March 20, 2009
McGrath Family Teams-Up with St. Paul Harding High School
Members of the St. Paul Harding High School table tennis team with benefactors,
Tim and Joe McGrath.
By Mitchell Seidenfeld
St. Paul Harding High School did not win the Minnesota State High School Team Championships this year but Tim McGrath and his family is responsible for making this inner-city high school table tennis club a big winner. His family donated over $2500 to the Minnesota Table Tennis Federation and directed the non-profit organization to purchase four Butterfly Premium Rollaway tables, 18 high-quality recreational rackets, a gross of practice balls, and a 250’ roll of corrugated cardboard barriers for the St. Paul high school.
Many parents are willing and able to do whatever it takes for their child to be successful in table tennis. Tim McGrath is one of those parents. His eleven-year-old son, Joe, is an up-and-coming player in the Table Tennis MN junior program and he recently won the winter session Competition League at the Life Time Fitness in Fridley with his friend and neighbor, Chris Sievert. But Tim’s generous donation represents something different and much more important. He invested in a program that will pay dividends to Minnesota high school table tennis for years to come. He teamed-up with St. Paul Harding High School and took their table tennis program from third world to first-class.
St. Paul Harding players unveil the new Butterfly Premium Rollaway tables.
Last fall Tim learned that St. Paul Harding’s math specialist and soccer coach, Mukwa Ogitchida, had organized a school table tennis club and was coaching over thirty athletes, two days each week, on slabs of wood that were more appropriate for a picnic than table tennis training. After visiting one of the team’s practices, Tim was inspired by Mukwa’s dedication to the program and by the commitment of his young team. He determined that their club would need four more high-quality tables to accommodate the high level of interest and provide the team with their best chance for success. And being that it was around the holidays, his family contributed a set of 18 rackets, a gross of balls, and some barriers to complete the picture and get the job done right.
The McGrath family’s donation was one of the most purely positive, oh-so-right acts of kindness that I have witnessed in my thirty years of table tennis programming. They give us a great example of how to make a difference in the lives of others and contribute to the development of our sport. Because his partnership with St. Paul Harding went so well, Tim and the Minnesota Table Tennis Federation continue to work together to identify other schools in need that can demonstrate a similar level of commitment to building their table tennis program.
Note: February 8th, 2009, St. Paul Harding H.S. competed in their first Minnesota State High School Team Championships along with thirteen other schools. St. Paul Harding made it to the finals of the consolation bracket before losing to Benilde-St. Margaret’s. In their first year of competitive play, St. Paul Harding finished the season ranked #10 in the state.
Tim and Joe McGrath receive a recognition plaque from
St. Paul Harding Head
Coach Mukwa Ogitchida.
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