Juniors of the Month: 

Laura & John Leach

By Wade Shuman

Laura Leach, 15, and John Leach, 12, from Erie, Colorado, are making a name for themselves by moving up the junior table tennis circuit at a rapid pace. This sister and brother dynamic duo, rated 1855 and 1899 respectively, is vastly becoming a force to be reckoned with among their opponents. They first started playing table tennis in 1997 when their father, Chris, bought a table. Chris was a former tennis champion in high school and had the desire to indulge in a similar game on a smaller scale. Laura said, "We just loved the game. Competing against each other was so fun we couldn’t stop."

Laura (L) and John (R). Photos by John Oros Copyright 2001.

The tandem gained a deeper understanding for the sport of table tennis from National coach Dana Jeffries from July 1997-99. Coach Jeffries’ style of coaching enabled them to work on mastering strokes, spin, long pips, and gaining strong strategic management. Then Laura and John changed coaches and took instruction from their father Chris, who strengthened their mental toughness. In 2001, Francisco Mendez, a 9-Time Mexican National Champion, started coaching Laura and John in April. "Francisco has us train 3 days a week, incorporating running and lifting weights into the regimen, but we both hit 6 days a week," Laura said. Mendez places a great emphasis on the importance of the loop, and the strategy of the sport. Although cardiovascular and physical fitness plays a large role in the equation, attention to detail is his strongest quality.

On Wednesdays, they frequent the Boulder Table Tennis Club to play practice matches. While at home, John and Laura become consummate practice partners because there aren’t any other juniors playing in the area at their level. On Sundays, the Aurora Table Tennis Club has become their home away from home, as they spend an hour and a half taking weekly lessons from Zhang Li, a former World Champion. Li works on Laura and John’s footwork and topspin loops and adds needed weapons to their arsenal.

They are both currently without a sponsor. John and Laura both use a Biside blade. Laura feels comfortable with Sriver FX on both her forehand and her backhand. John also likes the Sriver FX backhand, but prefers the Bryce forehand. Laura is convinced her rating is not that big of an issue at this time due to the fact she is working on skills that should raise her rating in the months to come. Her main focus is dedicated to working on looping, which she says has been a difficult transition. John is also dedicated to improving his skills for the future. He makes an effort to continuously work on the motion and movement of the spin, which he feels, will cause problems for opponents. John says he likes to play table tennis because "this game is real challenging … The ball doesn’t move like any other sport and there is always something to work on."

Laura and John are academically advanced for their age because they have the luxury of being home-schooled by their mother. John is accelerating through middle school, currently at the eighth grade level with science and math as his favorite subjects. Rapidly surpassing peers of her own age, Laura is scheduled to graduate high school in May. She plans on attending the University of Colorado next year to study engineering with a minor in finance, being that physics and math are her passion. Besides Laura and John, there are over 100 other home-schooled students in their surrounding area. They get together for various activities such as bowling, skating, and hiking in order to enjoy social interaction. Laura is very determined and one of her goals is to make the U. S. National Team within the next three years, and the Olympic Team in 2004 or 2008.

Laura has consistently improved her ability over the four years that she has been involved in table tennis. In the past year, she overcame adversity in the 4-star St. Joseph Valley Open to win Under 15 Girls’ Singles, and was runner-up in Under 18 Girls’ Singles. She received the prestigious Sportsmanship Award in the Albuquerque Teams Tournament. The four-star Western Open in September was memorable as she elevated her game to new heights in winning Under 16 Girls’ Singles. She also had a great experience at the 2000 Rocky Mountain Regional, winning Under 18 Girls’ Singles. She said, "I hold the Rocky Mountain Regional close to my heart because that is where I won two of the first three sanctioned table tennis events I ever played in."

John (namesake of the four-time Men’s Singles Champion from the Hardbat days) has witnessed success of his own in 2001, rising to the cream of the crop to hold the #1 ranking among the Under 12 Boys’ singles division in the Jan-Feb USATT Magazine. He won Under 13 Boys at the 4-star Western Open, propelling his rating upward. John has been working on different facets of his game, particularly in the defensive area. He feels blocking too much is an aspect holding him back in close, tight matches. John says, "I think my defensive spin technique has come a long way, and look for this move to be critical in my upcoming success. The hardest aspect about the new 11-point games is serving only twice and trying to get into a rhythm." John has his sights set on making the National team by 2004, and being on the Olympic team in 2008.

These two up-and-coming juniors have certainly found their rhythm within the table tennis community. Laura and John are very driven, goal-oriented individuals who look to succeed at whatever challenge crosses their path, and rest assured their impact on the game will be felt.