A closer look at 14-year-old Alicia Burnett, playing with the Cincinnati Table Tennis Club at Xavier University's Schmidt Fieldhouse Thursday night, revealed a left shoe dogged by a flapping sole. It had split from hours of play.

So what, Burnett said. A silly shoe wasn't going to stop her from her table tennis passion. And nothing - not a high school football game or an outing with friends - would stand a chance, either.

"I'm just really into it," Burnett said. "I want to dedicate myself to table tennis more and more."

The Dixie Heights freshman and Independence resident has begun wowing table-tennis players nationwide with her growing talent, showcased weekly at the Cincinnati club and the Northern Kentucky Table Tennis Club.

The United States Table Tennis Association ranks Burnett No.1 among Kentucky females and 19th among 16-and-under females nationwide. Burnett plays 10 tournaments a year in hopes of someday making the Junior Olympic team.

Pretty lofty goals for a girl who started playing the sport three years ago, said her father, Randy Burnett. But it's possible, he said.

He cited the combination of talent and speed Alicia possesses.

"When she started, even the newest people to table tennis could beat her. She truly had no experience," he said. "She's now playing some of the top guys on a regular basis. She definitely holds her own."

Randy Burnett, a self-taught table-tennis man, was eager to pass table-tennis fever to his youngest of four daughters, decades after discovering it in the Air Force. Alicia said it was an instant match - even if it wasn't the coolest thing for a young girl to do.

"Some friends have seen me play and they understand and support me. Others I have to talk to. It's a sport," she said, ". . . just as important as basketball."

So important, she's taking at least one season off from school basketball for it. The father-daughter duo trains six days a week, four with clubs and two at home.

Table tennis uses a rating system that reflects players' ranking among opponents. An Olympian could be rated 2,500; a novice could be below 1,000.

Ratings grow from beating players with higher ratings. Her rating today is 1,574.

For more information on local table tennis, visit the Northern Kentucky club's Web site at www.nkytt.org or the Cincinnati club's at www.cincytt.org.

E-mail srussell@enquirer.com