Aaron Castillo Player Page

  Aaron's roommate in Fairfield invited Aaron to try out Strictly Ping Pong in Fairfield which was one of the first billiards-style table-tennis businesses in the US.  Aaron thought this idea was so novel that he had to go there and a big part of this wesbite's success was born into the table-tennis world.  Aaron primarily began playing at Strictly Ping Pong with very unorthodox garage players.  The best garage player Aaron has played did not start playing until his fifties, never had a coach, but would never lose to 1500-rated players and traded games with 1900-level players!  Aaron has developed his own grip called the V-grip which, by coincidence, was a grip another player named Tom Veatch used as Veatch learned in at one of the two V-grip schools in China. 

  Aaron's best win is over Ariel Hsing....when she was younger and in the 1600s.  Aaron likes the feeling of playing a match with complete focus and proper execution but making simple mistakes is something he could live without.  His favorite player was Kim Taek Soo who Aaron calls the "Barry Sanders of table-tennis" because of his leg power, footwork, and athleticism.  Now that Kim has retired, Aaron likes watching the top defensive players Hou Yingchao, Chen Weixing, and Joo Se Hyuk.  Aaron practices mainly in Fairfield with local players such as Mike Dewynter and has gotten brief stints of coaching from Fan Yiyong, Tom Veatch, and Shashin Shodhan.  However, Aaron raised his game to its 1600+ level bascially without a coach.  Aaron has a rare talent in art and graphics as those regular website followers must know by now.  By profession, Aaron works with a combination of graphics, multimedia production, photography, and video-related work.  Besides his favorite sport of table-tennis, Aaron likes basketball, volleyball, golf, and cartoons.