JCHS Ping Pong, a Look Back (Sp)in Time
JCHS ping pong can be compared to European history. Like ancient Rome, ping pong flourished at JCHS before many of the current students were here. But Rome fell one day, and so did the ping pong table, which broke, plunging JCHS into the Middle Ages of ping pong. The next year, JCHS acquired a new table, which sent JCHS into a Renaissance of ping pong. But, as much of the JCHS community already knows, that blue replacement table wore out, and the school has now acquired a green outdoor rollaway ping pong table, moving us into the Modern Era of ping pong. How did we get to this moment in JCHS ping pong history, and what lessons can we learn from the past and carry with us into the future? In this article, I will attempt to uncover the relatively forgotten past of JCHS ping pong.
JCHS had a ping pong table in the fall of 2014, when the current senior class were still freshmen. Senior Jesse Lieberman recalls playing ping pong during his freshman year —“ping pong was very competitive and a good way to spend time with my friends. Everyone took it seriously.” Senior Ben Michelson also has fond memories of playing ping pong that year, saying, “ping pong was the most exciting sport at JCHS in my freshman year.” However, it wasn’t long before students began to lean and sit on the table, as well as leave backpacks on it. Lieberman describes the situation as “careless teenagers who wouldn’t take care of their valuable property.” The table soon collapsed, and JCHS was without a ping pong table.
However, the JCHS students still continued to play ping pong throughout the 2015-2016 year, inventively making their own table. Students would stack Commons chairs, two columns each three chairs high, to form a ‘net’. Then, two round Commons tables were pushed together around the chairs to create each side of the table. This makeshift table was hard to play on due to the irregular shape of the ‘net’ and table. According to Michelson, “it was a bunch of guys and girls coming together to make the most of a bad situation.” But sadly, the ping pong experience wasn’t the same, and student participation decreased.
In the fall of 2016, senior Shayna Dollinger’s family donated their old blue ping pong table, sparking interest in ping pong at JCHS once again. Throughout the 2016-2017 school year, ping pong was very competitive. Sophomore Dave Hoffman reflected on his freshman year, saying “I had so much fun playing ping pong. Everyone was always playing ping pong.” Sophomore Kyle Robb added that “there was always a line [to play] and it was very competitive.” But once again, students started to abuse the table. Mr Fitch said that “students didn’t use the table as it was meant to be used.” Mr. Fitch expanded on this with a reminder that “we need to treat the table respectfully.” Sadly, the blue table started to deteriorate. The net broke, and students would have to hold the net up with rolled up scratch paper, sharpies, and binder clips. Then, another tragedy struck. A vertical split on one side of the table became larger, causing that side to be uneven. When a ball-in-play hit the crack, which happened frequently, players would have to redo the point. Next, the legs on one side of the table fell off, forcing the players to move a chess table under the surface to support it. According to Michelson, “maintaining the ping pong table was difficult, and often times frustrating.”
Anticipating that the blue ping pong table wouldn’t last, Mr. Fitch acquired a new one over the summer, a donation from a family acquaintance in the South Bay. The new outdoor rollaway green table was stored on campus for the first few months of the 2017-2018 school year. By December the students’ fixes for the blue table were no longer holding up, and the new green ping pong table was rolled into action.
Where does this leave JCHS ping pong today? I’ve come to understand that at JCHS, ping-pong is a vital aspect of student life. Ping pong is a way for students to relax — according to many students and faculty, the table promotes bonding within the community. Lieberman said that ping pong was “great for student-teacher morale.” Mr. Fitch added that the game “promotes camaraderie within the school.” Robb expanded on this, saying, “The ping pong table brings bonding, and the school and America needs more bonding!” This is just a snippet of how beneficial the ping pong table can be.
But, should the community have a ping pong table if it constantly gets damaged? Lieberman believes that “nobody is being held accountable for the damage. This is why we can’t have nice things.” Michelson added, “It saddens me that people harm the equipment.” His point is well taken, especially considering that all the equipment, from the table, to paddles, to the balls, were donated by members of the community. The lesson learned is that students need to be more respectful of community property.
Clearly, ping pong is an important aspect of JCHS student life. However, ping pong is a privilege, not a right. We must protect the table and keep the equipment in good condition in order for future JCHS students to enjoy what we have all been able to enjoy. Just as Europe in the Modern Era has joined together to form the European Union, we too can work as a cohesive community to protect our ping pong table.
