By 
Mark Hazinski has played table tennis since he was nine years old. He was introduced to the sport when the principal of his elementary school offered him an after-school program. Mark’s aptitude for the sport quickly became apparent and his love for the game was instantaneous. On a whim, he decided to attend a tournament that he learned about in passing. At the tournament he learned of an offer for a free lesson with coach Viktor Tolkachev. He signed up and the rest is history. He began training at the South Bend Table Tennis Club with coach Viktor Tolkachev. Mark progressed steadily under his direction until Tolkachev left the club to return to his homeland when Mark was eleven years old. Dan Seemiller, a five-time US men’s singles champion, took over as coach at the club and Mark prospered. He was having a great time, but he wasn’t just training to be training. Mark had a goal. He wanted to get to the 2004 Olympics in Athens. His parents had faith in his abilities and they pulled Mark out of school and started a homeschooling program so Mark could spend more time on training. He began training five days a week.
At the age of fifteen he earned a spot on the United States Men’s National Team and was the youngest player to do so. It has been trained in Sweden, Germany, China and Japan. Their dedication and efforts have resulted in eight youth Olympic gold medals, five US U-22 singles championships, two US men’s doubles championships, one US mixed doubles championship, and numerous college national championships. . In 2003 he was named USATT Player of the Year and in 2004 he achieved his dream of competing in the Olympics. He was also a member of the 2007 Pan American Games team in the United States.
Although he narrowly missed a spot on the 2008 US Olympic team, Mark has not given up on becoming a two-time Olympian. Getting a spot on the 2010 U.S. National Team, their fourth national team, is another step toward making it to the 2012 Olympics.
In another part of the country, 15-year-old Michael Landers is following a similar path to Mark Hazinski. Like Hazinski, Michael has played table tennis since he was a child. Born in Mineola, New York on August 16, 1994, Michael first played as a child. His family has pictures of Michael at the age of two, paddling in hand, standing on a couch to get to the table, ready to play. Gambling was a hobby for young Michael until a twist of fate, in the form of a broken arm, prevented him from participating in other sports such as tennis, baseball, and soccer. Unable to attend summer sports camp due to the injury, his family sought out activities to help their nine-year-old son stay active. They found a table tennis club in Queens and Michael began taking lessons from Hui Yuan Liu, a national coach. He played tournaments in four months. Within a year, he won first place in doubles under 12 and second in singles at the 2005 Youth Olympic Games. With his natural abilities apparent, he decided to stop participating in other sports and began to focus on training. for table tennis competitions.
Michael racked up victories, including the 2008 Canada Cup Open Doubles Championship, the 2008 Eastern Open Men’s Under-16 Championship, and the 2009 Chinatown Under-2400 Champion. In 2009, Michael became the youngest athlete to win. the U.S. Men’s National Singles Championship His success to date has earned him a spot on the 2010 U.S. National Team and sparked conversations about the possibility that he could be a part of the U.S. National Team for the Games 2012 Olympics in London. With all the attention, Michael remains humble and focuses on making table tennis more popular in America. When he’s not training or attending school, he spends time writing letters to sports companies, asking them to support the game. He knows that marketing departments might show more interest in promoting the sport, since he is a boy who competes against grown men. He is wise enough to use what works to achieve success for himself and for the sport.