Fresh Voices – How Sports Takes Young Athletes Far Beyond the Competition
Banpu Table Tennis Club has nurtured young athletes for 18 years, providing mentorship and life skills that extend far beyond competitive play, helping members like Om pursue professional coaching careers and others earn university scholars
The sound of ping-pong balls bouncing on tables echoes through the evenings after school. For some, it's just a fun game, but for youth members of Banpu Table Tennis Club (BTTC), these sounds mark moments of growth, transformation, and the beginning of their own life journeys. Over 18 years, BTTC has served not merely as a competitive club, but as an "opportunity space" that opens doors for young people to develop both their athletic abilities and life skills.
Om Jeerattigul Kesamphongsrueang started playing table tennis out of passion at age 11, joining BTTC at 14. Beyond continuous training and competition opportunities representing the club, he received close mentorship from coaches and learned the skills of knowledge-sharing as a senior mentor to younger players. These experiences gradually led Om to become a national youth team athlete and showed him the possibility of pursuing table tennis as a future career. Today, Om is fully committed to transitioning from competitor to coach.
"Banpu Table Tennis Club gave me the chance to try, to develop, and to learn in many different roles until I became confident that table tennis could become a profession to support my family. Now I want to pass on the opportunities and skills I received to push the younger generation to go further than I did," Om shared.
For Jeffie Chollasit Boonsirivatcharakul, who grew up with BTTC for over 10 years, his progression from national-level competition to earning an athletic scholarship to university wasn't solely driven by competition results. Rather, it was the club's open environment that didn't confine young people to a single life path. After reaching a certain point in his athletic journey, Jeffie expanded his interests into mass media and entertainment. He is currently a first-year student in the Mass Communication program at Thammasat University, admitted through an athletic quota, while also working as an actor with a prominent agency and having a drama series set to air this year. He continues balancing his role as an athlete alongside these pursuits.
"My confidence comes from having people who support me and knowing that regardless of which path I choose, there are teammates who cheer me on from behind," Jeffie said.
Though Cream Surwee Yutitada's path didn't lead to becoming a full-time professional athlete, her time at BTTC became an important space for developing essential life skills. Cream, a first-year pharmacy student at Chulalongkorn University, noted that beyond sports training, the club emphasizes mental and emotional development through special activities held consistently every year.
"Table tennis competitions aren't just about trophies, but are an important tool that strengthens the spirit, fosters growth, and serves as a training ground to learn how to manage emotions and apply those lessons to real life," Cream explained.
Rathapon Sukanthi, Senior Director of Corporate Communications at Banpu Public Company Limited, stated: "Banpu believes in the power of 'people' and sees sports as a means to develop individuals, opening young people's eyes to the world and new experiences while cultivating potential for their future lives."
