President's Report

By Sheri Soderberg Pittman

Just when our association seemed to be sailing into smoother waters, we experienced the abrupt departure of our newly-hired executive director.  Ray Essick’s resignation occurred just prior to the Board’s spring meeting.  The Board met, and, as planned, we reviewed association priorities and direction.  The following weekend I attended an international conference in Montreal on women and sport as a fully-funded ITTF delegate.  Marty Mankamyer represented the USOC.  After the conference, I met separately with the Canadian Table Tennis Association and the ITTF in Ottawa. Shortly after that USOC President Sandy Baldwin offered her immediate resignation.  Marty Mankamyer became the interim president.  In this month’s “association primer series,” I will address these issues.    

  Ray Essick’s Resignation

First, I want to express my appreciation to Ray Essick for the impact he had on our association during his short stint as executive director.  His resignation, following a rotating door of EDs, requires a truthful reflection and an in-depth examination of the soul of our association.  Ray has a dramatic presence.  The suddenness of his resignation prompted another spectacle.  Rumors flew.  Online posters snickered.  Some of our members took the opportunity to attack this administration.  And it all mirrored the very reason he gave for his departure.

He was overwhelmed by the culture of our association – by people asking first what’s “in it” for them, by people seeking to use issues as an opportunity to create divisiveness, by people blocking others from getting involved, by people calling him to tell him what to do or demanding to know why he took some action, by people seeking to build a name for themselves by tearing down others, and by people donning the “squeaky wheel” role.   He didn’t need the job.

I found myself nodding as I listened to his explanation.  For those of you who have been in this sport 10, 20, or 30 years, as I have, or longer or shorter, you have surely witnessed the damaging manifestation of an unsavory spirit that has plagued our association. When I first ran for USATT office in 1993, I campaigned on the need for association reform.  Over time, I came to view these issues as peripheral.  I had become nearly immune to the offenses he described.  But he opened my eyes to a startling discovery: no amount of progress will bring us growth until we reshape the spirit of our association.  This is not something that a simple Board motion can accomplish; changing our association’s culture, he said, “…will take years, if not decades. I’m just the most visible symptom of a much bigger problem.”  In his resignation, he concluded, “USA Table Tennis and Ray Essick are not a good fit.”

But change is possible.  Consider the way the world has changed since the Ping Pong Diplomacy tour in 1971.  Look at the historic pact that President Bush recently signed with Russia’s President Putin.  Explaining the accord, President Bush remarked, “Friends don’t point weapons at each other.”  As I heard that statement, I thought of our association.

Unfortunately for us, Ray’s experience with USATT was not very pleasant.  Fortunately for us, however, I know that his interactions were not the full story.  As many of the Board members pointed out, there are dozens (if not hundreds) of members who selflessly contribute their time to the sport.  Many, if not most, of our members are kind, appreciative and patient.  Many are passionate and dedicated to promoting table tennis in the U.S.   And some people who do engage in negative behavior truly just don’t understand the damage it causes.

The USATT Board Meeting 

As I mentioned in a previous President’s Report, Lloyd Ward, the USOC CEO, had indicated that he would be pressing each NGB to transform its strategic plan by following a 5-step process: 1) target setting, 2) fact finding, 3) brainstorming, 4) solution finding and 5) action planning.  We added team building as a sixth step.  We spent the bulk of our meeting on this project.

We tentatively agreed to adopt the USOC’s 5 targets (winning medals, developing coaches, enhancing community involvement, adhering to “best practices” and improved financial management) during the first step.

We then reviewed material Ray had prepared for the Board.  We had heard reports updating us on the status of various events and association news the night before.  The Board members contributed to the “reality check” discussion.

On the third step, we brainstormed and listed good ideas on large sheets of paper taped to the front of the room.

After that, I posted new sheets and re-categorized the ideas under the USOC’s five target areas.  We then each placed a dot on the issue we thought was the single most important priority for our association.  We did that a total of three times.  Our top three priorities were: 1) membership growth, 2) association reorganization through adherence to best practices and 3) financial stabilization.

Since we had determined our top three priorities, we then created a new sheet for each priority.  Using material from our brainstorming and solution finding as a guide, we began to plan the steps we would take for each area.  As we listed the activities we should focus on to achieve our objectives, we incorporated team building, by assigning each item to a person or a team of people.

Several enthusiastic members have also called to offer their services in these priority areas.  This is a great way to deal with the challenges that face us.  In particular, I’d like to thank Stan Robens for his enthusiasm and team building.  Stan and I share the view of the need to bring back the club as a focal point.  As president, I have often devoted my time to USOC, ITTF and other national and international relations.  You, the members of USA Table Tennis, however, are the association’s reason for being. 

The recent setbacks have provided us with a fresh perspective on ways that we need to work together to create mutual opportunities. Along with several of my brothers, I spent a great deal of my youth at a club called “Disney’s.”  We all learned to pitch in.  There was an incredible sense of belonging and acceptance.  We learned the importance of greeting people walking in for the first time.  We learned how to make draws and record results.  We learned about the importance of holding regular tournaments and of writing post-tournament articles.  We learned how to promote leagues.  We had a lot of fun.  Those memories have stayed with me through the years.

We also learned tolerance.  We learned how to get along with people from different walks of life, different cultures and different religions.  Most important, we learned to value volunteerism – the spirit of giving back to the sport that had given so much to us.  This was my upbringing.  That is the foundation of my table tennis mentality.

This is the spirit that we need to collectively recreate. These are the messages that we need to share: Open your hearts. Serve sacrificially. Have grateful attitudes. Extend yourselves to newcomers. Contribute to your clubs. Lend a helping hand when you see others stumbling or sinking. Get beyond “I” “me” “my.” Expose yourselves to new ways of thinking. Embrace changes for the better. Engage in constructive acts. Challenge yourselves to move beyond your own comfort zone. Erase territorial behaviors. Have a spirit of kindness. Respect protocols. Be a blessing to our association. Maintain optimism in the face of hardships. Set your hearts on where we can go … not just on where we’ve been. Be patient. Resolve to become a member of the team that builds, fortifies and guards our association. Make a conscious decision to give of yourself. Become known for the greatness within you.

If we, as an association, can follow that path, if we believe in our destiny, we will find that the opportunities in front of us are unlimited.  Our challenges will automatically come into better focus and we will wind up doing right things and doing things right. That will put our association on the course of success and joy.  So I thank Ray for his service and for pointing out to us the bitter cost of discord. This is a challenge to us as the leaders. Otherwise, any success we achieve will be a fleeting victory.

USOC and ITTF Support

Members, the whole world of table tennis is eager to see our association rise up and take a place of leadership.  The USOC is eager to update our strategic partnership position with them by jointly working through a process similar to the one the Board undertook at our meeting.  The USOC would like to offer us assistance with the resources we need to accomplish our mutual goals. Similarly, our North American neighbor, Canada, is eager to work together.  And the ITTF is also willing to work with us in creating our development vision and strategy.  Everyone is advocating what is called “adherence to best practices,” which is simply learning about and adopting proven methods.  At the international conference on women and sport, I learned a lot that will help me to become a better leader.

Sandy Baldwin’s Resignation

At practically the same time as the conference, the USOC was adjusting to the resignation of USOC President Sandy Baldwin.  I found myself reflecting quite a bit about my own experience as USATT president.  In this time of turmoil, I was greatly humbled.  The election entitled me to the position; fulfilling the role is always a responsibility that I cherish.  For the duration of my remaining years as president, I promise to rededicate myself to the task of reforming our culture for the best interests of our association.  Visit www.usatt.org to see the progress we are making in this area.  And, if you’ve got the drive, I look forward to including you on the team.