Profile for Russell Lavalle

1. Date of Birth.

12/7/74

2. Which club(s) have you played for in Croydon?

Kilsyth, Knox.

3. How did you become involved with table tennis?

My father played, I got into it and started playing also.

4. And at what age was this?

10.
5. Who was your coach(s)?

Jenny Langridge.
6. What is your highest Australian Ranking? No.1

7. What is your highest World Ranking?

 No. 210

8. How many and which Olympic Games did you participate in?

3, 1996, 2000 & 2004 .

9. What advice would you give to an up and coming player/umpire?

Train hard and work out what it is that you want to achieve. Then do whatever it takes to reach these goals .

10. Career Highlights

International
3 time Olympian
Oceania 2003 Singles Winner
Oceania 5 times doubles Winner
2001 World Championships

National
3 times Australian Singles Champion
7 times Victorian Singles Champion
6 times Australian Doubles Champion
96/97/99 Australian Player of the Year
95/96/97 Natinal League Champions (representing Croydon)

 
11. What do you do to prepare for a match? Visualise tactics against who I am playing.
12. Are there any differences in preparation that you would take before a finals match compared to a preliminary round? If so, what would these be? No, the same.

13. Who has been your toughest opponent?

 Wang Liqin & Ma Lin
14. Can you tell us about your favorite match that you have played? Against Joo Se Hyuk, the past World Champion. I played him at the 2004 World Singles Cup and lost 2/4. Very enjoyable to be competitive with that level of player.
15. Who is your favorite Table Tennis player? Jan-Ove Waldner

16. Who has been the biggest influence and or inspiration throughout your sporting career?

Without any doubt, my Mum & Dad. I would be nowhere without them.

17. Who is your favorite non table tennis sportsperson and why?

Viv Richards, the Master Blaster. He made good bowlers look ordinary

18. Occupation?

General manager for Combined Sports Traders (Victorian Branch)

19. Player you played the most?

Paul Langley, Mark Smythe, Trevor Brown, Simon Gerada

20. What path did you take and what sacrifices did you make to become the player you did?

Refer to Q9.