Top Spin

Gr 6 Up—After watching this energetic film, some viewers may need to catch their breaths. The film beautifully channels the passion and energy of three American teenage table tennis champs as they vie for places on the 2012 Olympics team. Footage of grueling practice sessions, weight lifting, and speed drills is interwoven with scenes from home and high school and interviews with parents, coaches, and friends. The competition matches are dazzling in their speed and intense focus. It is clear that parts of the students' lives are highly unusual (the teens miss long stretches of school and live independently for weeks overseas), but in other ways they have the concerns of typical young adults: fashion, personal appearance, grades, and college applications. The difference is daily multihour training sessions, international travel, and competitive pressure far beyond what most high schoolers experience. Although Michael Landers did not advance to London and Lily Zhang and Ariel Hsing lost in preliminary Olympic rounds, viewers will be cheering them all the way. Hsing, Landers, and Zhang are all training to compete for spots for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.