"Hope," wrote Emily Dickinson, "is the thing with feathers." To the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), "Hopes" means especially promising players under the age of 13. In order to support this next generation of champions, the ITTF has created the Hopes Program. According to ITTF.com, their goal is to "ensure that every Hopes player has a clear High Performance pathway in front of them." There are many essential steps in this pathway, but perhaps none more important than receiving high-quality coaching in order to provide solid fundamentals for subsequent development. Toward this end, the ITTF is partnering with national associations in order to strengthen their internal talent development structures. One such national association is USA Table Tennis (USATT), which has just requested proposals to host Hopes training camps early next year. Interested table tennis clubs in the United States will host a USATT National Team Representative, who will conduct the two-day training camp on a weekend between January 19 and March 17, 2020. Each camp will culminate in a tournament offering medals for the to four finishers. Top talent from each continent will be eligible for international events such as the ITTF World Hopes Week & Challenge, and the ITTF World Cadet Challenge. If your club is interested in hosting a Hopes training camp and tournament, contact USATT High Performance Director Sean O'Neill at sean.oneill@usatt.org. Proposals are due December 10th. Just be sure to bring a dust mop for all the feathers.

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