“So how good are you?” I innocently ask during my pre-match rally.
“Oh, I’m nothing special,” the kid responds.
“Hey, don’t be modest, Sam! You’re a beast,” interjects Sam’s younger brother, our only fan, heckler, announcer and judge.
This is how my introduction to the world of Maccabi Games’ table tennis began. The kid is Samuel Rothmann, 16, a rising junior at Lowell High in San Francisco.
Samuel is one of 12 members on the S.F. delegation’s table tennis team, led by coach Jay Rosenthal.
When my editor told me to write a story on the San Francisco delegation’s table tennis team, I decided the best way to learn about the athletes was to play them.
I’m what you would call an advanced-recreational player. I play ping pong with my friends and family occasionally, but never had any formal training or practice. And between you and me, since going to college, I’ve found a better use for ping-pong balls (involving plastic cups).
Nevertheless, I showed up at Samuel’s house ready for a competitive match (or at least one where I wouldn’t embarrass myself). He led me to the basement and their table, a Chanukah present four years ago for him and his brother Joel, 11. “This is where I started playing seriously,” Samuel said, knocking on the table.
After the rally, we started. The rules were simple: first to 11, win by two.
Samuel served first and put me in a big hole. I was able to fight back, even taking a short-lived lead at 7-6. Still it was clear that he was simply the better player. A lifetime of baseball and tennis has developed my hand-eye coordination to the point that I could return most of his shots, but not with much velocity or spin.
Samuel won 12-10. I decided it was a moral victory for forcing it to overtime.
Within those 22 points though, I discovered the significance of the Maccabi Games. When I was in middle school, I had the opportunity to play for the San Francisco delegation’s baseball team. I declined, deciding I would rather play with my friends on a Little League squad and avoid the entire process of pretending to be part of something big that I believed was unimportant.
Yet that is what makes the Games unique. For one week, teen athletes get to pretend they are the center of the athletic world. Weekly practices with expert coaches, opening and closing ceremonies, kids from around the nation and the world, medals, interviews, the whole nine yards.
For some athletes, the Maccabi Games are a rare opportunity. When else would a table tennis player or bowler get to experience pre-game butterflies or the joy of advancing to the next round? For Samuel, this summer’s Games will be his first and only. “I’ll be nervous in the beginning, but as I warm up and get used to it I think I’ll be fine,” he said.
As I was closing my notebook and getting ready to leave, Samuel’s little brother, Joel, asked me if I would do a story on him when he is eligible for the Games next year. Maybe this year’s Maccabi Games will become an afterthought in the busy Bay Area the moment they are over, but don’t trying telling the athletes that.