March 10, 2025

Tip of the Week
Where to Contact a Push.

Weekend Coaching, Shoulder, Cataracts, and Writing
It always amazes me how fast kids can mimic shots. The key I’ve found is to make sure they have a good grip and proper foot positioning. If you get both of those right, and you show and guide them through the stroke, the rest falls into place as if you were holding two ends of a rubber band. Get either wrong, and the rubber band (the player) gets twisted. (Here’s my Tip from almost 13 years ago on this, Grip and Stance.) Once they can do the stroke correctly, then you do a lot of multiball with them until they can also time it. And work from there until someday they can beat you!

I had a group of four junior players rotating with me in one session, mostly doing forehand footwork drills. None had ever done over 100 in a row before. By the end of the session, all four had done 200 or more. They are learning that (to paraphrase Yogi Berra), the game is 90% mental and the other half physical. The math might not work, but the gist of it is true – and with proper focus, getting one or two hundred in a row becomes easy. And it’ll pay off later on in matches.

I had some fun with the kids where I pointed out that according to the rules, you’re supposed to hit the ball on the far side of the table. That means that if you miss a shot, you are breaking the rules, and are therefore a cheater. The kids had fun calling each other “Cheater!” after that.

I finished my shoulder therapy this past week. The shoulder still has a small sore spot, but overall it’s back to near 100% usage. I went back into training this past week as I prepare for upcoming senior (sponge) and hardbat events.

However, the next hurdle are cataracts. As I’ve mentioned, my eyes have really gotten bad, with 20-150 vision in the right, 20-70 in the left. I have cataract surgery on both coming up, on Mar. 25 and Apr. 8. After each surgery I cannot exercise for two weeks – and since they are two weeks apart, that means one month. That includes most coaching, even multiball training. I also have to wear wrap-around sunglasses if I go outside, avoid touching my eyes, never lift anything over 10 pounds, or just about anything else physical – it puts pressure on the eyes. But if all goes well, by late April/early May my thundering forehand will once again cause terror in the hearts of . . . those who play at a lower level than me. Even with the cataracts and shoulder issues, I was playing at a 2100 level – rating down to 2090 at age 65 – but I’m hoping this will get me back over 2200. We’ll see.

I’m also working on a big, secret writing project. Hint – it’s a new table tennis book I’m collaborated on with someone – and it’s in French! (Perhaps an English version later.) More on this later. I also did a bunch of science fiction writing, and sold a bunch – see segment at end!

Independent Director Kelly Watson Elected as USATT Board Chair (as Richard Char’s Illegal Term Ends)
Here’s the USATT article on Watson’s election at the USATT board meeting held on Thursday, Mar. 6. That finally ended Richard Char’s illegal third term as chair of the board. He served a total of 759 days (108 weeks and three days) after the USATT board elected him to the illegal term as chair on Feb. 6, 2023 – a stain on their legacy. It was pointed out to them before and after, but few would speak up or go against their leaders. Here’s my July 1, 2024 blog about it. Many of us will not forget this blatant disregard for the laws that govern our sport.

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action!

Butterfly Training Tips and Highlights

Mastering the Art of Spin - Serve Like a Pro!
Here’s the video (5:24) from Pingispågarna.

Prepare to Loop After Pushing
Here’s the video (2:13) from PongSpace.

Level Up Backhand Topspin against Backspin in 5 Minutes
Here’s the video (5:50) from Ti Long.

The Day Truls Möregårdh SHOCKED The Tabletennis World!
Here’s the video (6:01) from Beyond the Podium.

My Practice with Ross: 1900 VS 2800!
Here’s the video (13:51) from Enzo Angles.

Talkin' Smash by JOOLA Ep17: Evolving Your Training Regime
Here’s the video (44:37) with Liam Pitchford and Matt Hetherington.

New from PingSkills

BEST POINTS | Top 16 Europe Cup 2025 from Spin Rally

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

2025 Pan American Table Tennis Cup: An Event Of Excellence In San Francisco
Here’s the article by Edgardo Vazquez, National Coach from Puerto Rico

New from ITTF

Custom Team or Individual TT Shirts with Nice Graphics
Here’s where you can buy them!

Seven Table Tennis Cartoons from Saturday Evening Post
Here they are!

Adam Bobrow vs. Korean Olympian Shin Yu-bin
Here’s the video (15:12)!

Non-Table Tennis – Short Story Sales & Publications
In my other life as a science fiction & fantasy writer, I’ve had a flurry of sales recently, with six sales since Feb. 21, plus one story published. (Overall I’ve sold 233 short stories and 4 novels.) I’ll post when the issues come out. Here is a rundown:

  • Mar. 12, but already out: “Two Democratic Civilizations Passing in the Twilight of the Boondocks of the Galaxy” was published in BAB’s #6 from Ahoy Comics. While primarily a comic book, they include a SF story at the end of each issue, and I’ve sold them three. (They pay well!) A huge ship of galaxy-wandering snake-like art-loving aliens shows up, and since they slightly outnumber humans (it’s a big ship and they’re crammed into it) and since they worship democracy, they claim Earth as their own . . . and give us one hour to leave.
  • Mar. 8: “Thank You Miss Kittykat!” sold to Amazing Stories anthology (resale). Humans genetically engineer dogs and cats for high intelligence and opposable thumbs. There’s a war, with humans and dogs allied against the cats. The cats win, and now . . . we're the pets.
  • Mar. 5: “High Plains Centaur” sold to Wyrd Wytchy West anthology (resale). When a gunslinging centaur shows up to run for sheriff and clean up the town, the crooked sheriff and his hired guns (a vampire and a drunken, red-eyed unicorn) fight back. But what is the centaur’s real plan?
  • Mar. 3: “The AI Went Down to the Submissions Page” sold to the Sci-Phi Journal. It's a takeoff on "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," where a human writer and an AI go head-to-head trying to sell a story, and things don't look so good for our poor human.
  • Feb. 27: “The Last Monologue” sold to Ahoy Comics. A satiric confrontation between Red Dread, a woman trying to break the glass ceiling in the field of world domination, and the heroic mansplaining Agent 000.
  • Feb. 24: “NASA’s Plan” sold to Chortle Magazine. A funny, rather silly look at NASA's asteroid defense plan.
  • Feb. 21: “Rat Race” sold to Zooscape Magazine. The story takes place a million years in the future. Humans are extinct, and rats have evolved to take their place. Zuk, a ratropologist – an expert in rat history – is stuck at a cubicle all day with a tail-yanking boss as he writes sensationalist articles for tabloids about ancient rat history and their mistreatment by humans, while mocking the homeless rats outside his window who live on leftover garbage and seem to be enjoying themselves. Zuk hates his life but doesn’t want to sink to the level of the homeless rats. What to do?

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