USATT LEAGUE of the Month - March/April 2004

Penn State Table Tennis League

By Adam Jones & Tom Nguyen

Penn State University is quickly becoming a hotspot for table tennis. With the Olympic Trials being held there January 13-18 and the ACUI Regionals taking place there February 20-21, it is no surprise that the Penn State Table Tennis Club (PSUTTC) is leading the way as one of the first university clubs to implement the USATT League Program among its members. The club, led by Coach Hank McCoullum, started the league in the spring of 2003, and helped test the USATT League software in its test phase. A full semester of league play took place this past fall.

The league was introduced to the club in an effort to make table tennis fun for beginners and also to help give its member’s more real-match experience, in an effort to improve the club’s performance in the NCTTA and ACUI competitions. Players in the league are put into round robin groups appropriate to their level. This results in players competing against similarly advanced counterparts.

Currently, league play is held once a week, during a three-hour session. The first hour usually involves general training and drills for the members, followed by two hours of round-robin matches.

Each week, PSUTTC Vice President Tom Nguyen compiles all the match results and posts them on the club webpage (www.clubs.psu.edu/up/tabletennis). (You can also track these results on the USATT League Page.) This allows players to track their progress throughout the course of the year. Since implementing the league, many players have raised their level of play. As Vice President Tom Nguyen said, “I think the league really helped bring our overall playing level up.” It is clear that the USATT League Program is making the PSUTTC one of the top university clubs in the country.

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