April 18, 2016

Tip of the Week
Shot Awareness in Practice.

Chinese School Exhibition
On Saturday I did an exhibition/demonstration at a Chinese school at Rocky Hill Middle School. My partner for the exhibition was Lisa Lin, rated 1919, a member of the USA Hopes Team (top four under 12 at time of trials), who had just turned 12. I'd spoken to her briefly on Friday about what we'd do, since it was her first exhibition, and pointed out that between the two of us we'd done about 500 exhibitions. 

I gave my usual talk about table tennis being a game of strokes, footwork, and spin; how it was an Olympic sport; and emphasized how China dominates, since it was a Chinese school. We demonstrated forehands, backhands, footwork, and a multiball demonstration where Lisa did lots of footwork. I also explained spin, and demonstrated a backspin serve that bounced back into the net, and a sidespin serve where I served to the left, and the ball spun sideways and hit a conveniently placed paddle off to the right. 

Then I got into my "sad story" routine, where I explained how a terrible thing had happened, that after years of training, Lisa had gotten a "big head," had gotten conceited - and in fact had told me that very morning that she could beat me!!! So to settle it once and for all, we were going to have a challenge match, with the loser sweeping and mopping the gymnasium that night. 

A game to 11 is too short for a good exhibition, so we played to 15, with the school principal umpiring. We had lots of great rallies, including one standout one where we smacked backhands back and forth for about 30 shots, with me grunting loudly each time. At various times I pulled out the big racket, the mini-racket, and a clipboard; did the 50-foot serve, the blowing-the-ball-over-the-net serve, the come-back-over-the-net backspin serve, the "Look over there, Lisa!" serve (where I serve as she looks away), the fake high-toss serve (where I toss a ball way up in the air, and then quick serve with another ball), and the toss-the-ball-under-one-leg, serve-under-the other serve. Oh, and lots of lobbing, including a nice one where I was rolling about on the ground. 

Throughout I'm bantering continuously with the audience, mocking Lisa (and always paying for it), and even doing the "first table tennis wave in history" (for about the 500th time). We battled back and forth, and had five deuces, but in the end (as I'd promised Lisa), she won 21-19. 

We then invited players to come up and try to return spin serves, with others directed to catch the returns that predictably went to the side - the kids always are amazed at this. 

Afterwards, they asked if I would be available to teach a regular class on Saturdays - and though I'm rather jammed for time these days, I (tentatively) agreed. So I might be teaching there starting in a few weeks, though they have to first organize it. 

USA Nationals Event Listing
Here's the list, with times and days. The Nationals will be held July 4-9 in Las Vegas. (Yes, for those not paying attention, they've flipped the Nationals and Open – the Open will be in Las Vegas in December. This is so kids can attend the Nationals – when it was held in December it conflicted with their school finals.)

Table Tennis Coach Needed
Here's the notice from the Alameda Club in California.

New Look for Table Tennis' Hottest Social App: PongUniverse Gets a New Look!
Here's info from MH Table Tennis.

Ajmer Proves Successful Home for India's Second Ever Level Three Course
Here's the ITTF article on the coaching course run by USA's Richard McAfee.

Stay Young – with Help from Table Tennis!
Here's the BBC article.

The Amazing Story of Ibrahim Hamato - Impossible is Nothing
Here's the video (1:41). You've probably seen video of the armless Egyptian star, who plays with a racket in his mouth and is often invited to big tournaments where the top players line up to hit with him. Now you can learn more about him. (He lost both arms at age 10 in a train accident.) Here's his Wiki page.

Amazing rally at 2016 French National Championships!
Here's the video (48 sec).

Monarch Bank Battle of the Paddles School and Scholarship Ping Pong Event
Here's the video (62 sec).

The Best Spots in D.C. for Dates 1, 2 and 3
From the Washington Post on Friday, under "SECOND DATE: Have a drink, mixed with some friendly competition," it has the following: 

The Park View spot starts serving beer, wine and cocktails at 5 p.m. (except on Sundays, which are dry). Grab a drink and a light snack at the bar and, once you’re ready, venture upstairs for table tennis. You can make the game a little more interesting by turning it into a challenge: Every time someone loses a point, he or she shares a fact about themselves. For example, I learned that a recent date is one of eight kids, enjoys taking baths and, as a child, thought he would play professional basketball. Offering up random facts can be a nice change of pace from volleying questions back and forth, like on a regular first or second date. If your date is a sore loser or a total dud, you can call it a game, set, not a match and part here. 

Pong Head
Here's the picture!

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