October 31, 2012

Morning, Afternoon, or Night?

I have a student I used to coach in the afternoon after school. He'd always be tired, with little interest. His mom and I decided to try something, and we tried coaching him in the morning one time. Instant energy! He was suddenly enthused and interested. Now we're rearranging his practice to take this into account. We may also try him out later at night, when he's apparently energetic again. (I also suggested a nap after school - perhaps that'll bring his energy back faster.)

I've also faced this. For years I struggled to play in the afternoons - like the kid above, I was always tired during that time. At night, however, I'd come alive. But I've done so much coaching and playing in the afternoons now that my biorhythms have changed. Now I'm energetic in the afternoon, a bit less so at night, and tired if I have to coach in the morning. (Mornings are for writing, not table tennis, in Larryworld.)

Most players play at night, and probably are at their most energetic at that time. But when a tournament comes around, most play is in the morning or afternoon. I know this affects some players; how about you?

When we know the time of important events at big tournaments we sometimes have our local juniors train at that time to get used to it. (If it's in a different time zone, we take that into account.) It really helps. I remember a kid who had to play an 8PM match in Las Vegas, and he was still on Eastern time - so it was 11PM for him, and he was half asleep and yawning before he played. I sent him into the bathroom to splash cold water on his face (this helps), but he literally yawned throughout the match, played poorly, and lost.

So if you are training for a specific event, perhaps take this into account. For example, if you are playing in the Team Championships this Thanksgiving (whether in Baltimore or Ohio), and have to play at 9AM, perhaps do a little shadow-practicing every morning at 9AM to get your body used to playing at that time.

Halloween

It's a day off for most coaches. I normally have three hours of coaching on Wednesday nights, 5-8 PM, but the three I coach are ages 7, 11, and 11. Guess where they'll be from 5-8PM? (The 11-year-olds are going as a zombie and as Dr. Who, but the 7-year-old still hadn't decided what to be as of Sunday.) I'll be giving out Snickers and Milky Ways. Afterwards I'll bring all the leftovers to the club, put them on a table, and feed multiball to the kids, who get to keep any candy they knock off. (If I don't give it away, I'll eat all the Snickers bars.)

USATT Athlete's Advisory Council

If you are interested in running for the USATT Athlete's Advisory Council, info is now online. Seven candidates will be elected. To be eligible, you must have represented USA in Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American, Para Pan Ams, World Championships, or Para World Championships in the past ten years.

Returning a Lefty's Wide Serve

Here's a video from PingSkills on returning a lefty's deep, breaking sidespin serve into a righty's forehand (1:30). This applies equally to a lefty returning the same serve from a righty.

Quips

I told one of our top juniors that "I'm so good I sometimes go an entire match without losing." He thought that was funny. Then I pointed out that I was so good that "Even when I lose, it always comes down to the last point." He disagreed, and argued that our last match (which he'd won, dang) hadn't come down to the last point. I asked him if he had won when he got to match point, and he started to answer, and then he got it.

Ping-Pong Halloween Costumes

The Washington Post did a feature in the Kids Post section on Oct. 21 on unique homemade costumes. Included was a Table Tennis Court costume! Here's a close-up, which includes the caption. While we're at it, here's someone in a ping-pong ball costume, here's another ping-pong ball costume, here's a beer pong costume, and here's a kid dressed as a ping-pong paddle. And I won't even talk about what comes up when you Google ping-pong ball eyes, it's just too scary.

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