Tip of the Week
Do You Hit to the Three Spots?

Anti, Long Pips, and Inverted – the Return of the Prodigal Player
After six weeks of experimenting, I’ve decided to go back to inverted on my backhand. It’s not that the long pips and anti on the backhand didn’t work, it’s more a combination that they didn’t magically transport me into being the best player in the world; they didn’t solve my inability to move as I used to (while the backhand block was fine, I often watched balls whiz by on the wide corners); and most important, I just didn’t enjoy playing with them as much as I did with inverted, where I could emulate the best players in the world and pretend I could play like them.

Another factor is it takes time to adjust to such a different surface. I was getting there, but then one of my molars cracked, and it turned out to be a rather serious issue – and I ended up with what they called dental extraction surgery last Tuesday, and under orders not to do anything seriously physical for a week. So, right as I’m preparing to win everything at the upcoming Nationals (July 3-9 in San Jose), I lost a week. Perhaps worse, after a week of couch-potatoness, I’m well out of shape again.

Tip of the Week
A Forehand Stance While Blocking.

Weekend Coaching and MDTTC Party
I fed a lot of multiball this weekend. I’d say the focus was on accuracy, especially when looping where I had them try to hit my water bottle. We also did a lot of down-the-line work. One key issue that comes up a lot when forehand looping against backspin is finding the balance between looping with spin and more arc, and looping with more speed where you drive the ball mostly forward with a lower trajectory. With softer sponges like Tenergy, looping is easier as it springs the ball out with lots of arcing topspin. With harder sponges, players tend to rip the ball more, ending the point with one shot. In multiball, where the ball mostly comes out the same every time, kids discover they can rip the ball over and over. But in a game situation, where the ball is more unpredictable, this type of shot is less consistent. So, players have to find the balance between the two.

Tip of the Week
May 25: How To Return Different Serves.

Weekend Coaching and Long Pips
I did both multiball and live hitting with players in our junior training sessions. I did a lot of drills that focused on transitioning from looping a backspin to attacking the follow-up block. At the beginning to intermediate level, after a heavy push forces the opponent to lift the ball, a follow-up quick block that makes them move often leads to them lifting their next shot off the end. This is especially true if you block to the wide forehand, where a player tends to lower their shoulder when reaching wide, leading to going off the end.

I did a little experiment. When feeding multiball with younger kids, I watched them do footwork and how focused and intent they were. They mostly mindlessly do the movements. Then I put my water bottle on the table and ordered them to not to hit it. (They know when I say that it means to hit it.) Their eyes light up and the mindlessness is gone, and their shots get better and better. Guess which method helps them improve more?

Tip of the Week
Develop an Overpowering Strength.

Frictionless Antispin and Long Pips
Due to problems with my right knee, I’m having difficulty playing my normal forehand attack game. (It might also have something to do with being 66, born in the last full year of the Eisenhower Administration.) So, I’ve been dabbling with long pips ox (no sponge) and frictionless antispin. The long pips actually fit my game very well, since I mostly just block on the backhand. I’ve resisted switching to it for decades since I’m a coach, and I’m a better practice partner with inverted on both sides. Before, as a full-time coach, I’d often hit with our top players as I coached them. Now I only do group sessions where I’m either walking around, feeding multiball, or acting as a practice partner for our beginning and intermediate players, only occasionally hitting with our top players. I can easily switch back to inverted when I hit with these players, ranging from beginner to perhaps 1800.

Tip of the Week
What To Do With Problem Serves.

No Blog This Week
I’m in two workshops over the next few days, including one all day today. See you next Monday!

Tip of the Week
Wait a Split Second Longer When Looping a Push, Then Change Directions.
(Unless your opponent is a Jedi, in which case he’ll just adjust and react to anything you do. It’s May the Fourth, so I had to get my Star Wars joke in there . . . and may the forehand be with you. And here’s Darth Vader playing table tennis with a Martian.)

Even Yet More Table Tennis Tips
It’s not out in both Print and Kindle versions. I blogged about it last week. (Meanwhile, I’m having semi-regular Zoom/Google Meet meetings with the illustrator as we go about finalizing the illustrations for the upcoming children’s picture book, “Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk!” It should be out June 15.

Tip of the Week
April 27: When Receiving, Emphasize Placement & Consistency

Even Yet Still More Table Tennis Tips – NOW AVAILABLE!!!

Even Yet Still More Table Tennis Tips, the fifth and likely final book in my Tips series, is now on sale at Amazon for just $14.95! It’s another 150 Tips of the Week, put together in logical fashion. There are, appropriately, eleven chapters:

Tip of the Week
Push with Purpose and Placement.

Since Jan. 17, 2011, I’ve done 750 Tips of the Week, with one going up every Monday. But I’m all tipped out! I may start up again later, but starting today I’m rerunning the early ones – some of them are my best ones. It also means I now have another 150 tips for the fifth (and likely last) book in the Tips series, “Even Yet Still More Table Tennis Tips” – see segment below.

My Two Upcoming Table Tennis Books

[CLICK on images for larger version.]

Tip of the Week
Eleven Points for Developing a Modern Advanced Style.

A Review and an Interview
My fantasy table tennis novel “The Spirit of Pong” was just reviewed for a Topeka Book Club, and I was interviewed about my writing by Jeff Cates – with lots of table tennis. (Here are all my books - buy some!) Here is the review and interview:

Tip of the Week
Try to Stay Within Arm’s Length of the Table.

Spring Break Camp, Weekend Coaching, Multi-ball Backspin, and Placement
I coached Tue-Fri last week in our MDTTC Spring Break Camp, plus two group sessions on Sunday. I spent over half the sessions feeding multiball, and the rest either as a walk-around coach or practice partner. If there was a theme to the multiball, it was looping against backspin, both forehand and backhand. Most kids learn this pretty easily. The harder part is when I do drills that combine looping backspin and then looping or hitting against a topspin ball that roughly mimics a quick block of their loop. The key is the playing shoulder. You drop it against backspin. After doing that a lot, it’s somewhat natural to drop it at least a little against topspin – and the instant you do that, you’re going off the end. So, I did drills where I’d have them do the one-two of looping against backspin and then a quick topspin.