Smashing Jewish table tennis back into shape

If any sport can boast a successful, trophy-laden history within the Jewish community, table tennis can.

Team Maccabi GB have enjoyed copious amount of success at Maccabiah and European Games over the years, while members of the community have always been picking up bats and heading down to local clubs.

Fast forward to the present and the Maccabi GB Table Tennis club is now the place where novices and pros, young and old, head to.

The club, based at The Stanley Cohen Centre (formerly known as Kulanu), has been running for years however took a break due to refurbishment of the building over the Covid period. The club restarted in the middle of 2023 and control of the building is now more formally in the hands of Maccabi GB. When clarity was established as to what future table tennis would have in association with Maccabi GB, Joe Kaye and Jacob Sobel took the initiative to slowly reinvigorate the club and get people playing and enjoying the sport again.

The club is in good hands, with Kaye, who’s the Head Coach of Maccabi GB Table Tennis, having been training and playing the sport for around 12 years. Starting as a beginner and working his way up to competing in local, regional and national matches, together with tournaments, he’s one of several coaches who have passed on their skills and knowledge to upcoming stars, alongside the likes of Mel Davidson, Rafi Marom, Jeremy Banks and Eli Baraty.

Kaye says popularity in the sport took a slight hit due to covid, but now believes it’s heading back. “Jacob and I decided to restart small scale training in 2023, which has coincided with a rise in its popularity which I would say is strong, though used to be much bigger from an active competitive sense. The local league (Wembley and Harrow League) used to have at least seven teams of enthusiastic Jewish table tennis players competing across different divisions, while the annual Maccabi GB table tennis tournaments were always extremely popular. There are though still many Jewish table tennis players across the country, enjoying the sport and frequently playing at a competitive level.”

The Tuesday evening sessions the club hold, are in the words of Kaye, “a dedicated space of hard committed training for players who are genuinely dedicated to learning and enhancing their game.” The first hour is focussed on drills and exercises that sharpen the fundamentals of the game, such as forehand/backhand topspin, movement and consistency. The second focusses on more technical aspects such as understanding spin; services; service return, multiball training, matches and matchplay education.

Most of the current players are just finishing primary and early secondary school, and starting to play in the local league, Kaye believes will enable them to foster a competitive spirit that’s important for the development of all young kids.

With table tennis being on the roster at the JCC Games, European Maccabi Games and Maccabiah Games, Kaye feels there’s plenty of incentive for those taking part at the Tuesday night sessions to realise their dreams of competing on the national and international stage.

Proud with how he’s seen the club grow, he says: “It comes from the enthusiasm and work of myself and Maccabi in attracting more players. The fact that we have an amazing hall, with more than six tables means that there’s always room for anyone to come and join, have fun and play.”

The hope is the club can also act as a breeding ground, or developmental platform for future Jewish stars of sport, unearthing gems who can star at future Maccabiah or European Games. “The club can certainly foster new Jewish talent, however on its own that is very difficult given that to be a star you must be playing regularly,” Kaye says. “In all sports, training in different locations and different environments is absolutely necessary, however the Maccabi GB venue can play an amazing role in improving the skills of beginners, intermediates and advanced players with its amazing facilities and top-level experienced coaches. The Tuesday sessions try to be focussed on producing talented competitors, but also it is within the remit of Maccabi GB to attract more Jewish players into the sport and getting them active. Having fun is really important and empowering yourself too, however I think a culture of dedicated, hard-working training and commitment to the sport is the best atmosphere to create for those wishing to train.”

As to what he hopes the club can accomplish over the next 12 months, he says: “I would like to maintain the current crew of players who play for Maccabi in the local league, to keep them hungry and willing to climb the local league ladder, and hopefully provide them with more opportunities for competition.

“The restarting of the Maccabi GB table tennis circuit has allowed a new crop of players to be born. I anticipate the venue will become more popular over the coming months and years. In previous years the club was an amazing place for anyone with table tennis ability to come and play, hopefully that can happen again amongst members of the local league and surrounding area.”