January 28, 2016

Pete May and a Proposed Police Table Tennis Program for Inner City Kids
At the USA Nationals, Pete May told me about an idea for a new type of table tennis program. Some of you may remember Pete as the guy who ran much of the table tennis activities in Augusta, Georgia, circa the 1980s and 1990s – 4-star tournaments, the Augusta College Table Tennis Program (with scholarships), and other activities. He was also a 2000+ chopper, and he and Dell Sweeris made the final of Over 70 Men's Doubles last year at both the U.S. Open (losing to a team from China in five) and at the USA Nationals. His son, Derek, was a 2550 chopper who played on the U.S. Pan Am Team. Pete's mostly retired from running table tennis activities, and now is a Disc Golf Champion – see Interview with 3x Legends Champ Pete May, and this video (1:51), The greatest thing about disc golf.

Here's his idea. He tells me that local police departments have funding for local youth programs, especially for inner city kids. So we go to them about setting up table tennis programs for such kids, 12 and under, where they supply the tables, rackets, and balls. Older ones are selected as team captains and/or to feed multiball. There would be divisional play, with awards for the champions. Local newspapers would be brought in as stakeholders, which would lead to coverage. Pete suggests the matches be held outdoors (weather permitting?) for more exposure. The police department would enjoy doing this as they would get a "gold star" for helping kids. USATT would benefit from exposure, more players, and possible new phenoms.

Pete wonders, "What if 100 cities the size of Augusta had 1000 players each, Wow!" Now obviously we're not going to wake up one morning and magically have 100 cities doing this, but all successful nationwide programs start out small and build up, often one city at a time. So . . . any takers out there want to try out this type of program? Anyone connected with the police who might have some ideas or input on this?

Snow
I am so tired of being right. When we learned that we would be getting two feet of snow (and ended up getting 30 inches), I predicted schools here in Montgomery County, Maryland, would be closed most of the following week. Others told me that was crazy, that they might be closed for a day or maybe two, but how long does it take clear the roads so kids can safely go to school?

Well, the snow fell last Friday and Saturday, and the schools have been closed since – yep, they are closed again today, Thursday, for the fifth consecutive school day. I'm guessing it's 50-50 about tomorrow. (If they open, it'll probably two hours late. BREAKING NEWS AT 3PM: They are closed on Friday! That's six straight school days they've closed.) Why do they close even though the roads really are mostly cleared? I think it's obvious – if one county closes schools, and another doesn't, and then there's an accident in the one that opens, the ones in charge would get the blame. Nobody wants to take that chance, so if one closes, most of them close.

There still is the problem with water melting from the snow and freezing over, leading to slippery roads in the morning, but that could go on for weeks – there's a lot of snow lining the streets that can keep melting and refreezing. It makes sense to delay schools two hours to avoid rush hour, but if it is the freezing over they are worried about, they might as well close the schools down until Spring (or at least until nighttime temperatures go above freezing, which might not happen for a while). Some of us remember that back-to-back snowfalls in 2010 (17.8" and 10.8") that led to schools being closed for two weeks. 

Meanwhile, it means I've had a lot of afternoons off since I haven't done the afterschool program, which involved picking kids up at schools, taking them to the club, and then doing a mixture of table tennis and tutoring.

Spin Art or Spin Science?
Here's the new coaching article from Coach Jon. I especially like the Pablo Picasso quote, "Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist." This not only follows in table tennis, but in other pursuits as well, such as writing, especially fiction writing. (And of course outside table tennis I'm a science fiction writer.)

Ask the Coach Show
Episode #211 (29:35) - China at the Olympics (and other segments).

MHTT World Champs Buildup Diary: Matchplay
Here's the newest blog entry by Matt Hetherington as he prepares for the Worlds.

3T Table Tennis Training
Here's a table tennis coaching site with lots of video.

Five Olympians Headline Fields for U.S. Olympic Table Tennis Trials
Here's the USATT news item.

Strongest Ever ITTF World Tour Begins in Berlin
Here's the ITTF press release.

Ask a Pro Anything: Chuang Chih-Yuan
Here's the video (6:20). "Chinese Taipei's table tennis superstar Chuang Chih-Yuan takes on the ITTF Ask a Pro Anything challenge! Watch to learn more about this table tennis champion as he tries to answer questions from his fans." And he (and Adam Bobrow) also do some dancing!

ITTF Legends Tour
Here's their new promotional video (2 min). Their next event is on Feb. 5 in Ans, Belgium, with Waldner, Persson, Gatien, Schlager, Saive, and Kreanga. Here's the home page.

Fan Zhendong & Ma Long, Fang Bo Training
Here's the new video (5:07).

Fiery Pong
Here's the picture. (Here's the non-Facebook version.)

Ma Long vs. Dimitrij Ovcharov – Left-handed!
Here's the repeating video (10 sec) as they battle it out!

Side-Changing Vertical Doubles Exhibition
Here's the video (28 sec)!

Quentin Robinot's Practical Joke
Here's the video (7:30) as world #120 Robinot of France disguises himself with a wig, hat, and glasses, and shows up at a club, asking for lessons. At first he pretends to be a beginner who was "pretty good" back in school. Several people keep saying they think they recognize him, but can't place him, while the coach keeps looking confused as he watches the metamorphosis. He finally takes off the disguise and everyone recognizes him. It's in French, with English subtitles.

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