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The Maryland Table Tennis Center (MDTTC) is described in its website as “a premier full-time table tennis club in the United States for both recreational players and elite athletes with 10,000 square feet of space.” It is open seven days a week.

The Center is known for its world-class coaches Cheng Yinghua, Jack Huang, Jeffrey Zeng Xun, and Larry Hodges. Yinghua and Huang are former Chinese National Team members, head coaches for the Sichuan and Guangxi Chinese Province teams. They are also former U.S. No.1 players.

Before last month’s opening of the Olympics in London, the Washington Post came to interview some of its players. The players had excellent skills, but nobody made it to the Summer Olympics in London, according to Coach Yinghua, a US Olympian and six-time US Open or Nationals Men’s Singles Champion.

Yinghua himself played for the US in Olympics 2000, but did not win. “China’s team was very strong,” he said.

Timmy La, a Finance student at Rockville Montgomery College, has caught the sports bug. He was introduced to table tennis (ping pong) by his dad two years ago.

Timmy said he likes table tennis “because you do not need much power, it’s mostly a mental game.” He usually plays the sport twice a month. During summer, he has a go at it every week.

Timmy sang the praises of his coach (Yinghua). “A former champion, and what a great coach–Cheng is one of the top coaches,” he said.

Coach Xun is a former player and coach from the Sichuan Province team in China. Hodges is a U.S. Table Tennis Hall of Famer for his coaching and writing. The MDTTC staff has coached hundreds of players to national titles and Junior Olympics Gold Medals.

Since 1992, table tennis players across the globe have chosen to train at the Center. These include professional players from China, U.S. Junior and Cadet Team members, current U.S. National Men’s Singles and Doubles Champions, and AAU Junior Olympics Gold Medal winners.