James Rautis brings more than 30 years of table tennis experience to Texas Wesleyan, including coaching, playing, and tournament regulation.

A USATT Certified National Coach, Rautis has been assistant coach volunteer since August 2004.  Prior to that, he was full-time assistant coach for the Rams during the 2003-04 season. 

Aside from working at Texas Wesleyan, Rautis devotes much of his time cultivating and coaching players of all ages.  He has twice coached U-14 girls to No. 2 rankings in the country.

Rautis is Director of the Texas Wesleyan University Table Tennis Club, which is open to the public.  The club is open for play Sunday afternoons at the Boys and Girls Club, 3122 East Rosedale Street, in Fort Worth. (Call 817-531-7555 for more information).

Still very active as a player himself, Rautis has consistently been rated 1950 or higher.  At the 2005 USA Table Tennis National Championships in Las Vegas, he was U-2000 Hardbat Singles Champion and Over-50 Doubles Runner-Up.  Rautis has also won the Texas state doubles title at least five times.

When he’s not coaching or playing, Rautis regularly assists in various capacities with local and national table tennis tournaments.  He is Field of Play Coordinator for the 2006 Clear Channel National Collegiate Table Tennis Championships, after performing the same duties at the Championships the year before. 

Rautis is a USATT Certified Regional Umpire, and has been tournament director or referee for more than 40 tournaments.