September 21, 2015

Tip of the Week

Recover from the Previous Shot.

MDTTC and USATT Activities

Lots of stuff going on right now. Here's a quick rundown.

We've finalized the teams and schedule for the new season of the Capital Area Team League. I'm on the organizing committee as webmaster, along with Commissioner Stafano Ratti, Treasurer John Olsen, and Publicist Richard Heo. Play begins this Saturday.

On Thursday and Sunday I ran the first meetings of the Fall junior programs I run at MDTTC. We have twelve new juniors, ranging in age from 5 to 13. We focused on grip, stance, ball-bouncing, and the forehand. Next up: the backhand and serving. On Sunday we also had a staff meeting to discuss upcoming plans for the programs.

On Sunday we had the first meeting of the new "Talent Development Program" at MDTTC, where ten of our best kids in the 7-9 age group met and trained, with five coaches – yes, a 2-1 ratio. We may have more depth in that age group than ever before. I don't think of this group has played tournaments – but that'll be happening soon. The program is sponsored by HW Global Foundation. Watch out China!

Also on Sunday was the weekly meeting of the MDTTC Adult Training Group. I also have two regular students on Sundays, but coincidentally both were away or unable to attend, so I had most of the morning and early afternoon off for a change.

I'm buried in USATT work. (I'm not alone on this – I'm working with other USATT people on many of these. CEO Gordon is helpfully involved in most issues.) A short rundown:

  • USATT Teleconference. We have one tonight at 7PM. The agenda includes various membership items, updates and discussion of the upcoming USA Nationals, a legal update on confidential issues, and plans for upcoming board meetings. (I have a 90-minute private coaching session on Mondays ending at 7PM, but I have to cut that short tonight. Student was understanding.)
  • Editing. Recently I've done a lot of detailed editing of various USATT things, from the USA Nationals entry form to various proposals. It's right up my alley – I'm pretty good at catching mistakes. I'm the type of reader who on page 246 will cry out, "That contradicts what you wrote on page 57!"
  • Net Visibility Rule – a proposal to fix the problem of players hiding their serve. I blogged about this a number of times, including July 17 and Sept. 18. I'll submit this soon.
  • Racket Testing Rule – a proposal to fix the problem with boosting. I blogged about it on Aug. 18. I'll submit this after the Net Visibility Rule proposal is dealt with – one at a time.
  • Regional Associations. I've created proto-type bylaws, and will be going public at some point this fall with plans to regionalize the country with regional associations. They'd be primarily responsible for table tennis in their region, including the next three bulleted items. (Many but not all of them would be state associations.)
  • State Championships. Here's is the list I've put together of current State Championships. (If you know of one not on this list, or would like to run one, email me.) The goal is for a state championship in all 50 states in 2016. I blogged about this on April 17. The goal is to turn these into regional news events that promote the sport. I also would like to initiate a "Parade of Champions" perhaps at the 2016 USA Nationals, where all the state champions are paraded out and recognized, perhaps just before the men's and women's finals.
  • Leagues – as chair of the USATT League Committee I'm taking a two-pronged approach – Team Leagues and USATT Rated Leagues. For the first, I'll be putting together a prototype of a regional team league, based on my experiences with the Capital Area Team League and others, such as the one in LA. For the latter, the plan is to allow clubs the option to run a USATT Rated Singles League, where it would be processed for rating, just like a USATT tournament. The earliest these might be ready are late fall or early 2016. (They require software development.)
  • Coaching Programs and Training Centers. I have plans here, and hope to work with the USATT Coaching Committee on this, though I might put this off until 2016. I'd like to see us start to recruit and train coaches who wish to become professional coaches – and teach them both the technical part (as done in the ITTF coaching program we've adopted) and the professional side (how to make a living as a coach, recruit students, set up and run training centers and coaching programs, etc.)
  • Professional Leagues. There are plans afoot on this, but another item for 2016.

Executing Table Tennis Shots

#4 in this new series by Brett Clarke just came out.

More Zhang Jike Multiball Training

Here's the video (1:55).

Topspin with a Bottle

Here's the video (2:03) that shows how to teach someone to topspin by spinning a ball off the top of a bottle.

Butterfly Badger Open

Argentina Open

Here's the home page for the event held this past weekend in Mendoza, ARG, with results, articles, pictures, and video.

Table Tennis is the Most Complete Sport for Kids

Here's the article. (Here's the non-Facebook version.)

New York Table Tennis League

Here's their September Newsletter.

Autographs of 60+ Table Tennis Greats – Barna, Bergmann, Vana, Leach

Here's the Ebay auction – it'll only cost you £12,000! (That's $18,637.02. Pocket change.) Alas, the auction just ended.

Net-Net Post-Net

Here's the video (11 sec) of this most basic shot.

Some Lobbing, a Backhand Countersmash, and a Little Celebration

Here's the video (40 sec).

Two-Ball, Bottle-Net, Blue Picnic Pong

Here's the video (35 sec) of how the game should be played.

What is the Optimal Number of Ping Paddles?

Einstein has your answer. Equipment junkies, go to it! (I created this one.) 

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Texas State Closed.  November 14th at Texas Wesleyan.  Not sure if it will become an annual event.

Mark