Park Hill Table Tennis Player Wins National Volunteer Coach of the Year Award
USA Table Tennis recently announced that Park Hill resident Duane Gall is this year’s recipient of their National Volunteer Coach of the Year Award. Duane is an USATT State Level and ITTF-PPT Level 1 Coach.
Duane’s mom taught him and his brother how to play table tennis as kids in their Fort Collins basement. In college, after a minor back injury, Duane turned to table tennis to keep him occupied while he sat out from tennis and basketball. “I won the CSU tournament and began playing in tournaments in Denver and the rest is history,” says Gall.
Duane, a retired accountant, has lived in Park Hill with his wife Jean since 1973. All four of his children went to Stedman Elementary and graduated from various DPS high schools. He coaches at Hiawatha Davis on Wednesday afternoons in conjunction with their afterschool kids program. He’s also coached at Eisenhower Recreation Center, Wheatridge Middle School, Englewood’s Malley Senior Center and the new Zing Table Tennis Club in downtown Denver.
“Like most retired folks, I appreciate the opportunity to volunteer and coaching table tennis is a way for me to volunteer in the community and give back to the sport which I have played for over 50 years,” said Gall.
“His personal efforts have brought a large number of new players into the sport,” said Richard McAfeee, Chairman of the USA Table Tennis National Coaching Committee.
Duane now becomes USATT’s entry into the United States Olympic Committee’s “Volunteer Coach of the Year Award” to be selected from the winners of all the Olympic Sports.