LEIBOVITZ Tahl

Classification
TT9 (ipttc.org, 01 Aug 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 12 May 2016)

Impairment Details
He has osteochondroma, which is characterised by noncancerous bone tumours that can cause pain. (balitangamerica.tv, 26 Jun 2020)

General
TABLE TENNIS ON THE STREETS
He was homeless at age 13 after being kicked out of the family home by his parents, who struggled with substance abuse. He then dropped out of school and spent his days playing table tennis, before finding somewhere to sleep at night, such as on subway trains. "My dad had problems with alcohol. Before I entered high school, I ended up living on the E train. I was homeless, I didn't have anywhere to live. I'd play table tennis in the day, and at night I would take the trains everywhere. I didn't go to high school or junior high school. I was able to play for like six or seven hours a day growing up and we had a group of us playing against each other. I used to stay in a lot of different places. Like I used to sleep on rooftops and I used to take these boxes, and I'd put a thin piece of plywood on it and I would hit against it and cut the ball and do different things. So that helped me a little bit." (Bowmar Sports YouTube channel, 21 Nov 2020; Ben Larcombe YouTube channel, 18 Dec 2016; timesofisrael.com, 22 Aug 2012)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
Along with his wife Dawn, he founded Project Table Tennis, which has operated throughout the United States of America using table tennis in projects that help people affected by Alzheimer's, dementia, impairments, substance abuse issues and more. He has also worked as a psychotherapist at New Pathways Counseling Center and Integrity Senior Services in New York, NY, United States of America. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Mar 2018; peace-sport.org, 01 Jan 2019)

AUTHOR
In 2014 he released a book called 'Ping Pong for Fighters', which gave an insight into the experience and philosophy of table tennis at professional level. "I think what's interesting about this book is that the reader takes the journey with me. All that I learned in over 20 years of competing in table tennis, is in this book. The goal of this book is to try and get the reader to approach the game differently." (teamusa.org, 01 Jan 2019; amazon.com, 26 Nov 2014)

FURTHER EDUCATION
He has studied for master's degrees in clinical social work at New York University and in urban studies at Queens College, City University of New York in the United States of America. (Facebook profile, 02 May 2021)