Jordan Bishop

Profile

Jordan is a topspinner on the forehand with a more defensive backhand. He tries to set up his shots with the backhand before attacking with the forehand. He is not a pure attacker, but rather takes his time to get the ball he wants before attacking. One of his strengths is his serving. He practices it a lot at home and always wins several free points during a match.

Jordan started playing in the basement with his father when he was nine, but at that time he was also playing hockey (like any good Quebec kid). One day, his father decided to have him look at different sports and saw an ad in the paper talking about the Table Tennis Club in Sherbrooke and decided to have a look. That was in November 2004.

Jordan took to it right away and for a while he was playing hockey from 5 p.m. to 5:50 p.m., then switched clothes and went to play Table Tennis from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. twice a week. That lasted for about three months until he tried to qualify for “Les Jeux du Quebec”, a multi-sport event held every two years. He qualified and although he didn’t do that great at the event, he fell in love with the sport. At the end of the hockey season his father told him “You have to make a choice: You can be very good in one sport, but will be average in two if you keep it that way, so what’s it gonna be?” He chose table tennis and hasn’t skated since!!!

After that, he started intense training under the supervision of David Jacques, the head coach of the Club Excellence de Tennis de Table de l’Estrie (C.E.T.T.E.). He practiced three nights a week from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and on select Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This regime was the same until the end of the regular season for the players, around mid June. The rest of the summer was reserved for the Canadian Championships and high-profile events which he wasn’t ready for yet.

When the season started again in August, he kept the same schedule and started to play every event in Quebec.

Last season, he was part of a sports program called “Sports-Études” that allows gifted athletes to train every morning from 8 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. five times a week before going to school. Add a few nights on top of that, and you have about eighteen hours of table tennis a week.

Jordan is currently a member of the Québec Under-18 Team and also a member of the Canadian Under-15 Cadet Team. He will be participating in the next Canadian Championships. He is ranked #5 among Under-15 players in Canada.

His goals, besides improving his game and solidifying his place on the two national teams, is to be more involved in international events and eventually participate in international training camps (China, Europe). In May 2008, he and some members of the Quebec Team went to Cuba for a one-week training camp to train with Cuban players.

Jordan was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and still lives and practices there.

Highlights

• 2008 Québec Championships Under-15: Silver Medals in Team, Singles, Doubles, Mixed Doubles
• 2007 Canadian Championships Under-13: Silver in Team, Bronze in Singles, Bronze in Doubles with Mathieu Thériault, Bronze in Mixed Doubles with Roxane Deslauriers
• 2007 Nashua Gate City Open: Under-16 Gold Medal
• 2007 Québec Championships Under-13: Silver in Team, Bronze in Singles, Gold in Doubles with Mathieu Thériault, Gold in Mixed Doubles with Roxane Deslauriers
• 2006 Canadian Championships Under-13: Gold in Team (Jordan won the decisive match against Manitoba), Gold in Doubles with Pierre-Luc Thériault, Bronze in Mixed Doubles with Li Quan Ly,
• 2005 North American Team Championships (Baltimore, Maryland): Second place in Group G

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