With every swing of the paddle, students at Kodiak High School yearn for more.

If they can’t get enough during school hours they come before school, during breaks and after school to fulfill their craving.

They’re starving to hear the the clatter of a plastic ball hitting a wooden paddle — that ping-pong sound.

“When the ping-pong tables come out for Pat Costello’s class, everybody is in here,” senior A.J. Will said. “Everybody’s itching to get on a table and play, whether you’re good or not good.”

For six weeks — it was planned for four weeks but the growing popularity extended the time — during Costello’s class students battled through sweaty, intensely played games to claim the title of best “ponger.”

“Every day I have to kick kids out of class,” said Costello, P.E. teacher at the high school. “Kids would get a pass to go to the bathroom and the next thing you know they are in my class playing ping-pong. I would also have to kick people out at 4:30 p.m. because I had to go home.”

Tuesday’s paddle-swinging matchup pitted a pair of seniors against each other: Mark Putney and Calen Johnson.

Johnson with his wide wing span and devastating forehand jumped out to a quick advantage.

However, the patient Putney kept the hard-hit balls in play to squeak out a thrilling come-from-behind 21-19 victory.

Putney is said to be one of the tougher competitors on the table after beating so-called Kodiak High School’s ping-pong pro Justin Simpson in their only two meetings.

But, whoever is on the table, Costello simply enjoys watching the competitive juices flow.

He launched the ping-pong circuit nine years ago when he became a full-time teacher at the high school. The class started with only four tables — two of them had to be fixed and patched up before use. There are now seven tables lined up in the mat room in the high school, that’s still not enough.

Costello hopes to add three tables to next year’s circuit.

“Sometimes you would be waiting 20 minutes to get on a table,” said James Pruitt, a sophomore in Costello’s class, “because there would be so many people in line for it.”

Pruitt, who claims he is the most improved player at the high school, practices every chance available to hone his game.

“I liked it so much I started playing 10 games a day, and I just got better at it,” Pruitt said. “After school I would come in. During lunch I would come in and during my open hour as well.”

In Costello’s early days the right-hander could beat nearly everybody using his left hand. The kids have the upper hand now, forcing Costello to switch back to his natural hand.

“I have to play very good if I’m going to win,” Costello said. “A lot of the better players can beat me now.”

Brief history of ping-pong

Ping-pong began as a social hobby in England in the late 1800s. They used dining-room tables for their playing surface and rolled up cork for the ball.

The game was often referred to as gossima or flim-flam.

In the early 1900s a celluloid ball was introduced to the game and pimpled rubber to the wooden paddle.

The game eventually lost popularity until the 1920s, when various groups around England revived it as table tennis. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) was formed in 1926.

Soon after, the sport spread throughout the Asian nations, and the people of those countries dominated the sport.

In 1971 ping-pong brought together two nations during the 31st World Table Tennis Championship. American and Chinese teams competed despite the Cold War diplomatic tension.

Nine players, four officials and two spouses stepped across a bridge from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland at the invitation of the Chinese team. They were the first group of Americans allowed into China since the Communist takeover in 1949. Time magazine proclaimed it “The ping heard round the world.”

Ping-pong eventually found a place in the Olympics during the 1980s, spreading the level of popularity to where it is today.

“It’s a game that you don’t have to be in super shape to do,” Costello said. “Although, the better players are in pretty good shape. It’s just a game that they have fun playing.

“If I get a table out, pretty soon we will have 20 kids gathering around and then we will be dragging more out.”

Mirror writer Derek Clarkston can be reached via e-mail at sports@kodiakdailymirror.com.