April 28, 2015

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.

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.)

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