808 Ping Pong owner and Head Coach Noah Clark (second from left) welcomes new players of all ages. He hopes to grow table tennis into an MIL sport on Maui.

LAHAINA — It has been a bouncy path to success for Lahaina grown Noah Clark. And that is not to be taken in a negative sense, as he and his family have recently opened up a table tennis club at the Outlets of Maui called 808 Ping Pong.

After over a decade of growing up in the sport, Clark rose to become the top player in Hawaii in 2011 and shortly thereafter won an event at the U.S. Open.

The youngster had put Maui on the map at the prestigious event that is comprised of international players.

Noah’s career in the sport started at the Lahaina Civic Center gym and across Maui at parks and recreation centers here. Mostly with adult enthusiasts, he became deeply enthralled with the game and continued on what his Mom, Robin Clark, calls a “little ‘Karate Kid’ and ‘Rocky’ “ path of a small town boy reaching great heights of success.

He flourished under the tutelage of coaches Ken Kimura of Maui and Len Winkler of the Big Island, and had a stint with a Chinese woman coach who played on the Chinese Olympic team.

Noah later met Ernesto “Jon” Ebuen, a world-renowned table tennis coach from New York. The relationship flourished, and soon Ebuen came to Maui and stayed in the Clark home in Lahaina as Noah’s live-in coach.

After training with Coach Ebuen, Clark entered the U.S. Open and, as his Mom describes it, this is where the “Karate Kid” scenario begins.

“Noah, with no team or coach — just his Mom — shows up against the organized team of youth from other countries and teams around the nation. They all walked in with stern-faced coaches and wearing matching polo shirt uniforms,” she recalled.

“Noah’s wearing a ‘Surf Lahaina’ T-shirt equipped with his racquet and a skateboard. We’re in the Las Vegas Convention Center with 150 tables and hundreds of players. Our table is across the building, and so Noah did what every Lahaina skater does: he skates to his table.”

He qualified for the quarterfinals, won in the semifinals and “borrowed a Venezuelan coach to sit in the coach’s seat.”

Then, said his proud Mom, “It was so sweet to see win the finals in his ‘Surf Lahaina’ T-shirt.”

Noah, now 25, has just opened 808 Ping Pong, the first and only privately owned club in Maui. His vision for the club is to raise the playing level for all of Maui and introduce the Olympic sport of table tennis to every age group, especially to the younger generation.

As owner and head coach, Clark is looking for kids in three age groups — elementary, intermediate and high school — to train and grow the sport, with the intention of evolving into an MIL sport.

808 Ping Pong is open seven days a week from noon to 10 p.m. at the Outlets of Maui. For more information, text or call (808) 500-4506.