Yi-Shiuan Lin, a junior and semi-professional table tennis player, recently transitioned from online to in-person school at Lexington High School. 

Encouraged by her parents, who inspired her as players themselves, Lin began playing table tennis as a seven-year-old in Taiwan. Although she originally joined the sport to follow in her parents’ footsteps, the competition is what she enjoys, both motivating and challenging her to improve. 

“[It] led me to train harder and motivated me to get better results,” Lin said.

Throughout the years, Lin has participated in many different competitions, notable achievements including when she represented the United States during the 2021 World Championships in China, the World Championships in South Africa, the Junior Youth World Championships, and the Pan-American Championships.

Training for these competitions was time-consuming, which prompted Lin to consider online school for a more flexible schedule. Long before these competitions, however, Lin attended school in person for most of her childhood, transitioning to online school for her freshman and sophomore years of high school.

“Taking online school, it’s pretty flexible. I didn’t have to actually, physically, go to school from morning until afternoon, so I had more time to train. But then my social life was cut off at the same time, because I didn’t really have actual classmates,” Lin said.

For Lin, online school provided a way to focus on her training, breaking up her day with two hours of practice in the mornings and three hours, including conditioning, in the afternoon. She now trains three times a week, giving her more time to relax and focus on her studies. That, however, isn’t to say Lin hasn’t struggled with the transition. 

“I have definitely struggled waking up every morning. Seven, it’s really painful, and some of the classes in LHS are really hard. Like Honors Precalculus, it’s definitely one of the hardest courses I’ve taken, and physics too—physics is hard,” Lin said.

Luckily, Lin still knows friends from middle school, whom she enjoys seeing at lunch. She also mentioned that teachers have been incredibly kind and helpful, which she feels has helped her transition. 

Additionally, Lin has lessons to look back on if she has doubts about returning to LHS. After winning many table tennis matches, she can apply strategy to any new challenge she faces. Losses and setbacks will inevitably happen, and Lin knows how to move forward without dwelling on the past.

“Normally, if I lose a match, I don’t really care much. I wouldn’t be emotionally sad or anything; I would kind of analyze how I lost instead of getting emotional with my matches,” Lin said.

Despite her many accomplishments thus far, she still feels as though she will have chances to grow. Looking forward to her future competitions, Lin says she likely plans on playing in the U.S. Open in December.