The tennis club in Haguenau benefits from the results of JO and Lebrun: “We welcome a crazy crowd”

Julien Jung is a big fan of “ping” and a great teacher of Haguenau Wissembourg tennis club for 25 years. He had never been so happy at the beginning of the season.

“It’s not crazy, it’s more than that, he is happy. It is a real result of the Lebrun brothers. We have a crazy world. In the past month, I have had between 30 and 40 emails and phone calls from people who want to sign up. I will give you an example in the senior club, traditionally we have between 20 and 25 players, which is very good. We met in the second round with 43 players and what happened to me was that I ran out of tables. Right now we have fourteen tables and I think we will increase it to about 25 tables.”

Romain, from Brumath, had already lost his job as a child. He returned to work at age 30: “I stopped for 18 years, it’s a long time (smiles). There were a few years when I started to say to myself why not start again? I waited again and again. Then after the Games, I told myself come back, I have to go there. I’m here to come back, compete again and see how I can go.”

Children and adults during recess

Children are just as likely as adults to get carried away by “Lebrunmania”. Isaïe, eight years old, nervously comes to his first lesson, with the help of his mother.

“I like watching Félix Lebrun on TV, explains the boy. It is too strong. I’m a little scared because it’s a new game for me.” “He’s been playing football for a long time, adds his mother Aurélie. I told myself that little has changed. I’ve always liked ping pong.”

“So, you’re going to sign up too?” Julien Jung is quick to add with a laugh. Last season, the Haguenau Wissembourg club, who trained the hero Can Akkuzu, they had less than 250 licenses. If the madness of this return is confirmed in the coming weeks, they could flirt with 300 members.

“I want to be like Felix”

“It’s just funHappy Julien Jung. When we ask a child, ‘What sport do you want to play?’ For my generation, it was Zizou, France 98. So everyone wanted to play football. After that we saw Tony Parker, so everyone wanted to play basketball. Finally, we have the Lebrun brothers and we are starting to hear in schools: ‘Okay, I want to be like him, I want to be Félix and play ping pong’.

But this is difficult a small club in the gym at Siegfried High School in Haguenau. So Julien Jung is looking for solutions to these new players.

About ten tables are missing

“We have all the teachers, everything we need, but the room is getting too small, they analyze. The first idea we have is to ask the high school desks in the small room, near the door. We will request the cooperation of the high school principal. I think it is possible. We will buy extra tables. After that, you have to take care of saving. And one of the ideas we have at the back of our minds is that in the coming years we need another room dedicated to table tennis. We do it at a high level and it’s a private dream to have this room. We will have 24 tables that are always occupied. “

In order to diversify its activities, the club also welcomes about twenty players with handicaps and offers courses suitable for pinga popular variation combining fitness and table tennis.

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