The TJ ping-pong club is a way for students to sharpen their skills and make friends. photo by Lilah Tuchez
TJ’s ping-pong club has become an environment for students to unwind during the school day.
Thomas Jefferson High School has a wide variety of clubs. There is something for anyone who is looking for a fun way to spend a lunch period or an afternoon. However, clubs will sometimes stop meeting, which can happen for many reasons, but they tend to make comebacks a few years later. One recent example of this phenomenon is the return of the ping-pong club, sponsored by English teacher Sean Silvers.
The ping-pong club originally started in 2018 when a student came to Silvers with the idea. They had noticed that TJ had two ping-pong tables that were never used and wanted to start a club. Silvers, loving the sport himself, agreed to sponsor the club and they started meeting. They used the tables that were already at TJ, but the school’s admin, who were on board with the idea, purchased two more so the club could make room for any more students who wanted to join.
Club meetings continued, but eventually had to stop because of low attendance. For a while, the club stopped meeting, and students started to focus on other clubs. But in the 24-25 school year, junior Kenna Mackey came to Silvers and asked to revive it, and Silvers agreed. They pulled out the original four tables and decided to start meeting every Tuesday during 5th period lunch, which has become their standard meeting time. This is the best time to meet to encourage attendance, as many students have after school activities such as sports, theater, or maybe even a job that keeps them busy in the afternoons and evenings, so they wouldn’t be able to attend the club. There are a lot of other clubs that meet during lunch, so Silvers appreciates that students take time out of their week to come play ping-pong.
While ping-pong may not sound incredibly exciting to some, the meetings are full of energy and fun as students compete against each other in friendly matches. Walking in, new or prospective members will see students engaged in matches as their friends cheer them on. Silvers, who also plays along with his students, said his favorite thing about running the club is watching the members get better over time. “If they take it seriously, they do get better. I have a lot of juniors, who, when they started last year, weren’t bad, but they’re so much better now.” The club is not only a place to meet new people, but also a place to learn a new skill. “[I hope] they actually are here to learn how to play and get better so that they can, you know, beat all their friends,” he remarked.
When people think of sports, ping-pong is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. However, it is easy to argue that it brings people together, gives them a break from the stress of class, and is an opportunity for them to pick up a new hobby. The ping-pong club went silent for a little while, but its return has proved to be beneficial for all who attend.
