For children of superstar athletes, high expectations are a birthright. Just ask "Bronny" James, a.k.a. LeBron James, Jr., that is if you can elbow your way through the reporters and fans who hound the high school freshman's every move. Bronny's famous name and burgeoning game even attracted and college recruiters long before he was in high school. "It should be a violation," said the senior LeBron in 2015. "You shouldn't be recruiting 10-year-old kids." In many regards, children following in the footsteps of a superstar parent enjoy a major advantage, with everything from good genes to expert tutelage to professional training facilities at their disposal. On the other hand, emotionally fragile children can easily be crushed under the weight of expectations. After all, not many plants thrive under a towering shadow. One upstart who seems well suited for growing under a parental umbra is South Korea's Yoo Ye-Rin. Table tennis aficionados will have no trouble placing the family name Yoo, as it was Yoo Nam-kyu who won the men's singles gold in table tennis' 1988 Olympic debut. The legendary lefty Yoo Nam-kyu employed the classical penhold grip to great effect. Using only one side of the racket, he would block, fish and lob in the backhand position, waiting to unleash a lethal forehand loop. He also won numerous medals in doubles, including the 1989 world championship in mixed doubles with his countrywoman Hyun Jung-hwa. After his glorious playing career, Yoo Nam-kyu transitioned into coaching. He is now the head coach of the South Korean women's table tennis team. In 2008, his daughter Yoo Ye-rin was born. While Yoo Nam-kyu initially had no intention to see his daughter pick up a racket in any competitive capacity, she took to it quite naturally. "I tied a table tennis ball to the ceiling of our house with an elastic band and told her to hit it with a tennis racket just for fun," said Yoo the elder. "But as soon as she got on the step, she was hitting the ball with her own rhythm. That’s when I realized maybe I could teach her table tennis." Yoo Ye-rin employs the shakehand grip favored by most modern players, which offers greater offensive capabilities on the backhand side than her father enjoyed with his old school penhold style. "It feels good when I successfully hit a backhand drive," says the 11-year-old. "Young athletes usually can't do a backhand drive," beams the proud papa. "It's a technique for bigger kids, but Ye-rin can do it." Coach Yoo attributes much of her precocity to her work ethic. "It is very tiring for a first and second grader to train for an hour," he observes. "Twenty minutes is the maximum for most others, but Ye-rin seems fine even after two to three hours of training." Her hard work is paying off. Yoo Ye-rin took first place in the 2017 Korean Elementary School Table Tennis Championship. While her Yoo Nam-kyu is obviously proud, he is careful to balance his dual roles as her father and coach. "What I'm most worried about is, our relationship was great before Ye-rin played table tennis," reflects Yoo Nam-kyu. "We support each other as father and daughter and there's nothing to fight about. But as an athlete, we get into arguments a lot because I, as an expert, tend to nag a lot. And Ye-rin doesn't really like that, because her coach is her dad. "So I tell her, I'm a coach when we're in the gym, and your dad when we leave," he says. "Just be mindful of my role." With Yoo Ye-rin's innate drive, both of the competitive and backhand variety, she seems destined to play for her father on Korea's national team some day. Rather than bristling at the constant reminders of her father's success, Ye-rin embraces the challenge. "My dad won Olympic gold when he was 20 years old," says the young champion. "Just like my dad, I want to win a gold medal at the Olympics when I’m 20." Even then, with the pressure of representing not only her illustrious family name but her country's rich sporting heritage, the Yoo family will be unlikely to lose perspective on what really matters. "I want her to enjoy table tennis," says Yoo Nam-kyu. Hopefully Yoo Ye-rin and Bronny James can one day chat at the summer Olympics village about how much they love what they do.

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