It’s a familiar scene for many high school students: the school day ends, and you’re left with two choices: go home and lay around or start your homework. For some, especially after their sports seasons end, the school day ends and they are left with nothing to occupy their time with.
Luckily, LFHS now offers a new intramural ping pong program – run by Craig Shaman and Ray Werner – to save you from after school boredom.
The program runs from December through February, it takes place on Mondays from 3:30 – 4:30p.m. in the lower commons.
This activity is a very low-stakes opportunity for students to unwind, challenge each other, and enjoy the fun game.
According to assistant Athletic Director Craig Shaman, “You can be any level of skill, interest, or experience and if you just want to play ping pong for an hour after school we are open for you to do it!”
Though still in its beginning stages, the program has already had a positive impact on the students in our school.
“All of the students shared a common interest to play and left the session having met new folks. Many of them asked if they could bring a new member with them in the future,” Supervisor Ray Werner said.
This is a new opportunity to involve students in activities beyond the classroom; a break from the routine. It helps build connections between different grade levels in our student body.
To bring this idea to life, James Engelland and Owen Kuehnle, juniors at LFHS met with multiple LFHS adults and followed the procedures in place to start an official club.
“They had the desire and ambition to create something they were interested in having available at LFHS,” Werner said.
Their interests in setting this up not only stem from gathering their fellow students to actively socialize, but from growing up playing ping pong at home.
As there were debates over whether to launch this as a formal club or as an intramural activity. Ultimately, they wanted to keep the program flexible.
“Doing it as an intramural activity gives us a lot more freedom. There are no real standards to meet, no minimum number of people, and no organization required. You just show up and play ping pong,” Shaman said.
Although they were unsure how the first session turnout would be, it ended up a success.
“We’ve definitely got more participation than we expected. On that first meeting, we filled all the ping pong tables,” Engelland said. “It was really fun to see the eight tables in the lower commons with at least two people playing on each.”
To keep track of all the competitive matches, a challenge board was put up and personal records of wins and losses were recorded. The games continued until 4:30 pm, with people selecting others to play.
Sessions will continue to heat up in preparation for the ultimate championship tournament at the end of the season.
These students were solid players who enjoyed finding someone who was going to give them a challenge, no matter what level of experience.
“Intramural ping pong is a very important life skill and it’s great that now we have the opportunity to play,” ping pong player senior Josh Back said.
