Club of the Month: South Bend TTC

By Dan Seemiller

Photos of SBTTC by John Oros copyright 2001.

The table tennis club here in South Bend is open six days per week. The Center sports 11 barriered tables with an excellent wood floor. We recently moved to this new facility, which is conveniently located on a busy corridor and provides the club with an excellent chance to grow.

Our junior program is the main focus of the club. Mark Hazinski, Jared Lynch, the Cochran brothers, Jeff Smith and Eli Kahn are just some of the ranked junior players who practice regularly at the facility. Dan Seemiller is the head coach and is assisted by Barry Chan, Paul George and Mark Nordby. We just recently concluded a junior class that had 33 participants.

Other activities at the club feature a Thursday night and Sunday afternoon round robin league. The Thursday evening league averages around 35 participants and Sunday about 20. The club hosts six tournaments per year with the St. Joseph Valley Open held at the University of Notre Dame is our main event. This year’s tourney features 50 Butterfly tables and $20,000 in prize money. The main sponsors of this event are NEWMAR, Corp. and Virgil & Sarah Miller. You can help support our junior program by planning to attend this great 4-star event.

The club officers are Phil Schmucker (President), Jim Lynch and Jerry Goeller. Jim and Jerry help with the maintenance of the building and tournaments, and Phil runs the leagues, ratings and meetings. The 8000 square foot facility is sponsored by Electronics, Inc. Our club would like to thank our sponsors and the many private donors who believe in our junior program.

Please stop by if your travels bring you to South Bend, IN. You can access more information about the center at www.sbttc.org.