January 13, 2024

Tip of the Week
Why Lobbing is Good For You, Why Lobbing is Bad For You.

Weekend Coaching
I coached in four group sessions over the weekend, totaling 6.5 hours. I spent about half of them feeding multiball, half as a practice partner/coach. I think I blocked about 10,000 shots over the weekend! If I block like this in tournaments, I’ll never lose. I also had some good counterlooping duels with some of the more advanced players – my training of the last few months has made this a bit easier. Ryan Li (age 9, rated 1568, moving up fast) did a drill with me where I blocked one to backhand, one to middle, one to backhand, one to wide forehand, and he alternated backhand and forehand – and did 600 in a row without missing at a pretty good pace. (The drill actually started with him serving backspin, I push to his backhand, he backhand loops, I block, and then the footwork drill begins. But because he wasn’t missing, he only had to do two backhand loops – yes, I missed one block along the way, but his count continued.)

We did a lot of doubles in one session. I gave the short version of my standard doubles tactics lecture. (Here’s my book, Table Tennis Doubles for Champions.) After the session, a number of them stayed late to play doubles for about an hour.

It seems like every week my eyes get worse. As noted in my blog last week, I’m getting cataract eye surgery in February. Right now, if I cover my left eye, I can barely recognize people from across the table, their faces are just blurs – my right eye has 20-150 vision. My left eye is 20-70, also pretty bad. As noted before, no wonder I’ve been struggling to read spin – the serving motion and other spin shots, and the ball itself, are just blurs! It happened so gradually that I barely noticed it was happening.

There’s another problem regarding the cataracts. My near vision is also slightly blurry, even with my reading glasses. This means reading, including on a computer screen, strains my eyes – and since I read a lot, I’ve had regular headaches for the last couple of months. Just watching the screen as I type this hurts my eyes – after a while, it’s like a chainsaw in my head, and my eyes feel like burning coals. There’s a chance I might have to stop blogging until after the cataract surgery – not sure yet. I would still have a Tip of the Week every Monday – I recently spent half a day writing up enough to go to the end of March. But the thought of not reading . . . that’s like not eating! (Meanwhile, I’m getting advice now on Medicare – which should cover the cataract surgery – from Luz Brissett, a player from New Jersey. I just got off the phone with her - she’s been very helpful.)

Virginia Tech Table Tennis Scholarship
Here’s info – note that deadline is in two days, Jan. 15! (I blogged about this last week. One item left out previously – scholarship is for US citizens only.) Special thanks to Jim and Elizabeth Mossberg for the creation of this TT scholarship. (Jim Mossberg is a long-time player and leader in Maryland Table Tennis and a big help to me when I started playing in 1976.) Applicants must major in the College of Engineering (which includes computer science), Computational Modeling & Data Analytics, Mathematics, Physics, or Statistics. 

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action!

The Goats of Table Tennis Were Forced to Retire
Here’s the video (2:17) from Taco Backhand.

DON'T MISS OUT--NCTTA Spring 2025 Season
Here’s the article from NCTTA.

Butterfly Training Tips

How to Learn and Practice Small Steps
Here’s the video (4:10) from Pingispågarna.

New from PongSpace

How to Level Up Your Forehand Topspin Technique
Here’s the video (7:30) from Ti Long. Note the part at the start where he shows how to use the power from the legs and hips, a key aspect many don’t do properly.

7 Pro Tactics from Ma Long - How To Win Like A Champion!
Here’s the video (7:45) from Rational Table Tennis. Hey, he stole the first three and last three tactics from me! (My backhand isn’t strong enough for #4.) But these are excellent tactical examples. The first three involve serve and attack, and are ones I use and coach others to use regularly.

The #1 Exercise You Need to Improve at Table Tennis
Here’s the video (8:31) from Enzo Angles.

New from Performance Biomechanics Academy Table Tennis

Mental Training Tip – Table Tennis is a Team Sport: Why Cohesion Matters
Here’s the article By Dr. Alan Chu, Ph.D., CMPC.

New from PingSkills

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

New from USATT

New from ITTF

When Your Friend Forgets His Racket
Here’s the video (20 sec) – where they play with only one racket!

Garage Junk Pong
Here’s the video (16 sec)!

Best of Balls of Fury
Here’s the video (52 sec), with clips from the best scenes from the 2007 table tennis comedy movie Balls of Fury. Yes, that’s Christopher Walken in some of the scenes – he plays the bad guy. Movie is available on Amazon Prime video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, and Fandango at Home.

New from Table Tennis Daily

Master Level Ping Pong
Here’s the video (8:57) from Pongfinity! “Best shots, rallies and moments from 2024! What a year, thank you everybody for your support!”

***
Send us your own coaching news!