Posted: 2/27/07
Ping pong powerhouse
Put a paddle in his hand and Caledonia resident Joel Lidstrom is a force to behold
By Andrew Miller
Interim News Editor
Joel Lidstromís opponents will tell you that his forehand smash is a force to be reckoned with.
A competitive player on the German table tennis circuit in the early 1970s, the 54-year-old Caledonia resident now gets his ping pong fix on Wednesdays at a recreational club in Rochester.
Lidstrom has seen his share of high-profile matches over the years:
He squared off against the ping pong champion of North Carolina ó and won.
He beat Jack Howard, coach of the U.S. Table Tennis team that traveled to Communist China in 1971.
And in 1974, traveling through Afghanistan en route to India, he challenged the reigning Afghani champ to a match. Lidstrom lost the contest, but came within points of earning bragging rights among the pantheon of Middle Eastern ping pong greats.
Lidstrom started playing table tennis at age 8 with his dad and brother at the familyís home in Detroit Lakes, Minn.
Knowing how much their sons enjoyed the game, his parents would use access to ping pong as a bargaining chip.
"Sometime my parents would attempt to ground us from ping pong as punishment, so theyíd take our paddles away," he said.
When that scenario transpired, the brothers played with books instead of paddles, using balls theyíd secreted around the house for just such an occasion.
Lidstrom got his first taste of ping pong glory when he went to summer camp at age 12. He took first place in the campís table tennis championship, handily defeating his peers.
Then, as was the tradition, he played the adult champion at the camp, whoíd never been beaten by any of the kids. And to the amazement of his fellow campers, Lidstrom made short work of the adult champ.
He started facing his first real challenges at the table after being drafted into the Army in 1972 and shipping out to Germany.
Shortly after arriving, he placed second in the U.S. Armyís table tennis tournament for troops in Europe. He then joined the German ping pong circuit, which pitted him against players of a calibre he hadnít encountered in Minnesota.
After a little more than a month with one ping pong club, Lidstrom transferred to another club across town which he felt was better suited to improving his skills.
According to the rules of the league, the club to which a player transfers must pay his previous club some type of fee, depending on the ability of the player.
But Lidstrom is of the opinion that his transfer did not result in a huge cash settlement.
"Undoubtedly it was a few beers and a wiener schnitzel," he said with a laugh.
When he returned to Minnesota in 1974, his opportunities to play ping pong severely diminished. Attending classes at the University of Minnesota ó and practicing guitar six hours a day ó his table tennis career essentially came to a halt.
And thatís the way it stayed for about 30 years. Then in 2005 a friend tipped him off to a newly formed ping pong club in Rochester, and Lidstrom has been attending Wednesday night matches religiously ever since.
With an international mix of players ó from Vietnam, China, Romania, India, Russia and Indonesia ó the club provides a chance to compete with opponents of varying skill levels and styles of play in an atmosphere that is largely informal.
Lidstrom, who runs a piano restoration business out of his familyís home on County Road 14, manages to get a little training in between matches in Rochester. In his attic he has a ping pong table and a ball machine, which shoots balls out in quick succession, allowing him to hone his game.
And, during lulls in the piano restoration business, he crafts his own ping pong paddles in his workshop. The right paddle is of paramount importance to any serious player and, all other factors being equal, a paddle can mean the difference between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
In fact, Lidstrom feels that his match against the Afghani champ in 1974 might have ended differently if heíd had the right paddle.
Regrettably, Lidstrom had forgotten to bring along his own paddle for the international ping pong showdown which heíd incited. And the Afghani champ capitalized on Lidstromís forgetfulness.
"He thrust an old racket in my hand ó I couldnít possibly have played well with it," Lidstrom said.
"It was close, he played really well, but he didnít play well enough to beat me if Iíd had my racket."
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com