NAME/GRADE: Erica Tran, senior
SPORT: table tennis
YEARS PLAYING THE SPORT: 8.5
HOURS OF TRAINING EACH WEEK: 12 in the summer, 6 to 8 in the school year
INSPIRATION: “For everything I do, I always want to be the best I can be. Whether it be school, music, table tennis or any other activity, I want to bring out my full potential. Especially for table tennis, my passion for it drives me to do my best; it's my favorite thing to do, and I just love the feeling of hitting the ball. Having goals such as playing well, winning events and making the national team drive me to do even better.”
Goal: “My biggest goal is to make the 2016 or 2020 Olympic Team. This is extremely hard because only one to three female athletes from the U.S. make the team. I also really want to make the Women's National Team so that I can represent the U.S. in international competitions, especially the World Singles and Teams Championships.”
MOST NOTABLE EXPERIENCE: “The U.S. Cadet and Junior Team Trials at the 2010 U.S. Nationals were my most notable experiences. Although the trials were probably my greatest failure in my table tennis career since I barely missed making the Cadet and Junior teams … they taught me so much. I learned to pick myself up from disappointment and to continue pursuing my passion, even after such a loss.”
FUNNY STORY: “One time during an important match in one of the team trials [for a tournament], there was a referee for my match. My opponent hit the ball to the far corner, and when I rushed to try to get it back on the table, I instead hit it at the referee in the face.”
NAME/GRADE: Matthew Tran, sophomore
SPORT: table tennis
YEARS PLAYING THE SPORT: 7
HOURS OF TRAINING EACH WEEK: 9 to 10
INSPIRATION: “My inspiration right now is the player Zhang Jike. I really admire how he started out low and worked his way to become the best. He really inspired me to work harder in order to achieve my goals. I was impressed by his worth ethic and determination and that also inspired me.”
I first began to get into table tennis when I saw my sister playing, and I really wanted to try it too.
I used to have somewhat of a rivalry with my sister and I wanted to be better. After three to four years I became better than her, although I still strive to become even better.”
MOST NOTABLE EXPERIENCE: “The most notable experience is when I first started playing [table tennis]. I just instantly liked it and thought it was a lot of fun.”
FUNNY STORY: “I don’t remember specifically when, but I was playing in a tournament. I slipped and fell during a really long rally, and somehow I managed to hit the ball with the edge of my paddle, and it bounced onto the table.”
