Let's move from big courts to small tables.

Our next story proves you don't have to be tall to love the game.

In fact, all you need is quick reflexes and a paddle to keep up with the lightning fast action at one of the region's hottest table tennis clubs.

(screen whooshes) (upbeat music) (table tennis ball clattering) - Mentally, it's like a game of chess.

You have to think about what your opponent's gonna do and you have to think about what you're gonna do to that hit.

You're always trying to trick the opponents.

- The forehand drive is gonna be close to a hundred miles an hour.

And you're talking about a distance of maybe 12 to 15 feet between players.

So at that speed, that distance, there's just not much time to react.

It's very quick.

(upbeat music) We are at the Charlotte Table Tennis Club.

We've been in the Charlotte area since 1979.

We have about 180 members, most of them international folks from everywhere in Asia and Europe, and South America.

Age levels in our club from about seven to 90, different levels of ability.

US rating system from roughly zero to 3,000 will have under 2200, under 1900, under 1700.

So you're playing competitively against people kind of at your level.

You have a chance to win something kind of where you are, which is very encouraging.

So we have an under 1100 event.

So pretty much novice players can come and compete with other novice players.

- It's a lot of hard work but everybody can have fun, you know.

I have cerebral palsy where so like my like right side is not as strong as my left.

Ain't haven't stopped me at all.

I'm very blessed to be here and I'm very happy, you know.

I'm training for the 2028 Paralympic games in Los Angeles.

- I took some lessons, I was being coached, and now I'm coaching somebody else.

I'm still competitive, active in the table tennis competition.

Competition.

I play all age, all the field.

Yeah, no matter men, women still working hard or challenging hard.

You see how they play.

I play them all the time.

- People first come in, we kind of suggest they get a coach.

Having a few lessons helps a lot, helps you to be able to read, spin.

Helps you with kind of the fundamentals.

The game moves so fast that you can kind of intellectually learn what to do but you have to train your body to make it happen in the short time you're allowed to have it happen.

If you stop to think about it, the ball's already passed you.

- Use your legs like torque, pivot.

What I love about coaching is it kind of allows me to like refine my own skills when I see it in like another player that I'm like helping out.

And it just shows me like you know, I have to pay attention to them, like, very like particularly like okay, what racket angle are they doing?

How's their footwork?

How's their serve?

(upbeat music) - So if you wanna be good at this, you have to have leg power kind of, because not all the shots are from the arm, they're always from the legs to move your body.

I try to do like the weird serves and spins to try to trick them up.

- That was one of the things I was drawn to.

It just how like precise you have to be and just how fast the refluxes have to be.

- Pushes this way, just a light touch.

Give underspin.

Loop is heavy against a ball coming off the table, making it spin.

- A pendulum serve, which is like a pendulum clock and you like add slight spin on to that one.

- And Charlotte Table Tennis Club is very friendly to me has been, we like a family.

Family.

It's part of my life.

Almost 20 years here.

- Don't be intimidated, come expect that most people will really hit the ball past you pretty easily but stay with it for a while.

Find someone to get some lessons from.

I want you to get better 'cause that'll force me to get better.

(upbeat music)