December 15, 2014

USATT Election

USATT members, don't forget to vote!!! Here's my USATT Election Page. (You have to be at least 18 years old to vote.) I think we have to decide if the main purpose of USA Table Tennis is to develop table tennis in this country, or just maintain the status quo. If you believe as I do that it's to develop table tennis in this country, then I hope you'll vote for me.

If you're at the USA Nationals, stop by the USATT Assembly Tuesday night (7-9PM), where I'll be giving a short speech. Come to the Larry Side, we have cookies!!!

I resume Blogging on Monday, December 29

As noted below, I'm out of town at the USA Nationals and then a family Christmas. So the next blog will be after I return, on Monday, December 29.

Tip of the Week

Backhand Footwork. (Some of this is a rewrite from my blog last Friday, but I've added to it.)

USA Nationals, and Last Blog Until after the Nationals and Christmas

I'm off to the USA Nationals early this morning with a group of other Marylanders - and so am writing most of this the night before. I'll be back next Sunday night, but only for a day as I leave the following morning for a family Christmas gathering in Eugene, Oregon. (Yeah, I'm flying coast-to-coast on consecutive days, don't ask.) So this will be my last blog until Monday, Dec. 29, when I get back to daily blogging.

The playing hall at the Nationals will be open today (Monday) from 3-8PM. I land at 3:45PM, and will likely be at the playing hall around 5 or 6PM. Due to my recent back problems, I won't be hitting, alas. But I think I'll be ready for the hardbat events on Wednesday. (I normally play sponge, but at the major tournaments where I'm coaching I like to play hardbat.)

If you are in the tournament, this might help - Top Ten Ways to Play Your Best in a Tournament. Have you practiced your serves? Well, have ya???

While at the Nationals I'll be attending much of the USATT Board meeting (Tues 9AM-6PM, Wed 9AM-Noon). I want to emphasize something I wrote recently - that if I get elected, my goal is to help turn this Board and the new CEO into the greatest ones in history. I really mean this, and I want to be a part of it. The indications I'm getting so far is that the thinking is changing, and we might be ready to really tackle the serious problems faced in developing this sport.

I've been in a number of discussions recently about developing a Pro Tour. There are serious complications as there are more than one way to do this. If you have three ways of doing something successfully, and there are three contingents all insisting on their way, then you can't get more than 33% in favor of any one way! Of the five main issues I'm focusing on, this might be the most difficult. Ultimately, the best way to make a Pro Tour successful is to grow the sport, through leagues and other programs, so there is funding. If I'm on the Board, that'll be my focus. When you have 600,000 paid league players as they do in Germany, it's easy to support the top players. If we had 100,000 paid USATT members, or even 50,000, it would be easy to do so in the U.S.

Here's an informal goal: A successful professional circuit in this country - where the top players can make a living - by the time Kanak Jha (and about ten other cadets who are chasing him!) is college-aged. So we have four years. Let's get crackin'! (Sorry, Kanak, we also plan to train this generation of cadets so well that in four years you're going to have some serious competition.)

And yet, with all my talk of pro circuits, leagues, state associations, and how to develop the U.S. Open and Nationals, the issue I'm personally most interested in is developing a USATT coaching academy. Well, of course! I'm a full-time professional coach from a club with seven full-time coaches. (The other six work longer hours than I do - they work incredible hours.)

In recent years I've worked mostly locally, at MDTTC in Maryland. But the sport in this country isn't getting better, and I finally decided I'd done enough talking about it, it was time to take action national to make things happen. I don't want my club to be a big fish in a small pond; I want my club to be one of many huge fishes in a huge pond.

At the Nationals I'm looking forward to finally meeting our new CEO, Gordon Kaye. I've spoken to him on the phone several times but have never seen him. It is my theory that he's just a disembodied voice, with the online pictures of him taken from Getty Images, with the whole plot orchestrated by RailStation. Soon I will get to test my theory.

Here's a list of some of the things I'm taking to Las Vegas:

  • Coaching notes
  • Rackets (sponge and hardbat)
  • Floor towels (for players playing on cement)
  • Table tennis clothing (including my "USATT Certified Coach" shirt from long ago)
  • Ten precious Nittaku Premium 40+ poly balls, the ball used at the Nationals but with limited supplies
  • USATT Election Flyers
  • TableTennisCoaching.com flyers
  • Flyer stands
  • My table tennis books and bookstands. The books will be on sale at the Butterfly and Paddle Palace booths.
  • Starting times schedule for players I'm coaching
  • Various folders:
    • USA Nationals folder
    • USATT Election folder
    • Table Tennis Professionals of America folder
    • State Associations folder
    • USTA folder (to show how tennis does things differently than USATT)
  • Laptop computer
  • Kindle full of great books. I just started "The Wise Man's Fear" by Patrick Rothfuss, the sequel to "The Name of the Wind," which I finished recently. I also have Tahl Leibovitz's "Ping Pong for Fighters" and Alex Polyakov's "The Next Step."
  • 500-piece "The Hobbit" Jigsaw puzzle - I plan to put it out somewhere for players to put together during the Nationals!

Things I'm Not Good At

Since some of you might be considering voting for me in the USATT Election, perhaps you should know the things I'm not good at.

  • Foreign languages, and remembering technical terms and names. (I think these all go together.)
  • Judging esthetic or fashion issues.
  • An irrational belief that people will respond more favorably to logical arguments than to emotional ones.
  • Dealing with Internet trolls and other time-wasters.
  • I often speak too fast. I took public speaking classes to overcome this for my group coaching.
  • Hearing when there's background noise. I hope I won't need a hearing aid someday.
  • Stiff and injury prone.
  • Demonstrating smooth strokes.
  • I see way too many movies in theaters - better than one a week. I must have low standards when it comes to movies. But the popcorn is great!
  • I'm a picky eater. No seafood, hamburgers, mushrooms, mushy vegetables, and if I don't recognize it, I don't eat it. I'm also a non-drinker, sometimes a problem in social situations.
  • Looking good in a suit. I can barely tie a tie - but I only wear one about once every few years (weddings and funerals).
  • I still use a flip phone. Once I go to a smart phone and am connected 100% of the time, there's no going back. I'm told "resistance is futile," but I'm still fighting this. Someday I'll weaken and life will never be the same. (I use the flip phone to take on challenges from my beginning junior classes.)
  • And here are weaknesses in my table tennis game - see "How to Play Larry Hodges"!

$1,000,000 ITTF World Tour Finals

The event finished yesterday in Bangkok, Thailand. Here's the ITTF home page where you can find complete results, articles, pictures, and video. Congrats to the champions - Jun Mizutani (JPN), Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN), Cho Eonrae/Seo Hyundeok (KOR), and Miu Hirano/Mima Ito (JPN)! (As noted in previous blogs, the top Chinese didn't play enough Tour events to qualify for the Finals.) Here's the ITTF Press Release on the two 14-year-old Japanese girls (Hirano/Ito) who won Women's Doubles. Here's the ITTF Press Release on Japan sweeping both singles titles. Here's the Day Four Daily Review (4:50). And don't forget to check out the daily Shots of the day for Day One, Day Two, and Day Three!

Newgy Coaching Articles

Here's the page - I count 114 coaching articles (!) including ten by me.

Ask the Coach

Here are all 47 "Ask the Coach" videos. (By the time you read this there might be more!)

International Table Tennis

While I'm away at the Nationals and for Christmas you can keep track of USA Table Tennis news at the USATT News Page, and all the International news at TableTennista (which especially covers the elite players well) and at the ITTF home page (which does great regional coverage).

Another Reason the Serving Rule Needs Fixing

Here's a thread with links to pictures showing more hidden serves at the European Championships. These aren't isolated incidents - it's common all the time. That's why I want to change the rule to, "Throughout the serve, the ball must be visible to the opponent and to both umpires, or where the umpires would sit."

Scott Preiss "The Ping Pong Man" and Jimmy Butler on Live with Regis and Kathie

Here's the video (4:04), which just went up though I think this was from 1996, after Jim made the U.S. Olympic Team.

Atlanta Beats JOOLA in 2014 North American Teams Championships

Here's the article, along with pictures and video.

USATT CEO Pays Visit to Sports P'ville 'Mecca'

Here's the article.

Washington Post Style Invitational: Think Up a New Radio Channel

Here's the article and graphic. So what was the #1 example used? "Ping-Pong Radio: Play-by-play and analysis of global table tennis tournaments. Station doubles as a metronome if commentary is disabled."

Model Pong?

Here's the video (75 sec) from Spin NY that features "A night of very unique entertainment featuring 'Model Citizens Benefit Match' between Kenza Fourati and Amanda Salvato."

Santa Pong?

Here's the picture!

Bird Pong?

Here's the repeating gif image! This really should be on the home page of some club.

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