For Christmas last year, freshman Logan Mix and his siblings received a ping pong table as a conjoined present.

“[My sister, Natalie Mix] convinced us to ask for a shared present,” Logan said, “and we always do that every year. Sometimes, we go to Chicago, but [Natalie] convinced us to [get] a ping pong table.”

Unexpectedly, the Mix’s Christmas present would prove to be the focus of Logan’s new hobby throughout the next year. With him sometimes practicing three times a day, the gift proved to be a worthwhile purchase for the family.

Although ping pong is relatively new to Logan, his father has been playing since about age 12—a long-term casual fan.

“[My dad and his brother] had a ping pong table,” Logan said. “They used to play a lot; it was just a fun thing they liked to do. I’d say it’s a special thing for [me and my dad], and we play probably every day, maybe three games a day.”

Logan strives to hopefully become as advanced as his father, with his dad even purchasing a machine to automatically shoot ping pong balls so Logan can practice by himself.

“I don’t want to be cocky,” Logan said, “[but] I would say that I am really good at ping pong. I really like beating people; I’m competitive. I spent a lot of time trying to beat my cousin, [and] I beat him eventually. Every person who picks up a ping pong paddle for the first time just sucks; they hit the ball way too hard, and I was like that too. My cousin [seemed] super good to me, [but then] I played for two weeks and was able to beat him.”

Nonetheless, Logan is a perfectionist in all of his pursuits. He participates in wrestling, driving to Lowell when he was younger so that he could start off early. Logan continued the sport throughout seventh and eighth grade and plans to wrestle in high school as well. He also plays piano, something he’s dabbled in from a young age, but only began actually taking lessons two days ago.

“I like a lot of hand-eye coordination sports,” Logan said. “I’m a perfectionist with things like driving, ping pong, or piano. I get mad at myself a lot when I try those things because I mess up a lot.”

Besides his frustrations, Logan has excelled in many of his hobbies. With piano, he simply needs to hear a song to be able to piece it together over a few days.

“When [I] hear a sound, I can play that sound on [the] piano,” Logan said. “I learned The Office theme song that way and Star Wars. A lot of it is memorization now because I don’t know how to read piano sheet music, but I am learning.”

Logan is self-taught in many of his crafts, including ping pong. Although he is not to his father’s level yet, explaining that “out of every ten games, I probably win four and he wins six,” his hard work and dedication are paying off every day.

“It’s stressful playing ping pong,” Logan said. “It’s easy to play, but [playing] to win is stressful. You feel relieved after [you win], and if you have a good shot, it feels really good.”