Ken Brooks – Introduction Speech
Courtesy of Jennifer Johnson
First, I would like to say congratulations to all the inductees in the various categories. You are all awesome and amazing. However, I am here this evening to induct my dear friend, Mr. Kenneth (Ken) Brooks, paralympic athlete into the United States Table Tennis Hall of Fame.
I first met ken and his lovely wife, Sharon, at the 1981 Para Pan Games in Halifax, nova scotia, when I competed for Jamaica, and we became friends.
And let me just put this out there before I get down to business, ‘without a Sharon, there is no Ken; without a Ken there is no Sharon”. They are two and one person (chuckle). And may I also mention that they recently celebrated (July 1) 44 years of happily ever after. Congratulations Ken and Sharon. (And now let’s get on with Ken’s induction so he and Sharon can be one.)
I was told ken first started his adaptive sports career in 1973, competing in table tennis, slalom and track and field, winning medals in all events. In fact, i spoke to one of his very first coaches in table tennis, Jim Beckford, who had this to say about ken: “I first met ken in spring of 1973 when he came along with para players, Mike Lo Russo and Richie Rosenbaum to be coached in table tennis. I found Ken to be a very determined person and he would always hit the balls astoundingly hard, which was quite a surprise to me based on Ken’s ability.”
That was also my observation of ken too. He always competed with a fierce determination and boy, could he hit that ball hard hit. He was not interested in rallies at all. When the game got a little challenging with the serves, especially, playing able bodied players, Ken got a paddle with a longer handle (an invention that was later used by one of our little persons) and learnt to maneuver it to his advantage. I was in awe of the fact that ken drove a regular car for many years and always loaded his wheelchair by himself. That was how awesome ken was and still is!
I remembered the days when ken and most of us from New York and New Jersey would play at the Westfield club. We all had to be carried up about 15 steps in our wheelchairs by members of the club so that we could practice, train with coach, Chris Lehman, or play in “the Westfield table tennis tournament”, which was the only tournament at the time in the tri-state area. In my opinion, Westfield was a very inclusive club if I ever saw one. The staff and members were always so welcoming and friendly. Chris Lehman, a member and coach at the club went on to become the New Jersey Blue Devil’s wheelchair team table tennis coach and one of our para coaches to Paralympics, world championships and Parapan teams for several years.
In addition to Ken’s athletic career, he was also a coach to the new jersey wheelchair athletic association (NJWAA). In fact, he was the one of the first coaches in table to one of our own, Pam Fontaine (Stewart), who had this to say about Ken: “Yes, I remembered my first practice, I was terrible. I couldn’t put the ball on the other side of the table. My balls were everywhere. I was getting frustrated; my dad was running all over the table tennis hall picking up balls (without a ball picker). But Ken was so patient. He kept reminding me on how to stroke the ball. Towards the end of practice, I was starting to get the hang of it a little. Anyways, he made it fun enough that I wanted to go back!! That’s a good coach! So, are you surprised about Pam’s attacking game?
Ken as you have seen from the power point and videos had a very highly decorated his story in the sport of para table tennis competing in Paralympic games, Para Pan Games (as it is called now) and national championships amassing two paralympic medals, many Para Pan Am Championships and twenty–three national championships! In additional to his athletic career Ken advocated for wheelchair sports and disabled athletes. He was a leader in his community for raising awareness to sports for the disabled. In fact, he was able to assist in passing a bill that would financially supported New Jersey athletes attending the 1988 paralympic games in Seoul, Korea.
Ken was never without his family. In fact, his family was our family. I remembered him with his family in Australia, in Jamaica on our goodwill tour, at nationals, just about everywhere. And they would always be helping. I remembered the first time I ran a para open in Las Vegas, Danielle, Ken’s daughter and her friend, were my transportation coordinators. And they really did a good job. Ken has an amazing family.
Ken retired from competition in 1998 due to a permanent injury, a very discouraging event, but as they say, “You can never keep a good person down”, he reconnected with the sport by training to be a technical classifier in para table tennis. And there was Ken and Sharon again. Together.
Congratulations ken on being recognized for all your accomplishments both on and off the table. Thank you for all you have done for the sport we all so love. And ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure and honor that I welcome Kenneth Brooks to the 2023 United States Table Tennis Hall of Fame to be enshrined in Fort Worth, Texas. Welcome Ken!