Cliff Gets Schooled

As most of my faithful blog readers know, I take a lot of pride in my table tennis skills. (no I will not be posting my trophies on the blog). While I beat most everyone I play at home, I really don't know how good I am against other players. So I searched the internet and came across the Kalamazoo Table Tennis Club. They meet weekly at a local school gym and play for three hours. The only cost is $5. So on Friday, I gave it a try. They had six high quality tables set up and about 20 players came. Why most of the club members have been coming for years, there was one other "first timer". The age range of the players was 22 - 70 with most people in their 40's and 50's. I ended up playing a total of 22 games (the games are played up to 11 and you play best of five). Well I learned that my game has a little ways to go. I won 7 games and lost 15. The hardest point was trying to return the serves of the experienced players. The spins they used were incredible. I also do not compete with their forehand slams. The good news? My serves were respectable, my back hand slams were great and they could not return my corner shots. I hope to go a couple times each month. I am anxious to improve my game.