Coach. Author. Speaker.

hey, I'm Dora Kurimay

I grew up in Budapest, Hungary in a very sports-driven family. So, the question was never whether I was going to play a sport, rather it was, “Which sport was it going to be?” Skiing, soccer, fishing, sailing, tennis?

The craziest part is that I had no idea where table tennis would take me. I first took up a paddle at the only female table tennis club in Budapest, Hungary, called Statisztika. I am so grateful to my second cousin (a professional table tennis player) for taking me. Due to that, I have been able to travel around the world playing table tennis juniors, meet amazing athletes, make friends, experience other cultures, and ultimately find a passion for sports psychology.

Today, I’m a mental performance coach, table tennis champ, published author, and speaker. I help athletes, youth, coaches, teams, and corporate executives build the necessary peak performance skills. 

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#Fun Facts - I love...

#1 Chocolate

#2 Nature

#3 Mahjong

What I Specialize in

Coach

#one

I am a mental performance coach based in New York City helping young and professional athletes maximize their performance through stress management and confidence maintenance. 

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Author

#two

I’m an author. I have published ‘My Stories of Mental Toughness On and Off the Table‘, ‘Get Your Game Face On Workbook‘ and ‘Get Your Game Face On Like The Pros!‘. I have contributed to the Clinical Sports Psychiatry: An International Perspective and the Journal of Human Kinetics.

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Speaker

#three

I am a speaker . I have run workshops for athletes, coaches, students, professionals on a wide range of topics (motivation, stress management, mental toughness, individual differences, winning attitude, goal setting, pre-performance rituals) in the US, Europe, and in Asia.

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Testimonials

My Happy Client!

Working with Dora helped me to improve my concentration. She taught me the technique of visualization and she helped me to develop my serve and serve return ritual during my matches. Even today, it is very helpful to use the technique of visualization during my matches. My serve and serve return ritual helped me a lot not just in concentration but as well as to able to keep up consistency in my game. Focusing on my breathing, especially on the exhalation helped me to calm down right before my big events. When I did the exhalation, I said to myself “I’m releasing all my tension through exhalation.”
puski head
Lenard Puski
Hungarian National Squash Champion 
Highlights

Academic and professional

  • MA in Psychology from the Eotvos Lorand University (Budapest, Hungary)
  • MA in Sport Psychology from John F. Kennedy University (Pleasant Hill, California)
  • Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) in the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) License No. 661
  • Certified Mental Toughness Specialist – Human Performance Institute
  • Certified Team Performance Coach (CTPC) – Team Coaching International
  • International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) – Para Table Tennis (PTT) Level 1 Certified Coach
  • Former European Table Tennis Champion
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Highlights

Table Tennis

  • 2023 U.S. Open Women Bronze Medalist 40 & over age category
  • 2023 U.S. Open Women's Doubles Finalist 40 & over age category
  • 2023 U.S. Open Mixed Doubles Champion 40 & over age category
  • 2022 U.S. Open Women Finalist 40 & over age category
  • 2022 U.S. Open Women Champion 30 & over age category
  • 2012 U.S. Open Women's Doubles: 3rd place
  • 2012 Eastern Open: U2500 Finalist
  • 2012 Westchester Tournament: U2450 Singles Champion
  • 2011 Westchester Tournament: U2450 Singles Champion
  • 2011 Philadelphia Open: U2400 Champion
  • 2011 Philadelphia Open: Open Singles Finalist
  • 2011 DSP Cup/NYTT Open Series: U2450 Finalist
  • 2010 Year of the Tiger Singles 3rd place
  • 2010 Year of the Tiger U2400 Finalist
  • 2009 Table Tennis U.S. Open, Las Vegas: Doubles Bronze medalist
  • 2009: U.S. Open Women: Quarter Finalist
  • 2008 Sacramento Open: Champion
  • 2008 Western Open: Women’s Singles Finalist
  • 1999 European Champions League: Champion
  • 1999 Table Tennis Super League for Club Teams: Champion
  • 1999 Hungarian National Team Championships: Champion
  • 1999 European Youth Championships: Junior Girls Team Bronze medalist
  • 1999 Hungarian Junior National Championships: Junior Girls Singles Silver medalist
  • 1999 Hungarian Junior National Championships: Junior Girls Doubles Bronze medalist
  • 1999 Hungarian Junior National Championships: Junior Mixed Doubles Bronze medalist
  • 1998 European Youth Championships: Junior Girls Team Silver medalist
  • 1998 Hungarian Junior National Championships: Junior Girls Team Gold medalist
  • 1998 Hungarian Junior National Championships: Junior Girls Doubles Gold medalist
  • 1998 Hungarian Junior National Championships: Junior Girls Singles Silver medalist
  • 1998 Hungarian Junior National Championships: Junior Mixed Doubles Bronze medalist
  • 1997 European Youth Championships: Junior Girls Team Bronze medalist
  • 1996 European Youth Championships: Cadet Girls Team Gold medalist
  • 1996 Hungarian Cadet National Championships: Cadet Girls Doubles Gold medalist
  • 1996 Hungarian Cadet National Championships: Cadet Girls Singles Bronze medalist
Highlights

Other Credentials

  • Coach at Dora Kurimay Inc.
  • National Level Coach at PINGPOD
  • Certified Table Tennis Coach by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)
  • Member and a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) in the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)
  • Head Coach at Leman Manhattan Preparatory School
  • Coached and an advisor at the American Youth Table Tennis Organization (AYTTO)
  • Contributed to that USA Table Tennis Association (USATT) magazine
  • Coached at Spin New York
  • Coached at American International School of Budapest
  • Coached at the Alameda Table Tennis Club
  • Coached at the Berkeley Table Tennis Club
  • Coached at the ICC camp; Concord Table Tennis Club
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