Meet The Coaches: Maggie Meng

No matter where Maggie Meng goes, Table Tennis follows her. She completed her university degree, relocated from China to Australia, yet no matter which avenues she explores, her love of the sport keeps bringing her back.

“Table tennis is my destiny,” Meng said.

“It is always with me. It brings me luck, and no matter what I do outside of that, it’s always with me.”

As the national sport of her home country China, it was no surprise that Meng fell into table tennis. Her father had a table tennis club, and she took to the sport like a duck to water. 

“When I was five years old, I bounced the ball on my bat 500 times in a row.  Then my dad said, ‘Oh maybe you have talent, we should start you playing properly.’ I started just on our dining table. I was too little to reach a normal table, but that’s how I started.”

By the time she was 7 years old, she was taking the sport more seriously. She would finish school, head to training and wouldn’t leave the table until 8pm at night. 

At 10 years old, Meng became the youngest member of her Provincial Team, and from that point until the age of 15, she lived and breathed table tennis. Eight hours a day, six days a week, she would train, leaving no time for school.

“We had four sessions a day. We would get up at 6am every morning, do one hour of physical exercise (like running and some stretching).  Then we would have breakfast, and would train from 9 until 12pm. We’d have lunch and have a nap, and then train from 3 – 5.30pm and then have dinner. At night time, we would play games or practise serving.” Meng said.

“I didn’t go to school during that time, but we attended two courses a week for our basic academic studies. This is how the professional table tennis system is in China.”

When at 15, Meng had to make a decision – to play overseas, or to continue with her studies. Having missed five years of school, Meng’s mother encouraged her to go back to school. I found I started to love Table Tennis since I played for my High school and University.

“When I was in China, I started coaching when I was 15, but I never expected I would be a full-time coach. I coached at my school and at my uni, and then at my company. When I came to Australia I studied English and business management.” she said.

“I felt that my life started getting a little boring in Australia without family or friends after a few months from my arrival, so I started to play table tennis again and some people at the club asked me to coach them and that’s how I started coaching in Australia.”

While Meng always expected table tennis would be part of her life, never did she think she would discover a whole new world in coaching para athletes.

Today, she is TTA’s National Coach - Performance Pathway (Para), working under National Head Coach (Para) Alois Rosario and National Program Manager (Para) Sue Stevenson.

“It’s like a different sport. Especially for wheelchair athletes, they have totally different games. Even if you are a good standing player, you sit down then maybe you’re no longer good anymore.” she said.

“All the staff and athletes in the Para team are just so lovely and friendly. I really enjoy working with them. I was a little bit worried at the beginning as having language and cultural barriers, but Sue and Alois are very supportive and encouraging, which makes me feel more confident.”

Meng began her journey in para table tennis as the personal coach to National Squad Member Danni Di Toro.

“I was her personal coach but actually, it’s more like we are growing together. I’ve also learned a lot from Danni. She’s the first one who taught me the different rule between wheelchair players and standing players. 

“I’ve also found inspiration from Alois in terms of coaching athletes who have different abilities. We create their own different drills for each and in understanding them as athletes more, you learn more about the sport and about people.”

Now with years of experience coaching para athletes under her belt, she is looking ahead to her first major event with TTA – the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

“I just want the athletes to perform at their best in this high pressure situation. Sometimes I coach them in the international tournaments and they win gold medals, but I don’t think that’s because of me. Its because they are too good.

“I’m really looking forward to Tokyo. This is a really big opportunity and one that I’m grateful for from TTA.

“I know I’ve come a long way since meeting Danni and coaching at the Junior National Championships for Victoria. I’m looking forward to what’s ahead and working with even more amazing athletes.”