April 28, 2025

Recent Tips of the Week

Cataracts, Vision, and Weight Training
I had cataract surgery on my right eye on March 25 – and it was a HUGE success. Before the surgery, I had 20-150 vision in that eye, along with 20-70 vision in my left eye. The result was I couldn’t recognize people from 30 feet or so. When I coached at the club, there was a clock about 30 feet away – and I couldn’t read it. Here are the results - including the improvement of the left eye – see below. I can now read the clock and recognize anyone easily from across the club, about 120 feet away. I can stand at the far side of the club, look across those 120 feet and out the door, across the street, and not only read the street signs for businesses, but their phone numbers in smaller print. My right eye now is at 20-15, far better than even the doctor had thought would happen. With reading glasses, I can easily read now. (I blogged about how, before, I couldn’t read for more than a few minutes without getting a headache.)

I was going to have cataract surgery on the left eye in early April, but a seeming miracle occurred. I'd been using Clear Eyes eye drops every morning for years. It turns out they are not good for you, as the eye doctor explained. They were a primary cause of my left eye vision problems. The eye doctor had me switch to using Systane eye drops, and the result was my left eye is now 20-25, with no surgery. So, I cancelled the surgery. However, after the success of the first surgery, and knowing that the cataracts in my left eye are going to get progressively worse in the next year or two, I went ahead and rescheduled. I took the earliest time available, which is May 28. With two “perfect” eyes, imagine how good my table tennis will be!

However, two realities have struck. First, after years of not really seeing the ball clearly, now I can read spin much better – but my reactions are out of practice. I’m working on it, but often I read spin but don’t react properly, especially on receive. Often I’ll realize this right as I’m about to hit the ball, but it’s too late. But I’m a lot better off now than before!

Second, a primary reason I played well at the US Open in December (where I won Over 40 and Over 60 Hardbat) was I did weight training from August to December. But after the Open, I stopped. When I started playing after the cataract surgery in mid-April, I discovered I was way out of shape and played poorly, even though I could see the ball so much better. I also got exhausted quickly when I play – alas, I play a rather physical game for my age. (Weight training not only builds up muscle, it builds up stamina.) I went to the gym two weeks ago, and struggled to lift what I had been lifting easily in Nov and Dec. So, I started up again. But it’ll take time. (I’m weight training three times/week again, doing four sessions/week with 2550 coach/practice partner Lidney Castro, and plan to play matches 2-3 times/week. I weighed 202 a couple weeks ago, and have dropped to 199, and hope to get to 190 or below. Also, lots of stretching.)

So, my plan is to train hard until the May 28 surgery. Then I’ll have to take about ten days off – no strenuous activity, no lifting anything more than ten pounds. But this time I’ll do what I should have done last time. Instead of sitting about all that time, the doctor said I can go for long walks to stay in shape. So, that’s what I’ll do each day. Then I’ll have about three weeks to prepare for the Nationals – I fly out on June 28.

Here’s perhaps the most interesting thing about my new vision. I’m still amazed at how I can clearly read signs in the distance, and see the label on the ball as it spins. But I went out at night recently and saw the full moon – and I could see it clearly for the first time in ages, and clearly see all the land masses on it.

Here’s my upcoming schedule, both TT and SF. I’m doing a lot more competing than before, where I’ve mostly coached the last few decades. But I get to battle for medals and titles at both senior events (mostly Over 60 and Over 65 singles and doubles events, where I use sponge) and hardbat events. At the SF conventions I’m a panelist and do book signings. Come say hi if you see me at any of these events (presumably the TT ones!).

  • May 23-26              Baltimore Science Fiction Convention
  • May 28                   Cataract surgery on left eye
  • May 30-June 2       Possibly coaching at US Junior Trials in Charlotte, NC
  • June 28-July 4        US Nationals, Ontario, CA
  • July 12                   MD Senior Olympics
  • July 18-26             “The Never-Ending Odyssey” Science Fiction Writing Workshop, Manchester, NH – I go every year. This is my 16th time, including 13 years in a row.
  • Aug. 1-3                National Senior Games, Des Moines, IA.
  • Aug. 9-19              World Science Fiction Convention (Aug. 13-17) & sightseeing in Seattle, WA
  • Oct. 6-9                 Huntsman World Senior Games, St. George, UT
  • Nov. 6-9                US Hall of Fame Dinner and Inductions/Si & Patty Wasserman Junior & Open, LA
  • Nov. 21-23            Philadelphia Science Fiction Convention
  • Nov. 28-30            North American Teams Teams
  • Dec. 16-21            US Open, Las Vegas, NV                                          

Weekend Coaching
I generally coach at three group junior training sessions on weekends. Some of the highlights of this past weekend:

  • The usual focus on footwork and good technique, and both live play and multiball.
  • Worked with numerous players on serves, including several who are now learning the reverse forehand pendulum serve. Also discussed with one of our advanced players how to make the serve more effective, with a few tips I learned from Jimmy Butler, who may do this serve better than anyone in the US.
  • Worked a lot with three beginning/intermediate kids on smashing – and they learned it pretty well. Key thing is a good backswing, turn sideways, and a smooth stroke.
  • Actual exchange after I missed a shot: Kid: “You missed!” Me: “No I didn’t, I just aimed differently.” Kid: “I saw you miss!” Me: “I can’t even spell M-I-S-S.” Kid: “You just spelled it!” Me: “No I didn’t, ‘it’ is spelled I-T, and I spelled M-I-S-S.” Kid: “You spelled ‘miss’ again!” Me: “How can I spell ‘miss’ again when I can’t even spell M-I-S-S?” Kid: “You spelled it again!” Me: “How many times do I have to explain that ‘it’ is spelled I-T? You keep MISSspelling it!” And so on...
  • One of the kids now collects ping-pong balls. I went through my shelves and found about 30 different ones for him. Many years ago I collected balls, and had over 1,000 different ones. But someone from Europe had been collecting them since the 1950s (!), and much more actively, and had something like 15,000. He bought my entire collection for a flat $1,000.

Deception As Fair Play: Applying “Trickeration” To Business Strategy
Here’s the article – and it uses a story I told them about tactics I used once in a match to trick an opponent into playing poor tactics against me! They showed how this type of tactic can be used in businesses, calling it, “trickeration.”

USATT Bylaw Changes
Here they are. I haven’t gone over them closely and probably won’t – but one change that jumped out at me is that they are cancelling the annual USATT Assembly. (See where they are deleting 15.2 of the USATT bylaws.) The rationale is, “Since all board meetings are public and that holding the General Assembly during a major competition is impracticable, there is no need for this provision.” This makes no sense. First, the purpose of the USATT Assembly has always been for USATT members to meet and talk with board members and staff, ask questions, and make suggestions. It was done at major tournaments because that’s when we’d have lots of USATT members. Attending a board meeting is not the same thing, as that’s simply the board of directions doing their business as always, not for the purpose of listening to and meeting the membership. Second, if it were impracticable, then how is it they’ve done it for something like twenty years under past administrations?

Chinese Table Tennis chief Liu Guoliang Quits, Wang Liqin, Ma Long to Head Olympic Charge
Here’s the article from the South China Morning Post.

Table Tennis Evolution Since 1933
Here’s the video (2:22).

Point of the Year?
Here’s the video (1:25, point ends at .54).

Coaching and News from All Over
Since I’ve been away for six weeks, rather than try to list every interesting article, here are links to some of the main news and coaching pages that have been active in that time, and you can pick and choose. I’ll get back to linking to individual articles next week.

Non-Table Tennis – Science Fiction & Fantasy Stories
I had four short stories published recently.

  • Apr. 17, 2025 – “Prissy and the Rude Fly” (Flash Fiction Magazine). Prissy is a spider who’s minding her own business when she’s attacked by a swashbuckling fly.
  • Mar. 28, 2025 – “High Plains Centaur” (Wyrd Wytchy West anthology). 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 purpose?
  • Mar. 30, 2025 – Two stories: “As a Matter of Fact the Universe Does Revolve Around Me” and “Pretty Pictures at War” (Dragon Soul’s Between Realms Anthology). In the first one, A teenage girl is literally the center of the universe, which revolves around her, and scientists cannot understand it. Then Galactic Citizens show up. In the second one, after a well-meaning 4-D being inadvertently humiliates him, a vengeful billionaire invades their 4-D universe with an army. Things don’t go as planned.

I also sold two more stories. Yes, I get paid for all my SF stories as well as for my TT coaching!

  • “The Asteroid of Dinocles” sold to the upcoming Space Dinos anthology. The asteroid that was supposed to kill the dinosaurs instead went into orbit around Earth, for reasons you learn in the story. Velociraptors evolved (with pet lemurs), and with telescopes they see a building on the asteroid. This leads to a space race and the first landing on the asteroid. Nothing is as they expect, with a (hopefully) mind-blowing ending. (The title refers to the story of The Sword of Damocles - except instead of a sword hanging over them, it's this asteroid.)
  • “The Crab and the Cambrian Ghost” sold to the upcoming Murderfish anthology. A paranoid hermit crab believes the world is out to get him and vows vengeance – and then meets a ghostly nautilus with unnatural powers.

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