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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A young Karen Scott pranced around her side of the table. She smacked the ball toward the opposite side of the table, only for it to bounce right back a second later. Not even the shade of the large mango tree she stood under could keep her sweat from streaming down her face. Her only reward? The sweet feeling of finally getting that point over her father, Beresford Scott. She couldn’t celebrate. Not until she scored 20 more.

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An average day at the table tennis table underneath the mango tree went that way: Scott fighting for every point against her father, who never dared to go easy on her. Every point was earned, not given. The more points she scored, the better at table tennis she became. And the better she grew, well, the better she wanted to become.

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“I think that maybe I got kind of good back then, because [my dad] was just so hard on me,” Scott told Table Tennis TV. “… However, I do think that it was those early experiences with my dad that gave me the itch for competition.”

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Scott’s youth spent in Montego Bay, Jamaica, contained many fond memories she made with her father. As soon as the sun emerged from the horizon, the two would leave their home next to the orange grove and head down to the beach. They’d spend their mornings there together as father and daughter, taking in the warm air, feeling the light waves crash against their feet, and admiring the beautiful seashells that would wash up onto the shore.

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She wasn’t the type to collect those seashells, though. Instead, Scott spent her time on the beach collecting interests that would soon become her deepest passions. Swimming? The two swam together often in the ocean. Running? There aren’t many better places to run than on the beach with your father. And of course, table tennis. That mango tree was more than just a place for her to play table tennis underneath. It was somewhere that she could scratch that competitive itch that playing the sport gave her.

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Those moments wouldn’t last. The Scott family moved to the Washington, D.C. area when she was a teenager, far away from the activities she grew accustomed to in Montego Bay. There weren’t many beaches where she could spend her mornings. Nor were there many convenient places for her to run. And for table tennis? Maybe the occasional match in the basement or at the bar. Playing still fueled her competitive spirit, but those moments were too rare for her to keep that fire lit.

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“I was always (too) competitive on the table, [and] always enjoyed it,” Scott said. “But it was just not something that I brought, even thought to bring, into my regular everyday life.”

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That regular, everyday life shut down in early 2020, when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.  To reduce the stress the pandemic caused her, Scott joined her local YMCA, searching for an opportunity to get back into a workout routine. She had moved near Clearwater, Fla., by that point, a place with the beaches she had missed since her childhood. And when she stepped inside that YMCA one day, she spotted another item of her youth: an indoor table tennis table! Not far off, there was an outdoor table as well!

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It was at those tables where she met someone else who loved table tennis. Another person who could bring out Scott’s competitive spirit. The two would introduce themselves to each other and soon meet every Wednesday for a match to 21. They were around the same level at the time, neither having seen much “professional” competition. That wouldn’t stop Scott from rediscovering that love she had for table tennis, playing with her new friend, smiling widely after every point, and getting better for three whole years.

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And the better she became, well, the better she wanted to become.

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Midway through 2023, Scott learned of a table tennis club not too far from her home near Clearwater. They have clubs? She thought. For table tennis? She had to see what this was about. Scott walked into the doors at Sunrise Table Tennis Club for the first time to find a room full of tables, the *ping* sound of balls hitting against them, and the talented, passionate players hitting those balls in ways she had never seen before. She froze for those beautiful first few moments. They were perfect. This is the place where she belonged. This was the place she’d been missing her entire life.

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“Right then the whole world, my whole world, came to a sudden screeching halt, and I really do think that I heard angels, the harmonious herald of some nearby beautiful angels,” Scott said. “Hallelujah! I was home!”

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Those first few matches she played weren’t that beautiful, though. Games at the club were played to 11 points, not the 21 she was used to. That gave her much less room to bounce back after early mistakes. And doubles? She had never played doubles before. It showed at the table whenever she faced players who spent hours a day playing this game. Balls kept flying toward her face in angles she didn’t think were possible. So did all the emotions. She was confused. Excited. Scared. Determined. Frustrated. Ecstatic. Clueless. Curious. Any emotion you could feel, Scott felt all at once.

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She was used to that feeling from her time playing underneath the mango tree. A feeling that forced her to grow better. But this time, she knew she couldn’t without a little bit of much-needed guidance.

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“I knew that I needed help,” Scott said. “I needed a coach!!!”

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During one of her visits to the club, Scott noticed a man training one of his students. She couldn’t take her eyes off them. The man was coaching his student in some incredible ways, teaching this student how to perform plays she had never seen before. Maybe she could learn from him, too. Scott soon met the man, who introduced himself to her as Daniel Gorak. They exchanged contact information, beginning a coach-student relationship between them.

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Training sessions were difficult to schedule at that moment. Gorak had been balancing coaching at Sunrise and playing professionally for the Florida Crocs of Major League Table Tennis. Scott was also traveling a lot at the time, having already been to Sweden, Maine, California, England and Montego Bay in just four months. But they found the time to play table tennis together, and every time, Scott felt herself growing in the sport she was happy to have back in her life, thanks to Gorak’s coaching.

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Gorak would push Scott as hard as she could handle. Sometimes, even harder. She said he quickly caught on to what her physical limits were and would encourage her to fight for just a few more minutes once she reached them. Her face was drenched with sweat by the end of every training session. All of her energy had already left her body. In its place: a feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction she craved since picking up her paddle again three years ago.

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Their schedules aligned within time, and they each made it a priority to train with one another. No matter the time, no matter the club, they constantly found a way to make a meeting work. By the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, he learned everything he could about her playing style and what worked best for her to improve. By that point, she too had a great idea of what her new coach was like.

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“Daniel Gorak possesses this juxtaposition of coach qualities,” Scott said. “On the one side, kind, calm, patient and understanding, and on the other, firm, fierce, tough and consistent.”

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At one point near the end of 2023, Gorak took note of how much Scott had been traveling. If she’s going to new places all the time, why not come and watch Gorak play professionally one day? Scott didn’t mind the adventure. She flew to Chicago to watch her first-ever MLTT match on November 10, to Gorak’s surprise.

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“I was shocked when she showed up,” Gorak said. “I said, ‘What are you doing here?’ and she said, ‘I could fly. Why not watch it live?'”

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It was a lot to take in at first. She didn’t know anybody else at the venue other than Gorak, and the sport was still new and intimidating for her. When people came up to talk to her, she hoped those interactions would end as soon as possible.

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But Scott still wanted to support her coach. She went to a few more matches after Chicago and continued to watch Gorak play. And the more she went, the more comfortable she grew. She started cheering for Gorak even louder. She went to Crocs matches donning Gorak No. 8 jersey and bright clothes. By the beginning of MLTT’s second season the following year, she became a regular at Florida Crocs games. Her support stopped being solely for Gorak, but for Liam Pitchford, Marc Duran, and everyone else on her team.

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She's serious about that fandom, too. She's only missed a single Crocs game in the three years of her team's existence.

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“She really loves … our team and everything,” Gorak said. “I wish we had more fans like this.”

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Her support for Gorak still holds firm. It's only grown stronger since her first MLTT game. The two became close friends away from Sunrise, sharing not just a table but valuable memories. Gorak and his wife, Marzena, came to her table tennis-themed birthday party she threw in June 2024. He's encouraged her to use her passion and paddle to make new friends during her travels to Vietnam, South Africa, and Spain. And as part of a memorial event for a late club member in May, Scott had the honor of being Gorak's doubles partner.

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As the months passed, she grew closer to everyone involved with the league. She remembered people’s names and spent as much time as she could talking with them and getting to know them. It was difficult to find her sitting alone in her court-side seat in between matches: there was always some new friend she was talking to. Scott found a community within table tennis just by going to Crocs matches. By the beginning of Season 3, that community wanted to show their appreciation for her.

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Scott already decided that she would attend every Crocs game. She arrived early before every match during Week 1 in Pleasanton, Calif., and planned on doing the same for Week 2 in Charlotte, N.C. MLTT had a good idea that she'd be there, so the league prepared a special surprise for her right before the Crocs’ second match that weekend would be played: an award they had made just for her.

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On Sept. 20, Scott was named MLTT’s inaugural fan of the year.

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The award caught her completely by surprise. She never attended Crocs games and expected to be treated like a star. But this award, like every point she’s scored at a table tennis table, was earned. Not given. She earned it through her excitement for her team, not just as a fan, but as a person who genuinely cares about the well-being of its players. She earned it through her encouragement of others who want to show their love and support, and to be their authentic selves without any judgment. She earned it through her devotion to the sport, which she fell in love with underneath that mango tree.

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So the next time you go to a Florida Crocs match, be sure to say hello to Karen Scott: table tennis fanatic, student of Daniel Gorak, and MLTT’s first-ever Fan of the Year.

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“I know that my enthusiasm is obvious when I'm out there rooting for my Florida Crocs,” Scott said. “And I like it when folks tell me that I'm an inspiration to them to also gear up and come out to support their team.”

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