Current Activities and USATT Work

My todo list currently runs approximately the length of three football fields, and that’s in 6-point font. I won’t bore you with the small stuff.

This past week, and hopefully finishing today, has been “The Spirit of Pong” Week. I had eight people read and critique the fantasy table tennis novel, which I blogged about on March 16 and a few times since. It’s now complete, except for the page layouts, which I hope to finish today. Since I wrote it for the table tennis market, I’m self-publishing it. (If I were aiming for the general fantasy-reading public, I’d have to go through a publisher.) If all goes well, it should go on sale in a week.

Next week (probably starting tomorrow) is Samson Dubina Week. He’s written a new coaching book, and I’ve agreed to edit it. I really need to finish it within a week because the following week things get even busier. I’ll probably have some long afternoons at Ledo’s Pizza. (I get a lot done there, sometimes going there at 11AM and staying until 2:30 PM, when I leave to do pickups for the afterschool program.)

The following week (May 18-21) is Disabled Veterans Coaching Week. Here’s the flyer about the camp I’m running at MDTTC. At the end of the week I’ll also be attending Balticon, an annual science fiction convention. I’m a panelist, and will be promoting my fantasy novel Sorcerers in Space.

The following two weeks (starting May 25) are Tim Boggan Weeks. As he’s done annually for the last 15 years or so he’ll be moving in with me for 10-14 days so I can do the page layouts and photo work for the next volume of his History of U.S. Table Tennis. This will be Volume 16, covering 1988-89.

The following week I catch my breath. (Actually, I’ll likely spend it on USATT work - see below.)

The following week, starting June 15, we begin eleven consecutive weeks of camps at MDTTC, Mon-Fri every week, 10AM-6PM. (I’ll miss at least two of the camps, July 6-10 for the U.S. Open, and July 27-31 for my annual nine-day science fiction writing workshop vacation at The Never-Ending Odyssey in Manchester, NH, which I’ll be attending for the seventh time.

In addition to all the above, I’m also trying to do my daily blog and weekly tips, coach full-time, promote MDTTC, and do a bunch of volunteer USATT work.

I have three volunteer (unpaid) positions with USATT: I’m on the Board of Directors (since January), I chair the USATT League Committee, and I’m the Regional Associations Coordinator. (The latter two are recent appointments.) The board activities are ongoing, with monthly meetings (mostly teleconferences), and various issues that come up day to day. I’ve got a series of bylaw proposals coming up, but we’ll probably wait for an in-person meeting for that, I think in September. I’ll blog about them later.

For the League Committee and Regional Associations Coordinator, I’m currently in “Learning and Gathering Info” mode. As I told the board when I took these two positions, most of my work on these would mostly start in the Fall, after our summer camps end. I’ll write more about this later. I’ve written an article for USATT Insider on upcoming plans (and plan to do an accompanying podcast), but may hold back on that until later, when I have more time. The basic plan is to create regional associations, with a three-pronged purpose: State Championships, Regional Team Leagues, and Training Centers and Junior Programs. I’m putting together proto-types for each (including regional association bylaws), and then we’ll begin the process of promoting and developing them, state by state and region by region. And then USATT membership explodes, our top players dominate, and USA Table Tennis becomes the center of table tennis on this planet.

Miscellaneous Coaching Happenings

• Feet and Grip. With several new players joining us recently, once again an old maxim of mine keeps working out - if you get the feet and grip right, everything in between tends to fall into place. Here’s my Tip of the Week on that, Grip and Stance.
• Ball Stomping. Yesterday a new 6-year-old joined the afterschool program. In the first five minutes he intentionally stepped on and broke 12 balls before we realized what was going on. This was a repeat of what another 6-year-old had done previously.
• Big Bug, Big Bird, and Ants. The priorities of a little kid are a bit different than others. The highlight of yesterday’s sessions was the appearance of a big beetle that the kids thought was a cockroach but was actually I think a patent leather beetle. The highlight of the session the day before was when Big Bird flew into the club (actually probably just a sparrow). We turned all the lights out with the doors open to get it to fly out. Meanwhile, on break yesterday a bunch of the kids took empty plastic bottles outside and collected ants.
• Arm Problems. I’m still having arm problems, especially if I do repetitive forehands (hitting or looping), forehand pendulum serves, or feeding backspin in multiball.
• Tardiness. Is there a reason that in a one-hour junior session, over half the kids consistently show up at least five minutes late, and some come in fifteen minutes late?

Ask the Coach with Richard Prause

Episode #7 (1:51) - How to begin a match and what to do if you realize that a tactic does not work.

Upcoming ITTF Coaching Courses in the U.S.

Here’s the schedule. Here’s the current listing:

• Morrisville, NC - ITTF Level 1 Course - June 7-11, 2015
• Austin, TX – ITTF Level 2 Course – June 21-26, 2015
• Akron, OH – ITTF Level 2 Course – September 14-19, 2015

ITTF Development and Education 2014 Review, 2015 Preview

Here’s the video (7:22) that outlines

Fang Bo Fifth Person on Chinese Core Team

Here’s the article from Tabletennista. He joins the “Big Four” - Ma Long, Zhang Jike, Xu Xin, and Fan Zhendong.

Ma Long and Coach Liu Guoliang Impromptu Exhibition

Here’s the video (21 sec).

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). Butterfly also has a great news page.

Statue Pong

Here's a very serious Julius Caesar following through on a big forehand.

Hard-working Umpire Has a Great Fall

Here’s the video (58 sec, including slo-mo replay).

“The hard-working umpire sat on a wall,
 The hard-working umpire had a great fall,
 All the spectators and the two playing men,
 Helped put the umpire back on the wall again.”

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Coaching Between Points

I blogged about this on Tuesday. There has been a lot of online discussion, such as at the Mytabletennis forum and the OOAK forum. The gist of most of the discussions agrees with what I wrote - this is not a good thing. I’m still in the mode of “Wow. Just wow,” and keep checking my calendar to see if it’s April 1. The rule will take effect on Oct. 1, 2016. Has the whole world gone mad? Here is the new rule, with the old wording crossed out, and the new wording in bold:

3.5.1.3 Players may receive advice only during the intervals between games or during other authorised suspension of play, and not between the end of practice and the start of a match; if any authorised person gives advice at other times the umpire shall hold up a yellow card to warn him or her that any further such offence will result in his or her dismissal from the playing area. Between rallies persons who are authorised to be at the bench / field of play have the possibility to give verbal and visual coaching instructions.

Here are some more articles on this:

• Coaching Between Points Will Be Allowed in 2016 (Tabletennista)
• Short mention in ITTF press release
• Tischtennis article (with Google translation from German)

At first glance, this should be a good thing for me. Tactical coaching may be my biggest strength, and the value of ringside tableside coaches is about to go up dramatically. Coaches like myself are going to become far more interactive, and maybe make a lot of money as hired guns. (Maybe I should just quit all other table tennis activities and just become a hired coach at tournaments?) This is normal in team sports, but not so normal in most individual sports, where players should learn to rely on themselves, with a coach only assisting. That’s why it’s an individual sport. (Boxing allows such coaching, but it’s a bit different as they don’t really have the equivalent of a serve to be signaled in. Plus, do we really want boxing as our role model?)

Now the coaches will be in charge, perhaps signaling in every serve. While I should be good at that, I’m not so sure I’ll be comfortable doing it, since I’ve never done this for someone else before. It’ll seem weird taking control of someone else’s match in this way. I'm definitely not thrilled at suddenly being responsible for calling out every serve, how to receive, point after point, not to mention working out complex codes and signals. Jeeeez. 

However, my lack of bilingual skills will hurt me. For example, Chinese coaches can coach in Chinese during a match, and unless the opponent is also Chinese, opponent won't understand. Big advantage to those with foreign languages. I’m good at a lot of things, but foreign language isn’t one of them. But if I yell out instructions in English, the opponent will hear. Players who speak less common languages are going to want coaches who can yell out instructions in that language. Opposing coaches will surreptitiously try to find people who understand those languages so they can figure out what the opposing coach is saying. It’ll be Spy vs. Spy.

Since I only speak English (like nearly everyone else in the table tennis world these days, at least those that I coach against), that means wasting lots of time working out signals. Pretty soon you’ll see me and other coaches yanking at our ears, sticking out our tongues, hopping about, and waving our arms. Okay, it might not be that bad, but you get the gist. Plus, like major league baseball, we’ll have to constantly be changing our signals or the opponent (or more specifically, his coach) will pick up on them. Does anyone out there doubt I won’t be watching the signals of the rival coach, and trying to decipher the code? Will puzzlemaster Will Shortz, who owns the Westchester club in New York, have an advantage over the rest of us?

Apparently the new rule was tested in Germany. Perhaps it worked there, or perhaps we don’t have the full story. Perhaps it did work, but there’s a cultural difference, where German coaches were polite and didn’t take advantage of the rule to take control of every match. I have a feeling that’s exactly what’s going to happen in many places. There are many win-obsessed parents and coaches, and when it becomes legal to coach during a game, it’s going to happen. The question is not how much, but whether there’ll be any serious limits. I really can see many top coaches signaling in every single serve. I expect I’m going to end up doing that as well, since otherwise my students will be at a disadvantage. Maybe we should forget about the students and their ratings, and just have a coaches rating system, since we’re being put in charge?

Arm Problems

There’s been a minor relapse. After resting it last Friday and Saturday, I was able to do all my coaching Sunday through Wednesday, but I had to avoid certain things. The arm begins to hurt if I do any of the following repetitively: looping (forehand or backhand), regular forehands, forehand pendulum serves (my primary serve), and feeding backspin in multiball. So I did a lot of blocking the last few days, and focused on topspin when doing multiball. I only have group sessions the next two days where I won’t have to do any of the above, so hopefully it’ll be ready for some weekend coaching.

Special Tips for Developing Backhand Drive and Loop

Here’s the coaching article by Matt Hetherington. It’s from a year ago, but I don’t think I linked to it. (If I did, it’s worth a second read.)

Ask the Coach

Episode #121 (18:30) - Becoming a Better Player.

26 Seconds of Multiball Training with Fan Zhendong

Here’s the video from the Worlds. That's Wang Hao feeding the balls. 

Bionic Man’s Heart Beats for Table Tennis

Here’s the article from the India Times about Navin Kumar, a student of mine. (I linked yesterday to pictures of the paper itself, but that was hard to read; this is the actual online text.) Here’s the video (9:22) by Peter Scudner in February that features Navin.

Interview with Soumyajit Ghosh

Here’s the interview from MH Table Tennis with the rising Indian star, world #95 after the Worlds and #2 in India after Sharath Kamal Achanta. Includes a link to a video (4:56) with highlights of his win over Aruna Quadri at the Worlds.

Attack on Chinese Ping Pong Not Cricket, Says Top Coach

Here’s the article in The Telegraph from England, with Liu Guoliang’s response to the criticism. I’ve always thought that as long as China allows their top players and coaches to go to other countries to train and coach others, which they do, I have no problem with their (current) dominance. It’s just a matter of time before some country rises to challenge them, as Germany has come close to doing, and as past countries have done at various times, such as Sweden, Hungary, Japan, and South Korea. But it won’t be easy.

Zhang Jike’s Back Injury

Here’s the article from Table Tennista.

Fun Facts about Men’s Singles at the Worlds

Here’s the article.

Table Tennis Comes Together to Support Nepal

Here’s the ITTF press release.

It’s All About the Passion!

Here’s the Facebook picture of Aruna Quadri. Click on the picture to see similar pictures of world singles champions Ding Ning and Ma Long, and other interesting pictures.

Which Splurge Foods Could Make These 27 Team USA Athletes Break Their Diets?

Here’s the article. Note the 11^th item. (I have my own splurge foods: Kung Pao Chicken, and Rocky Road or Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.)

Two-time table tennis Olympian Jimmy Butler: “My favorite splurge is corn chips with sour cream and hot salsa dip. I can eat the whole sour cream container in one sitting! My favorite sweet splurge is oatmeal cookies. I’ll eat the whole box at once. Good thing I’m 6-4, since this would not go well on a smaller stomach.”

Beer Pong Tables

Here’s an incredible selection from Amazon, including ones featuring the Sistine Chapel, flags, electricity, and all sorts of other items. I’m in the wrong brand of table tennis.

More Mike Mezyan Pictures

NOTE - If you are unable to see these pictures, all you have to do is join the Table Tennis Group - it's easy! Here are all the past, present, and (soon) future pictures he's collected. (I pick out his best ones for here - he has more.)

• Red Pong
• Unfinished Balloon Table Pong
• Wavy Table Pong
• Pro with People Pong
• Play Pong
• Round Pong
• Indoor Skateboard Pong
• Chandelier Pong
• Space Invaders Pong
• Cardboard Carton Pong
• Triangular Octopod Leg Pong
• Cheerleader Pong

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USA Wins Bid for 2018 World Veterans

Here’s the USATT article, here’s the ITTF article, and here’s the newly created home page. This is one of the single largest table tennis tournaments in the world, if not the largest, with up to 5000 participants expected. It'll take place in Las Vegas, June 18-24, 2018.

A special thanks needs to go to the USA Organizing Committee, which has worked tirelessly on this - Dan Seemiller, Dave Sakai, Stellan Bengtsson, Mike Babuin, and Dean Johnson. USATT CEO Gordon Kaye did the final presentation at the ITTF meeting at the Worlds, and I'm told did an excellent job. USA beat out bids from table tennis powers France, Japan, and South Korea. I've seen the PDF version of the USA bid, and it's excellent - it practically screams competence and excitement. (I hope they'll put it online - I’ve already spoken to them about this, and will link to it when/if it does.) Here's the USATT notice from April 14 of our being one of the four finalists.

For perspective, here's the home page for the 2014 World Veterans in Auckland, New Zealand. Here's the results, which show the 31 events held. If you can't wait until 2018, here's the 2016 World Veterans, held May 23-29 in Costa Blanca, Spain.

One note of interest - USA’s Cheng Yinghua will be turning 60 in November of 2018, but ages are as of Dec. 31, so he will be eligible for 60-64 singles. He'll be a strong contender for that title. Dan Seemiller will also likely be a contender in that age group - and imagine those two in doubles!!! (Lefty Dan is good at singles, but he's actually a lot better at doubles. He and brother Ricky once made the quarterfinals at the Worlds.) Heck, maybe we can get USA coaches Stellan Bengtsson, Li Zhenshi, and Zhang Li back in training! (I’ve already heard rumors that Stellan might start training again.) USA actually has some of the best senior players in the world; there’s something about the culture here where players continue to play for a lifetime, while overseas players seem to quit more often once their primary playing careers are over.

Some of us are already thinking beyond 2018. If we show the ITTF we can do a great job with this, why not the unthinkable? The World Championships has never been run in the U.S. - let's bring it here. But in both cases, the World Veterans and/or World Championships, my primary interest is looking to see how we can use these events to develop and promote table tennis in the U.S., i.e. will it make us better, or will the tournament come and go, and we’re no better off than before? Let’s make sure it has a lasting impact.

Now I have to figure out what my role at the tournament will be. Player? Coach? Organizer? Writer? Ballboy? We'll see.

Moving Forward and Backward and Cross-Step Training

Here’s Moving Forward and Backward part 1 (1:19) and part 2 (1:40), and here’s Cross-Step Training part 1 (1:36) and part 2 (1:34).

Ask the Coach

• Episode #119 (22:50) - Timo Boll’s Early Ball
• Episode #120 (24:04) - Ma Long vs. Waldner. From 1:10 to 2:00 they discuss the new ITTF rule (starting Oct. 1, 2016) where coaches can coach between points. “Not a fan at all” and “I’d rather just see a contest between players” are two comments.

World Rankings

Here are the new ITTF world rankings after the Worlds, and here’s an article on them from Table Tennista. The main change is that Fang Bo jumped from #14 to #8. The shocker to me is Mu Zi of China, who was unranked last ranked #73 in June of 2014 [thanks for correction from Steve Grant]. She beat Feng Tianwei (world #4) and Kasumi Ishikaws (world #5), and a number of others before losing 4-3 in the semifinals of women’s singles to eventual winner Ding Ning. Her initial world ranking? #37!!! She should easily be somewhere in the top ten.

11 Questions with Sean O’Neill

Here’s the USATT interview.

Interview with Patrick Franziska

Here’s the article from MH Table Tennis with the German who “…reached new heights at the 2015 World Table Tennis Championships in Suzhou, China by reaching the last 8 players in the draw.”

Judah Friedlander World Champion Smashes All Comers at Moontower Ping Pong

Here’s the article.

Bionic Man’s Heart Beats for Table Tennis

Here’s the front page story in the Times of India about Navin Kumar, a student of mine. Here’s the entire front page, and here’s page 2. (I’m mentioned on page 2!)

Christian Suss Retires

Here’s the article on the German star, who reached #17 in the world in 2010.

India’s Sharath Kamal Achanta on the Operating Table

Here’s the article. The world #32 will be out 3-4 months.

2014 USATT COY Yang Yu Publishes Research Looks to Advance US Table Tennis

Here’s the article.

2015 US Open 41 Point Handicap Chart

Here’s the article about the system to be used for Handicap Singles at the upcoming U.S. Open. Why not run a handicap tournament at your tournament or club? However, this brings back bad memories for me! At some major 4-star tournament many years ago I made the semifinals against some player rated under 1000. In a single game to 51 points I had to spot him 47 points! I tied it at 48-all - then lost on three nets and edges!

2015 Jack Kelly Fair Play Award

Here’s the USOC article. “The Jack Kelly Fair Play Award was established by the United States Olympic Committee in 1985 to honor the late USOC President Jack Kelly Jr. The award is presented to an athlete, team, coach or official in recognition of an outstanding act of fair play and sportsmanship displayed during the past year.”

Continuous Play and Time Wasting

Here are two articles on the topic, from Table Tennis 365 and from All About Table Tennis.

Uberpong Startup

Uberpong needs 250 votes to be considered for a $100,000 grant. Here’s where you can vote! They make custom paddles, such as these Mayweather vs. Pacquiao ones. (Here’s the non-Facebook version.)

More Pictures of Ariel Hsing with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Her Parents

Here are the pictures from Facebook. Click to see more. (Here’s the article and video I linked to on Monday.)

Watch Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois school Cesar Azpilicueta at table tennis

Here’s the article with a link to the 33-sec video of what I suspect is the best rally they’ve ever played.

Table Drawings

Here’s the sea lion on one side, and the arrow man on the other side. (Non-Facebook versions: sea lion and arrow man.)

Out-of-this-World Pong

• Stormtrooper Pong. (Here’s the non-Facebook version.)
• Moon Pong (Here’s the non-Facebook version.)

More Mike Mezyan Pictures

NOTE - If you are unable to see these pictures, all you have to do is join the Table Tennis Group - it's easy! Here are all the past, present, and (soon) future pictures he's collected. (I pick out his best ones for here - he has more.)

• One Ball to Rule Them All
• Mosaic Pong
• You’re the Ping to My Pong
• Beach Pong (with a very slow table)
• Flower Pong
• NASA Tin Foil Pong

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Coaching Between Points?

The ITTF has apparently passed a new rule that says, starting Oct. 1, 2016, coaches will be able to coach players between points. Here's a link and discussion at Table Tennis Daily. Here's an article on it by Matt Hetherington. Here's a Facebook discussion. And here's my primary commentary: What???!!!

Until 2001 games were to 21. This meant that the only coaching in a typical two out of three was after the first game, and if it was tied one-all, after the second game. Since games were longer and you could see more points, coaching was much easier. In fact, I had times where I coached as many as three matches at the same time, by rapidly switching from watching one to the others. (Since most time is spent between points, you don't actually miss much.)

After 2001 things got tricky. It seemed like you'd just be sitting down after coaching one game and they'd finish another, since 11-point games are pretty quick. (They seemed even quicker back then, since we were all used to 21-point games.) I coached two matches at a time a few times, but it wasn't easy. The tide had turned to the point where coaches had a much greater influence than before. I could make a long list of matches where a player I coached probably wouldn't have won if not for all the coaching - in particular, being able to do so in a close match after the first, second, third, and fourth games. Another rule that came out in the early 2000s was the timeout rule, allowing each player one one-minute timeout per match. And so now in typical matches coaches are allowed to coach players up to five times per match, where before it was only two. (In a best of five to 21, you could coach up to four times in a match, as compared to a modern best of seven to 11, where you can coach up to seven times in a match.)

And now we're allowing coaching between points? What exactly are the rules on this? Can I call or signal out things every point? Do I work out signs with my player so I can signal every serve throughout the match? Wow.

And so the tide has swung dramatically in favor of those with a good match coach. Since this is one of my strengths, you'd think I was for this - and deep down, I kind of like the growing importance of what I do well. But is it good for the game, and for the player? Players need to be self-reliant. We're teaching them more and more to just do as they're told.

It also lowers the importance of pre-match preparation. That's where a coach should really shine. Before a match a good coach prepares a player mentally and tactically for a match - both are equally important. If a coach does a good job here, then the coaching between games is often mostly reminders and updates on new things that you keep to a minimum. (If you don't have a coach, you should learn to do these things on your own.)

For example, I recently watched an extremely important match livestreamed with a player I'd coached before against the same opponent he/she was playing, with my player winning easily both times. I was practically pounding my fist on the screen, wanting to tell the player two simple things I'd reminded the player of before, but which the player had forgotten. It would have taken ten seconds. Later I talked to the player, who was rather chagrined at not realizing what he/she had forgotten, and which no one had reminded the player before (and apparently during) the match. It changed what might have been a 3-0 win into a close loss.

I will be watching closely to see the clarification of this rule.

Scientific Discoveries at MDTTC

Yesterday was a day of scientific discovery at MDTTC. Here's a rundown on things some of the things our junior players learned.

• It was Star Wars Day, and they learned the significance of May the Fourth/May the Force be with you.
• You can't play table tennis with cheese balls. They don't bounce.
• The mouse on my laptop computer works from far side of club, probably over 100 feet away.
• A wet ping-pong paddle will stick to the side of the table.
• You can fix a ball that's been partly deformed if you know how to work it back into shape, but for some reason it works best if you do this immediately after the ball has been deformed. (Or you can take it home and put it in a pot of boiling water, and let air pressure do the trick.)
• There's no mathematical advantage to serving first. I had a discussion with someone via email over this, who believed serving first gave a mathematical advantage, but it does not. I discussed this with some of our juniors. I might blog about this later in the week. Is there anyone out there who insists there is a mathematical advantage to serving first? (The faulty argument is that you have an advantage because you get to serve more than the opponent in many games. I'm just waiting for someone to argue this so I can respond with a blog on it!)

Watching the Ball

Here's the new coaching article from Han Xiao. There's more to this than meets the eye!

In Spite Of vs. Because Of

Here's the new coaching article by Samson Dubina.

Was the Ball More Entertaining Part 2

Here's the article about the new plastic balls by Matt Hetherington, with a link to Part 1.

At Mid-Season in the Capital Area League Three Clear Favorites Emerge

Here's the article by Stefano Ratti.

Professionalism Emphasized at New York Indoor Sports Club

Here's the club profile by Barbara Wei.

Point of the Century?

Here's the ITTF press release and link to video (59 sec) to that point I linked to yesterday between Ma Long and Fang Bo in the Men's Singles Final at the Worlds. (The link from the picture doesn't work for me, so use the link below the picture or the one I gave above.) They are calling it the point of the century. What do you think? There've been some good ones!!! (Here's a nice 45-sec one someone posted yesterday.)

Top Ten Points from the Worlds

Here's the video (5:56).

Las Vegas Table Tennis

Here's the video (1:55) - Don't mess with these older players! (That's Errol Resek on the far side, Jiri Hlava on the near side.)

Driving with the Stars

Here's the Qoros Driving with the Stars videos, where they talk with Jan-Ove Waldner, the Saive brothers, Zhang Jike, Elizabeth Samara, Marcos Freitas, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, and Ma Long. Most are for 3-4 minutes.

Allstar Cast Help Raise Raise $350,000 with their Paddles

Here's the article on the fundraising exhibition that featured Scott Preiss, Jim Butler, Eric Owens, David Zhuang, and Mark Hazinski.

Table Tennis Dance Video

Here's the video (3:05) from China.

Zhang Jike and the Avengers

Here's the video (33 sec) - maybe they should do a Ma Long version now, perhaps jumping on the table?

More Mike Mezyan Pictures

NOTE - If you are unable to see these pictures, all you have to do is join the Table Tennis Group - it's easy! Here are all the past, present, and (soon) future pictures he's collected. (I pick out his best ones for here - he has more.)

• Cake Pong with Flares
• More Cake Pong
• Still More Cake Pong
• Weird Table Pong
• Paddle Aura Pong
• Courtyard Pong
• Iceland Pong
• I Didn't Do It Pong
• Coin Pong
• Dinner Pong
• Cat Card Pong

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Tip of the Week

Good Tactics Lead to Confidence. (This is an expanded version of my blog from last Thursday.)

My Arm, Weekend Coaching, and The Spirit of Pong

It was another busy weekend of coaching. My arm is about 90% healed, but I'm still having some problems, especially if I attack too much with my forehand, whether looping or hitting. Once it gets a bit aggravated, then hitting backhands or simple multiball makes it worse. So I still have to go easy.

On Sunday I gave a one-hour lesson to Navin Kumar, the bionic man with a partially mechanical heart and Parkinson's. Here's video (1:33) of part of the session where he works on his forehand while moving side to side. He's a little rushed, taking the ball a bit too quickly off the bounce, but part of that is because he plays with long pips on the backhand, which keeps him close to the table.

Following that was a 90-minute junior training session. Many forehands and backhands were hit, a few beginners were introduced to pushing, and we finished with around-the-world, knocking down paper cups, and the ever-favorite, hit the bottle and make Coach Larry drink worm juice.

Then came the 90-minute Adult Beginning/Intermediate Class. We started with drills - side-to-side footwork drills; a backhand-to-backhand contest to see who could get the most (most was 202); then looping and/or smashing against block. Then I gave a short lecture on serving (which we've already covered extensively), and then did serve and receive practice. Then came a tactics lecture/discussion, where we focused on playing choppers, lobbers, penholders, and Seemiller grip. We also continued some of the discussion of racket surfaces that we'd started the previous week.

I spent much of Saturday doing the final proofing of my new novel "The Spirit of Pong," my table tennis fantasy story of an American who goes to China to learn the secrets of table tennis. (Technically, it's a novella, since it's only about 30,000 words, and a novel is normally defined as at least 40,000 word. It'll probably be about 90 pages long in print.) I have a lot of edits to put in, and a couple of sections to rewrite. Then there's a bunch of stuff about the covers, title page, introduction, acknowledgements, etc. If all goes well, it'll go on sale perhaps next week.

World Championships

They finished yesterday, and here are the nearly all-China results - the only exception being half of Mixed Doubles.  

• Men's Singles Champion: MA Long CHN
• Women's Singles Champion: DING Ning CHN
• Men's Doubles Champions: XU Xin CHN/Zhang Jike CHN
• Women's Doubles Champions: LIU Shiwen CHN/ZHU Yuling CHN
• Mixed Doubles Champions: XU Xin CHN/YANG Haeun KOR

Here are some links.

• ITTF World Championships Page (results, articles, photos, video)
• Men's Singles Final (12:12) - Ma Long vs. Fang Bo
  • Point of the Match (42 sec)
  • The last point (27 sec), with Ma Long jumping on table after winning.
• Women's Singles Final (6:42) - Ding Ning vs. Liu Shiwen
  • Point of the Match (19 sec)
• Final Day Review (5:13)
• Shots of the Day
  • Day 6 (42 sec) - Friday, May 1
  • Day 7 (70 sec) - Saturday, May 2
  • Day 8 (59 sec) - Sunday, May 3
• Fan Zhendong vs. Timo Boll Quarterfinals (10:44)
  • Point of Match (29 sec)
• Zhang Jike vs. Vladimir Samsonov - insane point (79 sec)
• USA Table Tennis World Championships Page
• Tabletennista also has lots of Worlds coverage

ITTF Meeting Documents

Here are the Meeting Documents from the Worlds. One thing of interest is an apparent rule that passed that says, "From Oct 2016 coaches will have the opportunity to coach between points." Here's a link and discussion on this. I'll likely look into this later.

Irregularly Irregular: Evaluating Your Variations

Here's the new coaching article by Samson Dubina.

Ask the Coach

• Episode 117 (45:15) - The World Championships
• Episode 118 (19:21) - The World Championships Wrap

Grip Changes between Backhand and Forehand

Here's PingPod #43 (5:45) from PingSkills.

Annual Bill Gates/Warren Buffett/Ariel Hsing Table Tennis Extravaganza

Here's the article, including a link to a two-minute video. It all takes place at the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting. In the video you get to see Bill Gates's pretty strong backhand, Warren Buffett smash a winner past Ariel, and see what happens when Buffett and Gates play doubles and simultaneously serve two balls to Ariel.

The Kit and Joe Show

Remember this behind-the-back shot from February, done by Kit Jeerapaet against Sutanit "Joe" Tangyingyong? Kit's back to his old tricks, with this new shot against the hapless "Shoeless Joe" Tangyingyong. "I hate him," posted Joe on Facebook.

Reality: Where's the Fun in That

Here's the picture of people playing video pong while the real table gathers dust.

More Mike Mezyan Pictures

NOTE - If you are unable to see these pictures, all you have to do is join the Table Tennis Group - it's easy! Here are all the past, present, and (soon) future pictures he's collected. (I pick out his best ones for here - he has more.)

• Avengers Pong
• Mini-Pool Pong
• Monkey See, Monkey Do Pong
• Energy Drink Pong

Best Non-Human Table Tennis Videos

I've linked to all of these in past blogs, including several last week. Now you get to see all the best non-human table tennis videos all at once!

• Octopus on Four Tables (34 sec)
• Energizer Battery (31 sec)
• Penguin Pong (40 sec)
• Bernard the Hairless Polar Bear Plays a Penguin (3:35)
• Chinese Robots Play Ping-Pong (1:40)
• Doggie Pong Commercial (30 sec)
• Cat Pong (22 sec)
• Pigeon Pong (38 sec)
• Snoopy Pong (23 sec)
• Minion Pong (repeating gif image)
• Teddy Bear Pong (3:20)
• Weird White Creatures Pong (19 sec)
• Jackalope vs. Platypus (30 sec)
• Nestle Quik Rabbit Pong (30 sec)
• Argos Aliens Pong (30 sec)
• Larvae Pong: Part 1 (6:11), Part 2 (2:47)

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World Championships

They are from April 26 - May 3 in Suzhou, China. As I write this on Friday morning, they are into the final eight in Men's Singles, and the final four in Women's Singles, Men's Doubles, and Women's Doubles. They must completed Mixed Doubles, with Xu Xin/Yang Haeun (CHN/KOR) defeating M. Yoshimura/K. Ishikawa (JPN), 4-0 (7,8,4,6). This is the first time China and Korea have combined to win Mixed Doubles (and probably for any title).  

Six of the top ten men in the world are in the quarterfinals of Men's Singles. Four are out:

• World #2 Xu Xin, apparently suffering shoulder problems (though he'd turn around and win Mixed Doubles after this), lost in the eighths to Fang Bo (world #14).
• World #6 Dmitrij Ovtcharov lost in the round of 64 to Lee Sangsu of South Korea (world #47).
• World #8 Marcos Freitas of Portugal lost in the round of 32 to Patrick Franziska of Germany (world #56).
• World #10 Chuan Chih-Yuan lost in the round of 128 to Adam Pattantyus of Hungary (world #90).

Here are the Excellent Eight in Men's Singles, i.e. quarterfinal pairing - and it's actually looking pretty competitive internationally, with "only" four players from China, two from Germany (despite Ovtcharov's loss), one from Japan, and one from Hong Kong (which some would say counts as Chinese).

Men's Quarterfinals

• Ma Long (CHN) vs. Tang Peng (HKG)
• Timo Boll (GER) vs. Fan Zhendong (CHN)
• Zhang Jike (CHN) vs. Jun Mizutani (JPN)
• Patrick Franziska (GER) vs. Fang Bo (CHN)

Below are the Final Four in the Chinese National Championships Women's Singles. Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen, and Li Xiaoxia are ranked 1-3 in the world. But the big story is Mu Zi of China, who doesn't even have a world ranking. In the round of 64 she beat world #5 Kasumi Ishikawa of Japan, 4-0 (7,10,10,4). In the round of 16 she beat world #4 Feng Tianwei of Singapore, also 4-0 (5,2,9,5). In fact, except for her first round match (round of 128) against Kristin Silbereisen of Germany (world #39), which she won 4-1, she hasn't lost a game, winning her last four matches all 4-0. Here are some articles on Mu Zi from Table Tennista, and here is a video interview (3:34, in English) from the Worlds from just this morning.

Women's Semifinals

• Ding Ning (CHN) vs. Mu Zi (CHN)
• Li Xiaoxia (CHN) vs. Liu Shiwen (CHN)

Here are some links.

• ITTF World Championships Page
• Day 5 Summary - Thursday, April 30
• Shot of the Day
• Highlight Match: Jun Mizutani (JPN) vs. Jung Youngsik (KOR) (5:45), round of 32. Deuce in the seventh, with Mizutani down 7-10 in the seventh, called the best match of the tournament so far.
• Xu Xin's Behind the Back Shot - at 6-5 in the seventh!
• Ovtcharov & Fukuhara Crashed Out of Worlds
• USA Table Tennis World Championships Page
• Tabletennista also has lots of Worlds coverage
• ITTF and Asian TT Union Reach Agreement
• Japan Makes 1st World Championships Mixed Doubles Final since 1977

Ask a Pro Anything

Here's the video (25 sec) from Adam Bobrow where you are invited to ask questions of Romanian star Bernadette Szocs (world #64, recently #49).

ITTF Workshop on Motivation

Here's the article on the workshop run by Dora Kurimay.

The Future National Champion

It begins (71 sec).

When They Were Young

Here's a young Waldner. And here's the young Chinese National Team - see if you can name them.

21 Seconds of Wang Liqin Demonstrating his Trick Shots

Here's the video.

One Person's Luckiest Table Tennis Shot Ever

Here's the video (48 sec, including slo-mo replay).

More Mike Mezyan Pictures

NOTE - If you are unable to see these pictures, all you have to do is join the Table Tennis Group - it's easy! Here are all the past, present, and (soon) future pictures he's collected. (I pick out his best ones for here - he has more.)

• Mini Indoor Snowman Pong?
• Crystal Ball Pong?
• Player in Paddle Sculpture Pong
• Sculpture Playing Pong
• Birthday Cake Pong (a lot of these - maybe this category should be retired?)
• Friendship Pong (or is this a Pong Gang?)
• Free Training Sessions with Ali - the Greatest?
• Luxury Table Pong
• Bike on Net Pong

Argos Aliens Play Table Tennis

Here's the video (30 sec)!

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Good Tactics Lead to Confidence

Thank about the last time you played a match and got nervous. Now ask yourself this: What were your tactics in that match? If you are like the overwhelming majority of players I've worked with over the years in that situation, you probably didn't have a strong game plan - you were probably just winging it. And so, unsure of what you were doing, you were (drum roll please) . . . unsure of what you were doing. And it is that lack of surety that often leads to nervousness.

So next time you are nervous, ask yourself what your game plan is, and come up with a coherent one. Not only will this give your mind something to think about other than your upcoming doom loss, but it will give yourself the confidence that you know what you are doing. You still have to execute the shots, but it's a lot easier to be confident when you know what you are doing than when you don't. Plus, this confidence allows you to think a bit more clearly and so play even better tactics. In other words:

Good Tactics => Confidence => Good Tactics => Even More Confidence

When I talk to players after losses, often they'll blame their loss on nervousness. It's only when I question them that the truth comes out! (An expanded version of this will likely become a Tip of the Week!)

World Championships

They are from April 26 - May 3 in Suzhou, China. Here are some links. USA is now out of everything, but we did decently in Men's Doubles, where Timothy Wang and Kanak Jha made the final 32. USA isn't that strong now, but think of where we might be in 4-6 years, when our current powerhouse group of cadets are reaching their peaks!!!

• ITTF World Championships Page
• Day 4 Summary
• Ovtcharov & Fukuhara Crashed Out of Worlds
• USA Table Tennis World Championships Page
• Tabletennista also has lots of Worlds coverage

Choppers Excel in Early Rounds at Worlds

Here's the new article by Matt Hetherington. (In my review of the new plastic balls on June 16, 2014, I wrote, "I'm starting to think it might help choppers, the most surprising thing I found." Some thought I was crazy!)

Don't Serve First!

Here's the mathematical probability coaching article - put your thinking caps on!

2015 ITTF Hopes Program Update

Here's the USATT article.

Hardbat and Umpires & Referees Committee Members

The members of those two committees have been approved. Here's the board vote: "MOVED that we approve the members of the Hardbat Committee and Umpires and Referees Committee (URC) as nominated by their respective chairs, with the Hardbat Committee made up of Scott Gordon (previously approved chair), Jay Turberville, Diann Darnall, Albert Papp, and Ty Hoff (as athlete rep), and the URC made up of Joseph Yick (previously approved chair), and Wendell Dillon, Saul Weinstein, and Lee Kondo." (Han Xiao, Chair of the Athletes’ Advisory Council, will nominate an Elite Athlete to serve on the Umpires and Referees Committee.) Here is the USATT Minutes & Actions Page.

Firefighter Pong

Here's the picture! The World Police and Firefighter Games are in Virginia this year, with the table tennis events held at the Smash Table Tennis Center, June 27-29.

More Mike Mezyan Pictures

NOTE - If you are unable to see these pictures, all you have to do is join the Table Tennis Group - it's easy! Here are all the past, present, and (soon) future pictures he's collected. (I pick out his best ones for here - he has more.)

• Pill Pong
• Beach Pong
• Avengers Pong
• Kitchen Pong
• Glow Pong
• Brush Pong
• Conceptual Drawings for New Scientifically Designed Handles for Pong
• Cake Pong
• Toy Pong
• Glass Table Pong

Larvae Pong

• Part 1 (6:11)
• Part 2 (2:47)

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Top 20 Chuck Norris Table Tennis Facts

I thought I'd have a little fun this morning. Let's see if you can come up with your own Chuck Norris table tennis facts! Comment below - if there are a lot of good ones, I'll refer to them in tomorrow's blog. I saw a thread like this in the OOAK table tennis forum, but they were doing non-table tennis Chuck Norris sayings. (There's actually a Chuck Norris Facts page - I contributed about 50 of them.)

1. Chuck Norris doesn't smash. He just looks at the ball and it flees in terror.
2. Chuck Norris shaved his beard and underwent plastic surgery, and then cloned himself. Say hello to the Chinese National Team.
3. Chuck Norris once smashed a ball so hard even he couldn't return it . . . and then he returned it.
4. Chuck Norris doesn't play shakehands or penhold. He uses his beard.
5. Chuck Norris never serves let balls. When he serves low, the net ducks.
6. Chuck Norris used to high-toss serve. When he stopped using it, the U.S. space program ended, having no propulsion system.
7. When Chuck Norris hides his serve, the ball can be found in Andromeda.
8. Chuck Norris once played Superman a match, and the loser had to wear his underwear on the outside of his pants.
9. When Chuck Norris did a multiball session with 38mm balls, he broke them all and we had to switch to 40mm. When Chuck Norris did a multiball session with 40mm celluloid balls he broke them all and we had to switch to plastic. He plans a multiball session with plastic balls soon, and we will be switching to golf balls.
10. It's been 4.6 billion years since Chuck Norris looped the earth, and it's still spinning.
11. Wood has a high carbon content, which is why the handle of Chuck Norris's blade is now made of diamond.
12. An opponent once managed to touch one of Chuck Norris's serves, and yelled "Oosha!" Chuck karate kicked him into the sun.
13. A referee once red carded Chuck Norris. He karate kicked the referee's liver to the moon while snacking on fava beans.
14. Chuck Norris counterloops with sandpaper.
15. CNN didn't cover World Table Tennis Championships. Chuck Norris mad. CNN now Chuck Norris Network.
16. Chuck Norris doesn't use celluloid or plastic ping-pong balls. He plays with black holes.
17. Chuck Norris is seeded #0 at the Worlds.
18. When Chuck Norris plays table tennis he uses the Sahara Desert as a table, the Great Wall of China as the net, the Moon as the ball, and the Eurasian Continental Plate as his racket.
19. Chuck Norris scores 21 points in games to 11.
20. If Chuck Norris were president of USA Table Tennis, there'd be 320 million members . . . or else.

Serve Practice

Have you practiced your serves recently? Practice both your spin serves and fast, deep serves. (Use targets for the latter, and practice until you can hit it over and over.) Do you Visualize Serves for Feedback? Here's my article Practicing Serves the Productive Way.

World Championships

They are from April 26 - May 3 in Suzhou, China. Here are some links.

• ITTF World Championships Page
• Day 3 Summary
• Day 3 Shot of the Day (28 sec)
• Day of Upsets at Worlds (ITTF press release)
• USA Table Tennis World Championships Page
• Tabletennista also has lots of Worlds coverage
• Highlights of Xu Xin/Zhang Jike vs. Ma Long/Timo Boll Match at the Worlds (2:56)

Playing Against Penholders

Here's the new coaching article by Han Xiao.

Ask the Coach

• Episode #115 (14:49) - Utilizing Strokes in Matches
• Episode #116 (20:56) - Power Shots

Table Tennis School - Exercise for Defender and Attacker

Here's the video (3:25).

Multiball Session

Here's a typical multiball session (2:53), I think from Germany.

ITTF Becomes Largest International Federation

Here's the ITTF press release. "The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is now the largest International Federation, with 222 National Associations. Sao Tome & Principe and South Sudan were accepted into the ITTF family today at the ITTF Annual General Meeting (AGM) to overtake Volleyball as the largest International Federation."

Team Photos from the National College Table Tennis Championships

Here's the photo page.

32 Amazing Sports Photos from CNN

Here's the new CNN gallery - and click on the third one for a picture of "Miu Hirano and Mima Ito, of Japan, train for the 2015 World Table Tennis Championships in Suzhou, China, on Monday, April 27." The picture shows Hirano serving, with the ball over her nose. (But what does it say about our sport that we're excited that CNN runs a picture from it?)

11 Questions with Willy Leparulo

Here's the USATT interview.

Table Tennis Wedding

Here's the video (2:20)! Yep, that's Willy again.

The Two Faces of Jorgen Persson

• Jorgen Persson . . . Smiling
• Jorgen Persson . . . Crazed!

More Mike Mezyan Pictures

NOTE - If you are unable to see these pictures, all you have to do is join the Table Tennis Group - it's easy! Here are all the past, present, and (soon) future pictures he's collected. (I pick out his best ones for here - he has more.)

• Coffee Foam Pong
• Food, Drinks, and Pong
• Ponghead
• Flying Serve Pong
• Palm Beach Pong?
• Red, White, and Blue Pong
• Bacon Pong!
• Glass Pong in Action
• Nose Pong (see also CNN photo above)
• Puny Pong Pictures? (I don't know what else to call these)

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Man in the Table Tennis Arena

Historically most table tennis leaders have judged themselves not on how much they accomplished, but on how few mistakes they made. They'd go through an entire forgettable career patting themselves on the back for not making mistakes, all the while avoiding doing anything that might risk putting a stain on this great record that few will remember. This is a recipe for what I call "stagnation with a forced smile." We get it a lot.

While getting things right ranks high for me as well, I tend to judge a person's record more on what they actually accomplish. The two are not mutually exclusive; the key is not letting one affect the other, i.e. avoid trying new and possibly risky things so as to avoid mistakes. I'm pretty forgiving of those who make mistakes while trying new things in our sport. This doesn't mean recklessly doing things; part of trying something new is thinking it through and avoiding doing stupid stuff. Otherwise you aren't really trying something new so much as just being reckless. The best way to avoid doing stupid stuff while trying something new? Talk to those who have been working successfully in our sport for years and get their advice on pitfalls to avoid. What may be new to you may not be completely new to them.

To accomplish a lot means trying new things a lot, and that means more mistakes than those poor souls who are afraid of trying anything new with any risk. But without people trying to accomplish things, and sometimes taking risks, nothing gets accomplished. You can't develop a new program without risk, because anything new is a risk. It doesn't mean jumping in at full thrust; remember the saying that "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Plan out the journey as best you can, but take that step. If it turns out the step is in the wrong direction you can always change later. Those who never take the step never make the journey.

All this doesn't mean you have to constantly try out new things, although some do that. Others succeed by finding a formula for success, and sticking to it, and riding it to high levels. But that formula for success they found was likely new to them at the start. Plus, few formulas for success work in the long term if dogmatically followed; you have to understand why and when it works, and know when to change and try something new, or at least new variations of a successful formula. In coaching, for example, much of what worked for developing players 30 years ago rarely works now as the game has changed. The same is true of running clubs, tournaments, or any other table tennis endeavor.

I also look dimly on those who like to judge harshly but do little themselves. They rarely know what they are talking about because they haven't actually done these things themselves, but because they haven't done these things themselves they have no idea that they don't know what they are talking about. It's a lot easier being an armchair critic with no accountability, often with lots of theoretical opinions that don't apply in practice, then the person who jumps into the arena and tries to find ways to build things for the future.

If you are a coach, your legacy will be the players you develop, the lives you helped, and the programs you left behind. If you are a club director, your legacy will be the club you leave behind. If you are a tournament director, your legacy will be the tournaments you ran, especially if they continue after you leave. If you are a leader, your legacy will be the state of the organization you helped lead. If you are a USATT leader, your legacy will be the progress of USATT during your tenure. (This follows for players as well; your legacy as a player is both the titles you won and how you played the game. But that's a different topic.)

Who will be remembered in the sport of table tennis many years from now, the ones who made few mistakes but left no lasting legacy, or the ones who tried many things, had some blow up in his face, but left behind a lasting legacy that helped build the sport?

Theodore Roosevelt said it best in his Man in the Arena speech. Those who try new things in the attempt to develop our sport know victory and defeat. Those who do not know neither victory nor defeat, do not develop the sport, leave no legacy, and leave behind "stagnation with a forced smile."

Arm Update - Back to Private Coaching

Yesterday I did my first private coaching in two weeks, due to my arm injury. I'd tested it out a bit the night before in a class I taught, primarily testing it under fire while demonstrating looping against impenetrable blocking of Coach Jeffrey - meaning I did a lot of looping. And so I did a 90-min session with 10-year-old Daniel last night, who's about 1700.

I explained to him in advance that I had to go easy on looping so as not to injure the arm again. Now normally you'd think a kid his age would take great glee in challenging and testing my arm, but Dan was good about this. We spent most of the session working on his forehand looping, since he's fallen into some bad habits during the "Larry's arm is hurt" era, and we hadn't had a session in three weeks. Toward the end we did do one counterlooping drill, but after a few minutes I could feel the arm getting sore and so stopped that drill. The rest of that session I mostly avoided looping. Overall, I think the arm is okay, but I have to be careful. I have another 90-min session tonight, and if all goes well, soon I'll be back in full form.

World Championships

They are from April 26 - May 3 in Suzhou, China. Here are some links.

• ITTF World Championships Page
• Tabletennista also has lots of Worlds coverage
• ITTF Day 2 Summary
• Day 2 Video Review (4:08)
• Main Draw About to Begin (ITTF press release)
• A Brief Summary of USA Results through April 27 (Monday)
• USA Table Tennis World Championships Page
• Ma Long has a 9-sec message for you. You want to win a signed racket from the World #1?
• Ding Ning Puzzle
• 32 seconds of Ai Fukuhara doing incredibly fast multiball at the Worlds
• 111 seconds of Xu Xin doing incredibly fast multiball at the Worlds
• China Women's Team's Closed Training for the Worlds (2:32)
• Picture of the Day. Xu Xin/Zhang Jike defeated Ma Long/Timo Boll. (Shouldn't that have been the final?)

Samsonov on Angle Play

Here's the article from MH Table Tennis.

Consistency vs. Power

Here's the first Podcast (29:34) from Expert Table Tennis, where they interview Matt Hetherington of MH Table Tennis.

Table Tennis Links

MH Table Tennis has a nice set of Table Tennis Links. Yes, that's three things from MH Table Tennis in one blog!

Secretin - Purkart Exhibition

Here's the full video (93 min) of the greatest exhibition team of all time. Warning - once you start watching, it's addictive! But it's great stuff, with the great Jacques Secretin (17-time French National Men's Singles Champion, 1977 World Mixed Doubles Champion, and former world #4) against the clownish Vincent Purkart (two-time French National Men's Singles Champion and five-times runner-up, mostly to Secretin). They spent many years touring the world doing their famous comedy exhibition. Sean O'Neill messaged me that the umpire who they constantly fight with is Claude Bergeret, 1977 World Mixed Doubles Champion with Secretin. (I'd been told it was Purkart's wife, but that might have been incorrect.) 

Here's a recent picture of Secretin and Purkart - they're still at it!!!

More Mike Mezyan Pictures

NOTE - If you are unable to see these pictures, all you have to do is join the Table Tennis Group - it's easy! Here are all the past, present, and (soon) future pictures he's collected. (I pick out his best ones for here - he has more.)

• Silly Socks Pong
• Big-Eye Balloon Pong
• Fork Pong
• Long Jump Pong
• High Jump Pong
• Kid's Drawing of Pong
• Baby Pong
• Oversized Paddle Tractor Pong
• Mountain Pong
• 70^th Birthday Cake Pong
• Outdoor Playback Pong
• Centrifugal Force Pong
• Skating Pong
• Pond Pong
• Crystal Clear Stand Pong
• Semicircular Stand Pong
• Circular Pong
• Baskets of Balls (not Basketball)
• Ping Pong is Life

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Tip of the Week

Your Ready Position - Think Basketball.

Adult Beginning/Intermediate Class

With Raghu Nadmichettu and Josh Tran out of town at the Westchester Open, Coach Jeffrey Zeng Xun assisted this time. We focused on three things this session, which ran 6:30-8:00PM on Sunday.

First up was the forehand loop against block. We demonstrated and I explained, and then they went out to the tables to try it. I had them do it for 7.5 minutes each, twice each. The hardest parts for most adults learning to loop is to use the whole body rather than mostly arm. There's also a tendency to try to stroke it too quickly instead of a smooth, accelerating swing.

Next we did serve and attack. But before we got to that I knew the players would need to get their regular shots back. After all that looping - the first time ever against block for many of them - they'd likely lift their regular forehands and go off the end. So I had them do two minutes of forehand to forehand, as well as two minutes of backhand to backhand and backhand to backhand pushing. Then we began the drill. The server served backspin, the receiver pushed to a pre-arranged spot, the server looped to the receiver's backhand, and then they played out the point.

Finally, for the last 20 minutes, I brought out a bunch of different rackets for "show and tell," and went over the various characteristics. I had two different types of hardbat rackets, a sandpaper racket, longs pips with sponge and without sponge, pips out on a shakehands and penhold blade, antispin, plus tensored inverted.

Other Miscellaneous Stuff

• Capital Area Super League. The league committee met Friday night at Smash TT from 9PM to Midnight. (That's Michael Levene, Stefano Ratti, John Olsen, and me.) Topics included budget, changing name (taking the "Super" off, since it makes it look like the league is only for elite players), less travel and more "home" matches, plans for the big Finals, and plans for next season. It took me 55 minutes to get there, but because of road construction, almost 2.5 hours to get home - I got back around 2:30 AM. (Had one funny exchange. I mentioned the "The point of the league" in reference to this shot by Derek Nie, an around-the-net backhand loop receive. But John thought I was talking about the point of the league as in why we did it, and for a few seconds we had a rather confusing discussion.)

• Arm. It's a lot better now. Tonight I'll be doing my first private coaching in two weeks. I tested it out yesterday, especially while demonstrating the forehand loop in the class to Jeffrey's never-missing block. However, it's not completely healed - it's still sore, so I have to go easy on attacking too much. I'm doing exercises with it each day to build it up.
• Washington Post. They came in on Friday to do a story on Crystal Wang and Derek Nie. It should come out on May 19. I'll post a link here.

Ask the Coach

• Episode #113 (14:39) - How the Aussies can beat China
• Episode #114 (22:59) - Off Season Training

World Championships

They started yesterday (Sunday), with opening ceremonies on Saturday, and are from April 26 - May 3 in Suzhou, China. Here are some links.

• ITTF World Championships Page
• ITTF press release on the draws
• Day One press release
• ITTF Feature on USA junior stars Kanak Jha and Amy Wang
• ITTF Feature on USA junior stars Angela Guan and Amy Wang
• WTTC Highlights - Qualification Groups: Angela Guan (USA) vs. Catia Martins (POR) (4:35, time between points removed)
• Xinhua news item that focuses on China's pairing in doubles with non-Chinese players, and Zhang Jike hoping to repeat in men's singles
• Opening and Draw Ceremony (2:38)
• Opening Ceremony (1hr 46 min)
• Men's Bios (click on picture to see all four pages)
• Women's Bios (click on picture to see all four pages)
• Day One Shot of the Day (1:09)
• Zhang Jike doing multiball at the Worlds (2:54)
• ITTF's Condolences to Nepal press release
• Tabletennista also has lots of Worlds coverage

U.S. Open

Here's the new FAQ page. And here's the U.S. Open page itself. It takes place July 6-11 in Las Vegas. Enter now!!!

Jan-Ove Waldner Interview - He Does Not Like the Plastic Ball

Here's the interview (5:08, in English). Some quotes: "Too many changes, not good for the sport," and "Plastic ball not good." He also thinks Ma Long might win the Worlds. (Side note - there's been a debate for years on whether Waldner is the greatest player of all time. It's mostly between him and a few Chinese players. But I think we have one consensus - Pretty much everyone agrees that either Waldner is the greatest of all time, or is arguably the greatest of all time.)

Butterfly Science: All about Tenergy

Here's the new video (10:11) that explains the science behind the sponge. (Disclaimer: I'm sponsored by Butterfly.)

The Journey through Chinese Table Tennis

• Episode 1 (5:23)
• Episode 2 (3:52)
• Episode 3 (4:18) - NEW
• Episode 4 (8:00) - NEW

Ma Long and Zhang Jike Serve

Here's the video (10:11). It's in Chinese, but you can learn by watching. They both serve and play out the points, with a Chinese coach apparently giving commentary.

26 Seconds of Extremely Fast Multiball by Li Xiaoxia

Here's the video.

37 Seconds of Incredibly Fast Table Tennis

Here's the video!

Ma Long vs. Xu Xin

Here's the video (3:57) - lots of great points, and a little Jaws music as well!

Incredible Around-the-Net Backhand

Here's the video (29 sec, including slo-mo replay).

NCTTC Bracket Challenge

Here's the article - and congrats to the winners!

Liu Guoliang vs. Bill Gates

Here's the video (64 sec) as the Chinese Men's Coach and former superstar player takes on the world's richest man!

Operator Please - Just a Song about Ping Pong

Here's the video (2:18).

Roller Pong

Here's the picture!

More Mike Mezyan Pictures

NOTE - If you are unable to see these pictures, all you have to do is join the Table Tennis Group - it's easy! Here are all the past, present, and (soon) future pictures he's collected. (I pick out his best ones for here - he has more.)

• Piles and Piles of Balls - So many, so many….
• Ping Pong Black Belt - Nobody bothers me!
• Gazebo Pong - Everyone should have one.
• Pong Eyes - See the world through our eyes!
• Pong Fence Art - Or is this abacus pong?
• "P" Pong? But what does the "P" stand for?!!!
• Table Tennis Til Die - This trophy awarded posthumously.
• Handicap Slippery Floor Pong? What would we do without this warning?
• Crooked Net and Table with Funny Drawings and Balls on Wall Pong - Just another table tennis outing.
• Castaway Pong - That is a ping-pong ball, right? Here's the original Wilson from movie Castaway!
• Lighted Ping Pong Cake - For a 12-year-old?
• I Love You Ping Pong - This is how ping-pong players date, right?

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