AUSTIN, Texas — Just off of Highway 183 and Research Boulevard, tucked in the back of a storage unit lot, is a warehouse labeled Austin Table Tennis Club. Inside, dozens of young athletes, ages 6 to 20, spend hours hitting balls.
"Literally, some of them are putting 20 to 25 hours a week into their craft," said one of the group's coaches, Clayton Pavlicek.
"During the summer it's more intense – like four or five hours a day," said Sarthak Gupta, the third-ranked 19- to 21-year-old player in Texas. "Then I have more time, and that's the time I really want to use to improve and get better."
The goals are lofty.
"I put so much effort because I want to be the best in table tennis," said 12-year-old Swar Patel, "probably an Olympic champion."
"One of my dreams is honestly to become the first American to win a gold medal in table tennis," said 13-year-old Aaryan Polisetty. "All these guys want to do that – it's not just me. It's all our dreams to become world champions."
Winning gold in table tennis takes more than just a time commitment; it takes the type of physical and mental strength that very few have.
"You have to have a smart brain like a chess player. You have to have fast muscles like a fast runner. You have to have enough power like a weightlifter," said head coach Shahin Akhlaghpasand. "If you don't take care of your muscle and your planning, you cannot be a professional player."
Akhaghpasand knows what it takes to play at the highest level, as a member of Iran's 2004 Olympic table tennis team.
"Having an Olympian coach me and telling me all his stuff, everything in his mind about table tennis, makes me feel blessed and grateful," said Polisetty.
The coaches hope to teach the young athletes how to be the highest quality players and highest quality people.
"I once worked with the Thai national coach," said Pavlicek, "and he said, 'Even though we're table tennis coaches, we have to teach them how to have a good life.'"
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