Each Tuesday and Thursday, half of the basketball court at Shaw Jewish Community Center turns into a 12-table pingpong practice arena.
There, the game of pingpong transforms into the sport of table tennis. Players of all ages serious about improving their skills complete physical training, challenge one another and practice their spin against ball-launching robots—all under the instruction of Samson Dubina.
Dubina, rated the top table tennis player in Ohio for the past 15 years, is a resident of Akron, where he gives lessons, conducts outreach programs and hosts a variety of tournaments.
He is hosting the Newgy Open Table Tennis Tournament today and Saturday, attracting players from all over the country to compete for national ranking points and prizes in different divisions.
Dubina’s interest in the game began at age 6, when a cruise he and his family took to the Bahamas featured a pingpong tournament. His parents told him they would let him enter if he practiced every day until the tournament.
“I thought that was just the greatest thing ever,” Dubina said. “So we went on the cruise, and there was no pingpong tournament. But it got me started.”
Since then, Dubina practiced on and off until he was 12, when he started taking lessons consistently. By the time he was 21, he had moved to Canada to train with its Table Tennis Olympic team.
“I like the tactical side of pingpong,” Dubina said. “A lot of the times, when people think of working out, they think of riding on an exercise bike for an hour. When coaches talk about table tennis, they talk about it as running sprints and playing chess at the same time.”
Dubina moved back to the United States in 2008 and trained to compete at the 2009 World Championships with the U.S. National Team, which annually consists of the top five players in the country.
There, he and another player won the U.S. National Championship Title in mixed-doubles. When he played a single match, it came down to the last game, which Dubina lost by just two points.
“It was literally down to the wire,” he said.
That match made Dubina the second-best player in the entire country, if only for a moment. With such close rankings, the top 30 players in the U.S. often change with each match.
“It’s almost like anybody can beat anybody on any given day,” he said. “It’s not like there’s one super dominant player.”
Recently, Dubina’s focus has shifted from playing the game to coaching it. After moving to Akron in 2010, where he settled with his wife and four kids, he started giving private lessons from his home. Just last March, he opened the Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy in the Jewish Community Center, where he gives group lessons to people of varying ages and skill levels.
“My first goal is to grow the sport here in Northeast Ohio, not just for the elite players, but getting more people involved in the sport,” Dubina said. “There’s more than just beating Uncle Bob in the basement. There’s actually the Olympic sport of table tennis, and there’s programs here in Akron that can take you to that level.”
Samson Dubina was just a name Joe Ciarrochi had heard flitting around the local tennis table clubs he went to — until Dubina moved into the house next door to his.
“I introduced myself as his future student and neighbor,” Ciarrochi said, and immediately began taking lessons from him. “After four years, every time I take a new lesson from him, I learn a new detail.”
Ciarrochi, along with fellow student Blake Cottrell, became one of the assistant coaches at Dubina’s academy when it opened.
In 2015, Dubina was named the USA Table Tennis Technology Coach of the Year for his innovative methods of teaching, particularly his use of instant replay to show his students their mistakes from video recordings. Dubina even offers lessons over Skype, which attracts students from all over the country.
“I’ve been encouraged by some people to really expand it and hire other coaches so I can coach people all around the world on Skype, but really, my long-term vision is to grow the sport here in Akron,” Dubina said.
On top of outreach programs he has begun with schools that have an interest in the sport, Dubina hosts tournaments to attract professionals to the area and raise awareness about the game in general. The Newgy tournament will feature a $1,000 prize for the winner in the top division, as well as other cash prizes for lower divisions. Those wanting to compete in recreational divisions can walk in and register to play up until 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Newgy tournament is sponsored by Newgy Robo-Pong, Wil-Cut Engineered Abrasive Solutions, Sport Alliance of Greater Akron, Akron Summit Convention and Visitors Bureau and Paddle Palace. For more information on the tournament or academy, visit www.OhioPingPong.com.
Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com.