Naples Pong Bringing Table Tennis to Collier County

If you have been craving a great way for adults and children to enjoy healthy physical exercise together, improve eye and body coordination, and enhance the ability to make effective strategic decisions on their feet, table tennis (aka ping pong) is not only a fun activity, but has become a serious sport as well.

Flint Lane, a former software entrepreneur, and his wife Kathy have made it a mission to develop full-time dedicated spaces to facilitate these pursuits. The birth and story of Naples Pong goes back to Flint’s birthday in 2014. Kathy was aware of his growing involvement in table tennis and decided to hook him up with six-time champion and U.S. competitor David Zuang, who lived near their home in New Jersey.  

It was fate. Lane trained with Zuang and was so inspired by him and what now has become a popular international and Olympic sport. “It is the number one racket sport in the world,” Lane explained, a legacy of the 1970s “Ping Pong Diplomacy” games between China and the United States. With his wife as the chief financial manager, Lane and Zuang eventually entered into a partnership to establish a pong tennis club that has evolved into a major presence in West Windsor, New Jersey, near the town of Princeton, and became Princeton Pong. “I was the owner, Zuang was the talent,” Lane says, adding there are now 150 similar clubs throughout the country, three of which are in Florida including Daytona (where national competitions are held) and Winter Haven. 

After leaving the management of the West Windsor club in Zuang’s hands, the Lanes brought their mission to Naples. Before too long they were utilizing spaces in the Boys & Girls Club, local churches and schools. By this time, Lane had also founded and continues to manage the Major League Table Tennis (MLTT) organization, with an affiliation to the national USATT, a non-profit governing body established in the 30s that oversees and catalogs national tournaments. Zuang is a member of the USATT Hall of Fame.

The MLTT is the first professional table tennis league in the United States, featuring top US and international players, including Olympic and national champions. The creation of what is viewed as an innovative team-based format now includes eight teams drafted in cities across the country. There will be a Final Four showdown in 2024 for prize money that could range close to $300,000, which is the highest in American table tennis competition to date. 

Though table tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988, Lane believes it should be a professional league sport as well. “Some kids might aspire to become great players but give it up when they reach college,” Lane says, mainly because of the lack of organized teams and players.

One young person who did not give up the dream and dedicated himself to the sport, along with other members of his family (his sister is an Olympic pong champion), is Naples Pong general manager and head coach, Jeff Yamada. According to Lane, 

Yamada is one of the top coaches in the country. Born in Brazil, from a young age he studied under several coaches, the most memorable being renowned Japanese expert Toshio Takeda, and eventually trained and played in more than fifteen countries, including Japan, China, France and Germany. He played on the Brazilian team into his late teens, before moving to the US in 2017 with a coveted scholarship to Lindenwood University for Table Tennis in Missouri. A very small number of schools offer this scholarship nationwide. He went on to win collegiate as well as national competitions 

and has had the honor of training several members of the US Olympic team.

Naples Pong will host local officials, members and invite the public to their Grand Opening on Saturday, December 9, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM - join them for free open table play and snacks. Visitors will be able to ask questions regarding general table open play reservations, schedules, memberships, children’s camps, corporate parties, birthdays, and individual and group lessons. 

Naples Pong includes members from a wide range of proficiency and backgrounds, including a top pong player with the Naples Philharmonic and the 1988 Number One national wheelchair champion. “The great thing about table tennis no matter what age, you can learn from each other,” says Kathy. “It doesn’t matter if a youngster is playing with a senior, it is the level at which each is playing.” The Lanes and Yamada are always available to offer a tip or two when they see a learning moment. The benefits are great, including noted improvement in Parkinson’s patients. They hope you will join them in their mission. For more information, call Jeff at 239-296-5876. The Club is located in Freedom Square at 12725 Tamiami Trail E in the rear of the complex in back of the Burlington Clothing store. It is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM and Saturdays 12:00 Noon to 6:00 PM. Naples Pong is closed Sundays and Tuesdays.