For one helpful high school teenager from Plainview, slicing a ping-pong ball with precision is his way of giving back to the community. Tony (Ki Yun) Kim, a 16-year-old senior to be, is taking his community service to the net.
Starting July 11 and running for seven weeks, Kim will be teaching and training kids about the ins and outs of table tennis. The classes, which will be taught at the New York Table Tennis Club in Flushing, will be free for all students between grades four and nine.
Now four years old, these classes give kids an opportunity to either learn a new and intriguing sport or polish up their skills with an accomplished young teacher.
“I saw kids doing community service like helping out people at senior centers and I wanted to do something that was different, but also fun or everyone,” said Kim.
Kim, who is currently competing in the 2009 Table Tennis U.S. Open, is ready for these kids to have some well-deserved enjoyment and really try to expand the sport into the minds of the younger generation. Coming from Korea when he was seven, Kim’s father introduced him to the sport a little late, but he caught on rather quickly and has blossomed into a shining star in the ping-pong world.
Winning first place at the 2009 Eastern Open at Rutgers University in the Under-1850 Rating event and placing in the finals at the past two U.S. Opens in both singles and doubles, Kim has become a seasoned star and thinks he can handle the task of sharing his knowledge of the game with these kids.
“The hardest thing about this class is that some kids are very young and their body doesn’t want to listen to them, but the older kids catch on very quickly and seem to enjoy it,” said Kim. “I’m a very social person, and being in its fourth year, I know how to handle these kids on my own.”
Kim’s family and friends from Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School admire his creativity and confidence in the work he is doing with the community. With people having such hard times financially, he said this is a great opportunity to have fun while playing a sport he loves, along with teaching people something new for free.
Last year’s classes turned out 16 youngsters ready to challenge anybody at their newly learned sport. Kim is ready and waiting for the chance to share his abilities with kids in Queens and contribute to what is already such a widely popularized international sport.
“I can’t wait,” he said. “I’ve been ready since last year!”
For more information on Kim’s table tennis classes, contact him at ppttt777@yahoo.com and send in the following information: name, gender, grade/age, school, town, and telephone number.
