BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A tomahawk serve is one of the most powerful weapons in table tennis today, says Alex Horscroft in a recent Expert Table Tennis article. In fact, it is the one that often catches an opponent off guard. That is why Matthew Brumbeloe, 15-year-old table tennis champion in Birmingham’s Greystone community, has worked tirelessly to perfect his tomahawk serve.

Matthew plays table tennis nearly every day and has become a fierce competitor in the sport. He is a member of the table tennis club team through BumperNets in the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Ala., where he participates in weekly tournaments, playing against older and more experienced people from throughout Alabama and from other states.

Matthew’s obsession with table tennis began when he was about five years old and was barely tall enough to look over the family’s ping pong table. His dad, Alan Brumbeloe, was a pretty decent player himself who was part of a table tennis organization in North Carolina back in the late `80s (coached by Richard McAfee who became the first U.S. Olympic table tennis coach in 1988).

It is no surprise that Alan introduced all his kids to his love of table tennis. His son, Andrew (currently a senior at Jacksonville State University), and his daughter, Abigail (now a junior at Auburn University), liked the game enough, but it was Matthew who showed real enthusiasm for the sport. He never got discouraged when his dad “destroyed” him in a game. Instead, those early matches motivated Matthew to get good enough to beat his dad – which he does all the time now.

When Alan felt it was time for his son to have some advanced guidance, he lined up professional coaching at BumperNets which gave him a chance to connect Matthew with others who love to play and compete.

Homer Brown, owner of BumperNets and a Senior Olympic champion, became Matthew’s first coach. (As a side note, Homer holds the world record for making the cut for entry into the Table Tennis U.S. Open 51 years running!) Matthew also worked with Joe Xi from China, who was the top player in the state of Alabama for a time, and Duke Stogner, also of BumperNets. Today, Matthew is coached by Keith Evans, former player and former coach of Jamaica’s Olympic table tennis team, as well as coach of the U.S. National Cadet team and the U.S. Para Team.

During all this time learning the sport, Matthew kept striving to be better and stronger. He has great fun hitting the ball as hard as he can and planning out every next move, trying to out-strategize his opponents. By playing both locally and in national tournaments now as long as he has, he is able to study the flaws and weaknesses of other players and use that to his advantage during his next match. He loves working hard to come from behind to win a tournament – although he does sometimes feel the agony of not being able to hold a lead and lose out to a worthy opponent. There is always room to improve and ways to get better and that is what keeps Matthew interested in his pursuit to be the best. Currently, his national rating is 2000, which is considered excellent, but his aim is to be at the elite level of 2400 (or higher). Matthew says this can only come from practice, practice, practice, building and perfecting his technique and keeping his head in the game.

Matthew’s ultimate goal? Making the 2028 Olympics and U.S. Table Tennis team, of course. And this could be a real possibility for him! In addition to playing nearly every day at BumperNets and in local and national tournaments, Matthew plays on the Spain Park High School table tennis team, which has won the state title 5 years in a row. He also travels with his dad and mom, Stephanie, to compete in tournaments across the country including Chicago, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and Florida.

So, while Matthew may seem like any other teenage 15-year-old boy when you first meet him, who likes video games and hanging out with friends, he really is secretly thinking all the time about his next table tennis move, his tomahawk serve, and his Olympic quest. Be careful if you ever dare to challenge him to a casual game of “ping pong.”

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