Community

At the table

Two men turn an afternoon hobby into a pingpong club that meets twice a week at the Land O'Lakes Community Center..

By KELLIE DIXON, Times Staff Writer
Published January 1, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT [Zach Boyden-Holmes | Times] Frankie Beaulieu, 17, left, of Dade City serves to Lonnie Russell of New Tampa as they play a game of table tennis at the Land O'Lakes Community Center.

LAND O'LAKES - Lonnie Russell, a North Tampa resident, was just the type of table tennis player that Don Goff and Michael Coppola had in mind when they created this idea.

They wanted people seriously interested in playing pingpong so they started a table tennis club at the Land O'Lakes Community Center. Russell, who owns his own table, wanted better competition so he made the drive.

"I've been playing for 35 years, and we have a table at home," Russell said. "It's one of those things like Scrabble. If you like it, you'll do what it takes to be with people who play it."

The club is kind of a dream come true for Goff and Coppola, who met one another through their wives' Red Hat Society social functions.

The duo started off a few months ago with one pingpong table in the community center at Wilderness Lake. Their afternoon hobby quickly turned into more of a community event and high school kids showed up after school to face off against their senior counterparts.

So Goff, 62, and Coppola, 61, created the table tennis club and got permission from the Land O'Lakes Community Center to use its facility. Now the club is looking for more players.

Their pitch is simple. No more playing in the garage against your neighbors. Time for some real competition. And since mid December, the group has played on the two tables at the community center. The duo is hoping for table donations to accommodate the growing crowd but rotates in players for now.

The players range in age from 16 to 62 and the skill level is just as varied. But there is a common bond among the players, even if they never have met before. On Dec. 19, Russell was a newcomer to the group. But it didn't take long for him to fit right in.

"It's something where you can be competing but also be friendly at the same time," Coppola said.

And Coppola, a former high school teacher and cross country coach from Long Island, said the sport also is safer.

It's not like football, he said, where you are susceptible to knee injuries. That's why he likes to see so many high school kids getting involved.

Land O'Lakes seniors Frankie Beaulieu, 17, and Santiago Marin, 17, both turned out to play that Wednesday.

"I'm so impressed," Coppola said. "They are seniors and they show up most of the times."

Beaulieu and Marin, both former high school athletes, had quickness on their side, but their competition held their own.

Beaulieu, who played some high school baseball, grew up playing the game. His family would go camping in Massachusetts and they would spend the evenings batting the ball back and forth.

"It's really quick," Beaulieu said. "You've got to be sharp to play."

Goff and Coppola are hoping to sign up 20 players for their club, which meets Wednesday afternoons and Friday evenings at the community center.

Players of any skill level, ages 16 and up, are encouraged to turn out.

Russell took a seat so Marin could take a turn at the table. He'll be back. This is exactly what he was looking for.

Want to play? Here's where to join in

In Pasco

At the Land O'Lakes Community Center

5401 Land O'Lakes Blvd.

When: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday

6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday

Cost: Free

For more information or to donate a table, contact Don Goff at (813) 929-8055 or e-mail loltabletennis@gmail.com

In Hernando

At the Jerome Brown Community Center, 99 Jerome Brown Place, Brooksville, (352) 544-5498

When: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. every Thursday.

Cost: $3 per night

[Last modified December 31, 2007, 20:07:23]