After a few years of not holding practices, Ping Pong club is back once again, welcoming new members. The club is sponsored by coaches and social studies teachers Matthew Mayekse and Derrick Abromeit, holding meetings on Fridays from 3-4 p.m.

“This club has been around for a very long time,” Mayeske said. “I played in this club when I was here as a student, and that was nearly [eight or nine] years ago.”

The original creators of the club were Abromeit, Andy Weber, and counselor Mr. Long. 

“It’s been on hiatus because of COVID but we decided to bring it back,” Mayeske said. “It’s kind of like the renewal after a couple of years.”

The club has early origins for Mayeske. Before ever setting foot in high school, he had been exposed to the sport.

“When I was a kid, I had a ping pong table in my gaming room in my house, so we would sit and play all the time,” Mayeske said. “I thought I was really good, and then I joined this club when I was a kid and I figured out I wasn’t as good as everybody else.” 

The club has since fallen from its peak of popularity.

“Back in its heyday, this club would have dozens and dozens of kids,” Mayeske said. “We would fill up an entire gym. We did it in the commons one day after school. We have never done tournaments, but I know other schools do, so it could be in the future.”

Not only are students enjoying the ping pong club, but so are teachers who are enjoying the hidden art. 

“We found out just by talking [at] sporting events, games, or just things around school, that we have a bunch of teachers that love ping pong,” Mayeske said. 

Some of these teachers don’t just join for the sport and enjoyment of it. The enjoyment of competition and being able to connect with students is another great reason.

“It gives me an opportunity to get to see students outside of the just normal classroom setting,” history teacher Joshua Johnson said. “You get to see the kind of things they’re interested in, passionate about, it’s really cool to see them just be more themselves.” 

Johnson believes the club is an outlet for students who are a little shy in class to show their true personalities. 

“Sometimes in a classroom, I feel like a lot of us, we just kind of focus on the work, and we don’t let as much of ourselves out,” Johnson said. But when you get them in these kinds of settings, … you get to see these things, and I think that’s just really beautiful to see the whole person.”

Even if you’re not interested in ping pong, Mayekse says always try one of the clubs. 

“Pick one of the many [clubs] we have, just try it out,” Mayeske said. “It’s worth putting the time and effort in to build that community. You find something and next thing you know, you are going to [participate in] the same things as other people.”