My trip to Black Belt at 50... and beyond!: Where do I play? I play everywhere

One aspect of table tennis that I like is that I can play pretty much anywhere I am, as long as I'm willing to search around and find the local club. I'll cover here my home club and all the different places that I've played in the last two years.

I mostly play in the Ft Lauderdale Beach Community center. It's about 5 minutes from home. I play three times a week there. There are a few exceptional players who play there sometimes. Most of the crowd are good players. I think I've made it in the last two years from the bottom of barrel up to just a bit better than the average player there. It's also social so sometimes, I'm playing in doubles games with mixed levels which is fun. But I'm more into the intense training these days.

Ft Lauderdale Beach Community Center

I also go to the Broward Table Tennis Center where I both take lessons and play with different people. It an amazing table tennis center. It's near the corner of University Blvd and Sterling Drive (more info) so it's a full 45 minute drive. My teacher and coach is Terese Terranova, the lady in pink below.

In the building where I live (Auberge, Ft Lauderdale), there is a table but there are no real players and it's not really set up for competitive play. There's space but depending on the sunlight, the lighting can be off.

When I travel, I often take a lesson and visit a club. This solves the problem that my wife really likes to travel and shop whereas I prefer to do my own thing. So I travel and play. Here's my list so far:

Travel and Table Tennis

My wife likes to travel and do touristy things. But she likes to shop and do more touristy things that I do. So when we travel, I often take a lesson and visit a club. This solves the problem she can travel and shop and I can travel and do my own thing. So I travel and play.

Side note: I also try to indulge in my other sports when I travel. In Paris, where we seem to go frequently, I have both a boxing trainer and a yoga studio right next to where we stay in the 7th. I'm pretty annoyed that I have to go across town in Paris to play ping pong.

Here's a quick list of my table tennis travel visits so far.

Ft Lauderdale, Florida - My home club, where I've entered a few tournaments, Broward TTC. Terese Terranova.

Washington DC - The DC Table Tennis center is in NW DC and is owned by Khaleel Asgarali. I visited in 2023 and 2022. I'm looking forward to getting back there.

Gaithersburg Maryland - The Maryland Table Tennis Center. 2022

NYC - A ping pad center around W 48th street in Manhattan. 2022

London - Eli Baraty in London. March 2024. eBaTT in Oxgate (West London)

Paris - Nicolas Brocard in the 16th in a school. Played March 2024 and he said he was opening his own school shortly.

Girona Spain - Maestro Elisabeth Granados Artacho has her own article on this blog. Tennis Taula Girona - July 2024

San Sebastian, Spain. La Escuela de tenis de mesa, Club Atlético San Sebastián. July 2024

Kendell (Miami) - Ping Pad, a session with Neslihan Özdemir (girlonthebikeNY), Oct 2024

- - - - -Playing in Brickell PingPod ---- - - -

I was down in Brickell, a part of Miami, this week for a few things and rather than sit around, I booked into the Pingpod center in Brickell, it was a nine minute walk from my hotel. In reality, it was longer since the center is not exactly where the address suggests it should be and the signage is not so clear. But once I found it, very nice. Small, there are only four tables but a great space.

I had booked in with a coach for beginners, Neslihan Özdemir (girlonthebikeNY). I told her I really just wanted to practice, not tons of instruction. We mostly played games and of course, all my bad habits and unforced errors were pretty evident. She ran me through some drills and reminded me, as everyone does, to stay low, to get ready for the next shot, to hit forehands with my body (not just my arm), and that the more reliable shot is usually cross court (not down the line).

She taught me a new serve which was great. I had been hitting my slice serves pretty hard with tons of spin. She showed me that a much more understated serve with just a little backspin, hit short, and with a shorter softer stroke was also possible and often effective. Cool!

At one point, I did ask her about serve returns since it was on my mind. She made two points, one of which was new to me.

1. Watch their paddle at the point of contact with the ball,
2. Stare at the ball and you can actually see the spin on the ball. I've tried this and so far, have not made any progress. But I'll keep starting at the ball and see if it comes into focus soon...

We only hit the record button only once, that's the video point above. I took one photo of the facility before we started.

I would have hung out for the social hour or whatever it was that was a little later if I didn't have a previous commitment. I saw a guy on the next table (Harvey!) that I had met before at the Broward Table Tennis Center.