June 16, 2025

Tip of the Week
How to Serve to Passive and Aggressive Receivers.

Training and Weekend Coaching
I had a whirlwind training period this past week, getting ready for the upcoming US Nationals. (I leave for them on June 28 where I’m seeded in a number of senior and hardbat events.) Due to shoulder injuries that made forehand looping difficult, I finally made the big decision to go from my regular inverted both sides (Tenergy) to short pips. Not just on the forehand, but on the backhand as well, so that my sponge game would be similar to my hardbat game. However, while this would likely be effective since I probably hit better than I loop, the experiment only last a few days. Why? Because, after two practice sessions with them, I played my first practice matches with it. Halfway through my second match I re-injured my right side, making it difficult to rotate back and forth quickly. Two results: First, I have to take another week off to let it heal, and second, since I won’t get much match practice with pips, I’ll stick with inverted both sides for the upcoming US Nationals. Meanwhile, I’m back to physical therapy for both my right shoulder and side. I’ll just have to play through these injuries at the Nationals – they won’t completely heal before that.

On Saturday we had our final regular training session of the season – but our Summer camps begin today. During that final session I mostly fed multiball, but also hit with some players, which was tricky as I’m trying not to get any more injured before the Nationals. (Even if I eventually go to short pips, I’d still normally use inverted when coaching and acting as a practice partner.) One interesting thing that keeps coming up is when to teach backspin serves, pushing, and looping. They go together!!! I know some coaches who teach backspin serves and pushing early on to junior players, but don’t want to teach looping until later. The problem is that if the junior is serving backspin or pushing, that means he’ll face pushes – and while he’ll often push, he’ll also do what he sees others do, which is to attack the push. If they aren’t taught to loop at this time, then they’ll just do it on their own, and by the time they are taught how to loop by the coach, they’ve already learned it wrong. It’s a LOT easier to teach it correctly from the start than trying to fix a bad habit. So, yeah, learning to serve backspin, pushing, and looping all go together. You can teach a soft loop at the start, just to get them started. Many coaches think it’s best to put off all three for a time, and have them just serve topspin and bang it out with regular forehands and backhands – and when they are good at that, then teach backspin and looping.

Paid Illustrator Wanted for "Ping-Pong Paddles Can't Talk!"
This is the title of the new children’s book I’ve written. It’s 314 lines of humorous Seussian rhymes in anapestic tetrameter. The book features a nervous boy and his talking paddle in their first tournament, where he meets and plays a girl who is really good, and they have an adventurous match, with a surprising aftermath. Along the way, kids learn about the sport, with themes on facing your fears, working toward a goal, honesty, and friendship. It’s aimed at children, roughly 7-10. It’ll likely be about 28-32 pages, plus the covers.

The problem is I need an illustrator. The high-level ones charge a fortune, plus I’d have to spend time making sure they get the table tennis parts right. Are there any illustrators out there? I’ll pay directly, plus, of course, you get to do a fun table tennis project and add it to your portfolio!!! If you are interested or you know someone who might be, email me.

New Junior Program For Autistic Kids
One of our top junior stars, Stanley Hsu (16, long-time member of various US junior teams), is setting up and running a junior class this Summer for autistic kids. Though I’ll be traveling a lot this Summer, I may help out when I’m in town. I’ve taught about a zillion such classes.

I spent an hour with him yesterday going over how to teach a junior class, while we discussed the differences since the kids are autistic. We went over the basics of how to teach the various techniques, i.e., the tricks of the trade. It wasn’t all strictly table tennis - perhaps the most interesting tip I gave involved pets and clothes dryers (!). When I first started teaching group sessions, I took a class in public speaking since I wasn’t a good public speaker. I learned that to prepare for a lecture, you want to practice with something that simulates an audience, i.e., something that moves. And so, you practice by lecturing a pet or a spinning dryer! He has a dog, and that dog may be getting a lot attention soon. The other thing to remember when teaching a table tennis class is that in that domain, YOU ARE THE MASTER. Have confidence in your table tennis knowledge. (Some of the stuff I went over is in my Professional Table Tennis Coaches Handbook.)

Above all, I emphasized that when teaching beginning juniors, you have two primary goals – teach the fundamentals and get them excited about table tennis. Give lots of eye-dazzling demos, keep it fun while focusing on getting the techniques right, and they’ll stay for years. Stanley started out in my beginning junior class about ten years ago, and he’s still here! (If you are local and interested in helping out with this class, email me and I’ll put you in touch with Stanley.)

Dora Kurimay Free Live Seminar: Unlock Your Champion
Mental Toughness & Growth Mindset Strategies for Life, Sport, and Success
Dora will be running this free one-hour seminar on Zoom from 4-5PM on Wed, June 25. (I will be attending.) Bonus - All participants will receive a free mental performance worksheet and exclusive mindset insights from Dora’s published books. She’s a former member of the Hungarian National Team, now coaching in New York. She’s a sports psychologist with two Master’s degrees, one in psychology, the other in sports psychology. She has a few books on table tennis sports psychology. She’s been in the news a lot recently!

Butterfly Training Tips & Highlights

New from Pingispågarna

New from PongSpace

5 Ways to Dominate the Backspin Serve
Here’s the article by Tom Lodziak.

The 3 DEADLIEST COMBOS in Modern Table Tennis
Here’s the video (6:48) from Andreas Levenko.

Three Steps to Practice Short Balls
Here’s the video (58 sec) from Dr. Table Tennis. Get out those towels!

New from MH Table Tennis

The 2025 Chinese Super League Preview
Here’s the video (3:09) from Table Tennis Media.

The Rise of Hugo Calderano: From Underdog to Champion
Here’s the video (5:53) from Beyond the Podium.

Ping Pong for the Planet
Here’s the video (3:02) from Ti Long.

New from PingSkills
Ask the Coach

New from the Malong Fanmade Channel
Lots of new videos here.

New from TT11TV

My First World Championship Experience In Doha
Here’s the article by Sally Moyland

Major League Table Tennis
Follow the action! (Here are news items over the last month.)

New From Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

New from ITTF

Bob Chen – Self Ping Pong For Fun
Here’s the video (76 sec)!

Around the Table
Here’s the video (29 sec) – I count 16 counterloopers!

Who Said Table Tennis Doesn’t Make You Sweat?
Here’s the video (6 sec)!

King Pong Shirts
Here’s a selection!

Which Stupid Shot is Illegal?
Here’s the video (18 sec) from PingPongMaestros!

3 Stooges: Table Tennis Tussle
Here’s the video (3:14) from Kartoonzee!

Adam vs. Kao Cheng-jui
Here’s the video (12:14) as he takes on the 2025 Men’s Doubles Silver Medalist, former World #1 Under 19, and current World #24 from Taiwan.

Impossible Mountain Battle
Here’s the video (8:02) from Pongfinity!

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