June 13, 2018

World Veterans Articles
I am writing numerous daily articles for the World Veterans Championships in Las Vegas, June 18-24 (along with Matt Hetherington and Richard Finn). Come on over and read these articles that feature such champions as Istvan Jonyer, USATT Hall of Famers, many more!

Last Blog Until Wednesday, July 11 12
As noted below, I'll be out of town 3.5 weeks. See you in July!

Upcoming Schedule and Events
A detailed, day-by-day schedule of the next 3.5 weeks.

  • June 14-17 (Thu-Sun). I fly out to Eugene, Oregon with dozens of others for a remembrance of my father, who died in December. Will also spend some time going over his estate and belongings, including literally thousands of books.
  • June 17 (Sun). I fly to Las Vegas for three weeks. I'll be staying in the Westgate Hotel. I'll attend the World Veterans Opening Ceremonies at 8PM.  There are about 4000 entries.
  • June 18-19 (Mon-Tue). Group Qualifications for Singles and Doubles. (Doubles starts on June 19.) I'll be doing daily online coverage the entire event, June 18-24 - there should be links at the World Veterans page and on the USATT News page. (Due to shoulder problems I'm not playing, though the shoulder is mostly healed now.) I'm looking forward to meeting one of my three big heroes from when I started playing in 1976 - Istvan Jonyer, the 1975 World Men's Singles Champion. (Click on "Medal Record - Show" on the right.) The other two were Stellan Bengtsson and Kjell Johansson. Stellan will also be at the World Veterans but since he moved to the U.S. many years ago I've gotten to know him pretty well, and look forward to seeing him again. I plan to discuss some USATT policy issues with him.
  • June 20 (Wed). A traditional day off at the World Veterans so everyone can rest. There will be sightseeing tours and the 2019 World Veterans Tour Kickoff Party. However, I probably won't be attending any of this as there'll be an all-day USATT Board Meeting with a packed agenda.
  • June 21 (Thu). Single Elimination Stage in Singles, played to SF.
  • June 22 (Fri). Single Elimination Stage in Doubles, played to SF.
  • June 23 (Sat). Semifinals and Finals of all Doubles and Consolation Events.
  • June 24 (Sun). All Championship Semifinals and Finals played. Award Ceremony presented by Bluestone Designs (Singles events and Closing ceremony. "Viva Las Vegas" Farewell Party presented by Patty Martinez Wasserman and Si Wasserman.
  • June 25-July 1 (Mon-Sun). I have a one-week writing & reading "vacation" in Las Vegas. I'll likely be working on both table tennis and science fiction writing projects. Most of the Maryland juniors (16 of them) are coming in early before the Nationals so I'll also be helping them train the last three days of this. I may see a few Las Vegas sites - see last item below.
  • July 2-7 (Mon-Sat). The USA Nationals. I'll be one of the five MDTTC coaches on hand to coach the juniors from MDTTC, who are mostly from the HW Global Talent Program which trains at MDTTC. Due to the shoulder problems I won't be playing, which means I can focus 100% on coaching. But I should be fine now warming players up for matches.
  • July 3 (Tue). I'll be running a FREE Serve & Receive Tactics Seminar for all levels, though focus is on intermediate/advanced. So far 14 have signed up. If interested, email me so I can put you on the roster. (Please include your state, age, and rating.)  
  • July 5 (Thu). The Hall of Fame Banquet is that night. I'll be there accepting the USATT Lifetime Achievement Award. Those being inducted into the Hall of Fame are Li Ai, Dhiren Narotam, Norman Bass, Doru Gheorghe, and Henan Li Ai. Here's the USATT Announcement. I have to give an acceptance speech - have it all planned out! It ends with a Top Ten list.
  • July 6 (Fri). The Men's and Women's Singles Final will be played that night.
  • July 8 (Sun). I have a free day here where I planned originally to rent a car drive out to the Grand Canyon for some sightseeing. However, for some reason I thought it was two hours away, but it's actually over four. So I'll likely stay in Las Vegas. I looked over the list of Las Vegas Attractions, and will likely visit the following: Titanic Exhibit, The Aquarium at the Silverton Hotel, Mandalay Bay Shark Aquarium, and the Mob Museum. Then, at 10:40PM that night I take a red-eye flight back to Maryland.

Pyongyang Open
Here's the home page for the event starting today in North Korea, June 13-17. (It's the last event on the ITTF Tour until the Korean Open, July 17-18.)

USATT Tournament Promotion Guide
Here it is, for those of you who missed it before. It was created by Matt Hetherington. 

Root of the Problem: Are you looking for it?
Here's the article from Samson Dubina.

Ohio Mega Camp
Here's the article and six videos from this camp run last week by Samson Dubina. The videos include a highlights video and five lectures/demonstrations.

Training 101
Here's the new series of videos from PingSkills, which are free. "Our latest set of tutorials titled training 101 is now complete and available on the PingSkills website. There are 10 lessons designed for someone just starting out in table tennis or for someone looking to coach someone new to the game. Each session builds upon the last and presents some fun activities to help learn all about the important strokes in table tennis, and of course how to spin and how to counter spin."

Show #312 - Tomokazu Harimoto
Here's the new podcast (33:29) from PingSkills. This week they cover:

  • Joke of the Week
  • On This Week - Patrick Franzisca, the man who serves into a shoe, turns 26 years old
  • Tournament Wrap - Japan Open and Australian Open
  • Tip and Drill of the Week - Watch Tomokazu Harimoto and Ma Long playing in a match and isolate their leg movement. Then think about how you can move in a match.
  • Beating Blockers
  • Awkward Long Ball
  • Beginner Serves
  • Choosing Sides

How to Backhand Flick Like Fan Zhendong!
Here's the video (2:40) from Table Tennis Daily.

The Deadly Strawberry Flick
Here's the video (3:41), where they demonstrate the opposite of the banana flick (or flip). Here's another, the Xu Xin Strawberry Flick (4:41).

Zhang Jike Forehand Loop
Here's the video (1:27).

Table Tennis Fans Flood Sina Weibo Calling for Return of Ex-Boss Liu Guoliang
Here's the article from the South China Morning Post (in English).

Legendary German Powerhouse, Rosskopf, Looks Ahead to Vegas
Here's the USATT article by Matt Hetherington.

Meet Yogesh Desai - Table Tennis Ironman
Here's the USATT article by Richard Finn.

Meet the Olympian Bringing Table Tennis to Freehold
Here's the article featuring Lily Yip, from App Magazine.

Table Tennis Tidbits #41: Teens and Twenties Triumph
Here's the article by Robert Ho.

The Tragedy of Decidophobia in Table Tennis
Here's the article by Coach Jon. "It turns out that there is a lot to be afraid of in table tennis!"

Where Are They Now? Anderson College Series
Here's the article by Steve Hopkins.

History of USATT – Volume 21 – Chapter 3
Here’s chapter 3 of Tim Boggan's latest volume, which covers 1993-1994. Or you can buy it and previous (and future) volumes at www.timboggantabletennis.com. Volume 21 is 438 pages with 1667 graphics, and covers all the wild things that happened in 1994-95 - and I'm mentioned a lot! Why not buy a copy - or the entire set at a discount? Tim sells them directly, so when you order them, you get it autographed - order your copy now!

Real-Time Tracking of a Table Tennis Ball
Here's the article. The full title is, "Research on real – time tracking of table tennis ball based on machine learning with low-speed camera."

Ito Mima vs Wang Manyu: 2018 Japan Open Highlights (Final)
Here's the video (12:33). Note - I linked to videos of the Tomokazu Harimoto-Zhang Jike Men's Final on Monday, along with Harimoto's SF with Lee Sangsu and QF with Ma Long.

Martin Jezo and Ronald Chen Exhibition
Here's the video (60 sec) as the two put on an impromptu exhibition at MDTTC.

Talented Ping-Pong Players Put on Mesmerizing Display Using SIX Balls
Here's the article and video (2:31).

Table Tennis Event Smashes the Salt Lake Scene
Here's the video (6:05) from Park City Television.

Ping-Pong T-Shirts
Here's an interesting selection from Fitness Magazine.

Table Tennis Emojis
Here they are.

These Ping-Pong Shots Are Dope
Here's the video (70 sec) of trick shots. I most appreciate the very first one, through the house of cards. Think about it - when trying this out, every time he missed he had to rebuild the thing!

Two Dogs Playing Table Tennis
Here's the repeating gif. (I may have run this once, long ago.)

Star Wars Power Paddle
Here's the page with it. Scroll down further and you'll get the "Come Along Ping Pong Paddle" at the Barbican."

Table Tennis Cartoon Animals
Here are a few. Just Google "Table Tennis Cartoon ANIMAL," and replace ANIMAL with your choice of, well anything. "Cartoon" is optional.

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