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Penn State
University has teamed up with the Newgy
Corporation to introduce table tennis, the most
popular racquet sport in the world, to students
through the Exercise and Sports Activities
program. The table tennis program at Penn State
is now an official course that counts toward
general graduation requirements. This is the
first time ever that a major university is
making it possible for the Olympic sport of
table tennis to be taught to
students.
Utilizing
state-of-the-art technology, made available by
the Newgy Corporation, 40 students are
receiving intensive instruction, training and
exposure to the sport using robots and other
equipment. In addition, students get the
benefit of reviewing tapes of themselves
executing the basic forehand and backhand
techniques of the game. This allows them to
compare their performance against the top
players of the world as seen from taped matches
from the world championships.
Exclaimed Carrie
Hippchen, a student of the class, as she
smashed a forehand: "this class is a great
opportunity to learn table tennis as a lifelong
sport. Iım looking forward to being a part of
this program for the next two
years."
Over the next 4
semesters, Penn State will collect researched
data and information from the students to be
used in getting other Top Ten schools to adopt
an instructional table tennis program. In
addition to the efforts being made by Newgy,
USA Table Tennis, the national governing body
of the sport, will make a new category of
memberships for college students.
With the
combined forces of Newgy, the USATT and
universities like Penn State, the country will
be preparing to win medals in table tennis
starting in the year 2008. The Club Sports
program at Penn State is helping the sport take
a giant step towards its Olympic future by
providing opportunities for students to travel
to compete in national tournaments across the
country. The Penn State program will get the
ball rolling by increasing membership and
interest and bringing serious competitors to
this great sport of table tennis. Penn State
University is located in Happy Valley where
some of the happiest people here are not just
Nittany Lion football fans but members of the
table tennis class offered at the school.
Meeting three times a week for two hours each
session, these students hone their ping pong
skills and play a sport that they enjoy. Penn
Staters get the chance to practice their
talents both by using the robots, machines that
spew balls out in sequence to reinforce what is
being taught in class, and by playing fellow
classmates and instructors. All of this adds up
to beginners
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and
experts alike getting the chance to have
fun and improve their table tennis
skills.
The Master
Tennis Table Class, under the instruction
of Henry McCoullum, takes place every
Thursday from 7:30 to 9:30 in the Mary
White Building. It gives students the
chance to either take up the sport for
the first time, learn the proper
techniques of a sport they have only
passively played, or perfect their
previous table tennis skills. Students
earn credit toward their Exercise and
Sport Activities requirement and
eventually get to play in a table tennis
tournament where they will each earn a
national ranking. Participants who also
wish to become umpires are encouraged to
take this class in order to prepare for
certification exams.
One of the
best aspects of the class for both
beginners and experts is practicing their
skills using the robots, a technology
made possible by Newgy. Playing
Robo-Pong, students use their forehands
and backhands against the Robot as it
shoots out balls in rapid succession at
different angles, heights and speeds.
This adjustability on the Robots part is
great for a variety of strengths and
weaknesses of the class and lets each
student work on what they need to improve
most. A sensor is also placed on the
table to give players something to aim at
and serves as a way to monitor the
students successes against the
Robot.
Once the
student has worked on the necessary
skills using the Robot, they can move on
to playing classmates in singles and
doubles matches. Taking what they learned
from the Robot, students see the fruits
of their labors by playing games against
their peers. With more practice using
both the robots and playing games with
fellow students, Penn State students get
the chance to improve upon their table
tennis skills, making their time in Happy
Valley even happier. As the bumper
stickers say, they are "Penn State Proud"
at the university, and with the adoption
of this program, they will be just as
proud of their table tennis players, as
they are their other athletes.
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