March 30, 2026

Tip of the Week
Develop Your Game Around Overpowering Strengths.

Antarctica Classic Table Tennis Championships, April 1-5, 2026 at Esperanza Base
Antarctica! Today I fly to the Antarctica Classic TT Champs., starting Wed, Apr. 1. I’m
playing in the Over 60 Hardbat and Icebat events. Icebat is tricky. Players have to wear
rubber gloves or the racket melts too quickly. The surface is slick like antispin rubber.
It's also rather expensive as a typical racket melts about twice every game, so I'll need
lots of them, plus a portable freezer. (The Antarctica TTA offers discounts on these.)

Fortunately, I'm seeded #2 in both events. Surprise entry Jan-Ove Waldner is the number
one seed. He’s taken a recent interest in these events. I've studied his game and think I’m
only a slight underdog if I attack his wide forehand. Other Americans competing include
Lily Zhang and Kanak Jha, and my doubles partner, Danny Seemiller. I hope I can win the
singles, and for Danny & me to sweep hardbat & icebat doubles! Maybe we'll play penguins.

Weekend Coaching
Last week I had my second bout of flu this year, and wasn’t even sure I could coach this weekend. But it cleared up Friday, and so I coached on Saturday. My emphasis that day was SPEED! I fed a lot of multiball, going faster than usual, pushing the kids to their limit. The key was teaching them efficient movement and balance. A player who moves efficiently can get around faster than someone who’s quicker but not so efficient. Plus, as good coaches hammer into their players, balance is a must or you can’t quickly recover from one shot and move to the next. I had to remind some students that if their free hand hangs down like a dead snake, they won’t be too balanced when they move.

Dan Seemiller Classic
Besides the 15 regular events (including a Giant RR, three doubles events, and $4,000 in prize money) at the 3-star Butterfly Dan Seemiller Classic 3, and besides a trivia contest at the tournament, it also includes a Dan Seemiller clinic on Friday night, 6-8:30 PM. It all takes place in West Liberty, Kentucky, Apri. 24-26. I’m told it’s a great venue! You can enter by going to Kentucky in Omnipong.

Major League Table Tennis

Butterfly Training Tips

Learn How to do a Simple No Spin Serve
Here’s the video (2:55) from Matt Hetherington.

3 Hidden Mistakes SABOTAGING Your Table Tennis
Here’s the video (3:02) from Andrea Levenko.

This Simple Change Improved My Table Tennis Instantly
Here’s the video (2:59) from Pingispågarna.

New from Acceleraq

Should Adults Train the Same Way as Children When Starting Table Tennis?
Here’s the article by Bob Chen.

Tentative Play is the Worst … Here’s How to Fix
Here’s the article from Tom Lodziak.

New from PingSunday/EmRatThich
Note – there are a number of other “Members Only” videos.

New from the Table Tennis Teaching Channel

Interview with Sid Naresh
Here’s the video (5:46). It includes Introduction, How Sid got started in table tennis, Sid's journey to compete in LA, Advice for young athlete, People Sid wants to thank, and Where to find Sid.

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

New from the NCTTA

Southeast Regional Table Tennis Championships Return to Florida
Here’s the USATT article by Joshua Dyke

New from ITTF
Note the Tom and Jerry item near the end, which includes a nice graphic of the two playing.

Comparative Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training Modalities on Physical Performance and Physiological Responses in Competitive Table Tennis Players
Here’s the research article from Research Square.

Tom and Jerry Table Tennis

80 Years Old, Still Returning Everything Life Serves at Him
Here’s where you can buy this birthday card!

Why I Lose at Ping Pong
Here’s where you can buy the shirt at Amazon!

Marty Supreme - Was He Actually Paid To Lose?
Here’s the cartoon video (21:05).

New from Table Tennis Daily

Ranking the Best Table Tennis Fails
Here’s the video (32 sec)!

Explosive Pong
Here’s the video (2 sec)!

How Long Can a Trickblock Take?
Here’s the video (15 sec) from Pingpongmaestros!

Cat Pong
Here’s the video (12 sec)! It’s AI, but done decently well, unlike others I’ve seen.

Adam vs. The Women of Thailand
Here’s the video (16:10) from Adam Bobrow!

Non-Table Tennis – Science Fiction & Fantasy Publications
I have two new stories out, and sold two others. I’ve sold 255 short stories – 199 original and 56 resales. I hope to sell my 200th original story soon! (I also have four novels. Here are all 25 of my books, over half on table tennis.)

  • “Forgive the Fortune Teller” came out in Black Cat Weekly. A fortune teller tells people their future, but by doing this, it changes their future actions and thereby dramatically changes their future. And then the teenaged future savior of the world, who will go down as the greatest person in human history, comes in and she tells him his fortune, changing everything. (To read it you’ll have to buy the issue.)
  • “Twin Lives” comes out in Abyss & Apex on Wednesday, April 1 (no April Fools!). You’ll be able to read this one online. (I’ll add link here when it goes online.) Twin brothers choose different paths in life. One becomes a famous astronaut who leads an expedition to a nearby star. He’s adored by millions. The other is a failed athlete who lives an ordinary life. Because of time dilation, the latter is extremely old and about to die while his famous brother is still in his prime. Who had the better life?
  • I sold “The Oysters of Pinctada” to the War in the Stars anthology. (They bought it a month ago but I was sworn to secrecy until they made the official announcement two days ago.) It’ll come out in August. The people of Pinctada--who are genetically part oyster--use the deadliest secret code imaginable to save their king from space pirates who've kidnapped him! (This is the third time I’ve sold this story.)
  • I sold “The Trojan Alien” to 100-Foot Crow magazine. It’s a very short story about what happens when aliens show up and put a huge horse statue in orbit. Does that sound suspicious?

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