In the summer of 2001, I went to see my doctor for a check-up. I learned that, in the years proceeding my check-up, I had accumulated a lot of fat which resulted in me having cholesterol. I knew I had to take action in order to prevent any further damage to my health. So, during that summer, I began practicing an old hobby of mine, table tennis. Every weekend, I practiced with one of my best friends, Simon Luong. However, Simon was an amateur at this sport and I wanted to compete with others.
Simon and I then visited Dr. Richard Lee and found out he and Mr. Dang Nguyen also practiced table tennis. Next, Simon and I visited Mr. Quoc Nguyen, a table tennis coach, at his home. There, we also met up with Mr. Howard Vu, whom I had not seen for 10 years. I remember he was the one who beat me at a match held at a Korean church in Vanowen. Anyways, Mr. Vu and I reacquainted and all of us began playing table tennis. Until now, I still cannot compete with Mr. Vu.
Afterwards, Simon and I began hanging out at Dr. Lee's on Tuesday nights and at Mr. Quoc's on Saturday afternoons. We were introduced to other table tennis players including Hung Nguyen, Chi Tran, Cuong Lien, Michael Hoang, Philip Le, Giang Le, Tung Tran, Vuong Lan etc.
In 2003, we attended a table tennis tournament in San Diego for the first time ever. After the tournament, some people suggested we purchase tables and place them at the Vietnamese Center in Northridge. Everyone began donating money to purchase the ping-pong tables from Stiga. To help afford more tables for tournaments in the future, Simon hosted a party to raise money. Surprisingly, the We received $6000 in donations within an hour. With this amount, we were able to purchase two Butterfly tables and another Stiga table from Litton.
Later that year, the Vietnamese Center established the NRTTC (Northridge Table Tennis Club). The NRTTC was a great opportunity for local players as well as young kids to play table tennis. With the financial support from our former and current president, Dr. Richard Lee and Mr. Richard Truong, the Vietnamese Association, and a number of local businesses, the NRTTC was able to open up classes on Mondays with Coach Quoc, regular practice sessions on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and hold several small tournaments.
Other volunteers who contributed to NRTTC's success include:
Dang Nguyen, Michael Hoang, Hung Nguyen, Dung Tran, Cuong Lien, Giang Le, Tung Tran, Hai Tang, John Long, Ali Shahabi, Steven Mathis, Frank Zandpour, Nils Davine, Alex J and Yiu So
Tournaments Coordinators
Quoc Dinh Nguyen Howard Vu Greg Linda Hsing (empire)
Web page, Video & Audio Coordinators
Chi Tran Philip Le
Fundraiser Coordinators Simon Luong and Richard Truong
Support Businesses
Nationwide Realty, Farmers Insurance, PHO 1 & Express Sandwich Restaurant Thang Mo Weekly Magazine, Dr. Thuan Le & Dr. Khanh Le, Dr. Caroline Hien Do & Dr. Andrew Lam, Lawyer Nguyen Thanh Y, Cuc Video, and Song Phat Restaurant
This year, 2007, NRTTC decided to open a four star sanction tournament for the first time ever in San Fernando Valley on March 24 and 25. This event was held at Reseda High School with 247 entry players and 27 events. Among these entry players were Wilson Zhang and Lee Mook (Canada), Khoa Nguyen (U.S. Olympic Table Tennis Team), Eric Owens (2001 U.S. Champion), Braney Reed, De Tran, and Ben Johnson. The junior entry players included Jeff Huang, Earl J. Alto, Jiaqi Zheng, and Don J. Alto.
The event's announcing sponsors, Butterfly representatives: (Greg), donated five more tables to NRTTC and Mr. Richard Truong donated an addition seventeen tables which brought NRTTC's total number of qualify tables to twenty-two.
NRTTC received further support from Reseda High School's vice principal, ( Tony) and (Scott).
Overall, the tournament was a great event.
NRTTC would like to thank everyone who supported the club and contributed to its success.
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