THE sound of ball on bat reverberates around one house in Tarrington in particular, as Michael and Billy Fitzpatrick continually practice at the family table tennis set up as each prepares for their individual representative careers in the sport.

The father and son combination have both been selected to represent Victoria this year with Billy having competed at the national Under-11 titles held in Caloundra in July, while Michael will head to Darwin this week for the Table Tennis Australia National Veterans Championships, as part of Victoria’s Over 40s team.

A lifelong love of the sport cultivated from the age of 10 has seen Michael instil that love into his son who at the same age earned selection in the Victorian side.

“This is my first state team and I’m playing in the Victorian Over 40s team against all the other states and New Zealand in Darwin, which I know will be much hotter than it is here in Hamilton,” Michael said.

“I’m looking forward to getting away from the cold weather we have here, but I know that it will be tough in Darwin.

“Earlier in the year Billy was selected in the Victorian Under-11C team and he went to Caloundra in July for the national titles but when I was his age, I was just getting into the sport.”

When asked to reminisce about his start in the sport, Michael had to go back all the way to the age of 10.

“I first started playing here at HILAC (Hamilton Indoor Leisure and Aquatic Centre) when I was about 10 and I’ve been playing on and off for the past 30 years,” Fitzpatrick said.

The road to selection is not an easy one, as players had to literally take to the road to travel to different tournaments across Victoria in the qualifying period.

“You must play a minimum number of the state tournaments, so it involves a lot of travel around the state from February onwards,” Fitzpatrick said.

“I played seven tournaments all told, and although I didn’t win any of these, I had to earn points from finishing as high as possible in each tournament to gain selection for the state team.

“They are very strong tournaments against the best players from Victoria, and although I’m certainly not one of the top players in the state, I earned my spot in the team the hard way.

One of the best players in Hamilton mentored a young Michael Fitzpatrick back in those early days, as Pete Humphries gave the youngster a lifelong love of the sport.

“Pete Humphries was one of the best players in Hamilton for 30 years or more, and he taught not only me but all the juniors in the district at that time.

“The facility here at HILAC is of international standard and its great for the juniors of this time, as it was never this outstanding all those years ago.

He proudly acknowledged his son and his accomplishments, as the Fitzpatrick pairing took out the ‘family doubles’ at the local centre, while Michael won the A grade title.

“I want to thank my son for getting me back into the competitive mindset I needed to go on and earn selection this year,” Fitzpatrick said

“We both set a goal of making the state team and we’ve achieved that goal.

“I’m not sure what the future holds for myself, but I’m happy to support Bill in his progression through the sport as he continues to get older and better.”