Alameda Table Tennis Club

Over the past two years this club has become a second home for our family and the coaches have become honorary members of it. We have four kids and on a typical Sunday you’ll find our two boys playing with the most serious competitors, dad in the mid-​range groups, and our girls and mom hanging out with the beginners. So I can truly say that there is a ton of fun to be had here regardless of your level.
Table tennis is a sport that takes some time and patience in the beginning to develop your skills and there are VERY serious players here, which can be a little intimidating at first. But stick around and start talking to people and you’ll find that there are lots of opportunities to learn here and a ton of friendly teachers among both the players and the coaches.
There are round robin tournaments where you can play all night against a group of similarly-​skilled players for $ 5/​adult and $ 3/​kid on Wednesdays and Sundays. There are classes for beginning kids and adults as well as combined classes for serious players. There are intense summer camps all summer long for players who are serious about improving their game as well as some weeks for beginners to just give it a good try.
If you really want to get a feel for the sport, you can come watch the 2016 Alameda Open Father’s Day Table Tennis Tournament, which will be going on all day on Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19. High level players from all over the Bay Area will be battling it out for a piece of the $ 2450 in prize money that’s on the table, while beginning players will be competing for pride and trophies. In honor of Father’s Day, the father/​child doubles event on Sunday afternoon will be particularly fun as will the post-​tournament Father’s Day barbecue. If you think you’re ready for some serious intense play, you can register to play on
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If you have a child who is interested in trying a less conventional sport, I can honestly say that table tennis has transformed my children’s lives. My boys started training here a little over two years ago and they are already ranked among the top kids in the country for their age. They are now traveling all over the country playing tournaments and this summer they were invited to spend two weeks in New Jersey training with the US Olympic team! My girls are only 7 and while they haven’t yet been bitten by the competition bug, they LOVE the social environment here, as they have found many friends of all ages that they love to play with. One of their favorite opponents is an elderly gentleman and their little faces just light up every time they get to play him, despite the fact that they always lose. As a parent, the multi-​generational nature of the sport is incredibly valuable to me, as I haven’t found many environments where kids have the opportunity to develop peer relationships with adults who aren’t responsible for supervising them in any way. I can’t say enough about the life skills I see my children developing through their engagement with the sport. Table tennis is healthy, athletic, incredibly challenging, mentally exhausting, and FUN!!!
Former National Dutch Coach Pieke Franssen leads the juniors program, with the help of China’s Coach Bin Ni and soon South American Doubles Champion Matias Contreras. So you can learn to play table tennis in four different languages. Add an appreciation for diversity to that list of life skills. Coach Pieke is deeply invested in the success of his players, committed to development over trophies, amply employs humor as he inspires them to take on the next impossible goal, and constantly makes creative adjustments to the program as the needs of each individual player change.
Owner Dave Hanson is a bit like the sport itself. It took us some time and patience to get to know him, but it’s been well worth the effort. He understands kids and has made extraordinary sacrifices in his life to make this club work. The best anecdote I can offer for the type of person he is: When my daughter absentmindedly put on one tennis shoe and one sandal one morning, I had to drag a horribly embarrassed, tearful little girl to practice because we didn’t have time to go back home. I warned the coaches not to tease her about it and within a few minutes Dave had disappeared and reappeared wearing different colored shoes. When the kids started asking him questions about his odd appearance, he announced that May 3^rd was «National different colored shoe day» but that he and all the other really interesting people were practicing for it a month early. Needless to say, no more tears. I’ve had my kids in lots of different types of classes, and it’s rare to find a community of teachers that are able to tap in to their physical, mental, and emotional needs the way these guys do.

I like alameda table tennis club I truly do. Only thing is its very far from where I live.
People are really nice and the drop in fee is really cheap, I don’t think many people realize that. My only con with the place is the floor feels really weird. I don’t know if its concrete or something else.

Friendly environment for all ages to enjoy some fun table tennis. Also great for serious players who want to take their game to the next level. I’ve taken years of classes here and it tremendously raised my level of play. The coaches here really are unparalleled by other clubs in the region. I’ve taken classes and lessons with other coaches at many different clubs and they simply do not compare. The coaches here are amazing at improving techniques and one’s overall playing level. The other clubs may have high level training partners but they lack quality instruction. Their coaches are not nearly as good at teaching and lack an organized plan for improvement. At ATTC, all coaches are organized and know exactly what to work on with incoming players and develop a plan to improve players. It does not matter if you are a complete beginner or a decent level tournament player; you will improve immensely if you receive coaching here.

I never knew table tennis was such a serious sport. It seems like something out of a sitcom, you know?
But no, the folks at the Alameda Table Tennis Club wear gym clothes, have custom paddles, and play with a fierce veracity that I’ve never seen before. My beginner skills had fun on one of their tables, but the fact that all tables are round-​robin only from 3:30 to 6 really stings. $ 5 is a decent deal, but those not as adept as these pros best plan accordingly.

This is a wonderful place. When you’re new you might want to bring someone to play with. I didn’t and found people who were willing to hit with me but it was a little difficult to see what a rank beginner I was.
But I’ve become hooked. They have a great class for beginners and now I take private lessons. The instruction is very good. People I met when I started are shocked at my improvement.
And it’s all great fun!

The club is great! Too bad Dave is such an unhappy, arrogant prick. He s the wrong person for that job. I do like the different names that have for him though, all of them suit him well.

went for a meetup gathering. facilities are quite nice. 8 or so good quality tables. free good quality loaner paddles. endless balls. lots of room. clean. attendant is knowledgeable and helpful. my only complaint is that at night, the florescent lighting is harsh. i wonder if anything can be done about that.

Hit or miss. Pardon the pun, but that’s how it’s been for the past 2 times I’ve visited.
Tip#1. Bring someone to play with.
Like other Unilocalers have stated, there are some really good players there. Young and not so young.
Unfortunately for a novice like myself, I was hoping to get some type of instruction.
I was able to get some play in, but not much as the few gentlemen I played with were of a tournament caliber and seem hesitant to be patient with a player of not so much experience.
I guess when I visit next time, I will ask about some type of advice or instruction.
Although I am doubtful that I’ll get any as I’m only doing the $ 5 drop in freeplay and not the $ 140 enrolled coaching program.
I assumed that by spending $ 40 on a begginers racket that I’d get some advice or tips, but my assumption was wrong.
The few people that I have interacted with were friendly, but far and few inbetween than what I was expecting from reading previous Unilocaler reviews.
So if you like to play table tennis and want to get better, either bring someone you know that is willing to teach you or pay the what I think is rather expensive cost to get lessons.

Nice big space with clean floors where your feet won’t slide all over the place. They are open 5 days a week which is a huge plus. They also offer monthly memberships, adult lessons, kids lessons, group and private lessons. They also have round robins twice a week! I’ve been to about 8 clubs around the bay area and Alameda by far is the most convenient in terms of hours of operation and quality of players.

If you or your child loves ping pong (aka table tennis), you’ll love this place. They have lots of classes, for kids and adults. They have free play. They have round robins mini-​tournaments every Tuesday and Sunday, with groups ranging from beginners to very strong players. They are open almost every day. Kids tend to come after school, adults tend to come after work. The coaching staff is *very* good, and *very* nice. Try it out!
(As to the numbskull who wrote the 1-​star review, I really don’t think that person has ever even set foot in the club. Not good for kids??? That’s insane. Kids love to come, and parents love to have their kids at ATTC, you could hardly find a safer and more wholesome environment than the Alameda Table Tennis Club for your kids.)

I just started an activities and play group for women over 40 called PlayDays, and besides being outdoors on Saturday mornings, we drop in and play here at 3PM on Sundays every week. There were 8 of us this past Sunday, doubling our attendance in the week since we started doing this, so we played some singles and then some doubles.
How we found ATTC:
A week ago, several of us were having a game night and potluck, and we started talking about other sport activities we’d like to do as a group… and one brought up ping-​pong… a second affirmed, and then we thought, let’s find a place to play somewhere.
So Sunday morning at 8AM, I was on the computer and Googled «table tennis ping pong Oakland, CA». ATTC was the fifth link on the page, so I checked out their website. I sent the info out to those who wanted ping pong, and within an hour, four of us committed to go at 3PM to check it out and were just totally won over by the number and quality of tables, how spacious it was, and the «play hard but play fun» feel of the place. PlayDays looks forward to being there every Sunday now. If you’re an over-​40 woman looking for friends to have fun with and play something that will give you a workout, come meet up with us at ATTC.
We really appreciate the owners and managers for putting something so fun and original in Alameda, where we as a group feel very welcome to enjoy safe and sane activities to benefit our collective health.

The facility in this gym is one of the best I have seen. The coaches here are very friendly. I just came here and hit with the head-​coach when there was no one else.
I usually come and just pay $ 5 for the door fee. There are plenty of balls floating around for you to hit. People here are quite nice.
This club is also very good for training kids. They offer various junior classes for kids to train after school and in weekends.

DUDE. ATTC. Where have you been all my life? This place just opened it’s doors this year and it’s already a HUGE HIT in my book.
If you want to get your ass handed to you by a ten year old… Come on over! If you want to get your ass handed to you by a sixty year old… Look no further.
Do Not Be Fooled. This is a serious club. For serious Table Tennis Players, but they somehow also make beginners feel really welcome!
Whether you are a long time Table Tennis player, or searching for a new hobby, or you just want to see some crazy ping pong action (headbands and all), you should seriously check this place out.
Avi, Dave, Xing and lots of people here have got a great thing going on. Round robins on Tuesdays. Sunday funday $ 50 prize pot. These people are playing for keeps. If you have ever found yourself roaming around the streets of Alameda wondering «What the hell is there to do in this town that doesn’t involve smoking meth?» Well, I’ve yet to see any crackpipes in here. These people are 100% meth-​free! They’re addicted to table tennis and I think it’s catching on…