New facility serves up table tennis to South Bend youth

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - When 13-year-old Dion Payne-Miller visited the South Bend Table Tennis Center for the first time, he intended to stay only 30 minutes. But when that time was up, he stayed another four hours.

And four years later, Dion is "hooked" on the sport and ranked second among his peers nationally.

"I never thought I would like table tennis," he said, "but you should try new things to see how you feel."

Things like table tennis, an Olympic sport that differs from ping pong not only in the professional equipment, but also in the intensity.

By either measure, the South Bend Table Tennis Center's Tuesday night league play is certainly not ping pong, said coach Dan Seemiller. No, with 10 tournament-quality tables and not one dry brow among the players, it's got the right equipment and intensity to be considered table tennis, especially since it moved to its new home in February.

The Beacon, 4210 Lincoln Way W., now houses the table tennis league as well as Riverside Church, the South Bend Police Athletic Boxing Club and the South Bend Roller Derby Girls.

The hangar-shaped building across from the South Bend International Airport was Beacon Bowl from 1955 until that business closed in 2007. Riverside Church acquired the building and now offers it as a sort of community center.

With bright lights, high ceilings and plenty of space, The Beacon is a good fit for the table tennis club, Seemiller said. He hopes the move will reinvigorate the club's junior league, which has produced Olympic players and national champions.

Seemiller, himself a five-time national champion and the Olympic team coach in 2000 and 2004, said he sees the same potential in some of the juniors currently in the league, who could advance to compete at the national level.

Table tennis players are ranked with a complicated system that takes into account the number of games they play and their wins. Dion placed first in his category at the Saint Joseph Valley Open, a tournament hosted by the local club. His brother, Dionta Payne-Miller, 10, placed first in his category. Marty Stoner, 13, ranked first among the juniors in SBTTC, placed third in his category at the tournament.

"They're getting better rapidly," said Andre Stoner, Marty's father and a club member.

Now, with the right location, Seemiller wants to expose more kids to a sport they might never have considered, or have only ever known as ping pong.

Dion's initial visit to the club was at its previous location, a warehouse near the corner of Olive and Sample streets where, he said, the lighting was poor and the building was too cold.

"It's way better than the other facility," he said. "It has heat. The only thing we need here is some better floors."

The Beacon currently has concrete floors, something that, according to club president Steve Betts, they are working on changing.

"But for table tennis, the lighting here is exceptional," Betts said, "We've got tournament quality equipment, and it's a great space."

SBTTC charges $250 a year for unlimited play when it's open. Concerned about making it affordable to all kids, Betts said the club will offer scholarships to those who can't afford the full cost of the program. "If they can find their way here, we'll make sure they can play," he said.

The table tennis center is not just for kids, though. Betts, Seemiller and many other adults also compete in the league along with training the next generation.

Many of its members have been involved for decades. Arnold Smith, 90, played in the original incarnation of the club in the 1940s. He still competes in the league and also helps record rankings.

"It was sometime after World War II, but I can't remember exactly," he said. "South Bend was a real hot spot for table tennis back then."

Right now, the adults outnumber the 10 juniors who regularly attend. Coach Seemiller wants to double that, he said.

"We're always trying to reach kids. We want to expose this to more kids in the city. So far, it hasn't been easy, but now we have this facility where we can grow," Seemiller said. "As long as they like ping pong, we can teach them table tennis."

___

Source: South Bend Tribune, http://bit.ly/1REIwF3

___

Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com