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My Day With Table Hockey Legend Lou Marinoff
October 1, 2006
Table Hockey is all about supporting your fellow players, so when table hockey legend Lou Marinoff invited me over to his house to get some games in as he prepares for the extremely difficult Montreal Classic tournament next weekend, I jumped at the opportunity to rub elbows with this table hockey giant.
Lou lives on the side of hill in a tiny hamlet along the Hudson River just north of New York City. As I parked my car at the foot of the hill where Lou's house is located, I spotted wild deer roaming about. This is a beautiful spot.
Lou greeted me warmly and after some conversation and snacks, we headed down into the game room where Lou had his Martin Labelle 5380 set up (see photo above). We chose to play a best-of-seven series to start the day, and Lou just steamrolled me in five games:
Lou 5 JP 2; Lou 0 JP 3; Lou 5 JP 2; Lou 7 JP 4; Lou 3 JP 2.
The man had actually lifted his game since The Original Six Classic where he finished second against very tough competition, and was looking forward to competing in Montreal. We took a break and chatted about the New York City Table Hockey Association, of which he is the Honorary Commissioner. Lou had some ideas about how the league format should be and was incredibly supportive of all my ideas concerning how we should run the NYCTHA.
After putting on one of Lou's classical guitar albums (in addition to being a top table hockey pro, he is an accomplished guitarist and an expert on music) we returned to the "belly of the beast" and played another best-of-seven. Lou played even tougher than the first series, dropping only one of five games (and that in OT after he scored with 5 seconds left to tie it).
Lou 5 JP 2; Lou 4 JP 5 OT; Lou 3 JP 1; Lou 2 JP 1; Lou 6 JP2.
So far I had not been able to mount any consistent offense against Lou whose wing-to-center pass was becoming tougher and tougher to stop as the day went on. Lou proudly displays the poster from "Table Hockey: The Movie," a film which he was the star of, in his game room and when you play the man, you cannot help but be impressed with his intensity level. Dr. Marinoff is a very, very competitive player who never gives an inch on the table. I learned that my intensity level must be raised if I am going to compete with this table hockey champ.
We then took an extended break as Lou showed me around his place and we took to discussing the current state of affairs going on in the world. Dr. Marinoff had just returned from Geneva where he had given a speech at a Global Economic Forum. It was quite a thrill to hear what such a learned, respected and passionate man had to say and I learned more than just how to improve my table hockey game, that's for sure. Lou gave me a book for my mother and a novel he had written in the early 90's that is very, very controversial. This is a man who takes no prisoners and does not suffer fools gladly, both on and off the table.
Heading back down to the game room for a best of five, we sparred in what was the most intense series of the day. As Wayne Shorter played in the background, Dr. Marinoff found his rhythm and I tried to match his intensity but could only win one of four games:
Lou 2 JP 0; Lou 4 JP 1; Lou 3 JP 4 OT; Lou 6 JP 3.
At this point, Lou graciously invited me out to dinner at his favorite Japanese restaurant. We drove down to the villiage and ate some excellent Japanese cuisine. I had never used chopsticks before, so Lou gave me some expert advice and in no time I was stuffing my face with bean curd, rice, beef teryaki, japanese soup and finally, red bean ice cream (excellent stuff!) We had an extremely interesting conversation over dinner (I think the hot sake loosened up the Dr.!) and once again I learned more about global politics in one conversation with Lou than in one year of reading the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. But now it was time to get down to what really matters in this life: TABLE HOCKEY.
Back at the Ranch, Lou and I decided to play a bon-voyage best of seven. The Dr. picked up right where he left off. He basically tore me a new orifice, whipping me 3-0; 5-1; 5-1. I came close in the final game, but fell in OT, 2-1. While we were developing a tremendous camaraderie off the table, Lou was all business on the table. His game is ferocious, as he ended the day with a 15-3 record; 70 GF-35 GA. And I had practiced 2 hours a day for the 7 days leading up to our meeting. Oh well, you learn more when you lose; and I discovered that
THERE IS NO FAILURE, ONLY FEEDBACK.
So, after a warm hand-shake with this Table Hockey Legend, I drove back to the Big Apple, cognizant of what I must do to improve my game and confident that I had one of the best mentors any person could have in Lou Marinoff.
Thanks Lou for your kindness in taking time from your busy schedule to play some top-level table hockey with me. The Sport of Table Hockey is lucky to have you.
(Lou Marinoff will be attending the New York City Table Hockey Association Classic League Opening day, Saturday October 14th, 11:45 AM at THE WHARF BAR & GRILL in Rockaway Beach).
Lou lives on the side of hill in a tiny hamlet along the Hudson River just north of New York City. As I parked my car at the foot of the hill where Lou's house is located, I spotted wild deer roaming about. This is a beautiful spot.
Lou greeted me warmly and after some conversation and snacks, we headed down into the game room where Lou had his Martin Labelle 5380 set up (see photo above). We chose to play a best-of-seven series to start the day, and Lou just steamrolled me in five games:
Lou 5 JP 2; Lou 0 JP 3; Lou 5 JP 2; Lou 7 JP 4; Lou 3 JP 2.
The man had actually lifted his game since The Original Six Classic where he finished second against very tough competition, and was looking forward to competing in Montreal. We took a break and chatted about the New York City Table Hockey Association, of which he is the Honorary Commissioner. Lou had some ideas about how the league format should be and was incredibly supportive of all my ideas concerning how we should run the NYCTHA.
After putting on one of Lou's classical guitar albums (in addition to being a top table hockey pro, he is an accomplished guitarist and an expert on music) we returned to the "belly of the beast" and played another best-of-seven. Lou played even tougher than the first series, dropping only one of five games (and that in OT after he scored with 5 seconds left to tie it).
Lou 5 JP 2; Lou 4 JP 5 OT; Lou 3 JP 1; Lou 2 JP 1; Lou 6 JP2.
So far I had not been able to mount any consistent offense against Lou whose wing-to-center pass was becoming tougher and tougher to stop as the day went on. Lou proudly displays the poster from "Table Hockey: The Movie," a film which he was the star of, in his game room and when you play the man, you cannot help but be impressed with his intensity level. Dr. Marinoff is a very, very competitive player who never gives an inch on the table. I learned that my intensity level must be raised if I am going to compete with this table hockey champ.
We then took an extended break as Lou showed me around his place and we took to discussing the current state of affairs going on in the world. Dr. Marinoff had just returned from Geneva where he had given a speech at a Global Economic Forum. It was quite a thrill to hear what such a learned, respected and passionate man had to say and I learned more than just how to improve my table hockey game, that's for sure. Lou gave me a book for my mother and a novel he had written in the early 90's that is very, very controversial. This is a man who takes no prisoners and does not suffer fools gladly, both on and off the table.
Heading back down to the game room for a best of five, we sparred in what was the most intense series of the day. As Wayne Shorter played in the background, Dr. Marinoff found his rhythm and I tried to match his intensity but could only win one of four games:
Lou 2 JP 0; Lou 4 JP 1; Lou 3 JP 4 OT; Lou 6 JP 3.
At this point, Lou graciously invited me out to dinner at his favorite Japanese restaurant. We drove down to the villiage and ate some excellent Japanese cuisine. I had never used chopsticks before, so Lou gave me some expert advice and in no time I was stuffing my face with bean curd, rice, beef teryaki, japanese soup and finally, red bean ice cream (excellent stuff!) We had an extremely interesting conversation over dinner (I think the hot sake loosened up the Dr.!) and once again I learned more about global politics in one conversation with Lou than in one year of reading the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. But now it was time to get down to what really matters in this life: TABLE HOCKEY.
Back at the Ranch, Lou and I decided to play a bon-voyage best of seven. The Dr. picked up right where he left off. He basically tore me a new orifice, whipping me 3-0; 5-1; 5-1. I came close in the final game, but fell in OT, 2-1. While we were developing a tremendous camaraderie off the table, Lou was all business on the table. His game is ferocious, as he ended the day with a 15-3 record; 70 GF-35 GA. And I had practiced 2 hours a day for the 7 days leading up to our meeting. Oh well, you learn more when you lose; and I discovered that
THERE IS NO FAILURE, ONLY FEEDBACK.
So, after a warm hand-shake with this Table Hockey Legend, I drove back to the Big Apple, cognizant of what I must do to improve my game and confident that I had one of the best mentors any person could have in Lou Marinoff.
Thanks Lou for your kindness in taking time from your busy schedule to play some top-level table hockey with me. The Sport of Table Hockey is lucky to have you.
(Lou Marinoff will be attending the New York City Table Hockey Association Classic League Opening day, Saturday October 14th, 11:45 AM at THE WHARF BAR & GRILL in Rockaway Beach).
