Garren Yoder was a man of many skills, not only was he the best 9-ball player in Mayfield..He was also the defending Linn County League Ping-Pong champion..Yoder was recovering from a knee injury and had just recouped enough stamina to play Ping-Pong again..Repeating as Linn County League champ was going to be very difficult for Garren, but he was determined none the less.
"How are you feeling today?" Bob Castle asked Garren .Castle was Yoder's unofficial Ping-Pong trainer/manager..They were both in Pretoria for the league Ping-Pong tournament and Castle was looking to gauge how Yoder would perform.."I feel good..I am going to win a second title..bet on it!!!" Castle had been watching Yoder's odds drop on the board and he was getting a little nervous. The year before Yoder won the tournament with relative ease, but this year he was recovering from his knee injury and had slid on a few extra pounds. "You gonna bring this title home? Are you sure? Because I have some guys from Dopeyville who think you are "washed-up" They want to bet a $100 spot on it." "Take the action" Yoder replied sternly..At that moment, Castle looked at Yoder and realized that he meant business..
The rules are fairly simple with Ping-Pong tournaments. Each game went to 21..The series was a best of 3 games. Whomever won 2 games first won the match..Yoder was on fire the first couple rounds. He easily advanced to the championship, the final match for all the marbles was about to begin and Bob Castle was getting excited.."How you feeling champ? One more game and the title is yours!! Remember I got a $100 spot bet on you winning this thing.." "No worries I am going to win this and you and I are going to spend the $100 on our girlfriend's." Yoder replied
Yoder was dominant in the final match..He won both games handily..I still remember the final point of the match..Garren won the game on a "table caver" shot..A table caver is when someone leaps for the ball and ends up on top of the table, causing the table to collapse.."I got this!!" Yoder was yelling at the ping-pong ball as he was watching it barely make its way over the net..His opponent had hit a lazy but playable return and Garren was "smelling blood." Garren had backed away from the table anticipating a harder return from his opponent..He had to move quickly..This was his chance to end the match and grab his title. "Mayfield Pride" were the last words I heard before Garren leaped across the table and returned the shot past his opponent for the win. The crowd erupted!! Garren Yoder had just repeated as champion and Bob Castle and him were $100 richer..
The victory was "bittersweet" for Garren..As he was hitting the "table caver" to secure his spot in Mayfield lore, the subsequent collapse of the table with Garren on top of it re-injured his knee. He had to be carried up to the victory stand by Bob Castle.."Table caving" at the league tournament was subsequently banned after Garren's incident..If you look in the league Ping-Pong tournament handbook..It is listed as rule #52..Around the Linn County League, it is affectionately called "The Garren Yoder rule."..:)
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