After a long day of classes on a typical Tuesday afternoon, junior kicker Andrew Endicott needed to get his competitive feelings back. So logically, he challenged one of his specialist teammates to a competition to try and get his motor running. Wisconsin punter and kickoff specialist P.J. Rosowski was Endicott’s opponent. Their domain was ping-pong, a sport that is as similar to football as chocolate is to zucchini.
Yet just because the two sports have almost nothing in common, it doesn’t mean that the specialists’ love of ping-pong is a waste of time. Not only does ping-pong help build chemistry among a group that merely kicks or snaps the very same ball that other players throw or catch, but the specialists’ devotion to ping-pong also serves as a testament to the competitive nature of the Badgers. Even in a sport that involves a paddle and a tiny white ball, Wisconsin football players are always trying to upend their opponent no matter what team, what position or what sport they are playing.
The origin of the specialists’ ping-pong competition is unknown, but according to Rosowski, “It’s always kind of been a thing.” And for good reason, as long snapper Connor Udelhoven said specialists cannot snap or kick for two and a half or three hours when the rest of the Badgers practice.
According to Rosowski, specialists typically start to warm up at the McClain Center, the Badgers’ practice field, 30 or 35 minutes before the rest of the team hits the field. They have what Rosowski calls, a “first-up mentality,” and are typically with the team for the first part of practice.
But the sophomore punter said that after working on kickoffs or punts with the team during a standard Tuesday or Thursday practice, the specialists then go off and “do their own thing.”
During practice time, that means more kicking and punting, depending on how each specialist’s legs feel. After practice time though, it means going back to the lounge to play some ping-pong.
“We definitely get competitive,” Rosowski said. “We’re just like other guys when it comes to that stuff. We hate losing, even if it’s just ping-pong. Endy [Andrew Endicott] and I have our usual camp battle. Raf [kicker Rafael Gaglianone] and I go all the way back, it gets pretty intense. No one likes to lose.”
During match play, games feature a plethora of intense trash talk and, of course, different playing styles.
Rosowski said that long snapper Connor Udelhoven likes to start off points by hitting “soft shots,” before trying to rip it at his opponents. Rosowski, himself, says he is more of a fast-paced player who “just likes to hit it hard.” Endicott is the self-proclaimed “best ping-pong player on the team,” and said that he has been developing his game routinely since high school.
“We had a table at home,” Endicott said. “My dad claims that I got all my skills from him. He’s a pretty good ping-pong player too.”
Ask various Badger specialists who the best ping-pong player is and you are guaranteed to find a wide range of responses.
Rafael Gaglianone said he’s the best player on the team, a claim that Endicott rebutted, arguing that the same back injury that has cost Gaglianone his season on the field has weakened his play at the table.
Rosowski even said that he is in the top three.
Who the worst player is though is even more highly contested.
According to Endicott, Udelhoven is at the bottom of the ping-pong totem pole and is “easily rattled” during match play. Rosowski did say that Udelhoven was the “dark horse” of the group and that freshman Zach Hintze and Connor Allen are the specialists’ weakest links.
But no matter which specialist is the best or worst ping-pong player, no other position group can match what the Badger kickers, punters and long snappers can do at the table.
“They’ve [the other position groups] tried, but there’s no chance,” Endicott said. “We’d smoke them. The specialist group owns that table. No position player can touch us on that table. Not a chance.”
Added Udelhoven, jokingly: “We have to be good at something, since we’re not good at football.”
But for a kicker and his long snapper, chemistry is integral. While ping-pong might seem like merely a fun way to kill some down time, it certainly is a way to build rapport.
The Badger specialists’ escapades in the players lounge is also a reflection on how competitive each UW athlete is.
“It’s another thing I’ve been taught just coming here, that even stuff like ping-pong, we play guys that play other positions, we go head-to-head with each other, and no one likes losing,” Rosowski said.
“That’s the best thing about this team.”
Andrew Tucker contributed to this report.
