in 1988. For those that remember that match, I never thought an international player could miss the same serve so many times in a row. Later I realized it wasn’t simply getting the serve back that was the problem, but stopping Hank’s bullet loop if the ball wasn’t returned perfectly. That match earned Hank MVP honors from the Teams.
Hank teamed up with Ricky, Randy, Houshang and me to stomp the Canadian’s to win our yearly Bulova watches at the CNE! While the memories from Detroit and Toronto are unforgettable, the one match that stands out the most in my mind was in Dortmund at the 1989 World Championships.
As usual Team USA was fighting for a spot in the first Division and we were the underdog against a very strong Austria team lead by former Chinese Star, Ding Yi. With the tie score 4-3 in our favor, Hank went out against former Polish Champion Stanislav Fryczck to seal the deal. Coach Danny Seemiller, Team Leader Dennis Master, ITTF Rep Gus Kennedy, and the rest of the gang cheered on each and every point. The excitement was truly indescribable. Let me share with you this great moment for Team USA! I believe we all long for time when the US Men’s Team will return to the top division at the Worlds.
Hank continued to represent the US and played a major role in helping us to retain our first division status as the team finish 15 th in Chiba City.
1986 was truly a banner year for Hank in singles play with a number of major titles both internationally (CNE) and domestically (Duneland). Not only did Hank win Men’s Singles in Pittsburgh, but he won Men’s Doubles and along with Lisa Gee was one game away from taking the Mixed, which would have given Hank a hat trick. In 1992, Hank just missing out by one spot from making the US Olympic Team for Barcelona. By being the first Alternate, he represented the US in the Brazilian and Japan Opens.
In addition to being an accomplished athlete; Hank was a full-time student at George Mason University getting his degree in International Business. Currently he is the CEO of Crystaline Jewelry Company in Bangkok.
But before we have Hank come up I asked a few of Hank’s Friends and Competitors share their insight into his table tennis prowess.
As I mentioned earlier at the 1984 US Open, Hank made it to the Finals of the U-2500s and ran into the very tough Perry Schwartzberg. This is what Perry had to say about Hank:
I was fortunate to be both a teammate as well as an opponent of Hank’s during the early 1980’s. He possessed a piston like hand motion on his service which almost defied believability in the amount of spin he imparted. Although I always thought that I along with Rick Seemiller had top notch serves in the U.S., I can safely say that no one had a more effective service than Hank. He was a warrior as a teammate and an incredibly fierce opponent. A wonderful strategist, he was someone that you wanted to have in your corner and it was never fun to see him in your opponent’s! If the USATT Hall of Fame is for the truly elite, then Hank is a truly worthy addition. ”
Here is what Hall of Famer, David Sakai said about Hank.
“In remembering Hank as a competitor he was one of the toughest and most tenacious competitors I have ever played. His service and serve return along with a great short game and strong loop made him the great player he was.”
One of Hank’s biggest Rivals, Danny Seemiller sent me this note:
“Chartchai was a warrior. Like all champions he had supreme confidence in his ability and you could feel that when you played him. Hank was so difficult to play because he had great serves and he could follow it with a power loop.”
And finally Mr. Alan Fendrick was kind enough to provide me with this:
“While not a peer level player to Chartchai, I had the pleasure of watching and commentating on many of his biggest matches in Detroit, where so many of us got to see him play. Off the court, you would find him enjoyable and engaging…..but put a table between you and him – and be prepared to bring a great game, or lose badly. His serves were un-readable, his attack was fierce and he would win against all but the top players easily effortlessly. Then he would leave the table, and become “Hank” again – a great guy and a worthy inductee to the Hall of Fame as a player and a person.”
It is my great honor to welcome Hank into the USATT Hall of Fame.
It is with great honor for me to be inducted into this prestigious group….the USATT Hall of Fame. First and foremost, I would like to thank Hall of Fame committee members for their support.
My journey into America would not be made possible without the help of my great coaches…Charlie & Chan. Through their contact with the O’Neill Family, Tim Boggan, Gus Kennedy and the USATT, I was able to compete in the 1984 US Open at the Tropicana Hotel, Las Vegas. Thus the new beginning of my table tennis career. Thank you Gus, Thank you Tim for this wonderful opportunity.
On a larger part of my life, I owe much of my achievements to the O’Neill Family, not only that they sponsored me during my 8 and a half years in the States their unconditional love and guidance have made me what I am today. I was treated as if I were the member of the family. The house was full of joy, and laughter. I had a ball on the Holly Leaf Drive.
Kathy, you were my first English teacher. You took me to school every morning in a white Chrysler with a 21 – Zip license plate. You applied for my Green Card and we celebrated together when the mail came. You were at the major tournaments sitting ring side uttering c’mon Hank. Kathy, you have been most kind.
As for Pat, you are my true supporter. While Kathy was counting the score, you were standing and walking around nervously asking who is winning. I recalled when I won the Singles at the Nationals in 1986, in Pittsburgh against Sean and the Doubles with him, you took me to Bailey, Banks and Biddle to buy a Movado watch to celebrate my victory…and to this date, I am still wearing it.
Above all you and Kathy were at my graduation from George Mason University to take part of my yet another achievement of mine.
As for you Sean, I thank you for being a great partner and a great rival. Your friendship and unselfishness of sharing the love of Pat and Kathy, is today still echoing within me.
I remember one of the interviews you gave to the USTTA Magazine SPIN after losing at the Nationals….you said “Yes, I am upset to lose, but the great thing is the title is still within the family.” Off course, Sean later made a comeback and beat the hell out of me in many tournaments, the Olympic trials…….and the Nationals in the Semi-Final where he went on to claim the Men’s Single title.
Sean, your friendship has never stopped even after some 16 years since I left the States, and because of you who has campaigned vigorously to ensure my Hall of Fame candidacy. You are my true friend….Thank you Sean.
In all, I owe everything to this great sport, it brought me to America, to the O’Neill family, to my education, and lastly to my wife Nancy, who was unable to be here tonight, whom I met during the 1989 US Open in Florida. Thank you, Thank you and Thank you.
I thought I would post my speech as a way to thank all those that helped me similar to Hank’s acceptance speech.
Thank you, Tim for those very kind words and wonderful memories.
I would like to thank everyone for coming tonight — and the Hall of Fame Committee for this tremendous honor.
All table tennis players know that you are only as good as a your competition … and believe me I have had my hands full over the years; while at the same time I would say my support team was second to none.
As Tim alluded … Scott Butler was the best adversary any junior player could have. Scott always conducted himself like a champion … and dealing with his steady backhand was not much fun. No matter when we played throughout our careers, I was aware that he knew my game inside and out and I was in for a real dog-fight.
When I finally became comfortable with Scott’s game, his younger brother Jimmy stepped in (along with an even more devastating backhand) and his championship play kept the O’Neill-Butler rivalry alive for another 10 years. My last Men’s Singles title (as Tim pointed out) featured that crazy Expedite match with Jimmy — that I must say I found “quite enjoyable!”
Along with the Butlers… the Boggans and Seemiller brothers provided me with a number of trials and tribulations. I still remember explaining to a foreign player at my first Worlds — that not everyone in the US uses anti-spin rubber and I do hit a backhand on the other side of the paddle.
To me, the best part of dealing with these formidable families was playing on the same team and especially doubles with them: be it Randy, Ricky, Danny, Scott, Jimmy, Eric and especially Tim in Toronto at the CNE’s.
Doubles has always been my favorite event … and the one partner I preferred over all others was …Diana Gee. Diana allowed me to be the set-up player while she smashed everything in sight.
Our gold medal performance in Havana at the ’91 Pan Ams was such a thrill and hearing our national anthem on Cuban soil was unforgettable. Maybe someday my daughter Kaitlyn will team up with Diana’s son Aidan to keep the doubles partnership alive.
Like Diana, Chartchai “Hank” Teeakaveerakit, (who couldn’t be here tonight) was extremely instrumental in my career … as a teammate, doubles partner, coach, and more importantly as a member of our family. Hank coached me in my first Nationals Final, numerous Sports Festivals and the Olympic Trials.
Hank and I did everything together. We played for Angby in Stockholm, played with Cheng in Detroit, played for Team USA at the Worlds and ultimately competed head-to-head in the finals of the Nationals (which he won)! Believe me, nothing is more frustrating and motivating than being #2 in the country and #2 in your household! Never once did he make a big deal over the title as he was the perfect brother to me. I look forward to Hank standing where I am tonight — as his results and titles are surely worthy of the Hall’s future consideration.
Both off and on the table I have been blessed to have some of the best coaches and friends around. Charlie, Chan, Sears, Monty, my Angby Family, Bill, Jeff, Bobby, Waqidi, Yvonne, Mark, Henan, Larry, my ping-pong.com associates, and all of the US National and Olympic Coaches who have taught me how rewarding it is to help others strive for success.
I have always been a student of the game and now working with the Paralympic team, STIGA players, Olympic hopefuls keeps me active in the sport that I love so much and my competitive juices flowing.
Of course the two most important people in my table tennis career were clearly my Mom and Dad. Having a father that was nationally ranked as a junior and who respected the sport made all the difference in the world in how I approached the game from day one. At the same time, my mom probably coached me in more matches than anyone. Her advice was pretty simple– “stay up to the table” and “please loop more!”
Their foresight of the value of travel and coaching at such a young age helped me develop as a player, a person and I know will serve me well as a parent.
I would also like to thank my sister, Molly as she graciously dealt with so many table tennis guests in our home as well as holidays that often sent our family to Miami, Detroit or Vegas. I will say she did get a sweet trip to Sweden for the Worlds, thanks to table tennis!
And most especially, my wonderful wife, Elizabeth (who couldn’t be here tonight because of work responsibilities). For the past 20 plus years, she has supported my dreams as a player and now as a coach. And I also thank her for patiently putting up with Tahl who frequently forgets the East/West time difference and calls at odd hours and is always happy to open our house to my table tennis friends just as my parents did.
I know I could list virtually everyone in this room — as most all of you have helped me in various ways over the past 30 years. I’ll do my best to thank you all individually this week.
I really hope you enjoyed watching me play over the years as much as I enjoyed competing. Many have said my greatest strength as a player was my preparation or the mental side of the game. That might be true.
But the real secret to my success was before each match, (no matter the scope)… I just told myself to go out and have fun. I reminded myself that this is what I had trained for and there is no disgrace in losing — as long as you give it everything you got.
Once again thank you for this fantastic honor. I hope you enjoy your evening.
