Tip of the Week
Weapons to Allow Opponents to Beat Themselves.

Fall Coaching and USATT Stuff
My fall schedule keeps changing and getting busier. But the good news is I’ve managed to keep Mon, Tue, and Fri open for rest, writing, and various USATT and MDTTC activities. The bad news it means longer hours on other days. Here’s my updated coaching schedule:

• Wed: 5:30-8:45 (one 15 min break)
• Thur: 5:30-9:30
• Sat: 11AM-4:00PM (will likely have a 4-5PM student, and twice a month also have 6:30-8:30PM)
• Sun: 2:45-8:30PM (one 15-min break, and I will likely have more Sunday hours before 2:45PM)

Meanwhile, now that the summer is over, I’m about to launch into a number of coaching committee activities. (I’m chair.) I’d hoped to get into these issues this week, but they may have to wait until next week as I have a number of other issues still to deal with from my todo list, but I won’t get into that now. (They are a mixture of table tennis and my outside science fiction writing side career. See segment below at the end for upcoming publications.)

This Friday I’ll post my USATT Coaching Committee Report where I go over the things the coaching committee will be working on this fall. They include creating a six-hour club coach certification class; updating the coaching certification process; coaching recertification seminars; coaches education (seminars, webpage, possible newsletter, invitations to coach at national team training camps, the recertification seminars mentioned above); confusion between “USATT Certified National Coach” and “USATT National Team Coach”; and scheduling an ITTF Level 3 Course.

This weekend will be extra busy as we have a USATT board meeting nearby in Washington DC, about 45 minutes from me. It starts on Saturday night and continues much of Sunday. I’ve already reworked my coaching schedule to accommodate. On Saturday, I’ll be coaching 11AM-4PM, then at the meeting from 5:30PM on (not sure when it ends). On Sunday it’ll be crazy – the board meeting is 8AM to 3:30 PM, but I’ll be leaving at 2:30PM so I can coach three consecutive 90-min group sessions: 4:00-5:30 PM (first meeting of our new fall Beginning Junior Class); 5:30-7:00 PM (Advanced Junior Class – “Talent Development Program”); and 7:00-8:30 PM (Adult Training Session).

USATT News
There are lots of new items since I last blogged on the USATT News page. Why not browse them over?

Westchester Over 40 Tournament
Here’s the entry form. The 4-star tournament is only for players over age 40. On Saturday they have the Open, and U2200, U1800, U1400, and U1000. On Sunday they have age events for over 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, and 80. (I don’t usually have segments on upcoming tournaments, but this one is unique.)

Maryland Table Tennis Center Newsletter
​Here's the MDTTC September Newsletter. I'm the editor. 

Time to Relax – Table Tennis for When You Are Not Playing Table Tennis
Here’s the article from Epic Table Tennis.

Snappy Backhand: Check Out the New Tool!
Here’s the video (1:58) from Samson Dubina.

Sidespin Forehand Topspin
Here’s the video (5:10) from PingSkills.

Butterfly Presents: Footwork Drills by Stefan Feth, Drill No. 7
Here’s the video (1:18).

Sports Psychology
Here’s the podcast (26:44) from PingSkills.

New Videos from EmRatThich

• Best Attacking Rallies (12:39)
• Zhang Jike (Shandong) vs Zhou Yu (PLA) Chinese National Games 2017 (15:30)
• Table Tennis China: Pro vs Amateur (1:53)

Austin to Abu Dhabi, Destination Fort Worth
Here’s the ITTF article on the ITTF Level 2 course in Austin, Texas, run by Christian Lillieroos.

The Evolution of the Table Tennis Racket
Here’s the article by Radivoj Hudetz at Table Tennis 11.

Another Guinness World Record for Mima Ito
Here’s the ITTF article.

History of U.S. Table Tennis, Volume 19 (1991-1992)
Here's chapter twenty-four - December 1992 - World Doubles Cup. Or order your own print copies at TimBogganTableTennis.com, Volumes 1 to 19! (Volume 20 is about ready – copies were sent to Tim for distribution, and the online tracker says he’ll get them by the end of Thursday.)

New from Sports Flu

• “Captain Long” Upcoming Movie On Ma Long
• KANAK JHA: Youngest Male Table Tennis Player At The Olympics
• What Is The Difference Between Ping Pong And Table Tennis?
• TT- Flex, Training In A New Way
• ITTF World Tour Platinum China Open: Outrageous Chinese Players

ITTF’s New “Multi-Balls” System
Here’s the video (2:01), where they test out having the umpires toss a ball to the player to start each point, instead of the players picking up the ball. Ballboys/ballgirls pick up the balls and deliver them back to the umpire.

Prodigy vs. Legend
Here’s the video (66 sec) of this great point between 14-year-old whiz kid Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan (world #20) and 36-year-old former world #1 (currently #7) Timo Boll of Germany.

Xu Xin’s Great Forehand
Here’s the video (25 sec) where he unleashes one on the falling-backwards run.

Audrey After the Talent Program Trials
Here’s the picture! (Here’s the non-Facebook version.) Note who’s on her forehead! All the players, parents, and coaches wore nametags at the trials this past weekend at MDTTC.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo Ping-Pong Music Video
Here’s the hilarious video (58 sec)!

Non-Table Tennis - Galaxy’s Edge, Gothic Time Travel Stories, and When Parallel Lines Meet
I have two short stories and a novel coming out! (Outside table tennis, which is my main “paying” job, I write science fiction & fantasy as a second profession. Here’s my science fiction page.)

• My fantasy horror story “The Theater of Death” just came out in Galaxy’s Edge Magazine. Alas, you have to buy a subscription to read it. (You can also get it on Amazon – kindle now, print coming.) This is the humorous story of Death through about 20 billion years, where he meets “the creepy guy” at the theater, visits the “Big Crunch” and subsequent “Big Bang,” and eventually learns who dropped that refrigerator on him that started his life (or death) journey.  
• My science fiction fantasy story (yes, it’s both), “Eternity and the Devil,” is coming out Sept. 29 in the anthology Gothic Time Travel Stories. The story is a twist on the "Deal with the Devil" story. A physicist sells his soul so he can make discoveries that will benefit mankind. When the Devil shows up and takes him to Hell, the scientist escapes into the future in a time machine - and with numerous stops, goes a trillion years into the future, pursued by the Devil. At each stop, he is surrounded by billions of systematically tortured souls in Hell - including his long-suffering girlfriend, who he is determined to save.
• Best of all, I co-wrote a novel with Mike Resnick and Lezli Robyn, “When Parallel Lines Meet,” which comes out Oct. 31, but you can pre-order now. Mike is the most decorated science fiction writer on the planet. (Description is on the Amazon page, linked above.)

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