Double the ping pong

Ask and you shall receive. The Taos Youth and Family Center has purchased another Stiga Optimum 30 ping pong table for the passionate players who show up every Monday morning to play doubles ping pong.

As Taos Youth and Family Center Director Tony Struck puts it, “What we have is a number of individuals [who] are coming in the morning,” he said. “They had actually devised a couple of teams, then moved on to about 15 players, sometimes, and then they have to wait for use of the table. So they had asked if I could purchase another one. And the demand is there. So we purchased another table, got them in there. A lot of these individuals are actually well, two of them are actually wanting to put on a youth program and kind of mentor kids to play the sport. So that will also be in the development of the possible tournaments in the spring.”

Struck added that he is pleased the center now offers both table tennis for an indoor activity for seniors and pickleball as an outdoor game for people of all ages to enjoy.

To make all this happen, the ping pong posse wrote a letter that included their request, which reads:

“Dear Tony Struck, over the past year we have routinely had eight people playing ping pong at the Taos Youth and Family Center on Monday mornings from 10–11:30 a.m. We provide our own net, ping pong paddles and balls. We have been a self-managed group and have recently provided publicity about ping pong at the Youth and Family Center through an article in the Taos News. Only four people can play at once during ping pong games. We want to be able to have two games proceeding simultaneously. Please consider adding the funding required in the 2023 YFC budget to purchase a Stiga Optima 30 Table Tennis Table for $1,445 through Amazon Prime. Let us know if you have any questions and/or require any additional information. Thanks to you and your staff for supporting ping pong as a recreational offering at the Youth and Family Center.”

The letter was signed by Andy Greif, Doug Swayne, Jean Kenin, Linda Fair, Nishan Pant, Rick Schulze, Rob Forbes, Ron Olson and Terry Thompson. Forbes is one of the individuals who has offered his services in reaching out to the youth for ping pong instruction.

JEANS PINEDA/Taos News Rick Schulze, foreground, puts the ping pong table back into the computer room with assistance from a Taos Youth and Family Center employee on Monday (Oct. 10)

JEANS PINEDA/Taos News Jean Kenin, left, and Rick Schulze set up the new ping pong table on Monday (Oct. 8)

JEANS PINEDA/Taos News A game of table tennis is played on one table while Jean Kenin and Linda Fair play out a point on the other table.