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56 | SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | APRIL 2023 | Table Tennis/Ping Pong The Sun Lakes Table Tennis/Ping Pong group remains strong with active seniors shutting out the cold, gray weather to pound that little white spinny ball again and again. As always, there was non-stop fun and good-natured bantering, but also serious focus and concentration trying to get better at this game; improving is hard but rewarding, whatever skill levels are in the mix playing doubles. We get better at knowing how to play with our partners as well as against our opponents, the mixture of which changes when a team is the first to win two games. Every game is a different learning experience and we benefit from every point, win or lose. It's nice to see better players take the time to practice one-on- one with newer players, helping them get better. This month's spotlight player is one who embodies the traits of a very good player and teacher: Dennis Sauer. Dennis has been playing here at Sun Lakes at a high level since 2003, a 20-year endorsement! Here is his true-life table tennis story: I started playing at the age of 10 (1957), at the Chicago Kiwanis Boys Club. I won the Club championship that summer. After that, my career in this sport took off, and I won several championships including the Kiwanis Boys Club Championship, overall Chicago Boys Club Champ, YMCA Club Champ, and Park District and Recreation Department Champ. I played and won tournaments all over Chicago and suburbs, and all over Illinois and western Indiana, representing the Chicago Parks and Recreation Department. In August 1959, I played in the United States Table Tennis Association Tournament Nationals (now USATT) for age 12 and under, and I took second place. Unfortunately, my parents would not allow me to go to New York to play in the World Open later that year. I was disappointed, and angry, so I put my paddle down and did not play again until I moved to Sun Lakes in 2003. A fond highlight was when I met and played one game with World Champion Coleman Clark, Sr. in 1959. I ran the Sun Lakes Table Tennis Group for several years. My abilities as a player have diminished, but I and several members of the group are happy to share suggestions on how to improve your game.