The Ping of the Seas

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Sixteen year old Mark Linderman excels at table tennis. There is no competition for him in the remote town of Chinook, Montana, and not one sanctioned club exists in the state. Shunned at school, he relegates himself to practicing entirely against ball machines in his garage, for hours. His father is aggravated by his rejection of traditional sports, but his mom is supportive. To ease the family tension, Mark's aunt in Naples, Florida arranges for him to stay with her for the summer, presumably to play in the clubs down there. She has other plans, which includes the pair sneaking onboard an elite table tennis themed cruise bound for the Mediterranean. The duo cleverly board, unaware that Scott Kobara, the eccentric cruise organizer, is using the voyage to smuggle in the world's greatest player from China. Scott plans to pair him with his psychological guru coach in New York, to form a covert dream coaching team. Mark, who confronts and awes the initially livid Scott, is rerouted to the suburbs of New York City, where the dream team propels him into the national spotlight. Sparks ignite between Mark and the coach's seventeen year old daughter. Mark balks at returning home, and his parents, fearing permanent alienation, grant physical guardianship. To remain in his first relationship though, he must excel to Scott's standards. The fiftieth anniversary of Ping Pong Diplomacy looms in less than two years. Mark vies to represent the United States in the Washington D.C. event that will draw international viewers. Meanwhile, Scott's underhanded tactics arouse suspicions, which threaten to cancel the competition.