Why Players Are Getting Better at Younger Ages

Yesterday I blogged about and linked to videos of 11-year-old Tomokazu Harimoto, the new Japanese sensation. And on February 13 I blogged about how much stronger the current USA cadets and juniors are than their predecessors. As noted there and in previous blogs, a primary reason for this (especially in the U.S.) is the rise of full-time training centers, where more and more kids are training full-time. This, of course, leads to more and better junior players (and ultimately better players).

But there's another reason why in recent years we're getting more and more prodigies, where kids compete on an almost even level with much bigger and older players. As I've blogged before, modern tensor-type sponges make looping much easier, practically shooting the ball out, where before players had to put far more energy into a shot to get the same result. So looping becomes both easier and more powerful than before - all the player has to do is supply good technique and timing, and the sponge does the rest, kicking the ball out with speed and spin that wouldn't be possible otherwise. In previous generations (in particularly in the '80s and '90s) this was mostly made up at the intermediate and higher levels by speed glues. But little kids rarely speed-glued back then - if they did, they'd have gotten strange looks. Instead, kids used slower rackets and sponges, and had to supply their own power. Guess what? A little kid can't supply the power needed to compete with bigger and older players, not unless he's using a tensor-type sponge or speed gluing.

But this generation of kids has a new paradigm. Most modern coaches switch their students to modern sponges and rackets relatively early, allowing them to begin to play the way top players do, i.e. running around and looping everything. This gives them a tremendous head start on juniors in the past, who'd be using sponges that didn't kick the ball out the way tensor-type sponges do. And so past generations wouldn't be running around looping everything until they were much older.

This is also true about blocking. With slower sponges and blades, the ball simply doesn't shoot out as fast when blocking. But with modern tensor-type sponges, even a little kid can punch-block a ball at a world-class pace.

The result is two-fold. First, by the time modern kids are 11 or 12, the advanced ones have been looping for years, and so it is second-nature. Second, the tensor-type sponges allow them the needed power to compete with bigger and older players. Result? They can compete with the bigger and older players. If they'd stuck with slower sponges and rackets, they wouldn't have reached that level. (I'm focusing on the sponges here, but the same is true of rackets, with each generation of rackets better for looping than previous generations.) And so you get an 11-year-old like Harimoto and many others like him who are looping and blocking consistently at a pace that wouldn't be possible without such modern sponges and rackets - and more importantly, by using such equipment from a relatively early age.

The old paradigm was that kids should spend years with slower sponges (and rackets) before moving up to faster, spinnier ones. This worked when much of the game revolved around hitting and blocking, and when opponents were doing the same. But in this modern all-looping era, the ones who switch to tensor-type sponges earlier, after developing the fundamentals (that's key), have a head-start on others who put it off. This doesn't mean you start off a beginner with Tenergy or similar super-sponges; it means you switch them to such sponges much earlier than they would have in the past. When exactly should they make the switch? That's still a tough question. But I've found that by the time a kid has a decent loop in multiball, with good technique, he's ready to move on to tensor-type sponges, which allow them to move up to playing at levels they could never play at otherwise. More importantly, it allows them to start playing a modern all-looping game at a much earlier age, and thereby get a head start against those who don't.

I use a Butterfly Timo Boll blade with Tenergy 05 on the forehand, Tenergy 25 on the backhand, 2.1mm on both sides. Over and over when a kid I'm coaching has decent looping technique, I let them try it out - and they invariably fall in love with it. More importantly, they immediately play better with it, especially in practice. Sure, they may have trouble controlling the ball in games at first, but if they can drill at a higher level with such a blade and sponge, they will develop faster as players, and it soon converts into playing at a higher level in games. Many of the top juniors at my club have been using such equipment since they were perhaps eight years old, after training regularly for one to two years. (Younger players have less hand-eye coordination, and so those who start at, say, age six might need two years before going to modern equipment, while one who starts at age nine might switch after just a year of training. It depends on the player and their level of development.) 

A key thing is that this only works if they are training regularly. If they are just part-time players who mostly play games, then using something like Tenergy will only hurt their control. But if they are training regularly with high-level coaches who make sure they are developing proper technique, such sponges allow them to develop much more rapidly. And the result is kids who look like mini-versions of the best players in the world, and who are just scary good.

Capital Area Super League

Because there's going to be a league feature this Wednesday from USATT, the deadline for entering the Capital Area Super League (for players in the Washington DC region) has been extended to February 27, this Friday. Considering this is the first season, we've had a pretty good turnout so far, with 62 players on 12 teams, but the more the merrier! (You can have up to six players on a team.)

New Coaching Articles from Samson Dubina

• Working Together: Learn about parents coaching their kids
• The Guinea Pig: Learn about making game changes
• Fitness! (Guest written by Scott Badillo)

Tournament Tactics for the Serve Return

Here's the preview video (4:45) for the new coaching video from Brian Pace of Dynamic Table Tennis. Though it's a preview, it covers quite a lot, along with lots of video of great receives.

Ask the Coach

Episode #82 (28:45) - Chinese born players representing other countries

• Yesterday’s #PQOTD  - 0:54: Should the ITTF put in place stricter rules to stop ex Chinese players playing for different countries?
• #PQOTD  - 5:43: When your opponent makes a service error, do you say "Thank you”?
• Playing Against Sidespin - 6:15: Bhaswar: How do we play against a very heavy sidespin? The one that spins on the right? I generally use the forehand topspin stroke.
• Why are the Chinese Better? - 8:15: Brock: How can a Chinese play better at table tennis than a Swedish player? Different tempo or what?
• Tomokazu Harimoto - 10:06: Lukas: How old do you think Tomokazu Harimoto was when he started to play table tennis?
• Waldner - 12:40: Brock: Does Waldner still live in China or does he live in Sweden now or does he still compete?
• 52 week Training Plan - 13:13: Matthew: I’ve been training for a month and I’ve learnt the forehand and backhand counterhit, backhand and forehand push, and forehand topspin. I can do around 100 of these. I am thinking about becoming a Premium member and using the 52 week training plan.
• Rolling the ball on bat - 16:00: Tom: How do you roll the ball from one side of the bat to the other. In your 'practicing alone' video at 02:05 you start rolling the ball from one side to the other. How do you do this?
• Preserving a Lead - 17:46: J-B: Playing against an opponent of similar level. Leading with what statistically looks like a decisive margin, say like 8-5. You think that in this position, it would be a shame to not be able to close it.  You play like your grandmother and blow it.
• Playing tournaments - 22:36
• Andre: I have been playing table tennis for 4 years and I want to begin to play in tournaments. There's a tournament in 2 months and it's a regional qualifier.  Should I sign up for it or do I still need more time to practise?
• Backhand Counterhit Follow Through - 25:08: Bhaswar: When practising the backhand counterhit I don't much follow through but the ball goes really nice? Is it really important now to follow through?
• Your Idol - 26:31: Brock: Who was your grown-up idol in table tennis when you were kids?
• Improving Quickly - 26:53: Lukas: It's very impressive, Tomokazu proved how good you can get in a couple of years. Do you think that if you practise hard enough, that you can reach that level in just a couple of years?

Want to Coach in England?

The University of Bath is looking for "…a qualified coach who is willing to come to the University of Bath, preferably on Thursday 5pm-7pm, or Saturday 3pm-5pm. We have 500 pounds budget [for the next seven weeks], and are looking to spend about 25 pounds an hour. [That's $38.58/hour.] We have 66 members but the attendance rate is at Max 20 people at any given session, however this may change if we have the coach, we have five tennis tables. We have some very good squad players and one of them is top 50 under 21 and one of them used to be in the provincial Team in China." If interested, contact Jun Wu.

2015 Selection Procedure Cadet and Junior Teams Changes

Here's the USATT article.

USATT Criteria and Procedures for Entering US Athletes in International Competitions

Here's the USATT article.

Sweden and United States Celebrate on Concluding Day

Yesterday I linked to the ITTF article on USA's performance at the Swedish Junior and Cadet Championships. Here are photos from USATT.

Arnold Table Tennis Challenge Provides Exciting Opportunity to be Part of the Arnold Sports Festival

Here's the USATT article by Barbara Wei.

If You Think Table Tennis is Not a Sport Then Watch This

Here's the new highlights video (9:12).

Best Inventions of 2008

#38: Ovtcharov's Serve! "German Olympian Dimitrij Ovtcharov's serve isn't about power. It's about weirdness. Crouching to table-level, he peers over his paddle and executes a hand dance before launching the ball at his opponent, who is probably too dumbfounded to respond. Which, of course, is the point." Here's a video of Ovtcharov's serves in slow motion; go to 1:24 to see the backhand serve the article pictures. (As you'll see in the video, he does many different serves, including conventional forehand pendulum serves and tomahawk serves.)

Patton, George C. Scott, and Table Tennis

The movie Patton won the Academy Award for Best Picture for 1970, as well as Best Actor for George C. Scott as General Patton. (It's still my favorite war movie.) Here's an item from the Trivia section (see third item): "According to his co-star Karl Malden, George C. Scott caused a shooting delay by immersing himself in a ping-pong tournament against a world-champion table-tennis player. Scott (who was in full costume and makeup) kept losing to the champ; yet he was determined to win at least one set, even if they had to stand there playing the entire night."

Cardboard Table Tennis

Here it is - has the world gone mad? The next time you're stuck at an airport waiting for a delayed flight, instead of turning to your smartphone to pass the time, just make sure this cardboard version of table tennis is one of your carry-on items. In just seconds it can be unfolded and assembled into a working ping-pong table, complete with a cardboard net, cardboard, paddles, and a cardboard scoreboard.

"I'm Pinging in the Rain!"

Here's the picture!

Non-Table Tennis: Top Ten Ways the Orioles Can Make It to the 2015 World Series

Here's the new Top Ten List I wrote that's featured at Orioles Hangout.

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Tip of the Week

Shadow Practice When You Miss.

Forehand Topspin Against Backspin, and Proper Forehand Technique

Here's the new video (3:36) from PingSkills. You should study it to learn to loop against backspin. However, it's also a chance for many of you to fix up your forehands in general by fixing your contact point. While this video features looping against backspin, many of the principles apply to all forehands.

Note in the video how he basically rotates his body around an imaginary vertical rod going through the top of his head, and how he contacts the ball almost directly to the side of this? Most players violate one of these principles, either moving the body forward too much as they do the shot, or (even more common) contacting the ball too far in front.

There are times when you should move the body forward on a shot, such as against an easy high ball or when you are rushed in stepping around the backhand corner, but normally you should go more in a circle. This both gives you great centripetal force as you rotate around, but also leaves you in position for the next shot, balanced and ready, which is how top players can play power shots over and over in quick succession.

But as noted above, the more common problem is that players tend to contact the ball too far in front. This either keeps them from rotating backwards fully (and so losing power), or forces them to reach for the ball (thereby dissipating power and putting you off balance).

Also note how the legs (and especially the knees) are used to rotate into the shot. The legs aren't just for standing; they are the primary start to every shot, and give you the pivot into your shots. (An expanded version of this will likely become a Tip of the Week.)

In the segment below on Japanese junior sensation Tomokazu Harimoto there's a 13-second video of him knocking balls off a table. Note the same principle - he rotates in a circle and contacts the ball directly to the side of that imaginary rod going through his head. You can see the same principles in this 46-second video of Wang Liqin demonstrating "The shot that owned a decade."

The Amazing Serve of Jun Mizutani

Here's the video (2:02). It's in Japanese, but you can learn just by watching, since much of it is shown in slow motion.

Ask the Coach (Werner Schlager Academy version)

Episode #6 - Practice Champions (German with English Subtitles). "Richard Prause talks about world champions in practice who cannot transfer their skills into the match. Listen to his advices and tips to become a match champion."

Ask The Coach (PingSkills version)

Episode #81 (21:33) - How Does Speed Affect Spin?

• Previous #PQOTD  - 0:46: Who is hungriest for the World Championships 2015?
• #PQOTD  - 1:59: Should the ITTF put in place stricter rules to stop ex Chinese players playing for different countries?
• Discussion - 2:24: Safir Open and Qatar Open
• Crying player - 9:43: Nigel: I was umpiring a junior match between a boy and a girl about 10-13 years old. The girl won the first game and the boy the second after that the girl came out crying, this seemed to put the lad off . How should you handle this sort of situation?
• Counter long spin serve - 11:23: Ernest: Is a topspin stroke the most effective way to counter a long serve? Are there any strokes to return long serve? Maybe you can suggest to me another way to return long serve effectively.
• Speed and Spin - 13:27: Kaustubh: How does speed affect spin and vice versa?
• Blocking a Sidespin Loop - 16:07: Brock: How can I block a loop with backspin and sidespin on it? The tall guy started doing this last time. How can I block it? I can block normal loops.
• Improving Balance - 18:42: Bhaswar: What are the exercises that we can do to improve our movement and balance while playing table tennis?
• Counter Heavy Topspin - 19:30: Lukas: What's the best way to counter a really heavy topspin?
• Best Ever - 20:47: Bhaswar: Who is the best table tennis player ever?

Swedish Junior and Cadet Championships

USA did pretty well there this past weekend. Here's the home page, and here's an article on USA results. Kanak Jha won Cadet Boys' Singles. Ishana Deb made the semifinals of Cadet Girls' Singles, including an upset over top seed Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico in the round of 16. Nikhil Kumar made the final of Minicadet Boys' Singles.

Pan American Games Team Leader Position Opening

Here's how you can apply for the position.

Table Tennis Champ Revives Career After Battling Muscle Condition

Here's the article on 44-year-old U.S. Men's Champion Jim Butler. (To see entire article you'll need to sign up as a digital subscriber to the Houston Chronicle.)

Texas Wesleyan Team Dominates

Here's the video (1:45, after an irritating 33 sec ad).

Cross Train Your Brain. Play PingPongforCHARITY.com

Here's the video (1:59).

11-Year-Old Japanese Sensation

There's a new wunderkind in town - Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan. He made it all the way to the final of the Safir Open, defeating world #43 Omar Assar (EGY) in the quarterfinals and world #71 Jens Lundqvist (SWE) in the semifinals before losing in the final to Xu Hui (CHN). Here's a video of his match with Lundqvist (5:07, with time between points removed). Here's a video of the final with Xu Hui (4:46). And here's a fun video (13 sec) of him smacking three balls off the table in multiball - no idea how many takes it took to get this! (Perhaps only one?) I read he's originally from China and immigrated to Japan. His original Chinese name was Zhang Zihe, but he took on a Japanese name. His parents are professional players from the Sichuan Province of China, with the mom, and possibly the dad, former members of the Chinese National Team.

Zhang Jike Forehand Training

Here's the video (77 sec).

Qatar Open Final - Samsonov vs. Ovtcharov

Here's the video (7:46, with time between points removed). Yep, Samsonov's still got it! (He'll be 39 on April 17.) Here's the home page for the event which finished yesterday. Here's a great point (50 sec, including slow motion replay) between Ovtcharov and Jung Youngsick in the quarterfinals.

How to Hit a Backhand

Here's video (47 sec, including replay) of Marcos Freitas of Portugal (world #10) at the Qatar Open showing us how to hit the backhand.

Jean-Philippe Gatien - He's Still Got It!

Here's 15 seconds of him doing multiball - 22 years after he won Men's Singles at the Worlds!

Behind-the-Back Shots of the Day

Here's the video (54 sec). Here's another one from a week ago (25 sec).

The Most Amazing Nets You Will Ever See

Here's the video (61 sec, including slow motion replay).

Roller Coaster Pong

Here's the picture!

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Ping Pong for Fighters

Ping Pong for Fighters by Tahl Leibovitz, a Paralympics gold medalist, is a relatively short read, which is both good and bad, i.e. reading it isn't a huge commitment, so don't expect War and Peace; it's a two-hour read, full of golden nuggets. It's available in paperback ($13.45, 152 pages) or Kindle ($9.95).

I've known Tahl since he was about 13 years old, when he was part of the New York Junior Team that competed with a Maryland Team in a ten-on-ten match. He was always a battler, but back then he didn't look special, other than a knack for pulling off spectacular shots. Well, he can still pull off spectacular shots, but as he relates in the book, he's learned patience and tactics, and knows how to use these shots - how to fight with what he's got. On the back cover I wrote, "Tahl Leibovitz has forever been overcoming the odds as he fought his way to the top, so it's only fitting that he wrote Ping Pong for Fighters - and if readers have even a fraction of his fight, they too can reach the top."

The book starts off with a foreword by Stellan Bengtsson and an introduction by Tahl. And then we get into the real text, divided into four parts: The Fight Against the Environment; the Fight Against the Opponent; the Fight Against the Ball; and the Fight Against Ourselves. Yes, this is truly a fighting book!

• The Fight Against the Environment

Early on there's a quote from Samuel Jackson in the movie "The Negotiator": "You are not in control," where he explains the importance of knowing which factors are in our control and which are not, and that we should not worry about the ones we don't control.

Soon afterwards comes this nugget: "When most players talk about their successes, they equate their performance with amazing play. They talk about how incredible they played to win a match. This makes them feel good, thinking or knowing that they did something out of the ordinary to win the match. They believe they played better than usually expected. But this mentality ironically hinders our progress as players. We handicap ourselves by creating the false belief that we can only have great results when we are playing our very best table tennis. This is simply not true."

It goes on to cover other issues, such as the use of cue words, how to deal with extreme pressure, how to learn to play various equipment and styles by playing that way yourself (such as with long pips and chopping), and perhaps most important, "Never be afraid to fail." He also goes over his PEZ plan: Placement, Extend the Rally, and Zero Unforced Errors, with sections on each of these. 

• The Fight Against the Opponent

Here he lists eight questions to ask yourself before a match. He then writes, "Many players want to focus on playing against people who are above their level, thinking that by beating those players, they will become much better themselves. It is important to play players above you and equal to you, but also those who are below you. Many players enter rating events above their level, hoping to be able to upset a higher rated player. They fail to realize that if they beat players at their level and below, they will improve much faster." He then expands on this.

He also writes about how to beat better players: "I began to understand that the way to beat better players was not to kill every single ball, but instead to control and redirect their power. Try to place the ball better and change the position, speed and spin of the ball constantly." He also wrote about imposing your will on their opponents. He finished the section by writing about scouting out opponents, and gave eight examples of tactical analysis.

• The Fight Against the Ball

Here Tahl points out and discusses the three situations where we play the ball: when we don't impart speed on the ball, such as a chop or stop block; when most of the speed comes from the opponent, such as a counterloop off the bounce or a fast block; and when we attack and impart our own speed, such as looping against a regular block. Then he has a section on "Making the Ball Work for You," with sub-sections on Create the Proper Distance; Proper Ball Contact; Develop Good Ball Control; Reduce Mistakes; Change the Ball's Trajectory; Improve Shot Quality; and Location, Location, Location (where he emphasizes down the line and attacking the middle). Then there are sections on stroke mechanics, serving, receiving, and equipment.

• The Fight Against Ourselves

Here he quotes Jan-Ove Waldner, who once said that the single most important factor to serving well in a tournament was confidence. Tahl adds that he was once told, "…there was never an athlete who won who did not believe they could win." There's a section on "Don't Build Yourselves Walls to Climb," and then he discusses various self-defeating behaviors and statements, such as:

• "I have to play a specific way all the time."
• "Results define who I am."
• "I hate it when the games are close."
• "I can compete, but not defeat…"
• "I can't seem to close out the match."
• "I have to play my 'A' game to win."

Then comes the section on Channeling the Right Mental State, where he talks about "Having an open mind"; "Paying attention to concentration levels"; "Anticipating your opponent"; and "Focusing on one task at a time."

Then come sections on "Know What You Do Well"; "The Fighter's Guide to Mental Resilience" (including an anecdote about his putting up daily affirmation index cards all over his house, with a listing of his seven main affirmations); a discussion of on setting goals and visualization (and the importance of metal imagery); "Five Deciding Factors" (for evaluating your performance - Physical Fitness, Tactical Fitness, Mental Fitness, Technical Fitness, and Execution); "Train Like You Play, Play Like You Train"; "Developing Your Own Training Plan"; and finally, "Advice from Champions" (with tips from Thomas Keinath, Atanda Musa, Mikael Appelgren, Werner Schlager, Sean O'Neill, and a final set of adages from Tahl.

The book is bookended by two powerful quotes. At the start is the Olympic Creed: "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is no the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well." At the end is Theodore Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" quote.

Finally, here's what Tahl himself wrote of the book and its title:

"This book is called Ping Pong for Fighters, and it’s about fighting all the different elements that are attached to table tennis. The fight starts inward and eventually moves outward, from within ourselves, to the ball, to our opponents, to the environment and the external conditions. I think what’s interesting about this book is that the reader takes the journey with me. All that I learned in over 20 years of competing in table tennis, is in this book. The goal of this book is to try and get the reader to approach the game differently. The book is basically a philosophy for the thinking and feeling player. A philosophy that encourages one to stay in the present moment, have self confidence and compete to the best of their ability. This book is also very direct and very easy to understand. It is not an intellectual discourse of any kind. The book reads more like a conversation consisting of helpful direction through experience and a philosophy of table tennis that is concerned more with experiencing what it feels like to think and play table tennis like a top table tennis player."

I'd recommend this book for any serious table tennis player - but read it with a highlighter or colored pen so you can mark off the best nuggets!

Other Table Tennis Books

While we're on the topic of books, here are some others.

• My books (six on table tennis, two science fiction & fantasy).
• My Table Tennis Books collection.
• History of U.S. Table Tennis by Tim Boggan (15 volumes).
• Book reviews I've done:
  • Ping-Ping Diplomacy by Nicholas Griffin
  • Adventures of the Ping-Pong Diplomats by Fred Danner
  • Get Your Game Face On Like the Pros! By Dora Kurimay and Kathy Toon
  • Breaking 2000 by Alex Polyakov
  • Ping Pong Fever: The Madness That Swept 1902 America by Steve Grant
  • Hank Zipzer: My Secret Life as a Ping-Pong Wizard by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver
  • Ping Pong for Fighters by Tahl Leibovitz

How the Game Has Changed/Not Changed

Just a few things to muse over. Any big ones I've missed since about 2000?

=>The Game Has Changed

• Games to 11, no hidden serves, and a bigger, non-celluloid ball.
• Almost no more pips-out penholders or even conventional penhold backhands (except aging players). Just about everyone is two-winged inverted and (at higher levels) topspinning everything. 
• I'm coaching 7-year-olds who spin their backhands off the bounce with tensor-type sponges.
• Full-time clubs popping up all over the country.
• More and more kids getting better and better at younger and younger ages.
• USATT Magazine replaced by USATT Insider.

=>The Game Hasn't Changed (in the U.S.)

• USATT membership is still a "round-off error" of around 8000.
• Most clubs are still "winner stay on."
• No serious system of regional team leagues.
• Top players unable to really make a living in the U.S. unless they also coach.
• It's still a small white or orange ball that you hit back and forth on a green or blue 9'x5', 30" tall table with a six-inch net.

ITTF Coaching Courses in the U.S.

Here's a listing.

• Flushing, NY - ITTF Level 1 Course - April 6-10, 2015
• Austin, TX – ITTF Level 2 Course – June 21-26, 2015
• Akron, OH – ITTF Level 2 Course – September 14-19, 2015

Excuse Monsters: Learn About Taking the Blame

Here's the new coaching article by Samson Dubina.

Basic Exercises in Table Tennis Training

Here's the video (40:45) from Tibhar.

Ask the Coach

Episode #80 - Choosing your serves

• Yesterday’s #PQOTD  - 0:53: What are the critical factors for running a successful club?
• #PQOTD  - 9:11: Who is hungriest for the World Championships 2015?
• Brock vs Tall Guy - 9:32: Brock: I played with the tall guy earlier today and he won 2-0 in matches, match 1: 21- 15 and Match 2: 21-17 so I'm really close now and I think I might beat him next week :) just so you know ;)
• Stopping the attack - 10:05: Daniel Lim: I recently played a player who had a very strong and accurate third ball attack and lost badly. Are there any general tips you could give to discourage or even prevent a third ball attack from an opponent?
• Cutting rubber - 13:02: Daniel Coto: I am able to glue the rubber correctly to the blade, but I am having nightmares getting a clean cut. I've seen people cut the sponge with the first motion and then the sheet with the second pass. I don't know what knife I should use.
• Serve choices - 15:33: Geoff: I have settled on the backhand serve for my "bread and butter" serve as it is successful. If my other serve is the tomahawk serve, the sidespin element on all my services would be in the same direction.  Do you feel like this a drawback?
• Contact point on your bat - 18:03: Phil: For maximum topspin should you contact the ball with the top half or bottom half of the paddle?
• Fake Rubbers - 19:30: Christopher: What is your experience with fake blades/rubbers?

• Returning with Backhand - 20:24: Sasha: I have got a tournament on Sunday and I am concerned about an opponent's serve. He does a sidespin backspin serve to my forehand, I can't topspin. Should I play the backhand from the forehand corner.
• Stronger Wrist - 22:24: Brock: If I would train my wrist and forearm in a gym, would I get more spin then?

Canadian and US Collegiate Teams Meet

Here's the USATT article.

USA Team Leader and Coaches Selection Procedures for Pan Am Games

Here's the info, and how you can be a part of it!

ITTF Legends Tour

Here's a new highlights video (44 sec).

Amazing Rally at 2014 Chile Open Final

Here's the video (44 sec).

Ma Lin, "The Dragon"

Here's a stylish picture of him - he turned 35 yesterday.

Beach Dreams

As we freeze inside (if you are in certain parts of the U.S.), this paddle has the right idea. This morning it's 4°F outside, and it dropped to -1°F last night, breaking the all-time record for lowest temperature on this date in Maryland, which had been 7°F in 1959. I hear Boston's had a few weather problems as well.

Pro Kills It at Table Tennis With a Samsung Phone for a Paddle

Here's the video (3:16) of Matt Hetherington taking on challenges!

Ping Pong Trick Shots 2

Here's the new video (5:56) from Dude Perfect, as well as Trick Shots 2 Bonus Video (1:47). In case you missed it, here's Trick Shots 1 (6:04), as well as Behind the Scenes Ping Pong Trick Shots (2:56).

World's Best Blocker

Here's the video (21 sec) where we meet Maggie in Balls of Fury.

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Ping-Ping Diplomacy by Nicholas Griffin - Review

This book should be of great interest to table tennis buffs, history buffs, and Chinese buffs - lots of great stuff! It's subtitled "Ivor Montagu and the Astonishing Story Behind the Game That Changed the World." It's 275 pages, plus another 61 pages - so 336 total - of various end notes, acknowledgements, index, etc. It has 51 chapters, divided into four parts. There's also a very nice photo section in the middle.

Part 1 is titled "The West." Here we learn about Ivor Montagu, the founder of the ITTF, the person most responsible for table tennis becoming an international sport due to his tireless efforts - when he wasn't spying for the Soviets. Yep, our sport was pretty much founded by a communist spy! But we learn how he was instrumental in helping spread the sport to China as well as a little bit of Soviet history, where we even meet Trotsky.

Part 2 is titled "The East." To me, this was the most fascinating part. We learn not only about the rise of table tennis in China and Japan (much of it due to Ichiro Ogimura), but also much of the history of China as the Chairman Mao and the communists took over, and the rather horrible events that took place during the Cultural Revolution. Due to the elite nature of players on the Chinese national team, they were persecuted during this time, with many of them falsely accused of crimes, humiliated, and even tortured, with three members committing suicide. The inside story of much of the Cultural Revolution and how it affected table tennis (and others) is vivid. I was especially hit hard by the story of Rong Guotuan, China's first table tennis World Champion, who won Men's Singles in 1959, coached the Chinese Women's Team to their first world championship in 1965 - and after false accusations of spying, humiliation, and torture, hung himself in 1968 at the age of 30. You also learn about the ups and downs of other Chinese players, such as three-time world champion Zhuang Zedong (1961, 63, 65), who bounced back and forth from political favor to humiliation, from diplomat and champion to street cleaner and back.

Part 3 is titled "East Meets West." This is basically the lead up and actual events that took place during the 1971-72's Ping-Pong Diplomacy, where the USA team went to China, and then the Chinese team visited the U.S. Much of this I already knew about from Tim Boggan's History of U.S. Table Tennis, Volume V (which covers the Ping-Pong Diplomacy Years), but there were a lot of new details.  The story jumps back and forth between the backgrounds and meet-up of the two main table tennis protagonists here, Zhuang Zedong and the hippy Glenn Cowan, as well as the rest of the contingent, including idealist and possible communist sympathizer John Tannehill, George Brathwaite, Errol & Jairie Resek, Dick Miles, Judy Bochenski Hoarfrost, Connie Sweeris, Olga Soltesz, Rufford Harrison, Jack Howard, George & Madeleine Bubin, Tim Boggan, Ping Neuberger, and USTTA president Glenn Steenhoven. There's also lots of coverage of the major political protagonists, in particular ping-pong lovers Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai, Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and many others.

Part 4 is titled "Aftermath." This covers the events that took place afterwards. Probably most interesting here is the tragic aftermath of Cowan as he sinks lower and lower as he attempts to cash in on his fame, and finally dies in 2004 at age 51, homeless and nearly forgotten. In contrast, Zhuang Zedong, upon hearing of Cowan's death and how he had been forgotten, says, "When I die, everyone in China will know." (And when he dies in 2013 at age 71, he is right.) We also learn of the many implications of Ping-Pong Diplomacy, both for table tennis and the world in general.

The book is available at Amazon in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle. Here's are reviews of the book by The Washington Post and The New York Times. (Tomorrow I review Ping Pong for Fighters by Tahl Leibovitz.)

Happy Chinese New Year!

(But you still have to play ping-pong tonight.)

Five Worst Temper Tantrums I've Ever Seen in Table Tennis

NONE of these incidents happened at the Maryland Table Tennis Center!

1. After blowing a 20-18 match point lead, a junior player (age 14) went into the bathroom, and did the following: pulled the toilet, toilet walls, sink, hand dryer, and overhead light all off the wall & ceiling. We heard the crashes, but he'd locked the door. Before we could get the door open, water was pouring under the door - the place was flooded from pipes pulled out of the wall. The junior's parents had to spend thousands of dollars in repairs.
2. Same junior as above, a few months before: Up 20-12 match point in the third (best of three) on a player rated about 500 points lower in a league match, he lost three in a row (20-15). In disgust, he slammed his paddle down, breaking the handle. He continued playing with the racket, holding it by the blade, and lost the next three points (20-18). He then borrowed a paddle from someone else, and lost four points in a row and the match. He then took the borrowed paddle - which the other player needed for his league match - and broke it over his knee, and stormed out of the room. 
3. After blowing a 20-15 match point lead in the final of Under 18 at a tournament, a top junior tore his towel to shreds. He then tore his shirt off and ripped it to shreds. Then, in just his playing shorts and shoes, he stormed outside (temperature: 3 degree F and breezy). When he didn't return after 15 minutes or so, I went outside, and found him shivering on a corner two blocks away.
4. After losing a practice match, a player grabbed a notebook, and systematically pulled the sheets of paper out, one by one, and chewed and ate them, the whole time glaring at everyone. After eating at least ten pages, he then began chewing on his racket handle, and managed to take a chunk out, which he chewed and swallowed. 
5. After losing a practice match, a player started smacking his head on the table. There were two others of us there, so we stepped out for a few minutes. When we came back, the player was gone, but every barrier (about 40) had been kicked over. 

Reverse Pendulum Serve

Here's the new coaching video (4:21) by Coach Brett Clarke.  

Why is My Training Level Better Than Match Level

Here's the coaching article by Matt Hetherington.

Ask the Coach

Episode #79 (17:35) - Can Ovtcharov win in Qatar

• Yesterday's #PQOTD  - 1:02: Without the Chinese players at the Qatar Open, can Ovtcharov win?
• #PQOTD  - 1:50: What are the critical factors for running a successful club?
• Question 1 - 3:08: Andre: I’ve been think about this for a while now, why don't people hide their strokes, like their serves back in the day? I know it would be hard to master but adding side spin slightly to a topspin ball can really make the difference.
• Question 2 - 6:10: Martinand: When we play slowly it's easy to know if I play with forehand or backand but when the play is quicker it's difficult to know where the ball arrive for the forehand we have to arm the arm before the ball arrives. Any suggestions?
• Question 3 - 9:46: DK: Do you have any idea how to practise footwork and connect it with the stroke?
• Question 4 - 13:17: Jake: In other sports, I've benefited from cross training (such as adding some swimming while training for track and field). Are there non-table tennis activities you recommend as part of a table tennis training program?
• Question 5 - 15:00: Brock: Do you know a great table tennis exercise that is very effective?
• Question 6 - 16:25: Brock: How is it going with your cube Alois?

Qualification is First Hurdle for Kanak Jha and Joe Seyfried

Here's the ITTF article on the USA and French junior stars.

Ping-Pong a Hit Among Many Celebrities

Here's the USATT article.

Plastic Balls - Your Questions Answered

Here's the question and answers by Table Tennis England.

Diane Jiang Seeks Redemption at National Team Trials

Here's the article by Barbara Wei.

ITTF Racket Control

Here's the video (10:35). It'll either fascinate you or bore you to death.

Waldner and Appelgren Exhibition

Here are pictures.

Around the Net Receive by 12-year-old

Here's the video (29 sec, including slow motion replay) - I've never seen one like this before!

Adam Bobrow Coaching Jorgen Persson

Here's the video (40 sec) as the two discuss higher tactics between games.

Sean O'Neill vs. Pat O'Neill, Mini-table, 1973

Here's the picture!

Chariots of Fail

Here's the video (2:50) - "Everything looks better in slow motion, especially kids playing ping pong and failing big time."

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Team League Sign-Up Time

Here's a call-out to players in the Capital Area, New York, and Los Angeles areas - time to join a team!!! Below are the team leagues in these regions. Deadlines are coming up fast, so enter now! (Deadline for the Capital Area Super League is this Friday.)

As I noted in my Feb. 2 blog, leagues such as these are the first step toward changing the culture of table tennis in the United States. As I wrote then: "…developing these team leagues won't be easy, and that's because of the culture of table tennis here, where few have ever played regularly on a table tennis team. They don't know what it's like to compete regularly on a team where your teammates and friends are cheering you on, even as you cheer them on - you know, like most of you were cheering on a football team at the Super Bowl last night! Except - you get to be Tom Brady or Russell Wilson."

It's going to be a long process, but eventually, if we can have the type of "team" culture they have overseas, we can have the same table tennis success as they do. Helping set up the Capital Area League and watching how it and others develop is a learning process as we learn how to create this type of team culture. Currently we have to almost connive players into entering, since it's something new and unfamiliar to them - unlike overseas, where this is the norm and why players come out to play. Gradually this will change.

And yet there are many who only look at the way things are now and can't imagine it can possibly change, just like many no doubt did, say, in Germany, back when they too were a backwards table tennis country without 600,000 members and 11,000 clubs. They didn't magically start that way, nor did they start team leagues because they had so many players; it was the team leagues that led to all those players, as it did all over Europe. This is also how most sports in the U.S. become popular, such as tennis (700,000 members, including me a few years ago when I played on a team), bowling (over two million members), and the many youth team leagues.

To paraphrase Robert F. Kennedy, we have to stop looking at the way things are, and dream of the way they should be, and ask "Why not?" (This is also a good way to look at your table tennis game - stop looking at where it is now, and instead dream of where it should be, and ask yourself, "Why not?")

• Capital Area Super League (For players in the Maryland, Virginia, and DC area)
  Home Page and Info Flyer.
  Deadline: February 20 - this Friday!
  The league is for all levels, with numerous players already signed up from 1200 to 2000, and all the way up to 2500. Here is a listing of the 54 players on eleven teams currently signed up.
• New York League
  Promotional Video and Blog.
  Deadline: March 8.
  From League Director Maurico Vergara: The Club league will start in March, we will play in the biggest clubs in the region, so far Lily Yip TTC and NYISC are confirmed as center of matches, still waiting for NJTTC in Westfield, and other. Teams need to submit roster of players and fee before March 8th. The matches will be played in many division, and we will play only once a month from March to November. All players are welcome to most multicultural league in the most multicultural city in the world.
• Los Angeles League
  Info page.
  Deadline: March 1.

New Coaching Articles from Samson Dubina

• Shut Up and Just Play: Learn about playing tournament matches without officials
• Beating China: The Future of the US Team

Multiball Training

Here's the video (56 sec), demonstrated by Felix Gao and Coach Maggie Tian at the Zhou Xin TT Academy.

How to Feed Multiball to Multiple Players

Here's video (31 sec) one of many ways.

Ask the Coach

Episode #78 (19:15) - Coaching Players during Matches

• Yesterday's #PQOTD  - 1:03: What are the critical factors that make the Chinese better?
• #PQOTD  - 3:56: Without the Chinese players at the Qatar Open, can Ovtcharov win?
• Question 1 - 5:10: Abdul: What did you parents say about playing Table Tennis?
• Question 2 - 5:53: Brock: How was your feeling after your first loss in a tournament? Did you became more nervous for other matches or did it get better?
• Question 3 - 8:30: Anthony: When receiving serve, my opponent says that I can not move to step around or anything until the ball has left the racket. Is this true? Thanks.
• Question 4 - 10:19: Malke: It was 10:9 for my opponent and he served the ball. He pretended to serve backspin service so I tried to push it back. The problem was the ball was so wet that it immediately fell down. Can I make the ball wet to manipulate the surface?
• Question 5 - 13:02: Marcus: It was my turn to take the U13 team to their match. The doubles was 2:0 start but the boys just did not realise how the opponents corrected their game and adjusted. They lost the following 3 sets. I did not take any timeouts. Should I have?
• Question 6 - 15:26: Andre: When playing forehand topspin, do you have the same angle for the bat when you focus on both spin and power? or when playing power close the bat and go more horizontal with my arm and forehand and spin more open and have a vertical stroke?
• Question 7 - 18:06: Brock: This question is to Alois: Do you think your 1990's hairstyle can comeback again? ; )

USATT Insider

The new issue came out this morning (issue #3), as it does every Wednesday morning. Here are the archives.

Expert in a Year

Here's the video from January (5 min) - it's going viral with 576,182 views as of right now!

Bill Hodge Memoriam

Here's the USATT Obituary. (No relation to me.) He co-founded the USA Nationals.

Exhibition Match in Augusta

Here's the article about the exhibition by Derek & Pete May and Peng Xin.

Around the Net Rolling Shot

Here's the 7-sec video.

Justin Bieber Dominates at Table Tennis

Here's the article on the lefty - yes, he actually has at least one positive attribute!

Sorcerer Pong

Here's the artwork by Mike Mezyan.

Fire Alarm in Kuwait = Lobby Table Tennis

Here's the video (24 sec) of Adam Bobrow's impromptu pong play on a lobby desk. (Why do I post so many Adam Bobrow videos? You'd be in here too if you were posting videos of hotel lobby desk table tennis is Kuwait!)

Ping-Pong Egg

Here's a funny video (1:36) that's mostly non-table tennis, featuring various special effects, such as a kid dressed as Spider-Man turning into a Spider-Man poster. At 48 seconds in, two kids are playing table tennis and the ball changes into an egg and goes splat.

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Tip of the Week

Playing Off-Table Two-Winged Topspinners.

Snow!

We had about five inches last night, so schools are closed here in Montgomery Country, Maryland (and pretty much everywhere else in the region). No afterschool program or coaching today, so I'll either catch up on work, reading, or sleep. Lots of coaching articles and feature videos today!

Adult Beginning/Intermediate Class

On Sunday night my new Adult Beginning/Intermediate Class began. We have 16 signed up, though four had to miss the first session due to a combination of Presidents Day/Chinese New Year/Bad Weather. The class will meet at MDTTC for ten weeks, Sundays from 6:30-8:00 PM. (You can still sign up.) On the first day we covered the grip, ready stance ("Like covering someone in basketball, a soccer goalie, or a shortstop in baseball or softball"), forehand drive, and spin serves. (I brought out the soccer-colored balls for that.) Afterwards I let everyone stay for about half an hour, and hit with the players. Assisting in the camp are Raghu Nadmichettu and Josh Tran. This is about the 20^th time I've taught this class.

The class is for adults (though we allow players as young as 13), from complete beginners up to about 1500. This is one of the best ways to bring in new members for your clubs. Think about it - your average first-time player comes in, is told to call winners on a table, he gets killed, and unless he's insane in some way, we never see him again. So we lose most potential players, and the ones we get are the insane ones. This explains a lot, doesn't it? But when I say "insane," I'm talking about people who are already so crazy about table tennis that getting killed the first time they play a real club doesn't turn them off. The first time I showed up at a club was back in 1976 when I was 16 - and I lost to Herb Horton (rated just over 2000), 21-1, 21-0, 21-2. (He was getting tired in that third game.)

Such classes introduce new players to the game, teaches them the basics so their ready for real club play, and creates their own peer group, i.e. the other members of the class. If you're a coach or experienced player, why not set up such a class at your club? Here's a rough draft of the topics covered each week in my class, though I vary it depending on the players.

• Week 1: Intro; Grip; Stance; Forehand drive; Spin serves
• Week 2: Backhand drive; Down the Line practice; Deception on serves
• Week 3: Forehand and Backhand practice; Footwork; Pushing
• Week 4: FH, BH, and Pushing practice; Footwork drills; Forehand Loop vs Backspin
• Week 5: FH and BH practice; Backhand Loop and Drive, and Blocking
• Week 6: Smash; Smash & Block drills; Loop and Smash combo; Receive
• Week 7: Footwork drills; Loop against Block; Serve practice (serving low, fast serves)
• Week 8: Blocking; Serve & Attack Drills; Random drills; Equipment
• Week 9: Drills (countering, footwork, smash); Serve practice; Tactics Against Different Styles; Doubles
• Week 10: Drills; USATT, MDTTC, tournaments, leagues, books; Smashing lobs; Player's choice

Smash Table Tennis Demonstration, Exhibition, and Clinic

On Friday afternoon I joined Mike Levene at Smash Table Tennis in Sterling, Virginia, for a two-hour visit from 29 local fifth graders. We did a demo, an exhibition, a clinic, and then (after a pizza break), played games. Here's a 34-sec video of during clinic (ball bouncing), and here are pictures. And here's a video (2:26) where I take on Josiah and demonstrate the various spins and now to react to them - and he gets to make me look silly.

Waiting for USATT Committee Appointee Approvals

One of the hardest things in dealing with USATT issues is the constant waiting. Right now I'm working out various plans, but I can't move on many of them until we appoint and approve the new committee chairs and members. Most of that will likely take place over the next one to two months, and then I can work directly with these committees on the various issues they oversee. While I will be working relatively independently on some issues, I do need to consult with the specific committees assigned to the topics. For example, before I do anything regarding a USATT Coaching Academy I need to go over the plans and work with the USATT Coaching Committee. There's also the problem of burning out some people if I keep bringing up new issues. Apparently the human mind can only handle a certain number of issues at a time before it explodes!!!

Sometimes to Win the War You've Got to Lose a Battle

Here's the new coaching article from Expert Table Tennis. (It includes a few nice quotes from and about my book Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers.)

How to Approach the Service Game

Here's the new coaching article by Han Xiao. It includes a link to a match between Dmitrij Ovtcharov and Marcos Freitas with an analysis of the service tactics.

Golf Table Tennis Tutorial - Like a Boss!

Here's the new video (64 sec) from Brett Clarke, one of the most entertaining (and informative) coaches around. "This golf club trick is a training lesson to teach you how to perfect your forehand topspin for table tennis. Learn you how to use your waist, wrist and forearm correctly so you can get the best combination of spin and power."

Ask the Coach (Werner Schlager Academy Version)

What's the difference between Europe and China? (1:45; in German with English subtitles).

Ask the Coach (PingSkills Version)

Here are two more episodes - and note that the title for each episode is only one of a number of topics covered in that episode.

• Episode #76 (19:11) - Tips for Practicing Serves
• Episode #77 (25:48) - Overcoming Nerves

Nathan Hsu Interview

Here's the interview from the recent North American Grand Tour Final.

Ask a Pro Anything: Ma Long

Here's the video (2:01) by Adam Bobrow, with three questions for the Chinese superstar, who speaks pretty good English. I loved the first response the question of whether he was human: "No, I am not human. I am a robot."

2015 U.S. World and Pan Am Trials Promo Video

Here's the video (1:24) by Jimmy Butler.

2014 U.S. Nationals Highlights Video

Here's Part 2 (9:53), by Jimmy Butler. Here's Part 1 (11:30), which I linked to last week.

The Table Tennis Collector

Here's issue #75 (Feb 2015). Here are their archives, all 75 issues.

$3 Million ITTF Pro Tour Continues in Qatar

Here's the ITTF Press Release.

DHS Top 10 Best Rallies - 2015 World Team Cup

Here's the new video (4:16).

Tennis Star Ana Ivanovic Plays Table Tennis

Here's the video (21 sec) of the Serbian star, who's currently #6 in the word, and was #1 in 2008.

Twirling No-Look Forehand Smash

Here's the video (5 sec).

Hardcore Table Tennis from NoobTownMonkeys

Here's the hilarious new video (69 sec) with lots of wild special effects!

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What, did you think I was going to blog while everyone else is taking the day off? Heck no!!! It's President's Day, and I'm an amateur presidential historian. (During long car trips to tournaments I drive people crazy by reciting all the presidents in order, including their terms of office and other trivia. It's how I punish bad-behaving juniors.) So in honor of our presidents - especially the ones who play table tennis (Obama, Bush Jr., Clinton, Bush Sr., Reagan, Nixon), I'm off today. I'll have lots to write about tomorrow, and plenty of time to do it since I'll likely be snowed in here in Maryland (5-8 inches expected). 

Where Do Top Players Come From?

Nearly all top players start out as juniors training at training centers with top coaches. And so if we want more top players, what do we need? More training centers with top coaches. Sometimes I'm amazed at how many people don't see this as obvious.

Back in the pre-TCPUAOTC days (that's Training Centers Popping Up All Over The Country), i.e. before roughly 2007, there were only 8-10 such training centers in the country, and no more than a few dozen kids at most in the whole country doing serious training, while countries all over the world had many thousands. So we obviously needed more junior programs. That meant more training centers. Others argued that all we had to do was take some of the few current kids, and train them well, and they’d catch up to other kids who were years ahead of them – despite the fact that there were many thousands of these kids who were years ahead of them and getting training we could rarely match.

But now we are in the TCPUAOTC days (with nearly 80 full-time clubs), and guess what? More training centers => more junior training => the current explosion of talent. It used to be we’d have perhaps one or two good players in each age group, if we were lucky. Now we have players in the 11-14 age range that are downright scary, and great depth to back them up. We have kids who don't make the quarterfinals of their age group who would have dominated their age group eight years ago. Many of the top cadets of the past wouldn't make it past the early rounds in today's weighty draws.

But 80 full-time training centers barely scratches the surface. I once estimated that the country could support over 500, and that's probably a conservative figure - we probably could have twice that many. (You don't need active players to open and run a full-time training center. As I've blogged numerous times, the whole idea of a full-time training center is you develop your own membership by turning non-players into players via promotion, coaching programs, and leagues for all levels. Any relatively populated area can support one or more.)

Here are some stats, comparing 2006 (end of the year) to 2015, about eight years later. There are non-citizens mixed in these results, just as in 2006, but the bulk are USA citizens. The only one in 2015 that is really affected here is Under 16 Boys. If you went with citizens only, then the top 15 in 2015 ranges from 2562 to 2370, and the #1 from 2006 would be #12. (I did a similar comparison back on Jan. 4, 2012, but here are updated numbers.)

Under 16 Boys:

• In 2006 the top 15 ranged from 2418 to 2087.
• In 2015 the top 15 ranged from 2661 to 2433.
• The 2418 that was #1 in 2006 would be #17 in 2015.
• The 2087 that was #15 in 2006 would be #75 in 2015.

Under 14 Boys:

• In 2006 the top 15 ranged from 2323 to 1870.
• In 2015 it ranged from 2562 to 2187.
• The 2323 that was #1 in 2006 would be #9 in 2015.
• The 1870 that was #15 in 2006 would be #65 in 2015.

Under 12 Boys:

• In 2006 the top 15 ranged from 2044 to 1440.
• In 2015 the top 15 ranged from 2198 to 1859.
• The 2044 that was #1 in 2006 would be #5 in 2015.
• The 1440 that was #15 in 2006 would be #41 in 2015.

Under 16 Girls:

• In 2006 the top 15 ranged from 2113 to 1620.
• In 2015 the top 15 ranged from 2440 to 2025.
• The 2113 that was #1 in 2006 would be #9 in 2015.
• The 1620 that was #15 in 2006 would be #60 in 2015.

Under 14 Girls:

• In 2006 the top 15 ranged from 2029 to 1432.
• In 2015 the top 15 ranged from 2440 to 1891.
• The 2029 that was #1 in 2006 would be #6 in 2015.
• The 1432 that was #15 in 2006 would be #46 in 2015.

Under 12 Girls:

• In 2006 the top 15 ranged from 2029 to 553.
• In 2015 the top 15 ranged from 2181 to 1637.
• The 2029 that was #1 in 2006 would be #3 in 2015.
• The 553 that was #15 in 2006 would be #71 in 2015.

Here's another eye-opening stat. In 2006 there were 183 juniors (under 18) rated over 1500. Now there are 639.

If the goal is to win Olympic medals - and that is the goal of many - then instead of thinking short-term and failing (like we have since table tennis became an Olympic sport in 1988, and before as well), we should be thinking a little more long-term - like 5-8 years from now. Because that's when this crop of superkids, mostly in the 11-14 age group, will be approaching their peaks. The only problem then, of course, is that many of them will stop playing seriously to go to college when they're around 18. (Did I just say going to college is a problem? Yikes!) I blogged about this on May 16, 2014. 

With this group of superkids, I'd already be predicting medals for Team USA if not for the eight-hundred pound gorilla in the room - yeah, the Chinese team. But if we play our cards right - and perhaps pull an inside straight - that eight-hundred pound gorilla might start sweating someday when they face one of these USA Superkids when they are no longer kids. At various times in the past Sweden and Hungary, with populations under ten million, have overtaken the Chinese. Why not a country of 320 million?

Demonstration and Exhibition

This morning I'm off for the Smash Table Tennis Center in Sterling, Virginia (about 50 minutes away), where from 11AM to 1PM I'll be doing demos, exhibitions, and running a mini-table tennis camp with Smash Coach Michael Levene for 30 local school kids. I'll report on it on Monday.

Happy Friday the Thirteenth and Valentine's Day!

The two go together, don't you think? In honor of Friday the Thirteenth, here's a ping-pong ball with a black cat on it. And while we're at it, here are some table tennis superstitions. But let's not forget Valentine's Day! (Yep, this is what you get when you Google "Table Tennis Valentines Pictures.")

Look. Listen. Feel. Learn to Somewhat Predict the Future

Here's the new coaching article by Samson Dubina.

Royal Navy Table Tennis Coaching Manual

Here it is - 37 pages.

Percentage of Shakehanders vs. Penholders in ITTF World Tour

Here's the chart, with the info from the ITTF - apparently 95% of the men and 97% of the women were shakehanders, so only 5% and 3% were penholders. Wow.

Arnold Sports Festival

Here's the article by Barbara Wei about this 4-star tournament in Columbus, OH, March 6-8.

Fan Zhendong's Forehand Loop in Slow Motion

Here's the video (4:34) - if you don't spend some time studying this, then you must be a hardbat player. Oh, and hardbat players should study the footwork - as should the rest of us. Note how he starts with a short step with his left foot to move left, then after the stroke pushes off the left foot to get back into position. Most importance, note how he's always balanced.

Fan Zhendong - Ready or Not

Here's a tribute video (2:34) to Fan Zhendong, the Chinese 18-year-old ranked #3 in the world.

Training Compilation at Werner Schlager Academy

Here's the video (2:47).

University of NC at Chapel Hill - 2014-15 Highlights

Here's the music video (2:21).

ITTF President Thomas Weikert Resigns as President of German TTA

Here's the ITTF story. He'd hoped to continue as both ITTF and German TTA president, but decided he needed to focus on just one.

Butterfly News

Here's the Butterfly North America News Page.

International Table Tennis

Here's my periodic note (usually every Friday) that you can great international coverage at TableTennista (which especially covers the elite players well) and at the ITTF home page (which does great regional coverage).

Lizard Pong

Here's the gif image - or are these dinosaurs?

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Chinese Domination

There's no question the Chinese dominate table tennis. It isn't even close. At the World Championships they've won Men's Teams seven straight times and nine of the last ten. In fact, other than that blip when Sweden won it three straight times from 1989-1993, and the two times they missed due to the Cultural Revolution (1967 & 1969), they've won it 19 out of 22 times. On the women's side they are even more dominant, winning 18 of the last 20 times. They've also won Men's Singles four straight times and six of the last seven times, and Women's Singles ten straight times and 18 of the last 19.

In the World Rankings, China has the top four men and top three women in the world, and dominate below that level as well. Only a few countries have an outside chance of occasionally defeating the Chinese in team competition - probably only the German and Japanese men, and the Singapore and Japanese women.

I wrote an article about Chinese domination in Sports Illustrated in June, 1999, and since then the domination has only gotten greater. This leads to a lack of suspense in many major tournaments. As long-time Chinese star Ma Lin said in an article I linked to yesterday, "Before every World Cup (football), no one can confidently say which team will win the championship title because they are just popular. But that is not the case in table tennis because there is no suspense." He also wrote, "The decrease of the competency level of other countries in the world has resulted to the lack of eye-catching competitions and confrontation."​

The key part here is where he refers to the "The decrease of the competency level of other countries in the world." While I'm not so sure it's a decrease on their part so much as an increase in the Chinese level and depth, the root of the problem is that these other countries have fallen farther behind the Chinese. There was a time, at least on the men's side, that there almost always was at least one other country battling with them. At various times it was the Japanese, the Swedes, or the Hungarians. In recent times Germany has become slightly competitive with Dimitrij Ovtcharov (world #6) and Timo Boll (world #9), but unfortunately for them Ovtcharov came along only after Boll (former #1) was past his peak. On the women's side, the Koreans have occasionally competed with them, and Singapore pulled off a huge upset to win Women's Teams in 2010, but it's mostly been non-stop Chinese domination on the women's side.

It is in China's interest that they remain the dominant power, but not so dominant that it becomes repetitive and boring. So how can the rest of the world become more competitive, and what should China do?

Actually, I would argue China is already doing its part. All over the world former Chinese stars are now coaching and acting as practice partners. By letting these players move to other countries and teach and practice with up-and-coming players, China's doing about all it can to level the playing field, short of requiring its players to dump matches or handicap itself. (Maybe they should use hardbat?) To be the best, you have to compete with the best. Which is what USA players did all year in the North American Tour, and in the NA Tour Final this past weekend. As expected, it was dominated by Chinese players, with 11 of the 16 finalists Chinese immigrants (non-citizens), with five USA citizens battling with them and gaining experience. In fact, at the club yesterday one of our players who competed there was working on a new serve he'd seen one of the Chinese players use, something he probably wouldn't otherwise have been developing. U.S. players can learn by how these players dominate with serve, receive, looping and other strokes, and footwork. It forces competitors to aim higher. So I'd like to see even more top Chinese players and coaches in the U.S., all working to develop the next generation of USA players. 

We do need a balance, where we have events for USA citizens (so they can win prize money and be full-time players), but the ultimate goal is for them to learn to compete and beat these Chinese players - who, as good as they are, are considerably weaker than the actual members of the Chinese National Team, the ones we'd like to someday battle with.

And how can players reach the level where they can beat these Chinese players? By competing with them in tournaments, and by training and receiving coaching from then in training centers. Full-time training centers are popping up all over the U.S., and the bulk of them have Chinese coaches training U.S. players. (There are many highly successful coaches who are not Chinese, but the Chinese make up the bulk of them.) Even at my club I'm just one of eight full-time coaches - and the other seven are all Chinese immigrants, two of them former members of the Chinese National Team. And guess what? As successful as the Chinese are in playing table tennis, they are just as successful at coaching it, and that's why I see a promising future for table tennis in the U.S.

USATT Insider

Here's the new USATT Insider and the second one ever. It comes out every Wednesday morning. If you are a USATT member you should have received it via email yesterday; if not, email USATT to make sure they have your email address.

Eight Simple Steps to Hit Peak Form for Major Events

Here's a great new coaching article from Matt Hetherington.

Neuropsychologist Serves Up Pongpong to Promote Brain Fitness in Virginia Beach

Here's the article.

Ask the Coach

Episode #75 (20:21) - Portugal's Future

• Yesterdays #PQOTD  - 1:02: Where will Portugal be ranked at the end of 2015?
• #PQOTD  - 4:10: Have you played in a tournament?  If so what were your experiences at your first tournament?
• Question 1 - 4:45: How do you do the spiniest serve so people cant return the ball on the table? Abdul
• Question 2 - 6:14: How can I block a low heavy backspin, would a backhand push be good or have you any other ideas? Brock
• Question 3 - 7:02: Which table tennis brand do you think is the best?
• Question 4 - 8:10: How do you practice to not miss shots in sessions an how to lower your fear when playing in tournaments and how to play backhands like the pros? Abdul
• Question 5 - 10:34: Tam: Hi Alois, I'm left handed and I'm having trouble with hitting wide shots is there a way I could improve this?
• Question 6 - 12:26: Ilia: I use the pendulum and the reverse pendulum services in my play. I'm also a very forehand oriented player. My rivals often return my services with backspin to my backhand to force me to pivot. How can I "enforce" the service return to my forehand? 
• Question 7 - 14:19: Abdullah: Is there a certain technique to multiball? My brother and I have tried it, but it ends up making a very awkward arc could you help us?
• Question 8 - 16:01: Dakota: I have been thinking of looking for more control in my game. Should I simply drop my thickness from MAX down to maybe 1.8 and keep using Vega Pro or try a different slower rubber that has better control, but use MAX to retain spin? 
• Question 9 - 17:43: How can i improve my table tennis reflexes?

North American Tour Grand Finals

Here's video highlights of Day One (64 sec) and the Final (31 sec) between Eugene Wang and Bob Chen.  

Asian Power at Werner Schlager Academy

Here's video (4:37) of Tamolwan Khetkuen (Thailand) and Shiho Ono (Japan) practicing together. Ono (green shirt) is a pips-out penholder, a rarity these days.

International Table Tennis Thailand

Here's a new inspirational music video (5:07).

The Next World Champion

Here's 17 seconds of him (age three?) shadow practicing his big forehand.

Adam Bobrow on Vietnam TV

Here's the video (12:36).

Is This You?

Is this how you see yourself when you play? It's how I see myself!!!

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Contenders for Greatest Of All Time (Men)

There have always been debates about who is the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT). Most end up with a ranking. But a ranking for GOAT is not the same thing as listing the actual contenders. There are players who are arguably among the best of all time, perhaps even top five, who don't really have a good argument for being the actual GOAT. And there are others who might have an argument for being the GOAT who might not make the top five or even top ten list for others.

Also note that "Greatest" is not the same as "Best." Every generation is usually better than the previous one (better techniques, training methods, and equipment), and any modern sponge champion would easily defeat the hardbat champions of the past, as well as the early sponge players. But "Greatest" is a relative term, and so we are looking at how they did relative to their peers. I do take into consideration how strong the competition was. For example, in the very early days of table tennis there simply were not many serious players, and so the level was not very high, and I don't see them as being as "Great" as a more modern player where there are many thousands of players training full-time all over the world. You have to find a balance here, though ultimately it's a judgment call.

So here is my listing for those who at least have a solid argument as being the GOAT. I'm not going to rank them; my goal is to list all those who are the real contenders, and let others then choose among them and perhaps rank them. For today I'm going to only cover the men; I'll likely do women later. For reference, here are listings for World Champions (singles and doubles), World Champions (teams), Olympic Champions, and World Cup Champions. Note that table tennis didn't get into the Olympics until 1988, and the first World Cup was in 1980, so players before those years didn't have those opportunities. On the other hand, the World Championships were held annually until 1957, but has been bi-annual since, so modern players have only half as many opportunities to win the Worlds.

HARDBAT ERA

From this period there are two possible contenders. Viktor Barna (Hungarian and then emigrated to England) won Men's Singles at the Worlds five times, including four in a row (1932-35, as well as 1930). He also was 8-time World Men's Doubles Champion (with three different partners), 2-time World Mixed Doubles Champion, and 7-time World Men's Team Champion. That's 22 titles at the Worlds, the most ever. He is an obvious choice.

Richard Bergmann of Austria (and later England) is the other possible contender from the hardbat era. At first glance, his credentials don't match up against Barna's. He won Men's Singles at the Worlds "only" four times (1937, 1939, 1948, 1950), and only three other titles - Men's Doubles only once (with Barna) and Men's Teams twice. However, his career was disrupted twice, first by World War II (no World Championships between 1939 and 1947, what were probably his peak years), and then in 1952 with the coming up sponge. He also is regarded as the best defensive player from the hardbat era. However, to be the GOAT you have to have the credentials, and while he might have been "cheated" out of some, he ended up with only seven titles at the Worlds to Barna's 22, and one less World Men's Singles Title.

Bohumil Vana of Czechoslovakia won Men's Singles twice, in 1938 and 1947, with World War II sandwiched in between. He won Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles three times each, and Men's Teams five times, a total of 13 titles. Like Bergmann, his best years were lost to World War II. But also like Bergmann, his credentials just don't match up to Barna's. Another possible contender is Johnny Leach of England, who won Men's Singles twice (1949 and 1951), Men's Teams once (1953), and no doubles titles. Good, but not comparable to Barna.  

So with great misgiving I remove Bergmann, Vana, and Leach from the list of possible contenders of GOAT, leaving Barna as clearly the GOATFTHBE - Greatest Of All Time From The Hard Bat Era.

EARLY SPONGE ERA

This would be from 1952 (when Hiroji Satoh of Japan introduces sponge) to the coming of the looping era, which roughly started with Hasegawa in 1967. Some would argue Satoh's impact on the game with his sponge racket makes him a contender, but he only won one title at the Worlds, Men's Singles in 1952. So he's not a GOAT contender. But there are three possible contenders.

Ichiro Ogimura of Japan won Men's Singles twice (1954 and 1956), and also won Men's and Mixed Doubles twice each, and Men's Teams six times. However, his biggest impact on the game was his development of stroking techniques and advanced training. He was the primary reason for Japan's rise to power in the 1950s, and indirectly to China's, whose coaches and players studied films of him, including instructional ones he created. He spent much of his later life teaching and popularizing the game, and is arguably the most influential player ever.

Ogimura's Teammate, Toshiaki Tanaka, also won the Worlds Twice (1955 and 1957), Men's Teams five times, but no doubles titles. He's an all-time great, but doesn't match up with Ogimura.

Zhuang Zedong of China was the dominant player in the early 1960s, winning Men's Singles three straight times (1961, 1963, 1965), Men's Teams four times, but only one doubles title, Men's Doubles in 1965. For many years he was considered by many the GOAT. However, many Chinese players from that era have since said that his opponent in all three Men's Singles Finals, Li Furong, was ordered to dump each time. This wasn't Zhuang's fault, but does somewhat tarnish these titles. Zhuang might have won more titles but the Chinese Cultural Revolution interrupted, and China did not take part in the 1967 and 1969 World Championships, and in the 1971 Worlds Zhuang defaulted rather than play against a Cambodian player in the early rounds who Zhuang said (likely under pressure from the Chinese government), that he refused to play against "…players who represent governments [that are] enemies of the Cambodian and the Vietnamese people," and then explaining that the squads representing those countries were "puppets of US imperialism." (From "Ping-Pong Diplomacy," by Nicholas Griffin, page 187).

So I'll put down Ogimura and Zhuang as the two contenders for the GOAT from the Early Sponge Era.

MIDDLE SPONGE ERA

I'll put this down as from 1967 to 1987, roughly the start of the looping era and ending when the European two-winged looping style (later adopted by China) would begin to completely dominate the game, as well as the sport's debut at the Olympics. Ironically, though looping was introduced here, many of the titles during this time were won by pips-out penholders - but their games were developed around defeating the looping game. From 1967 to 1979 there were seven Worlds, and seven different players won Men's Singles, and none would win a second.

Guo Yuehua of China won Men's Singles two times in a row (1981 and 1983), as well as making the finals the two previous Worlds, so he was in the final four times in a row (1977-1983). He also won Men's Doubles in 1983, and Men's Teams three times. He won the World Cup in 1980 and 1982. For many years when players argued who was the GOAT, he and Zhuang were the two modern (at the time) contenders. Like Zhuang, this is partly tarnished by the rumors of dumping. Ironically, many believe that Guo was ordered to dump to the Japanese in the Finals in 1977 and 1979 (since the Chinese in those days were focused on winning the Teams), while his opponent and teammate in the 1981 and 1983 finals (Cai Zhenhua) was ordered to dump to him. But there's no question Guo is a contender for GOAT.

Another possible is Jiang Jialiang of China, who won Men's Singles twice (1985 and 1987), and Men's Teams three times. He also won the World Cup in 1984. He's an all-time great, but doesn't quite match up to Guo.

So from the Middle Sponge Era there is one contender: Guo Yuehua.

MODERN SPONGE ERA

This is from 1988 to the present (2015). Jan-Ove Waldner of Sweden is the first obvious choice. He won Men's Singles twice (1989 and 1997, winning the latter without losing a game, the only person in history to do that), as well as making the Final two other times (1987 and 1991), and the semifinals two other times. He never won a doubles title at the Worlds, but he led Sweden to victory in Men's Teams four times, showing that the Europeans could compete with the Chinese, and forcing the Chinese mostly disregard their traditional close-to-table pips-out playing styles and conventional penhold game and copy the European two-winged inverted looping game. Waldner also won the World Cup in 1990. He won Men's Singles Gold at the Olympics in 1992 and the Silver in 2000. In most online discussions (in English), he is considered by most the GOAT, though that might be somewhat unfair as the discussions are dominated by non-Chinese, and the Chinese contenders often split their vote. Also, players from the past (such as Barna) are often forgotten in these discussions.

Two other players in the modern era won Men's Singles at the Worlds at least twice. Wang Liqin of China won three times (2001, 2005, 2007), won Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles twice each, and won Men's Teams four times (according to Wikipedia, though I believe he has been part of the team that has won it seven straight times since 2001). He didn't win singles at the Olympics, getting the Bronze in 2004 and 2008, though he won gold medals for Men's Doubles in 2000 and Men's Teams in 2008. He never won the World Cup, though he was in the final once and won the bronze four times. His performance at the Worlds makes him a contender for the GOAT, but his performance at the Olympics and World Cup weakens his record. His forehand loop was often called the shot that dominated a decade, and is considered by many the greatest forehand of all time. He dominated the world rankings for most of 2001-2007 with a #1 ranking 52 different months, the most since 2001 - and he was #1 at the start of 2001, so likely had more months as #1.

The other possible modern contender is Zhang Jike of China, who has won Men's Singles twice (2011 and 2013). He also won Men's Teams three times, but no doubles titles (though he was in the Mixed Doubles final once, and Men's Doubles semifinals twice). He won the Gold Medal for Men's Singles and Teams at the 2012 Olympics. He won the World Cup in 2011 and 2014, as well as making the final in 2010. However, while he's won a lot of titles in the few years he's competed, it's still too early for him to judge. Despite all these titles, he's only been ranked #1 in the world for seven months of his career, all back in 2012, because he doesn't do very well in events such as the ITTF World Tour. If he were to retire right now, he'd be an all-time great, but he doesn't quite match up with Waldner and Wang Liqin. But he's really, really close - one more big title and he's in. 

There are other players from the Modern Era who would ranked very high in all-time listings, in particular Jorgen Persson of Sweden (1991 Men's Singles Champion, 1989 Finalist, 4-time World Team Champion, 1991 World Cup Champion); Kong Linghui of China (1995 Men's Singles Champion, 3-time Men's Doubles Champion, 4-time Team Champion, 2000 Olympic Men's Singles Gold Medalist and Men's Doubles Silver Medalist, 1996 Olympic Men's Doubles Gold Medalist, 1995 World Cup Champion and 1997 and 2002 Finalist); and Liu Guoliang of China (1999 World Men's Singles Champion, 2-time Men's Doubles Champion, one-time Mixed Doubles Champion, 3-time World Team Champion, 1996 Olympic Men's Singles and Doubles Gold Medalist, 2000 Olympic Men's Singles Bronze Medalist and Men's Doubles Silver Medalist, and 1996 World Cup Champion). It's difficult to put them aside, but they are marginally behind Waldner and Wang Liqin. Leaving out Kong and Liu as contenders for GOAT were two of the toughest decisions here - but while both are arguably near the very top, I don't think either is arguably the GOAT.

So from the Modern Sponge Era there are two contenders: Jan-Ove Waldner and Wang Liqin. 

And so we are left with six contenders for the Greatest of All Time - not necessarily the six greatest of all time, but the six that, in my opinion, have an argument for being the Greatest Of All Time. Take your pick. 

• Viktor Barna
• Ichiro Ogimura
• Zhuang Zedong
• Guo Yuehua
• Jan-Ove Waldner
• Wang Liqin

North American Grand Final - Final

Here's the video (19:58, with time between points removed except when there's commentating, and some slow motion replay) between Eugene Wang and Bob Chen, with Jim Butler commentating. There's a lot to learn by watching this - study how Eugene controls the points, and the great attacking strokes of Bob Chen.

Ask the Coach

Episode #74 (22:35) - Importance of Backhands

• Yesterday's #PQOTD  - 1:28: Has the backhand become more important over the last 10 years?
• Question 1 - 3:38: How does Ma Long get so much power from his backhand? Abdul
• Question 2 - 4:44: How do you do the fastest legal serve? Abdul
• #PQOTD  - 6:28: Where will Portugal be ranked at the end of 2015? 1 CHINA 2 GERMANY 3 JAPAN 4 KOREA REPUBLIC 5 PORTUGAL 6 CHINESE TAIPEI 7 HONG KONG 8 AUSTRIA 9 FRANCE 10 SWEDEN
• Question 3 - 7:20: What's up PingSkills! My strokes improves very much every time I practise now :) i played with the tall guy yesterday and he won, he beat me easily. But I did win 5 points against him, he won 21- 5. I'm Proud :)))))) Just so you know ;)
• Question 4 - 8:03: Recently I watched a live match. Do professional players really play better when they are cheered for? I doubt it... Several times it looked to me like Timo was standing at the table waiting for the spectators to calm down before he made his serve. Thomas
• Question 5 - 12:43: If I practise a topspin everyone says that I should make the stroke relaxed. But when I relax and make the loop freely, it ends in the net or I miss the ball. Do you have any idea where is the mistake? DK
• Question 6 - 15:45: I find that when I try to smash high returns from my opponent I frequently badly hit those with heavy backspin.  I'm ready for hitting a winner, and instead it dives into the net.  I feel suckered. What should I do if I see that type of shot? Richard
• Question 7 - 18:18: Who is the better one out of Alois and Jeff? Abdul
• Question 8 - 18:35: Do you think Jan Ove Waldner would play one more match before he retires? Brock
• Question 9 - 19:08: I felt that my backhand push became spinnier and more consistent after I employed my backhand serve more and more in my game. Is it just my feeling or is it true that player can improve his/her backhand push through practicing backhand serve? Erriza
• Question 10 - 21:35: How old were you guys when you first compete in a tournament? Brock

Waldner - Persson Point

Here's video (22 sec) of a rally ending with a trademark Persson backhand smash.

USA Table Tennis and PepPod to Partner to Power Pong in the U.S.

Here's the USATT article.

Theory into Practice: Coaches Supervise Ecuador Para Training Camp

Here's the ITTF article. Here's a related ITTF article, Idyllic Horizon but Dawn Breaks with New Hopes for Bermuda.

"Table Tennis Has No Suspense"

Here's the article from TableTennista where Ma Lin says this about Chinese domination.

Killerspin Paradise

Here's the article about a luxury table tennis resort on the Italian island Sardinia.

The Perfect Match: Kit and Marisol - a Ping Pong Couple

Here's the article.

Forrest Gump #16 in Movie Characters with Olympic Potential

Here's the list! But some of these don't make sense. How can Forrest be behind Lincoln Hawk (#13, played by Sylvester Stallone), an arm wrestler, which isn't even an Olympic sport? Or Lamar Latrell's illegal javelin (#12)? And don't get me started on #8, Thornton Melon's diving. I'll accept Legolas and his archery, though that should be #1.

Ping Pong Ball Extinguisher Trick Shot

Here's the video (48 sec, including slow motion replay and different angles) of a player putting out a candle.

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