Lindenwood University coach Randy Kendle is wearing a new hat in college table tennis.

The Midwest Division Director since Lindenwood formed a team on the Missouri campus in 2008-2009, Kendle is the NCTTA’s new athlete representative and his term officially starts on July 1st. Kendle will be replacing Misha Kazantsev of USC, who has served in the position since 2008.

As he’s helped build a nationally ranked Lindenwood team and created a stellar Saint Peters Table Tennis Club now serving more than 40 players in metro St. Louis, Kendle is passionate about the game. But the Georgia Tech electrical engineering graduate wanted to do more. Getting elected as NCTTA athlete representative in June will help make that happen.

“It’s a good starting point to get my feet wet and get a better understanding of how the NCTTA operates behind the scenes,” Kendle says.

He’s already reached out to players across the USA and internationally as Lindenwood’s coach and top recruiter, but now he can step it up by a few more levels.

“It seemed like this position would broaden my opportunities to communicate with other players across the country and bring their ideas to the board for consideration.’’

Kendle, who is a USATT certified referee and runs tournaments in the St. Louis area, has been successful in just about everything he’s tried in table tennis. He and his wife, Kelly, invested $10,000 to purchase 12 Butterfly tables and 100 barriers and other equipment to launch the Saint Peters Table Tennis Club in 2005. The club is alive and well five years later.

The couple’s honeymoon cruise in the fall of 2002 was a big-time winner, too. They faced one another in the finals of the ship’s tournament for the right to take home a small trophy. The sea journey to the Caribbean and the table tennis competition seemed to strengthen their marriage.

Fast forward to 2010. Randy Kendle is obviously delighted with the outcome of the NCTTA election. There was no opposition for the top-notch Lindenwood coach. Maybe folks knew that he was the right man for the job, so why challenge him?

As athlete representative, Kendle says he plans to circulate a questionaire to solicit input from all the collegiate table tennis players. There are more than 150 colleges and universities that are under the NCTTA umbrella across America and Canada. And more schools want to sign up – from Iowa to Utah.

“I am very accessible,” Kendle says. He can be reached via Facebook and on his cell phone. “I will respond to every inquiry.”

Kendle also reaches out to Lindenwood players by inviting them to get together for fellowship, fun, and barbecue cookouts. He’s also a solid family man and active in his church. He and his wife, Kelly, have eight children.

During this steamy June and July, be among the first to call Kendle and congratulate him on his new NCTTA post. But also make sure to give Randy a shout out on July 8. That’s when the Missouri man celebrates his 51st birthday!

Once profiled in the September/October 2007 issue of USATT Magazine, Kendle first got hooked on playing table tennis in his garage while growing up. In the late 1970s, Randy played the Olympic sport recreationally when he wasn’t hitting the books at Georgia Tech.

To contact the new NCTTA athlete representative, email athlete_rep@nctta.org.

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