Blogs

Larry Hodges' Blog and Tip of the Week will normally go up on Mondays by 2:00 PM USA Eastern time. Larry is a member of the U.S. Table Tennis Hall of Fame, a USATT Certified National Coach, a professional coach at the Maryland Table Tennis Center (USA), and author of ten books and over 2100 articles on table tennis, plus over 1900 blogs and over 600 tips. Here is his bio. (Larry was awarded the USATT Lifetime Achievement Award in July, 2018.)

Make sure to order your copy of Larry's best-selling book, Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers!
Finally, a tactics book on this most tactical of sports!!!

Also out - Table Tennis Tips, More Table Tennis Tips, Still More Table Tennis Tips, and Yet Still More Table Tennis Tips, which cover, in logical progression, his Tips of the Week from 2011-2023, with 150 Tips in each!

Or, for a combination of Tales of our sport and Technique articles, try Table Tennis Tales & Techniques. If you are in the mood for inspirational fiction, The Spirit of Pong is also out - a fantasy story about an American who goes to China to learn the secrets of table tennis, trains with the spirits of past champions, and faces betrayal and great peril as he battles for glory but faces utter defeat. Read the First Two Chapters for free!

September 16, 2024

Tip of the Week
Written Coaching Material for Table Tennis.

Weekend Coaching and My Own Training and Dieting
When I told the kids in my multiball groups on Saturday and Sunday that, no matter what, they were not to hit my water bottle (which I’d conveniently placed on the table), they of course knew exactly what to do. Well, most of them. I did have to quietly whisper to the youngest in the group, a girl about age 6, that when I tell them, “Don’t you dare hit my water bottle!” that what I really meant was, “Hit my water bottle.”) I always find it best to keep it fun while teaching the foundations of the sport, and hitting targets (and my exaggerated exclamations of unhappiness when they do) are all just part of that. So is my constantly changing name. This past weekend I claimed I was “Coach Go Away,” and you can guess how that came off.

My water bottle took a beating. I also had to petulantly walk off a few times when they called me. (“Coach, go away!”)

But the kids had great training sessions. One kid made 100 forehands in a row for the first time while doing side-to-side footwork. The six-year-old girl? She hit the bottle 13 times in 90 seconds of multiball, and was quite excited about it. I also worked a lot on smashing and the often overlooked backhand footwork. The kids were excited and can’t wait for the next session.

As to me, I have my weight down to 194 this morning (from 210 on Aug. 1), and played five times this week. Alas, I had sort of a relapse in my playing – all this dieting, weight training (three times/week) and playing left me exhausted, and it showed in my match play. My legs (and the rest of me) felt dead. I played in the Elite League on Saturday, where I was in a group of six. I’d done weight training that morning, as well as coaching for 90 minutes, and was still dieting – and so I was exhausted. In my first match I started out poorly but got better and better and get a game and kept the fourth game close against a 2400 player. But that took the last bit of energy out of me, and I pretty much fell apart my next two matches, and then I defaulted out due to exhaustion.

Since Aug. 1 I’ve been living on about 1000 calories/day, instead of about 2500 I’d need to maintain my weight. (I sometimes “cheat” and do 1200.) It finally caught up to me on Saturday. So, that night I decided to splurge, and had my first big meal in six weeks, a big plate of Pepper Chicken (Chinese food). On Sunday I also splurged on Rocky Road ice cream. The result? Instead of losing three pounds this past week, I only lost two. NOOOOOOOOOO!!! But I’m back to dieting again, until I get to 180lbs. But I think that for now on I’ll have one weekly “splurge” meal. For the rest of the time I’ll stick to my diet. Breakfast is a chocolate or vanilla Slimfast shake (180 calories) and half a cup of Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice (50 calories). Lunch and dinner are either soup, Greek salad, or half a sandwich (each about 350 calories). And I snack on raw carrots, cherry tomatoes, and apples.

US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Inductions and Banquet
You can register at Omnipong for the 2024 US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Annual Awards Induction Banquet, to be held at the Houston International Table Tennis Academy in Houston, TX this year, on Thursday, Oct. 10, from 6-9PM, in conjunction with the 2024 Si & Patty Wasserman Junior Championships held that weekend (Oct. 11-13, Fri-Sun), which you can also enter through Omnipong. You’ll get to meet and talk to the honorees, as well as the many others who will attend. Cost is only $25. (It’s free to junior players who enter the 2024 Si & Patty Wasserman Junior Championships.) This year’s honorees are Patty Martinez Wasserman (Lifetime Achievement Award) and Hall of Fame inductees Stellan Bengtsson (Contributor), Glenn Cowan (Athlete), and Dennis Taylor (Contributor). Here is the 2024 Hall of Fame Program Booklet. I’ll be there! (I did the program booklet and will do the induction speech for Dennis.)

Illegal Chair of the USATT Board
It’s now been 588 days (84 weeks) since USATT elected Richard Char to an illegal third term as chair of the USATT board on Feb. 6, 2023. Here’s my July 1 blog about it. With the current rubber-stamp USATT board, there’s little that can be done about this and many other blatant bylaw violations and other serious issues until the next USATT elections, which are this Fall. I’ve blogged about these issues, and when the elections come up, I’ll post a comprehensive list. The irony is that, after ignoring all these problems, with the elections coming up there may be a belated realization among certain board members that perhaps, just maybe, they should deal with these problems, or perhaps do a few token protest votes. Sorry, too late. But over and over they’ve brought in lawyers to argue their case, and then argue that they’re just doing what the lawyers told them to do, pretending to forget that the lawyers were brought in to argue their case. It’s circular reasoning, where they start with a conclusion, and use that conclusion to conclude that their conclusion is correct. (Plus, “They are eating our dogs and cats!” Oops – sorry, wrong election.)

Job Opportunity:  Coach and Volunteer Development Officer
Here’s the help wanted notice from Table Tennis Ireland, the National Governing Body for Table Tennis within the provinces of Ireland.

Butterfly Training Tips

New from Ti Long

How to Do a Fast Long Serve with Robert Gardos
Here’s the video (2:18) from PongSpace.

New from Taco Backhand

How Much? My Costly Blade Testing Experiment
Here’s the article by Tom Lodziak. My thoughts on this – players should, at some point, go through a period where they try out the various rubber and rackets just so they know what the choices are. But once you find what works for you, stick with it unless your game changes or if there is something truly new to try out.  

New from PingSkills

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action!

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

New from USATT

New from ITTF

Pong in Bed
Here’s the video (13 sec)!

The Best Ping-Pong Ball Tricks
Here’s the video (46 sec)!

HILARIOUS Moments In Table Tennis History!
Here’s the video (8:26) from Table Tennis Zone.

Adam vs. Lee Seul
Here’s the video (14:57) from Adam Bobrow! “My friend Lee Seul competed internationally for Korea, 6 years ago, mopped the floor with me... so I wanted to see if she's still got it! Enjoy.”

Non-Table Tennis - Philosopher Rex
My podcast flash story “Philosopher Rex” went up this morning at Manawaker Studio's Flash Fiction Podcast. A philosophizing T-Rex that meets our earliest ancestors - lemur-like creatures - during the final days of the dinosaurs, and how their attitudes toward each other change after this pivotal meeting. The reading (by one of their professional readers) is just over eight minutes. (The text version was previously published at Zooscape.)

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September 9, 2024

Tip of the Week
Plan Your One-Minute Break.

Weekend Coaching, Playing, Aching, and a New Player
COACHING. . . In the Beginning/Intermediate session, I spent a lot of time as a practice partner, with the players rotating so I hit with many of them. As usual, we did lots of footwork drills. I always explain the purpose of a drill, something many coaches don’t bother with. Kids are curious, and letting them know why a certain drill is important gives them a reason to work harder at it. A good example is the 2-1 drill, also known as the forehand-forehand-backhand drill or the Falkenburg drill. That’s a three-shot drill as follows: Backhand from backhand corner; forehand from backhand corner; forehand from forehand corner; and repeat. As I explain, this covers the three most common moves in table tennis – covering the wide forehand, covering the wide backhand, and the step around forehand from the backhand side. (The drill usually starts with the backhand.) We also did a lot of serve practice.

PLAYING. . . I went to the Potomac TTC last Wednesday and played three matches, against players rated 1600, 2050, and 2050. As noted in last week’s blog, I’m getting back into playing shape. I’m still struggling to rally as I used to and still miss easy shots. I won all three matches, 3-1, 3-1, and 3-2, and then had to stop out of exhaustion. I wanted to continue for fitness reasons, but I was feeling great strain in my back since my legs were dying, and so I was playing forehand shots with mostly my upper body, a quick way to get injured.

I also played in the MDTTC Elite League on Saturday. This was only the third set of matches since I started playing matches again a week ago, the first serious ones in many years, other than a few played at various camps. I played five matches. In the first one, I struggled to do anything in the first game, missing easy balls. But then some of my game began to come back, and my serves dominated, and I won my first three matches relatively easily. The key here, however, was serves – all three were junior players rated between 2000 and 2100, and they simply couldn’t figure out my serves. Alas, I’m still way out of shape, and after that my legs were dead and I was out of breath half the time, and I lost the last two against players about 2100.

ACHIING. . . I’m a bit disappointed in my fitness level so far, but I guess it takes time. On Aug. 1, I weighed 210; this morning I hit 196. I’ve been weight training three times a week since Aug. 20, but so far the only effect seems to be exhaustion. In fact, I’ve found myself having to lower some of the weights as my muscles are just too tired to lift some of the weights over and over that I was able to do last week. But hopefully the effects will show up soon. But the muscles are aching all the time, and I often have muscle cramps. (Yes, I'm drinking lots of water.) Perhaps the dieting affects this. A week before any serious competition, or when I get to around 185, I’ll go back to a normal diet. 

A NEW PLAYER . . . I spend a LOT of time eating and writing at Panera’s, usually going there for around three hours almost every day, typically 2-5 PM (i.e., a late lunch) or 6-9 PM. (Sometimes I’ll stay longer, eating lunch and dinner there.) Due to my dieting, I’m mostly getting soups, salads, half-sandwiches, and Diet Coke instead of my previous Dr Pepper.

On Sunday (yesterday), I went in around 2PM. As I walked over to a booth, I heard a voice saying, “You play table tennis?” I look over and it’s a boy, age 11. He’s sitting with his father and another boy his age. I say yes, and ask how he knows. He says he recognized the warm-up suit I was wearing as the ones the US Team wears, and the Butterfly logo. It turns out he’s a table tennis fanatic – plays constantly in his basement with friends and constantly watches it on YouTube, which is how he recognized my US Team warmups. But he’s never been to a table tennis club, never had coaching, and didn’t even realize there were table tennis clubs and coaches! I gave them the web address for MDTTC (www.mdttc.com) and told them about their programs, including the junior program. He was incredibly excited to discover there was a FULL-TIME TABLE TENNIS CLUB just a few miles away!!! Anyway, his dad said he’d take him there. (Demographic note – the boy and his father were white, his friend was black. Our junior program is dominated by Asian players, mostly Chinese and a number of Indian kids.)

Articles and Blogs
I did some accounting on my writing. As of today, I’ve had 2,294 published articles (this includes 21 books) and 2,017 blogs (including this one), so 4,311 published items in all!

Player’s Playbook - Winning mindset on and off the field from a basketball and table tennis perspective
Here’s the info page for the Friday, Sept. 20 (5-6PM) seminar by Dora Kurimay and Keith Drysdale. “We will share inspiring stories and perspectives on developing a winning mindset in sports and life. We will explore how to choose your path (know what motivates you), stay dedicated, and achieve your goals.”

  • How to reach your goals and develop a winning mindset on and off the court.
  • We will share our stories as learning experiences.
  • Understand your motivation and create a path that you want to follow.
  • What’s your current situation? What’s holding you back?
  • How to master your commitment and motivation.

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action!

Butterfly Training Tips

Short Topspin Serve with Robert Gardos
Here’s the video (2:16) from PongSpace.

Basic Forehand Underspin (Backspin) Serve
Here’s the video (11:10) from Ti Long.

New from PingSkills

The Voice of Table Tennis Adam Bobrow
Here’s the video (31:24) as Table Tennis Daily interviews the Voice of Table Tennis.

Alexis Lebrun DESTROYING Players For 4 Minutes Straight
Here’s the video (3:58) from Taco Backhand.

We Challenge African Champ Quadri Aruna!
Here’s the video (12:11) from Table Tennis Daily.

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

The Evolution of the NCTTA App
Here’s the article.

USATT News

New from ITTF

Table Tennis King Throw Pillow
Here’s where you can get one from Amazon!

Monster Pong
Here’s the crazy cartoon image!

Extreme Hill Bowling Challenge
Here’s the video (8:18) from Pongfinity! They mix table tennis with other sports (not just bowling), such as, “Ping-pong on a badminton court with tennis rules.”

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September 2, 2024

Tip of the Week
If Serving Practice is Drudgery Then Perhaps Your Serves Are Too Simple.

Getting in Shape and Out of Retirement
On Aug. 1, 2024, just one month ago, as I flew to Scotland for 18 days, I weighed 210. (I’m 5'10', age 64.) That tied me for the most I’ve ever weighed. I’ve been around 205 for most of the last few years. And it’s cost me – I’ve had a number of matches (in hardbat events) where I might have won except I simply couldn’t move as well as I should, and worse, I’d be out of breath during the match and my legs would simply die. I blew the biggest lead I’ve ever blown against a really strong player in one match when, at the end of the match, I was completely out of breath and my legs had the energy of wet spaghetti. It also was a reason why I avoided regular sponge matches – I was too out of shape to play effectively.

So, during the flight to Scotland, I decided to spend those 18 days not only sightseeing and attending the World Science Fiction Convention, but also to diet. Between that and an incredible amount of walking in Glasgow and Edinburgh - anything under 1.5 miles I walked, and some of the tours involved hours of walking - I actually began to get back into shape. When I returned on Aug. 18, I weighed 203. I’ve continued to diet, keeping to roughly 1200 calories a day. This morning I came in at 198. One key thing – since Aug. 1, I haven’t had any Dr Pepper, which I usually sip when working. I’ve been drinking a lot of Diet Coke. I’m also snacking a lot on apples, pears, cherry tomatoes, and raw carrots.

I’m coming out of “retirement” at the Huntsman World Senior Games, which start on Oct. 7. I’m playing the regular (sponge) age events - Over 60 Men’s Singles, Over 60 Mixed Doubles with Alecia Moll, and playing down a division in Over 50 Men’s Doubles with Joe Ryan. I’m also playing Hardbat Singles. The plan was to get to 195 before the Huntsman Games. But since I’m already at 198 five weeks in advance, I’m now aiming for 190, or at least close to that. We’ll see.

I can’t play Hardbat Doubles because that takes place on Thursday, and I have to fly out that morning to attend the US Hall of Fame Inductions and Banquet in Houston, TX that night (Oct. 10). (See segment below on this.)

I pretty much retired from competitive sponge play back in 2007, with a rating of 2193. (I used to be a lot better than that!) Since then I’ve focused on coaching (with sponge, which is my “normal” game) while playing hardbat events at major tournaments. I’ve played four sponge tournaments since 2007 (in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2019), mostly spur of the moment while not in shape and out of practice, which dropped my rating to an even 2100.

I’m also playing age events (with sponge) and hardbat events at the US Open in December. The plan is to get to 185 by that time, though I’m toying with 180. There’s also the $50,000 Classic World Cup in Suzhou, China, Jan. 8-11, where I’ll be playing hardbat, sandpaper, and wood events.

However, it’s not just about losing weight. When you get older, you lose muscle mass. So, starting on Aug. 20, I’ve been weight training three times a week, usually Mon, Wed, and Fri. I’m not an expert on this, but after some research, here is my routine: I speed walk the 0.7 miles to Planet Fitness, do a one-hour routine, then speed walk back. The routine includes 17 different exercises on 17 machines, including two that are done twice (Torso Extensions both ways and Glute with each leg), so 19 in all. I choose a weight for each so that I can barely do 15-25, so I have to stop and rest, and do 30 in all. Because of past arm, shoulder, and knee problems, for certain exercises I lower the weight and so do all 30 continuously. The 17 exercises/machines are:

  1. Triceps Extensions
  2. Triceps Press
  3. Biceps Curl
  4. Shoulder Press
  5. Row
  6. Pull Down
  7. Chest Press
  8. Calf Extension
  9. Pectoral Fly
  10. Rear Deltoid
  11. Seated Leg Curl
  12. Seated Leg Press
  13. Leg Extensions
  14. Torso Rotations (left and right)
  15. Back Extension
  16. Abdominal
  17. Glute (each leg)

So, all this will get me in shape, but what about table tennis play? Since I only do group sessions now, I don’t get much from that. However, I played in the MDTTC Elite League this past Saturday. It was the first serious sponge matches I’ve played in years. My play was erratic, as expected, but I did beat a 2050 chopper 3-1, with every game close. I lost 3-0 against two other players in the 2050 range – but in both cases I played well in the third game, leading 10-6 and 10-8 before losing those games. Because I haven’t played serious matches in years my receive is weak, but it got better and better as the matches continued. In drills, I can block endlessly, but in matches I don’t block as well yet – but the blocking got better as the matches continued. I also was able to attack decently, especially when serving, but that too was erratic. The footwork isn’t quite fluid yet, and I still sometimes miss easy shots. But I could feel signs of my old game coming back. By the end of Saturday’s session I was at about 2000 level, but I feel like I can be 2100 in weeks. Then comes the long climb to 2200 level and beyond. Not easy at age 64!!!

Due to arm, knee, and foot problems, I’m playing all my matches with an arm brace; knee braces on both knees; and compression socks on both feet. I think much of the knee problems were because of excess weight and my legs not being strong enough. Both of these put a strain on the knees.

I’m also planning on doing a one-hour session once a week with Coach Lidney at MDTTC. I’ll be doing the usual footwork/stroking drills, but long, repetitive drills strain my arm and shoulder, so I have to limit those. But there’ll be a lot of multiball – I know which ones I can do without injury. I’ll also do drills where I have to withstand his attacks – I need to get back my brick-wall blocking defense and sudden forehand counter-attacks. I’ll also rest between drills by doing receive drills – need to get back the super-consistent receive I used to have.

When serving, my basic playing style is serve and all-out forehand attack. (I can loop and smash equally well.) My serves are a big strength, but I need to practice them a lot to get back to where they were. On receive, I loop deep serves with the forehand whenever possible, but mostly try to get into straight backhand-to-backhand rallies, where I’m super consistent (but sometimes too soft), while challenging opponents to either try to get through my backhand, or change directions and give me a forehand, which I’m waiting for. I flip most short serves, both backhand and forehand, while mixing in short and long pushes. In rallies, when forced off the table, I used to rely on steady fishing and lobbing, with counterloops mixed in and some chopping, but I suspect I’m no longer fast enough to do that, so I may focus on staying closer to the table.

I volunteered to be a free practice partner in our Elite junior sessions (where the players are 1600-2500, and I’d be with the lower half), but apparently there’s no room. So, for more match play, I’m going to play at the Potomac TTC on Wednesday nights, and look for at least one other time each week to play matches. Between match play three times/week, weight training, and losing weight, who knows – maybe I can give Kanak Jha a scare next time we play! Speaking of Kanak...

Kanak Jha in the German Bundesliga
Here’s discussion and links to video at the mytabletennis.net forum on his recent performances. Last week, from down 0-2 and 6-9 down in third, he defeated Yi-Hisin Feng (TPE, world #50) and Luka Mladenovic (LUX, world #89, who uses frictionless antispin on the backhand). This week he defeated Patrick Franziska (GER, world #10) and Darko Jorgic (SLO, world #15). Kanak’s current ranking is #70. Here is his ranking history. His peak was #19 in January, 2023.

5 Tips from Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers by Larry Hodges
Here’s the review and five tips highlighted from tabletennis.ph (Philippines).

Team USA Para Table Tennis Men’s Singles Events Set to Begin
Here’s the schedule. I believe you can watch it on NBC | @peacock | Youtube @paralympics.

Table Tennis History Magazine
Here’s the fourth issue, September 2024, 54 pages, from Steve Grant. Some really great stuff in here!

US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Inductions and Banquet
You can register at Omnipong for the 2024 US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Annual Awards Induction Banquet, to be held at the Houston International Table Tennis Academy in Houston, TX this year, on Thursday, Oct. 10, from 6-9PM, in conjunction with the 2024 Si & Patty Wasserman Junior Championships held that weekend (Oct. 11-13, Fri-Sun), which you can also enter through Omnipong. You’ll get to meet and talk to the honorees, as well as the many others who will attend. Cost is only $25. (It’s free to junior players who enter the 2024 Si & Patty Wasserman Junior Championships.) This year’s honorees are Patty Martinez Wasserman (Lifetime Achievement Award) and Hall of Fame inductees Stellan Bengtsson (Contributor), Glenn Cowan (Athlete), and Dennis Taylor (Contributor). Here is the 2024 Hall of Fame Program Booklet. I’ll be there! (I did the program booklet and will do the induction speech for Dennis.)

Major League Table Tennis
Here’s the upcoming Fall-Spring 2024-2025 schedule.

Classic Table Tennis World Cup
Ready to try out hardbat, sandpaper, or plain wood? Want an excuse to see China? Then why not enter the 2025 Classic Table Tennis World Cup, Jan. 8-11 in Suzhou, China! I’ll be there, doing coverage and playing in Over 60 events.

Butterfly Training Tips

New from PongSpace

Table Tennis Multiball Training
Here’s the video (4:10) from Pingispågarna.

264 Exercises & Adjustable Spin - Arc - Placement and Random
Here’s the video (21:58) from Ti Long.

Mental Training Tip – Visualize like an Olympian for Your Table Tennis Glory
Here’s the article by Alan Chu, Ph.D., CMPC

Ask the Coach
Here are the latest questions and answers from PingSkills.

Ping Pong Players Exhibit Superior Brain Structure and Function, Study Finds
Here’s the article from Psychology Post. Here’s the actual study from Science Direct, Long-term table tennis training alters dynamic functional connectivity and white matter microstructure in large scale brain regions.

Was Table Tennis Better Before? Ma Long The GOOAT Old Footage
Here’s the video (2:23) from Taco Backhand.

77-year-old Table Tennis Champion Player on Overcoming the Odds
Here’s the article featuring Cindy Ranii from Spectrum News.

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

New from the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association

New from USATT

New from ITTF

Forehand Flick Levels 1 to Lebrun
Here’s the video (12 sec)! (A flick and a flip are the same thing.)

Crazy Anime Table Tennis Cartoon
Here it is! What should the caption be?

It’s a Table Tennis Thing, You Wouldn’t Understand
Here’s where you can buy the shirt at Amazon!

College Challenge: Level 1-20
Here’s the video (15:58) from Adam Bobrow!

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August 26, 2024

Tips of the Week
Since I’ve been out of town and not blogging for the last five weeks you may have missed the Tips of the Week that still went up every Monday. Here they are!

Travel
I’m back!!! It’s been a busy traveling summer. Here’s where I’ve been:

  • July 3-8 – US Nationals in Huntsville, Alabama.
  • July 19-27 –  “The Never-Ending Odyssey” science fiction writing workshop in Manchester, New Hampshire.
  • Aug. 1-18 – World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, Scotland (Aug. 8-12) and lots of sightseeing and tours, many of them featuring old castles, many of them thousands of years old.

And now it’s back to normality, where I coach and write about table tennis, and write science fiction.

US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Inductions and Banquet
You can now register at Omnipong for the 2024 US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Annual Awards Induction Banquet, to be held at the Houston International Table Tennis Academy in Houston, TX this year, on Thursday, Oct. 10, from 6-9PM, in conjunction with the 2024 Si & Patty Wasserman Junior Championships held that weekend (Oct. 11-13, Fri-Sun), which you can also enter through Omnipong.

I’ll be there. I’m going to the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah, Oct. 7-10, but missing the last day as I’ll be flying to Houston on Oct. 9 for the Hall of Fame Banquet. Come on out and join us! You’ll get to meet and talk to the honorees, as well as the many others who will attend. Cost is only $25. (It’s free to junior players who enter the 2024 Si & Patty Wasserman Junior Championships.)

This year’s honorees are Patty Martinez Wasserman (Lifetime Achievement Award) and Hall of Fame inductees Stellan Bengtsson (Contributor), Glenn Cowan (Athlete), and Dennis Taylor (Contributor). I’ll be doing the presentation for Dennis. I also did the program booklet, as I’ve done every year starting in 2009. Here is the 2024 Hall of Fame Program Booklet. Major League Table Tennis is a Presenting Sponsor of the Dinner. 

The US Table Tennis Hall of Fame, established in 1979 courtesy of Steve Isaacson, is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization with the mission to honor the athlete and contributors of the sport of table tennis in the United States. The Hall of Fame Board is chaired by Sean O’Neill.

USA Players at the Paralympics
Here’s the USATT news item on the USA Paralympic players, Returning Medalists Set to Compete at Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, featuring Tahl Leibovitz, Ian Seidenfeld, and Jenson Van Emburgh. Here’s info on where you can watch it.

Review of Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers
Here’s a review of Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers from Tampa Bay Table Tennis that someone recently pointed out to me.

Every Table Tennis Shot Explained in 4 Minutes
Here’s the video (4 min and 3 sec, close enough!) from Louis Levene.

Coaching and News from All Over
Since I’ve been away five weeks, rather than try to list every interesting article, here are links to some of the main news and coaching pages that have been active in that time, and you can pick and choose. I’ll get back to linking to individual articles next week.

1 in a Trillion Moments in Table Tennis
Here’s the video (4:39) from Table Tennis Central.

PingPod Table Tennis Startup Expands To Licensing Software And Franchising
Here’s the article from Forbes Magazine.

Tabletop Diplomacy
Here’s the article about Ping-Pong Diplomacy from University of Virginia.

How to Destroy Your Enemy’s Serves
Here’s the video (16 sec)!

Ping-Pong Cat
Here’s the new video (12 sec)!

Old Man Challenges Pongfinity!
Here’s the video (4:02) from Table Tennis Daily!

Ping Pong... but the Floor is Lava
Here’s the video (9:22) from Pongfinity!

Ping Pong Table Tennis Silly Cartoon Animals Kangaroo Dog Throw Pillow
Here’s where you can get one at Amazon!

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July 30, 2024 - Special Call for Table Tennis Actors

There's a call for table tennis players in the New York area (or willing to relocate during filming) for the upcoming bio-pic about Marty Reisman, "Marty Supreme." Here is a recent article by The Hollywood Reporter about this project, and here's the IMDB page. The film stars Timothée Chalamet as Marty Reisman. Here's the call for table tennis players, including info on how to audition. Below are some of the roles they are looking for, though they also will want others. Here's an additional note in Japanese about the Japanese player wanted - who would play Endo, a character presumably inspired by Hiroji Satoh, who change the sport by winning the 1952 Worlds using sponge, including a huge upset win over Reisman. (Update - here's a Japanese version of the calling.) 

BELA:  Male. 30s-40s. Hungarian Jewish. Professional table tennis player. Does not need to be Hungarian, open to all Eastern Europeans. EASTERN EUROPEAN ACCENT IS A MUST, but speaks English.  MUST BE OKAY SHAVING HEAD!  MUST BE A PROFESSIONALLY COMPETITIVE TABLE TENNIS PLAYER WITH AT LEAST A 1700 RATING OR EQUIVALENT RATING PENDING GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.  SUPPORTING.

ENDO: Male. 20s-30s. Japanese professional table tennis player from Japan.  NO ENGLISH REQUIRED. MUST SPEAK JAPANESE. MUST BE A PROFESSIONALLY COMPETITIVE TABLE TENNIS PLAYER WITH AT LEAST A 1700 RATING OR EQUIVALENT RATING PENDING GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.  SUPPORTING.

TED: Male. 40s - 50s. White. BRITISH professional table tennis player..  MUST HAVE AUTHENTIC BRITISH ACCENT. MUST BE A PROFESSIONALLY COMPETITIVE TABLE TENNIS PLAYER WITH AT LEAST A 1700 RATING OR EQUIVALENT RATING PENDING GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.  SUPPORTING.

SWEDE: Male. 20s-30s.  White.  Swedish professional table tennis player.  LOOKING FOR AUTHENTIC SWEDISH TALENT WITH AUTHENTIC SWEDISH ACCENT.  MUST BE A PROFESSIONALLY COMPETITIVE TABLE TENNIS PLAYER WITH AT LEAST A 1700 RATING OR EQUIVALENT RATING PENDING GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.  SUPPORTING.

PASCAL: Male. 20s-40s.  White.  French professional table tennis player.  LOOKING FOR AUTHENTIC FRENCH TALENT WITH AUTHENTIC FRENCH ACCENT.  MUST BE A PROFESSIONALLY COMPETITIVE TABLE TENNIS PLAYER WITH AT LEAST A 1700 RATING OR EQUIVALENT RATING PENDING GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.  SUPPORTING.

STASIO: Male. 20s-40s. White. Czechoslovakian competitive table tennis player. LOOKING FOR AUTHENTIC CZECH TALENT. MUST BE A PROFESSIONALLY COMPETITIVE TABLE TENNIS PLAYER WITH AT LEAST A 1700 RATING OR EQUIVALENT RATING PENDING GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.  SUPPORTING.

LOU: Female. 20s-50s. White.  American.  professional table tennis player from New York.  MUST BE A PROFESSIONALLY COMPETITIVE TABLE TENNIS PLAYER WITH AT LEAST A 1700 RATING OR EQUIVALENT RATING PENDING GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.  DAY PLAYER.  MUST BE BASED IN NY.

MISCELLANEOUS HARD BAT TABLE TENNIS PLAYERS: If you don't fit one of the categories above but are interested in the project and have a 1700+ rating, please submit!  We're looking for HARD BAT players that are NY/Tri-State Area locals or willing to work as a NY local hire, for various other roles.  All genders.  All ethnicities.  Age 18-70s.  MUST BE NY LOCAL OR WILLING WORK AS A NY LOCAL HIRE. MUST PLAY HARD BAT. 

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July 15, 2024

Next Blog Will Be Aug. 26, 2024
I was called for jury duty today (leaving shortly), and I’m traveling almost non-stop for the next five weeks. So, I’m putting my blog on hold until I return. HOWEVER – the Tip of the Week will still go up every Monday – I’ve written them through August, and have others outlined for September. Here is this week’s Tip of the Week, as well as last week’s, since I was also out of town and didn’t blog that week.

On a side note, my (non-TT) story, “The Annual Albert Einstein Race to the End of Time,” went up last week at Flash Fiction Magazine! Highly competitive trillionaires race expensive timecars to the end of time – but when one of them is impatiently sidetracked on a wrong timeline to the past as other racers pull ahead, he learns a valuable lesson. And while I’m gone, don’t forget to browse and maybe a few of my table tennis books!

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July 1, 2024

Next Blog
Next blog will be July 15 Aug. 26, since I’ll be out of town next Monday for most of the next five weeks.

Tip of the Week
Should You Guard Against the Long or Short Serve?

Illegal Chair of the Board
It’s now been 511 days (73 weeks) since USATT elected Richard Char to an illegal third term as chair of the USATT board on Feb. 6, 2023. Here’s my email to the USATT Board in February on the matter. I also blogged about it on Feb. 12, 2024 and Feb. 19, 2024, where I also wrote about other abuses of power.

The key issue is simple. The bylaws say a chair cannot serve more than two consecutive full terms. It defines a full term as any term over one year. The current chair became chair of the board on June 1, 2020, and continued as chair until the next election, on Dec. 6, 2021, 18 months later. Since 18 months is more than a year, that’s a full term, with his second term starting on Dec. 6, 2021.

As explained in the email, in the Dec. 6, 2021 election, the board voted to make the election “effective as of Jan. 1, 2021,” eleven months earlier, so that the chair, who had already served a full term, could claim that he had not served a full term – thereby creating the fiction that his first full term started seven months after it actually began. But the bylaws are specific – 8.3: “The Chair shall hold office until the Chair’s successor is elected and qualified.” (The successor includes himself if reelected.) That election took place on Dec. 6, 2021, after 18 months on the board – a full term. (This is in addition to three months as chair of the Interim board.) He then served a second full term, which Char claims was his first, and then was elected to an illegal third term on Feb. 6, 2023.

A little clarification. They held the election on Feb. 6, 2023 to continue the fiction that his first full term had started on Jan. 1, 2021; in reality, his second term would have ended on Dec. 6, 2023. But by holding that election, his second term was from Dec. 6, 2021 to Feb. 6, 2023, which is 14 months, and since that’s over a year, it’s a full term.

Here’s an even simpler way of looking at this. According to the bylaws, a chair stays chair until the next election for chair. It doesn’t say anything about “effective as of” dates; it says until the next election, and no vote of the board can change that unless they change the bylaws. Char was chair continuously from June 1, 2020 to Dec. 6, 2021. That’s a full term. He was chair from Dec. 6, 2021 until they held an election on Feb. 6, 2023. That’s a second full term. He was then elected to an illegal third term on Feb. 6, 2023.

As I wrote in the email, it’s likely that some board members did not understand the implications of the wording at the time. The USATT lawyers, who were brought in by the CEO (who backs the chair) essentially represent the CEO and chair (instead of the whole board) and argue their case to the board instead of apprising the board of the actual situation. That’s an ongoing problem that needs to change. (The previous USATT lawyers represented the whole board and apprised them of the actual situation rather than just argue the case for the CEO or chair.) Whenever I confront board members about these bylaw violations and other issues, they invariable say some variation of, “We’re just doing what the lawyers told us to do.”

History will not look fondly on this chair and a majority of the current board that has gone along with these shenanigans, the lawyers who rationalized them, or the CEO who wrote an email supporting this. Neither will voters in the USATT elections this Fall. (Plus, of course, the CEO shouldn’t be involved in decisions about who chairs the very group she reports to.)

USATT Board Member Denied Access to USATT Financials
USATT Board member Thomas Hu, who was elected to the board by the membership and has an MBA, said he didn’t understand something in the budget during the budget meeting late in 2023, including the formulas and the assumptions that went into creating the budget. He asked for the detailed financials. Response? On the recommendation of the USATT lawyer (brought in by the CEO who oversees the budget in question), the board voted that Thomas had a “potential conflict of interest” because of his 1/3 ownership of PongSpace (an organization devoted to promoting table tennis) and his position as CEO of AYTTO since 2017 (a non-profit devoted to promoting youth table tennis), and he was denied access to detailed financials.

I’ve been in the sport since 1976 and this is the first time in their history that I know of where a USATT board member was not allowed to see the full USATT financials. So, do you think this is a matter of finding he had a conflict of interest and then barring him from seeing the financials? Or do you think it was a matter of not wanting him to see the financials and so finding a way to bar him from seeing them? I think the answer is fairly obvious. (Here are the minutes of the Dec. 18, 2023 board meeting – see “Conflict of Interest Determination.”)

By taking this action, they prevented a board member from fulfilling his duties. According to Bylaw 7.2, Board members do the following – bolds are mine:

c. Review and approve USATT’s strategic plan and the annual operating plans, budget, business plans, and corporate performance;

f. Oversee the financial reporting process,

h. Approve capital structure, financial strategies, borrowing commitments, and longrange financial planning;

i. Review and approve financial statements,

n. Monitor USATT’s operational and management performance. At the minimum, the following should be reviewed on an annual basis: i. Key performance indicators; ii. CEO performance; iii. Strategic Plan; iv. Investments and accounts; v. Fundraising strategies and goals;

US Nationals
I’ll be at the US Nationals, July 3-8, in Huntsville, AL. There are only 621 players, a big drop-off from the 810 last year in Fort Worth, TX. Here’s the player listing by rating and by event. As usual, I’ll be coaching (though we have fewer players from my club going this year than normal) and playing a couple of hardbat events, Over 40 and Over 60. I’ll be doing some sightseeing as well. Here’s an article from WHNT in Northern Alabama, Table tennis nationals coming to the Rocket City

I’m doing a scientific experiment this year. I injured my back while warming players up at the Junior Trials a month ago. Since then I haven’t played except for feeding some multiball. So, I’m out of shape, out of practice, and have various nagging injuries (back, shoulder, neck, knees). How will I do? If I win anything, it’s mind over matter.

First Galactic Table Tennis Championships
Here’s the Butterfly news item on it, by Steve Hopkins.

Two Weird Table Tennis Things
I had a weird dream a few nights ago. I was at the US Nationals. Hundreds and hundreds of players and tables, all battling it out . . . except instead of hitting ping-pong balls back and forth, everyone had a box full of bugs and were throwing live bugs across the table at each other!!! No ping-pong paddles, it was more like snowball fight from across the table.

A few weeks ago I made up a joke during a training session. What do you call a stupid table tennis player who sings? A Ding-Dong Ping-Pong Sing-Song. (Okay, you can throw bugs at me now.)

World's Longest Table Tennis Rally
Here’s the video (6 min) from Table Tennis Daily!

Butterfly Training Tips

New from PongSpace

Use Pre-Point Routines: Mastering Crunch Time Like Timo Boll
Here’s the article by Alan Chu, Ph.D., CMPC.

The Secret to Improving Forehand Push Skills
Here’s the video (4:45) from Ti Long.

Top 3 Most Effective Serves in Table Tennis
Here’s the video (10 min) from Rational Table Tennis Analysis.

New from Table Tennis Daily

New from PingSunday/EmRatThich

Ask the Coach
Here are the latest questions and answers from PingSkills.

Inspiring Best Points
Here’s the video (9:25) from Performance Biomechanics Academy Table Tennis.

Bowmar Sports Tournament Highlights

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

Sandbagging in Utah – Part 4
I hope this is the last I have to write or link to about this! Nam Nguyen - Sincerely Apologized - Apology Accepted by Players and Tournament Staff.

Amy Wang Talks Stepping Up from Developing to Professional Level
Here’s the article from JOOLA.

Classic Table Tennis World Cup
Here’s their YouTube page where you can watch all the matches from this past January! Care of the International Classic Table Tennis Federation (ICTTF).

Ping Pong Players Exhibit Superior Brain Structure and Function, Study Finds
Here’s the article from PsyPost.com.

Are Ping Pong Players Better Than The Rest Of Us? Here’s What The Research Says.
Here’s the article from Early Chirp.

ITTF News

Dan and Lloyd on Top of the World After Breaking Longest Table Tennis Rally Record
Here’s the article from Table Tennis England by Paul Stimpson.

Beware of Long Pimples
Here’s where you can buy the shirt at Amazon!

What’s Your Table Tennis Style?
Here’s where you find out! I’m “Tremendous Lobber.”

Teqball Scissors Kick
Here’s the video (13 sec)!

Hey Man Wanna Play Some Ping Pong?
Here’s the cartoon (8 sec)!

10 FUNNY Table Tennis Moments That Will Make You LOL
Here’s the video (5:27) from SF Sports and Entertainment!

Pongfinity vs. Football Goalkeeper
Here’s the video (6:44) from Pongfinity!

Recent Publications
First Galactic Table Tennis Championships (10,000 words) was published a couple weeks ago at New Myths Magazine, as noted in my last two blogs. Aliens from around the galaxy come to Beijing for the championships! Note that I put a permanent link to it in the menu on the left.

My story First Step (6,600 words) was published just today at Abyss & Apex Magazine. Sorry, no table tennis!!! When Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon in 1969, he said, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." But he apparently left out the "a," and so the quote didn't really make sense. It turns out he didn't leave it out. This is the story of what really happened when mankind first landed on the moon, and about the super-slow, high-tech aliens they found there. It’s up to Buzz Aldrin, using perhaps the most unique communication technique ever invented, to save humanity from being burnt to a crisp.

And don’t forget to buy some of my table tennis books! Perhaps the best-selling Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers, or my most recent, Table Tennis Doubles for Champions.

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June 24, 2024

Tip of the Week
Leave Your Comfort Zone to Develop Strategically.

First Galactic Table Tennis Championships
If you didn’t read it last week, you can still read First Galactic Table Tennis Championships – it’s FREE!!! Aliens from around the galaxy come to Earth for the championship. I had a LOT of fun creating all those aliens, plus there’s lots of intrigue – bribery and blackmail! I also worked in a number of my own experiences into the story, including my infamous quarter-pounders with cheese debacle when I won the 1980 North Carolina Open. Here’s the review at PingSunday.

I have another story that came out on Friday, “Don’t Look!” at the Sci-Phi Journal. And just this morning I sold “Life and Death and Bongo Drums” to the “Ruth and Ann’s Guide to Time Travel” Anthology. (Alas, no table tennis in these latter two.)

Illegal USATT Chair
It’s now been 505 days (72 weeks) since USATT elected Richard Char to an illegal third term as chair of the USATT board on Feb. 6, 2023. I’ve twice emailed the board on this. I blogged about it on Feb. 12, 2024 and Feb. 19, 2024. History will not look fondly on this chair and a majority of the current board that has gone along with it, nor the CEO who wrote an email supporting this. Neither will voters in the USATT elections this Fall. (Plus, of course, the CEO shouldn’t be involved in decisions about who chairs the very group she reports to.) I’ve blogged about various USATT issues quite a bit, and will do so again as the elections approach.

Sandbagging in Utah – Part 3
I wrote about this in my last two blogs, with links to the petition on Change.org and to the Facebook Discussion. Mario has posted an apology on Facebook and says he’s returned the money.

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action!

Butterfly Training Tips

Yang Xiaoxin's Serve Analysis
Here’s the video (1:4) from PongSpace.

New from Performance Biomechanics Academy Table Tennis

What is the Difference Between ‘Topspin’ and ‘Loop’ in Table Tennis?
Here’s the article by Tom Lodziak.

Illegal Serve - the Biggest Problem in Table Tennis
Here’s the video (10:21) from PingSunday/EmRatThich. (The illegal serve issue doesn’t come up until 1:50.)

Penhold Grip: How To Learn and Practice with the Penhold Grip
Here’s the video (6:15) from Pingispågarna.

Ask the Coach
Here are the latest questions and answers from PingSkills.

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

ITTF News

Old Ping-Pong Comic Covers
Here are three that I saw recently.

It’s Only Ping Pong Said the Loser
Here’s where you can buy the shirt or mug at Amazon.

Level 1-10 (India)
Here’s the video (15 min) from Adam Bobrow!

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June 17, 2024

Tip of the Week
The Surprise Test.

First Galactic Table Tennis Championship
“First Galactic Table Tennis Championships” by Larry Hodges (me!!!) is now online and FREE to read! The 10,000-word novelette, just published by New Myths Magazine, is likely the world’s first science fiction table tennis novelette, with aliens from around the galaxy coming to Beijing for the Galactic Championships.

The story, which takes place about a century in the future, centers around Li Yi, a member of the Chinese National Team and the #1 woman in the world. She has trained long hours since she was a child. But now she faces her greatest challenge – aliens! Table tennis has spread to the galaxy and alien players now dominate the sport. The best are the giraffe-like Ith, with their dominating champion Egrayu. Their ancestors snatched flying insects out of the air for food. Smacking flying ping-pong balls is second nature for them.

But Earth isn't part of the galactic community, not since the cowboy Americans tried colonizing a moon in the Ith home system, which led to a blockade of Earth. The Chinese hope to reopen trade with the galaxy by using "Ping-Pong Diplomacy" – by running the first Galactic Table Tennis Championships in Beijing. Li, her teammate Fan Xin (#1 man in the world), and the American champion *Danny See – a literal cowboy – take on aliens of all shapes and sizes, including the seemingly unbeatable Egrayu, as they battle for the biggest cash prize in table tennis history with Open Singles the only event. But Li is drawn into a corrupt conspiracy that will shake the very foundations of honor and sportsmanship. Plus, there's that problem with the Chinese dumplings…
[*Yes, he’s named after Dan Seemiller, with his permission!]

Some of the events of the story were taken from my actual table tennis experiences. Here’s my Nov. 5, 2013 blog where I wrote about my eating nine quarter pounders with cheese enroute to winning the 1981 North Carolina Open with a massive stomachache – well, poor Li Yi faced a similar problem, but with dumplings!!! 

US Nationals and US Open
The Nationals are July 3-8 in Huntsville, Alabama. This will be my 40th Nationals in a row, and the Open in December will be my 40th Open in a row. (The Teams in November will be my 48th in a row!) As usual, I’ll be both coaching and playing in a few hardbat events, though I usually use sponge. I’m only in Over 40 and Over 60 Hardbat. (I’ve won the Over 40 event eight times and Over 60 one time, along with winning Hardbat Singles twice and Hardbat Doubles 14 times.)  I debated about whether to enter Hardbat Singles. Let’s just say that I can’t bring myself to say I can’t win the event, but if I were able to say I can’t win the event, then I’d say I can’t win the event.

The number of entries for Huntsville are (predictably) rather low, only 621 entries. Last year, in Forth Worth, they had 810. Presumably, they had a local deal to make up financially for losing nearly 200 entries (or more like 400 if they went back to Las Vegas or Florida), but USATT is supposed to service its members, and that’s a lot of people voting with their feet – and of those going, I’m pretty sure a large majority would also prefer another location.

Perhaps USATT has learned their lesson (one learned over and over in the past but regularly forgotten by whoever is currently in charge) – they are going back to Las Vegas (finally!) for the US Open, Dec. 16-21. Here’s the USATT news item, which came out yesterday, literally the day after entries closed for the Nationals. As at least one person has posted online, perhaps they were worried that some might only be able to afford one such event per year, and may have cancelled Huntsville if they’d known the Open would be in Las Vegas? Who knows. But they’ll likely get close to 1,000 entries in Las Vegas, as they would at this year’s Nationals if it had been held there, or some other vacation spot. Remember when the Open used to be held in Miami or Fort Lauderdale? They’d also probably get 1,000 entries at a place like that. I like the “old days,” when every year the Nationals were in Las Vegas, the Open in Miami or Fort Lauderdale, with the Teams in DC.

Upcoming Travel
I have three major trips coming up – but only the first is table tennis.

  • July 3-8 – US Nationals in Huntsville, Alabama.
  • July 19-27 – the annual “The Never-Ending Odyssey” science fiction writing workshop (TNEO) in Manchester, New Hampshire. This is for graduates of the six-week Odyssey Science Fiction Writing Workshop, which I attended in 2006. This will be my 15th TNEO and 12th in a row. (They did the online during Covid.) We critique each other’s work, run “master classes” on SF writing, do readings, and other SF writing-related activities.
  • Aug. 1-18 – World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, Scotland (Aug. 8-12) and a series of Scottish tours, many of them featuring old castles up to 2,000 years old.
  • And one other - I just got a jury summons for July 15. Great...

Sandbagging in Utah
I wrote about this a bit in last week’s blog. There’s now a petition on Change.org which they are asking players to sign. (It currently has 101 signatures.) It basically asks the two players to apologize, promise not to do it again, and to return the $2,500 prize money they won. As I wrote last week, Apparently two high-rated players from Las Vegas pretended to be unrated, and entering under different names as unrated players, won lots of prize money in rating events at a charity tournament in Utah. Here’s the Facebook Discussion that I linked to last week.

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action!

Paris Olympics: Interview with Table Tennis coach Massimo Costantini on India’s preparations, pimpled rubber and more
Here’s the interview from the Indian Express. Constantini, originally from Italy, coached extensively in the US for a number of years before being hired by the Indian TTA.

Butterfly Training Tips

New from PingSunday/EmRatThich

New from Ti Long

New from Pingispågarna

Simplifying the Serve Return with Pips
Here’s the video (4:27) from PongSpace. “If you play with long pips, one of the banes of your existence is when opponents serve long to the pips. Yang Xiaoxin identifies the main criteria for dealing with those pesky serves.”

Ask the Coach
Here are the latest questions and answers from PingSkills.

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

Two Trip Reports: WTT Korea and Burlingame “A Busy May”
Here are the reports by Sally Moyland.

Kevin Finn “In the Loop”
Here are two table tennis-related articles from technical journals, care of Kevin at Peak Performance Table Tennis. Enjoy!

ITTF News

Ping Pong Periodic Table Funny T-Shirt
Here’s where you can buy the shirt at Amazon!

Headis: Game Combines Table Tennis And Football
Here’s the video (3:02) – this is for real!

Alien Pong
In honor of my story “First Galactic Table Tennis Championships,” here are other aliens playing table tennis!

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June 10, 2024

Tip of the Week
Hitting to the Same Spot Twice.

US Nationals Prize Money Cut
Here’s something many of us didn’t notice until Dan Seemiller pointed it out – USATT canceled prize money in Men’s and Women’s Singles at the Nationals for the quarterfinalists. They also aren’t increasing the prize money to keep up with inflation. Here’s the prospectus. For both Men’s and Women’s Singles, it’s 1st $7,000, 2nd $3,500, and 3-4 $1,750. Quarterfinals? Nothing. (They used to have prize money for the Final 16.)

Now we get to the really weird part. Here’s the 2022 prospectus showing the exact same prize money, except with $500 for the quarterfinalists. Here’s the 2023 prospectus also showing the same prize money, but without money for the quarterfinalists. The weird part? I have a copy of the 2023 prospectus that I proofed, and it has $500 prize money for the quarterfinalists. So, when did they make the change? Did they have $500 prize money for the quarterfinalists in 2023? (If you know, contact me.) Either way, USATT seems to be moving backwards on this, both in cutting out the quarterfinal prize money and in not keeping up with inflation. If we are moving forward, or even just treading water, there should at least be small annual increases.

=> UPDATE - SOMETHING HAPPENED - As of Tuesday, the very next day, the $500 quarterfinal prize money is back!!! (USATT didn't tell me, I just went to the prospectus for something else and saw the update. I have a printout of the previous version with no prize money for the quarterfinals of Men's and Women's Singles.)

Ping Pong Leadership by Justin Bookey
Yesterday I read Ping Pong Leadership: 18 Principles to Succeed at Any Table in Business, Sports, and Life. (Available in print and kindle, 266 pages.) I thought it was an excellent way to present leadership skills using table tennis and other examples. The book is perhaps 1/3 table tennis, with the rest using examples of leadership from the worlds of business, government, science, and sports. From the book’s description, “Tens of millions of people worldwide enjoy ping pong on some level. And if you’re looking to enhance your leadership skills, ping pong offers surprisingly relevant lessons for success.”

The book features both Justin’s table tennis experiences and those of a number of prominent table tennis players and coaches, and from lots of successful people from outside the table tennis world, with their stories. There are eighteen chapters featuring eighteen “Pong Principles.” Each chapter ends with “Core Questions to Ask.”

There’s a segment from me in Chapter 3, titled “Pong Principle #3: When Deception is Fair Play” on page 36, called “Flip the Script.” It starts with a quote from “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu: “Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.” The segment is about my once playing a player who was equally good attacking and chopping. As an attacker, it might have been a close match, but back in those days I ate up choppers – and so I spent the entire match faking difficulty with his chopping game, and so convinced him to play defense. He never knew I was carrying him the whole way and he never had a chance chopping.

Others featured include Stellan and Angie Bengtsson, Adam Bobrow, Kanak Jha, Sean O’Neill, Thilina Piyadasa, Vladimir Samsonov, Danny Seemiller, Will Shortz, Amy Wang, Jan-Ove Waldner, and Wei Wang.

Who is Justin and why did he write this book? From the book’s description: “Justin Bookey has spent decades in both worlds. As an Emmy-nominated content creator and strategist, he’s worked with leaders at global companies to accomplish their business goals. As a competitive table tennis player, he’s trained with national and world champions and won medals at the US Open. Those two worlds rarely overlapped—until Bookey realized that the core principles he learned while training to compete at the table also apply to success in business and leadership.”

Weekend Coaching and the Backhand and Windshield-Wiper Serves
It was mostly the usual fundamentals. To quote the Ping Pong Leadership book, "Don't practice until you do it right. Practice until you can't do it wrong." (I will probably turn that into a Tip of the Week.)

I spent some time helping players with their serves. One girl was working on her backhand serve but was facing the table as she did it, serving with just her arm and a short backswing. When doing a backhand serve, you have to rotate sideways to give yourself room to backswing and so you can put your body into the serve, and then rotate into it rather vigorously. I demonstrated – for a time, many decades ago, this was my primary serve until I stopped using it due to shoulder problems. Here’s a tutorial on the backhand serve (7:32) with Craig Bryant.

Then came a blast from the past. One kid was experimenting with the forehand windshield-wiper serve, a relatively rare serve these days but a bit more common way back when. He was trying to do it with a shakehands grip. I showed him how for this serve, it’s better to switch to the Seemiller grip, though you can also do it with the index finger down the middle. (You should change your grip for the large majority of serves. What’s the perfect grip for playing table tennis is rarely the perfect grip for any particular serve. You just change back to your regular grip right after the serve.) The serve was especially made famous by Ricky Seemiller, but many others used it, including me as a variation. The serves allows you to get tremendous sidespin in either direction. The downside is it’s more difficult to get great backspin, though you can learn to get pretty good backspin with practice. Here’s a tutorial on the windshield-wiper serve (2:59) from PingSkills.

Sandbagging in Utah
Apparently two high-rated players from Las Vegas pretended to be unrated, and entering under different names as unrated players, won lots of prize money in rating events at a charity tournament in Utah. Here are two links. 

This reminds me of a similar occurrence way back in the late 1980s. There were two Chinese women with the same name, a 2100 player from California, and a 1000 player from the northeast. The 2100 player flew in and pretended to be the 1000 player in a big 4-star tournament with lots of prize money in the rating events. She won something like six or seven events. But someone took pictures and she was later recognized. It went to the USATT disciplinary committee, which found they had conspired together and split the money. They were given long suspensions.

Improving Table Tennis Forehand Technique Using a Bounce Wall
Here’s the technical journal with this scientific paper – but it’s in Indonesian. You can use Google Translate to see what it says. All I can say is you haven’t made it in life until you’ve been cited five times in an Indonesian technical journal!

Butterfly Training Tips

PERFECT WAY To Improve In Table Tennis
Here’s the video (4:02) from Pingispågarna.

New from PongSpace

Improve Forehand Topspin against Backspin technique
Here’s the video (4:55) from Ti Long.

New from Ping Sunday/EmRatThich

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action!

2024 NCTTA Board Elections Voting
Here’s the article. Deadline to vote is this Wednesday at 11:59PM eastern time.

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

Junior National Team Member: Isabella Xu (17) Founds North Carolina Youth Table Tennis Association (NCYTTA) to Share the Joy of Table Tennis
Here’s the article.

New from ITTF

Why I Lose At Table Tennis Shirt
Here’s where you can buy it at Amazon!

Adam vs. Toa 3.0
Here’s the video (11:29) from Adam Bobrow!

World's Weirdest Ping Pong Match
Here’s the video (10:42) from Pongfinity! This may be one of the funniest ones ever. I may bring some pillows to one of our junior training sessions and have them do pillow-pong!

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