Spotlight Search: Table Tennis Captain

By Raaghav A.

With the upcoming APAC (Asia Pacific Athletics Conference) table tennis meet in SASPX (Shanghai American School of Puxi) from January 31st to February 4th, athletes are training extremely hard to prepare. One of the male athletes in the spotlight now is Kieran Z, the captain of AISG’s varsity table tennis boys. 

Kieran is a junior on his second year on the table tennis team. Varsity sports were cancelled in season 2 of the 2022-2023 year (due to a COVID-19 surge in Guangzhou), so there is a gap in Kieran’s table tennis resumé. But his experience in the sport goes back many years. 

“In elementary school, there was two [table tennis] tables there, I liked to play in my spare time.” Kieran’s playing mentality also emerged from his lunchtime gameplay. “We used to do best of threes, right? So, to keep playing on court, you had to win. That is how I got practice a lot.”  

Both Kieran’s table tennis interest and journey sparked in his primary education. His championship mentality is also a unique trait which emerged from there. But how has he improved and changed now in high school? Ms. Lei, coach of AISG’s varsity table tennis team, had only praise for Kieran’s character. 

“During my first interaction with Kieran, I found him to be introverted, quiet, but focused on practicing. But during a recent trip to Beijing, he impressed me with his leadership skills.” Kieran’s resilience and hardworking persona is recognized by his coach, and he was unanimously nominated as a suitor for the role of team captain. 

Every week, Kieran and other members of the table tennis team train under the mentoring/supervision of Coach Lei and Coach Qin. The coaches are key in developing a player’s skills and abilities. “I provide feedback and guidance to players on areas that need improvement, such as technique, tactics and physical fitness,” is what Coach Lei outlines her role as a coach to be. 

Kieran, as a captain, players an important role alongside the coaches. “As captain, he is expected to lead by example on and off the field [SIC],” remarks Coach Lei. Their role is defined in section 8 of the AISG Athletics Handbook 2023-2024, under Team Captain Expectations & Responsibilities.  

There are expected behaviors by captains stated in this handbook. “If you spot a fellow player(s) [SIC] who may need extra help, you should be the first to offer your time and skill.” Captains play a crucial role in building team chemistry and “fostering a positive team culture”, as Coach Lei puts it, and so does the handbook. Another role of the captain is to “reinforce the coach’s message and philosophy with the players.” This requires a healthy relationship between Coaches Lei and Qin and Kieran. 

The role of a captain also requires maturity. “As a freshman, I just wanted to practice on my own and do my best. But now, as a captain of the team, I just want everyone to do their best.” Kieran’s selflessness and leadership is emitted in daily training as well. “I help people concentrate on training and help them to do their best.” 

Over the past couple of years, maintaining a consistent routine of practice was and still is tough. The rise of COVID-19 in 2020 only diminishing in effect in the past few months created irregular schedules and hindered many events, like previous APAC meets. Regardless of the difficult times, Kieran managed to find time and space to practice table tennis outside of school. 

Kieran’s interest in table tennis also rubbed off on his friends. A friend of Kieran who plays Pokémon card games with Kieran on the weekend, had much to say about Kieran. 

“He taught me a lot [SIC] skill in table tennis. He inspired my table tennis interest when I joined table tennis for this season.” Though this fellow 11th grader isn’t going to APAC, he is profusely working towards improving his skills alongside Kieran, who is acting as a mentor for him. 

The next major tournament for Kieran and AISG is the upcoming APAC meet in SASPX. Both Coach Lei and Kieran’s friends believe in our team to do well. As for Kieran, he remarked that he needs to “do my best, [SIC] keep training, that’s it.” Hopefully his hard work and dedication is reflected by the end of APAC in SASPX.