June 2, 2014
Tip of the Week
WETA TV
WETA TV came to MDTTC for about four hours yesterday to do a documentary on us online – I'll blog about it when it's up. Here's a picture of two of the crew members (there were three of them) as they film us, and here's a picture of them filming Derek Nie and Crystal Wang.
It was a long day. I normally coach Sunday mornings but I was off due to students studying for final exams, and so I had no coaching until 3PM. So I became their chaperone. We had arranged for them to come Sunday at 11AM so they could see some of our top juniors in a group session, and then our Elite League at 12:30 PM. They filmed Derek and Crystal, as well as Nathan Hsu and many others, often from a distance so the player didn't even know they were being filmed. Other times they'd go out on the court and get close-ups. I was hoping to highlight as many players as possible, from our top juniors to our seniors, including Charlene Liu, who recently returned from New Zealand with a bronze for Over 60 Women's Singles. (She also won Over 60 Women's Title at the Nationals and many more in age groups from over 30 to over 60.) However, they told me they could only focus on one or two players. They also didn't want to interview players and then disappoint the player by not using the interview, which is understandable.
They decided to focus on 13-year-old Derek and 12-year-old Crystal. Most of you probably know them, but here's a short synopsis. Derek, rated 2285 (but recently over 2300) was the 2012 U.S. Open Under 12 Boys' Singles Champion. Crystal is the youngest player ever to make the USA National Men's or Women's Team, and the youngest ever to win Under 22 Women's Singles at the Nationals, as well as breaking every record for highest rating for her age, not just for girls but for boys as well. (She's the highest rated under 13 player in the U.S, boys or girls at 2370, and recently over 2400.)
They did interviews with Crystal, Derek, and me. My interview was the longest interview I've ever done. It went on for about an hour as they asked question after question. Part of the reason it took so long as I gave rather long answers. Since they'll end up condensing all this to about four minutes, it'll be interesting which parts they decide to use. In answer to their questions, I elaborated on my background, the kids, MDTTC and its history, our coaches and players, training centers, China, what it takes to be a top player, and much more.
Now the downside. Before they interviewed me they filmed me using the robot. I put it on full speed so the balls were just shooting out as I smashed forehands. I had no trouble doing this at first, but they wanted to get lots of shots from all angles, and so it went on and On and ON!!! Soon my arm and shoulder began to tire, and then hurt, and still they kept filming. I felt my knees and legs begin to go, but still we went on. After the longest time, and after they'd filmed both me and the robot from all possible angles, they said they had enough.
They asked if I had anything else interesting I could show them. They filmed me doing my ball-blowing trick, where I not only blow the ball in the air, but to the side, balancing it in the air by spinning the top of the ball with my breath. Then I demonstrated my 50-foot serve, where I served from 50 feet away from the table, and directly to the side of it (so I'm lined up with the net). I do this by putting a great amount of sidespin on the ball, and made it on the first try. They wanted several more, so I ended up doing about ten of them. The problem – this put more strain on my shoulder, as these 50-foot serves are very physical.
And then I did the interview. I mentioned how long it was, but I didn't mention that I was standing in one spot the whole time in my table tennis shoes, which have little support. Normally when I'm in them I'm moving about, but guess what happens when you stand in one spot in table tennis shoes for an hour? It hurts the feet, calf muscles, and knees. I could barely walk afterwards. (I had to do a lot of stretching to prepare for my upcoming coaching sessions – a private one-hour lesson and then a 90-minute group junior session.)
So now I'm full of these minor injuries – every part of my legs are aching, one knee is bothering me (it was bothering me before, but this aggravated it), and my shoulder is hurting from the robot play. Hopefully it just needs a couple days rest – and fortunately I've got a very light schedule today and tomorrow. We'll see how it is on Wednesday.
100-Day Countdown to Change in the ITTF's Presidency
Former USATT President Sheri Pittman Cioroslan is doing an article every day during the last 100 days of Adham Sharara's ITTF presidency. I linked to the first five last week, and there are four more. So I compiled all nine here. Nine down, 91 to go!
- Day 92: Interview with Mike Babuin, USATT Chair and New ITTF BoD Member
- Day 93: A Chat with Philippe Saive, the Promoter of the 2014 Legends Tour
- Day 94: Competing to be Best in the World in Table Tennis
- Day 95: Introducing Adam Bobrow, “The Voice of Table Tennis”
- Day 96: Striving to Attain 225 Affiliated National Associations: It’s in Our Blood!
- Day 97: A Special Invitation to Tour Butterfly
- Day 98: How the Ravages of War Inspired the Beloved Hikosuke Tamasu
- Day 99: Why Tokyo Hosted the ZEN-NOH 2014 World Team Championships
- Day 100: Intro
Samson Dubina Demo Tape
Here's a new video (3:25) of Ohio coach and top player Samson Dubina demonstrating the forehand counterdrive, forehand loop, in-out forehand footwork, backhand counterdrive, backhand loop, and footwork. (He's hitting with Sameh Awadalla.)
Table Tennis Tips
No, not the book (though you should buy that!), but the Tips now up at Expert Table Tennis – there are now 25 of them.
How to Predict and React to Table Tennis Tactics
Here's a short article on this.
Susan Sarandon is the Queen of Ping Pong
Here's the article in the New York Post.
Roger Frank Ping-Pong Tourney Raises $3,000 for PCC Foundation scholarships
Waldner and Persson Tricks
Here's a video (51 sec) of all-time greats Jan-Ove Waldner and Jorgen Persson doing some pretty spectacular tricks with the ball and racket. Notice that the second half is all done continuously. Why don't you try to copy some of these tricks? Good luck!!!
House Playing Table Tennis
Here's a screen shot of Dr. House from an episode of the TV show House playing table tennis – with a clipboard!!!
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