Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

I can’t speak for all Asians but most of us consider sports a hobby. I can understand a mother of a 28yo wanting her daughter to get a “real” job and get married.

My son plays tennis at a high level. School is the priority and comes first.

Agree.

-white family

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

I can’t speak for all Asians but most of us consider sports a hobby. I can understand a mother of a 28yo wanting her daughter to get a “real” job and get married.

My son plays tennis at a high level. School is the priority and comes first.

Well, the article clearly shows that sports is not meant to be simply a hobby. It is meant to be something you work very hard at, not because you enjoy it necessarily...but because it is only a means to an end which is elite college admissions.

Once the end is obtained...the parents would prefer you never play it again if there is no ulterior end game to continue playing (i.e., leads to jobs).

Same for instruments and other activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

I can’t speak for all Asians but most of us consider sports a hobby. I can understand a mother of a 28yo wanting her daughter to get a “real” job and get married.

My son plays tennis at a high level. School is the priority and comes first.

Nobody plays any sport at a high level if it is just "a hobby". That's what differentiates the hobbyists who play for fun on the weekend from the players who compete at a high level.

You contradicted your own statement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a father of a young boy, I think about this all the time. Things are so different from when I was a kid which wasn't even that long ago. You can't do rec league soccer and more it has to be travel league, summer camp signup started before the New Year, high school kids are doing charity trips to third world countries... This list just goes on and on...

You can do rec soccer. It is a choice. Most kids who do travel soccer will eventually quit and it serves very little purpose.

Agree. Even if they are “good enough” to make varsity in competitive high school, so what? Putting varsity soccer on your college app means nothing. It isn’t a hook of any kind. It’s viewed the same as any other sport or activity.

Step further: If you are not recruited (and most kids are not recruited), for admissions purposes, putting 10 years of rec soccer is identical to 10 years of travel soccer; varsity on the best high school team is the same as varsity at the worst high school team; being captain of a big league team is the same as being captain of a "we'll let everyone play" team. Not saying you should not do travel or pick a particular school if that works for you, but if these choices are bad for your kid and stressing the family, you can make another choice and create an equivalent resume, while having more fun.

[Anonymous]

The best thing you can do as a parent is to teach your kids to run their own race. You lead by example. You stop caring so much about what other parents and their kids are doing. You exude some confidence that you're going in the direction that works for you, and your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:White people are obsessed with team sports and “teamwork”

I'm not. My kids aren't either. They hate sports, but do participate in individual sports because they have to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

I can’t speak for all Asians but most of us consider sports a hobby. I can understand a mother of a 28yo wanting her daughter to get a “real” job and get married.

My son plays tennis at a high level. School is the priority and comes first.

Nobody plays any sport at a high level if it is just "a hobby". That's what differentiates the hobbyists who play for fun on the weekend from the players who compete at a high level.

You contradicted your own statement.

My kid has been playing tennis since he was in preschool. He also did soccer, swim team, basketball and track. His main sport is tennis. He plays tennis 5-6x per week, is on the varsity tennis team and plays tournaments when he can. He is as dedicated to tennis as a person can get without being all in.

We also know the kids who go to the boarding schools or private school or online school who play tennis all day everyday. We are not that type of family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am Asian and in my circle of Asian friends, nobody cares about having their kids play soccer, football, or basketball. We only care about golf or tennis. That is because most, not all Asians, consider soccer, football, and basketball a low class, while it takes a lot of money to get good at golf or tennis.

If you look at the golf and tennis roster at Langley, McLean, Oakton HS, they are mostly Asians.

My Indian friend says they all choose tennis or golf because you can direct the coach and training times and not mess around with teams, fields, and others.

Or swim because the young Asian friend follow directions so much and do the daily training.

Then there are all the violin and piano kids.

This is true. Tennis is an independent sport. You have control over your practice and tournament schedule. Plus you don’t have to interact with annoying suburban mothers

+1

The same with golf. You do not need to rely on anyone and to avoid annoying parents. In golf and tennis, coaches can not cut you from the team due to favoritism and nepotism because it shows up in the tryout results.

Yes we know; it’s not a team ball sport.

Is that the magic catch for Asian and SE Asian families?

So when people are tossing around "Asian" do they just mean recent immigrants?
And really can you tell?

My Asian kids aren't into team sport much to the chagrin of DH who is naturally athletic and has been pretty much awesome at any sport he tried. He's been pushing soccer and other team sports since they were little kids only to have them decide that they wanted more independent activities, like my DD liking to run but after trying track, she decided to run 5Ks by herself instead.

I forced them into marching band (and yes it's not a sport, blah, blah, blah) but they love the teamwork aspect of it now. We don't all flee from teamwork.

Marching band is a varsity sport. Its simply a varsity sport which Fairfax County chooses not to support financially.

Matching band used to be a class during the 7-8 periods and then a summer field show EC and that would bleed into football seasons. Tons of athletes played instruments and would do the home game stuff.

Then after NCLB / common core testing and standards, it got moved to after school and lost tons of people who did sports. Now it’s either /or. And super time consuming. That’s sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

I can’t speak for all Asians but most of us consider sports a hobby. I can understand a mother of a 28yo wanting her daughter to get a “real” job and get married.

My son plays tennis at a high level. School is the priority and comes first.

Nobody plays any sport at a high level if it is just "a hobby". That's what differentiates the hobbyists who play for fun on the weekend from the players who compete at a high level.

You contradicted your own statement.

My kid has been playing tennis since he was in preschool. He also did soccer, swim team, basketball and track. His main sport is tennis. He plays tennis 5-6x per week, is on the varsity tennis team and plays tournaments when he can. He is as dedicated to tennis as a person can get without being all in.

We also know the kids who go to the boarding schools or private school or online school who play tennis all day everyday. We are not that type of family.

Got it...but that's no different than any other sport where you have "hobbyists" who play occasionally for fun, you have kids that play seriously and perhaps may be able to play the sport at say a D3 level (or not), and you have kids that play the sport at a very high level and their goal is the D1 and/or the Professional level.

That's all. It is more than a hobby, but not the highest level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

I can’t speak for all Asians but most of us consider sports a hobby. I can understand a mother of a 28yo wanting her daughter to get a “real” job and get married.

My son plays tennis at a high level. School is the priority and comes first.

Nobody plays any sport at a high level if it is just "a hobby". That's what differentiates the hobbyists who play for fun on the weekend from the players who compete at a high level.

You contradicted your own statement.

My kid has been playing tennis since he was in preschool. He also did soccer, swim team, basketball and track. His main sport is tennis. He plays tennis 5-6x per week, is on the varsity tennis team and plays tournaments when he can. He is as dedicated to tennis as a person can get without being all in.

We also know the kids who go to the boarding schools or private school or online school who play tennis all day everyday. We are not that type of family.

Got it...but that's no different than any other sport where you have "hobbyists" who play occasionally for fun, you have kids that play seriously and perhaps may be able to play the sport at say a D3 level (or not), and you have kids that play the sport at a very high level and their goal is the D1 and/or the Professional level.

That's all. It is more than a hobby, but not the highest level.

I didn’t say highest level. He plays in national tournaments and does not do so well. Although he is at a high level, he is not the best at this high level. He does win all his matches for his HS team. My kid is your second group that you stayed. He may be able to play D3 but the schools he wants to attend are Ivy and T20 schools so he would pick the better college than ability to play on a D3 tennis team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

I can’t speak for all Asians but most of us consider sports a hobby. I can understand a mother of a 28yo wanting her daughter to get a “real” job and get married.

My son plays tennis at a high level. School is the priority and comes first.

Nobody plays any sport at a high level if it is just "a hobby". That's what differentiates the hobbyists who play for fun on the weekend from the players who compete at a high level.

You contradicted your own statement.

My kid has been playing tennis since he was in preschool. He also did soccer, swim team, basketball and track. His main sport is tennis. He plays tennis 5-6x per week, is on the varsity tennis team and plays tournaments when he can. He is as dedicated to tennis as a person can get without being all in.

We also know the kids who go to the boarding schools or private school or online school who play tennis all day everyday. We are not that type of family.

Got it...but that's no different than any other sport where you have "hobbyists" who play occasionally for fun, you have kids that play seriously and perhaps may be able to play the sport at say a D3 level (or not), and you have kids that play the sport at a very high level and their goal is the D1 and/or the Professional level.

That's all. It is more than a hobby, but not the highest level.

I didn’t say highest level. He plays in national tournaments and does not do so well. Although he is at a high level, he is not the best at this high level. He does win all his matches for his HS team. My kid is your second group that you stayed. He may be able to play D3 but the schools he wants to attend are Ivy and T20 schools so he would pick the better college than ability to play on a D3 tennis team.

Well he has zero chance to play Ivy or t20 so he should know that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

I can’t speak for all Asians but most of us consider sports a hobby. I can understand a mother of a 28yo wanting her daughter to get a “real” job and get married.

My son plays tennis at a high level. School is the priority and comes first.

Nobody plays any sport at a high level if it is just "a hobby". That's what differentiates the hobbyists who play for fun on the weekend from the players who compete at a high level.

You contradicted your own statement.

My kid has been playing tennis since he was in preschool. He also did soccer, swim team, basketball and track. His main sport is tennis. He plays tennis 5-6x per week, is on the varsity tennis team and plays tournaments when he can. He is as dedicated to tennis as a person can get without being all in.

We also know the kids who go to the boarding schools or private school or online school who play tennis all day everyday. We are not that type of family.

Got it...but that's no different than any other sport where you have "hobbyists" who play occasionally for fun, you have kids that play seriously and perhaps may be able to play the sport at say a D3 level (or not), and you have kids that play the sport at a very high level and their goal is the D1 and/or the Professional level.

That's all. It is more than a hobby, but not the highest level.

I didn’t say highest level. He plays in national tournaments and does not do so well. Although he is at a high level, he is not the best at this high level. He does win all his matches for his HS team. My kid is your second group that you stayed. He may be able to play D3 but the schools he wants to attend are Ivy and T20 schools so he would pick the better college than ability to play on a D3 tennis team.

Well he has zero chance to play Ivy or t20 so he should know that

He has the grades, scores and other extracurricular activities and legacy status. I’m not worried about him.

My other kid is another story….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

I can’t speak for all Asians but most of us consider sports a hobby. I can understand a mother of a 28yo wanting her daughter to get a “real” job and get married.

My son plays tennis at a high level. School is the priority and comes first.

Nobody plays any sport at a high level if it is just "a hobby". That's what differentiates the hobbyists who play for fun on the weekend from the players who compete at a high level.

You contradicted your own statement.

My kid has been playing tennis since he was in preschool. He also did soccer, swim team, basketball and track. His main sport is tennis. He plays tennis 5-6x per week, is on the varsity tennis team and plays tournaments when he can. He is as dedicated to tennis as a person can get without being all in.

We also know the kids who go to the boarding schools or private school or online school who play tennis all day everyday. We are not that type of family.

Got it...but that's no different than any other sport where you have "hobbyists" who play occasionally for fun, you have kids that play seriously and perhaps may be able to play the sport at say a D3 level (or not), and you have kids that play the sport at a very high level and their goal is the D1 and/or the Professional level.

That's all. It is more than a hobby, but not the highest level.

I didn’t say highest level. He plays in national tournaments and does not do so well. Although he is at a high level, he is not the best at this high level. He does win all his matches for his HS team. My kid is your second group that you stayed. He may be able to play D3 but the schools he wants to attend are Ivy and T20 schools so he would pick the better college than ability to play on a D3 tennis team.

You do know that there are some top 20 D3 schools…JHU, Chicago…WashU and Emory if you extend to top 25.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

I can’t speak for all Asians but most of us consider sports a hobby. I can understand a mother of a 28yo wanting her daughter to get a “real” job and get married.

My son plays tennis at a high level. School is the priority and comes first.

Nobody plays any sport at a high level if it is just "a hobby". That's what differentiates the hobbyists who play for fun on the weekend from the players who compete at a high level.

You contradicted your own statement.

My kid has been playing tennis since he was in preschool. He also did soccer, swim team, basketball and track. His main sport is tennis. He plays tennis 5-6x per week, is on the varsity tennis team and plays tournaments when he can. He is as dedicated to tennis as a person can get without being all in.

We also know the kids who go to the boarding schools or private school or online school who play tennis all day everyday. We are not that type of family.

Got it...but that's no different than any other sport where you have "hobbyists" who play occasionally for fun, you have kids that play seriously and perhaps may be able to play the sport at say a D3 level (or not), and you have kids that play the sport at a very high level and their goal is the D1 and/or the Professional level.

That's all. It is more than a hobby, but not the highest level.

I didn’t say highest level. He plays in national tournaments and does not do so well. Although he is at a high level, he is not the best at this high level. He does win all his matches for his HS team. My kid is your second group that you stayed. He may be able to play D3 but the schools he wants to attend are Ivy and T20 schools so he would pick the better college than ability to play on a D3 tennis team.

I get it…but that’s more than a hobbyist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, when the WSJ runs an article like this on an Olympic ping pong player...it's hard not to believe this is the thinking of many Asian families and sports:

Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, a six-time national champ and four-time Olympian in the prime of her career. At only 28 years old, the California native can’t help but dream ahead about playing in front of a home crowd at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Her parents are less enthused.

“We always try to convince her to stop playing,” says her mother, Linda Liu. “We just want her to have a normal job.”

The irony is that Linda Liu and Bob Zhang helped mold their daughter into a table-tennis star in the first place. Immigrants from China, they wanted to pass down their native country’s national sport to their offspring. So in a cramped Palo Alto apartment, the ping-pong table pulled double duty.

“It was also the dining table,” Lily Zhang says. “We would just put a tablecloth over it and then eat.”

But to her parents, table tennis was an opportunity to enhance her college applications. “If she played at a high level, it would help her get into a good school,” says Liu, her mother.

At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. “They’re like, OK, you got the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies,’ ” Zhang says.

“You already went to the London Olympics,” Liu said at the time. “That is enough.”

I can’t speak for all Asians but most of us consider sports a hobby. I can understand a mother of a 28yo wanting her daughter to get a “real” job and get married.

My son plays tennis at a high level. School is the priority and comes first.

Nobody plays any sport at a high level if it is just "a hobby". That's what differentiates the hobbyists who play for fun on the weekend from the players who compete at a high level.

You contradicted your own statement.

My kid has been playing tennis since he was in preschool. He also did soccer, swim team, basketball and track. His main sport is tennis. He plays tennis 5-6x per week, is on the varsity tennis team and plays tournaments when he can. He is as dedicated to tennis as a person can get without being all in.

We also know the kids who go to the boarding schools or private school or online school who play tennis all day everyday. We are not that type of family.

Got it...but that's no different than any other sport where you have "hobbyists" who play occasionally for fun, you have kids that play seriously and perhaps may be able to play the sport at say a D3 level (or not), and you have kids that play the sport at a very high level and their goal is the D1 and/or the Professional level.

That's all. It is more than a hobby, but not the highest level.

I didn’t say highest level. He plays in national tournaments and does not do so well. Although he is at a high level, he is not the best at this high level. He does win all his matches for his HS team. My kid is your second group that you stayed. He may be able to play D3 but the schools he wants to attend are Ivy and T20 schools so he would pick the better college than ability to play on a D3 tennis team.

You do know that there are some top 20 D3 schools…JHU, Chicago…WashU and Emory if you extend to top 25.

Yes, we are aware. I’m not the tennis player. DH is and knows more about this than I do. All my son’s coaches think he can play college tennis and I’m sure Dh wants him to as well.

I, the mom, don’t expect it. It may not show on an anonymous forum but I’m being humble.