Miss-Delectable
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Pingponging to smart choices
Decked out in athletic wear, Aditya Sharma stretched his hamstrings and approached the green table with a smile. His audience, 82 students from the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind, waved their fingers in applause as he faced his opponent, faculty member Randy Bow.
This was table tennis — delivered to the students by a two-time deaf Olympian and the 1999 deaf national champion in India.
For the school’s Red Ribbon Week finale, officials set up a table tennis demonstration in hopes that students would want to get involved in a new sport and find new motivation to stay away from drugs and alcohol.
“We are trying to fuel the fire here and raise interest in a new sport,” Principal Gretchen Spooner said, signing as she spoke — her hands moving fluidly with her spoken words. “It’s been Aditya’s dream to get something competitive going.”
Sharma, a math teacher at ISDB, couldn’t find a table tennis club in Idaho. So he’s trying to light a passion for the sport with students who know what it’s like to create new opportunities and work hard. It’s also a way for him to encourage them to stay away from things that could deter their dreams.
“Playing sports rather than getting into drugs,” he signed. “It’s important to have self-esteem.”
State Rep. Donna Pence, D-Gooding, donated a new pingpong table to the cause. She was also present Thursday for the small tournament held among Sharma, Bow and a few students who have taken an interest in the sport.
“There are a lot of different sports here, but this one is more individual and appeals to a different group of kids,” Pence said. “It accommodates physical disabilities, too. It’s a sport that doesn’t affect the hearing-impaireder’s ability to play.”
The students clapped and stomped their feet as Sharma and Bow battled it out on the table. Sharma’s years of playing with other deaf athletes in Bulgaria, Denmark and Malaysia were apparent as he catered to his audience — serving the small ball with a signature snap of his head when the paddle made contact, making it appear as if he was head-butting the ball across the table.
The referee for the game was first-year faculty member Chelsea Paulson, the former Miss Deaf America. She kept score for the two, animatedly making gestures between rounds.
“What we would like to see is to get this to where we can have tournaments here and see how much we can involve the rest of Gooding,” Spooner said. “Eventually we would like to get the community and other schools involved for cross-town tournaments.”
Decked out in athletic wear, Aditya Sharma stretched his hamstrings and approached the green table with a smile. His audience, 82 students from the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind, waved their fingers in applause as he faced his opponent, faculty member Randy Bow.
This was table tennis — delivered to the students by a two-time deaf Olympian and the 1999 deaf national champion in India.
For the school’s Red Ribbon Week finale, officials set up a table tennis demonstration in hopes that students would want to get involved in a new sport and find new motivation to stay away from drugs and alcohol.
“We are trying to fuel the fire here and raise interest in a new sport,” Principal Gretchen Spooner said, signing as she spoke — her hands moving fluidly with her spoken words. “It’s been Aditya’s dream to get something competitive going.”
Sharma, a math teacher at ISDB, couldn’t find a table tennis club in Idaho. So he’s trying to light a passion for the sport with students who know what it’s like to create new opportunities and work hard. It’s also a way for him to encourage them to stay away from things that could deter their dreams.
“Playing sports rather than getting into drugs,” he signed. “It’s important to have self-esteem.”
State Rep. Donna Pence, D-Gooding, donated a new pingpong table to the cause. She was also present Thursday for the small tournament held among Sharma, Bow and a few students who have taken an interest in the sport.
“There are a lot of different sports here, but this one is more individual and appeals to a different group of kids,” Pence said. “It accommodates physical disabilities, too. It’s a sport that doesn’t affect the hearing-impaireder’s ability to play.”
The students clapped and stomped their feet as Sharma and Bow battled it out on the table. Sharma’s years of playing with other deaf athletes in Bulgaria, Denmark and Malaysia were apparent as he catered to his audience — serving the small ball with a signature snap of his head when the paddle made contact, making it appear as if he was head-butting the ball across the table.
The referee for the game was first-year faculty member Chelsea Paulson, the former Miss Deaf America. She kept score for the two, animatedly making gestures between rounds.
“What we would like to see is to get this to where we can have tournaments here and see how much we can involve the rest of Gooding,” Spooner said. “Eventually we would like to get the community and other schools involved for cross-town tournaments.”