Our club lost an irreplaceable leader last year.
The list of Mr. Neil Smyth’s achievements is endless. From attending Yale University and being a member of the U.S. Navy, to being a Vice-President of the Las Vegas hotel Caesars Palace, he left an impact on a lot of people. Next to all this, he was a great family man. He may not be with us anymore, but the footprint he left on our lives is too big to be ignored.
It was a fall day when Mr. Neil approached and welcomed me to the San Diego Table Tennis Club. I don’t remember the details, but the truth is that very often we forget the first encounter with those we end up being close with.
I have never seen someone of that age being so good and active in our sport. He said that table tennis is the only sport where he can still beat those younger and faster than him.
He had a strange way of holding the paddle, and managed to keep it that way even though many suggested that he should change it. His serves seemed simple, but a lot of people had trouble returning them. He loved playing doubles. After a won point, he would celebrate quietly, without provoking his opponent. At the end of a won match he would just say victoriously: “That’s it!” Every won match was important to him. He would talk about these victories with people close to him, and after them he would go home satisfied. On the other hand, we knew that even if he lost, Mr. Neil would be rushing back to Balboa Park the next day ready to challenge some other people.
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I heard that he left his hometown New York and the other cities in which he lived, and moved to San Diego because of the beach and table tennis. Most likely the latter being the bigger motive. No matter how fancy an occasion, Mr. Neil always wore a table tennis pin on his coat. The love he had for the sport was enormous and many of us know this. I had the honor of being his doubles partner many times, but this was only when his favorite partner, Borko, wasn’t there.He wasn’t just respected in the table tennis world. During one of the USATT Nationals in Las Vegas, after I had lost my room key and was wondering around the hotel clueless, I luckily ran into Mr. Neil and the problem was solved. He told the security to contact some important guy of the hotel, don’t remember who, and after about a minute of explaining who he was and what he has done I received my new room key and a huge smile.
Mr. Neil was the treasurer on the San Diego Table Tennis Board of Directors. Phil Van De Wiele recalls that during the board meetings when Mr. Neil spoke everybody listened. He was the one collecting the daily fees from all the players and he always knew who paid, and who didn’t, and who needs to be charged the daily fee and who doesn’t. He was serious about it, but very respectful. His handwritten membership database was always extremely accurate and in the alphabetical order.
Mr. Neil asked Phil to run the Senior Olympics one year. Just like in picking his doubles partners and choosing which serve to serve, this wasn’t an accident. He trusted Phil as someone who will do the job right. But just in case he sent Phil “a hand written detailed description on seven pages of yellow legal sized paper covering every facet of the preparation and execution of a quality tournament.” Even though our club can’t be compared with the Navy or with the Caesars Palace, everything Mr. Neil did was in a very professional manner.
Mr. Neil was approachable to everybody. As a new member of the club Ms. Lyndelle Fairlie first talked to him about joining the club. With his kind words he urged Ms. Lyndelle to start attending the Thursday night tournaments and to play the Senior Olympics. His warmth allowed her to become a great senior athlete of our club.
Mark Adelman describes Mr. Neil in the most fitting words: “He was man of extraordinary character and integrity, with a fierce competitive instinct. He was also a man of tremendous empathy. He cared very much about his fellow men. He had an air of grace & dignity about him. That’s a rare combination for any man.” Many members agree with Mark and say that Mr. Neil’s presence will be greatly missed, but that his legacy is something that will remain forever.
The last tournament Mr. Neil played was the 2011 San Diego Senior Games. This time he played doubles with Micha Vlašić. They made it to the finals but were defeated by Aharon Shapiro and Mark Adelman. This silver medal was important for Mr. Neil especially because all of the men at the table were players younger and much higher rated than he was.
Mr. Neil did a lot in his life. He is an inspiration and an example of hard work and dedication towards the things one loves. The thought that we won’t see him at the club anymore is strange.
The end of life of those that meant a lot to us always comes as a surprise. It finds us unprepared. At first it takes away our words and later we slowly get used to the loss. We will carry the memories of our friend and mentor Mr. Neil Smyth for a long time. He will never be forgotten.
Brana Vlašić
January, 2012
Were you at the club last Monday wondering why there was a man filming inside the club? Well, it was Troy Hirsch and his crew doing a segment for Fox 5 News!
