TableTennisCoaching.com - - Your worldwide center for table tennis coaching

July 20, 2026 Tip of the Week

Larry Hodges — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 19:19:33 +0000

July 20, 2026 Tip of the Week

Tip of the Week
Fifteen Important Deep Serves.

Review: Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk! – A Delightful New Children’s Book
Here's the review from Butterfly!

Larry Hodges Sun, 07/19/2026 - 20:19

July 13, 2026

Larry Hodges — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 14:34:13 +0000

July 13, 2026

Tip of the Week
The Value of Down the Line.

Last Blog Until September 7 and Upcoming Schedule
I just returned from the US Nationals, but I’ve got three more events coming up, almost back-to-back-to-back. I will still put up a Tip of the Week each Monday. Here’s my upcoming itinerary.

July 17-25 - The Never-Ending Odyssey Science Fiction Writing Workshop. This is normally in Manchester, NH, but they’ve decided to alternate each year between Manchester and online. This year it’s online. It’s an all-day thing for nine days, with morning, afternoon, and night events. I’ve been going to this annually for many years.
Aug. 2-28 – Sightseeing in Europe (Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia), including competing in the Czech Classic Open in Ostrava, Aug. 22-23 (hardbat, sandpaper, wood). I toured much of Europe and Egypt back in 2019, but didn’t get to the above countries.
Aug. 29-30 – World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim, CA. Literally hours after returning from Europe I fly out for two days!
While I’m away, don’t forget to buy some of my books!!!

Short Blog Today
During the recent US Nationals I hurt my neck. It didn’t really affect my play at the time – but it got worse and worse afterwards. The last two mornings I struggled just to get out of bed without injuring it further. I can barely hold my head up straight and I’m feasting on Ibuprofen. I will likely see a doctor this afternoon, alas. But I can’t spend too much time at my computer like this, so this blog will be shorter than usual.

US Nationals . . . and Age is Not Just a Number
Apparently, age is not just a number. After spending much of the last two years battling injuries, and going into the Nationals with knee and shoulder issues, it all finally caught up to me. I normally play with sponge (since that’s what I coach!), but at the Nationals I was mostly in hardbat events. I was also in Over 65 Men’s Singles (with sponge, seeded #7), but dropped out of it due to the knee and shoulder issues. (Looping with sponge puts more pressure on the shoulder.) While I did some coaching at this Nationals, I was mostly a player this time.

In hardbat singles my playing style is basically all-out forehand attack. But I was simply unable to move well enough to do this. It was a combination of the knee problem and age. Normally I’m very aggressive with following up my serve with a forehand attack whenever possible, and I also return most serves with my forehand when possible. But this time? I simply couldn’t move effectively. If I crowded my backhand corner as I usually do, I couldn’t get to balls to my wide forehand. If I were more centered so I could cover those, I couldn’t step around my backhand to play forehands as I like to do. Rather than attack, I’d often serve and immediately go on defense against returns to my backhand, and similarly with serves to my backhand. I also struggled just trying to reach serves that were short to my forehand – flipping them used to be a big strength. And so, rather than playing my “A” game, I spent most of my matches on the defensive, mostly backhand chopping/blocking/chop-blocking with my fast racket, which is not designed for defense. Normally, in hardbat, I play over 70% of my shots with my forehand. Here, it was literally the exact opposite.

The result? I struggled in match after match. I won at least four matches where I basically just persevered, and could have easily lost all four. I did make the final of Over 40 Hardbat (which I’ve won ten times before at the US Nationals and US Open), but in the final there (where, if healthy, I would still have been the underdog but would have had a chance), and in the semifinals of Over 60 Hardbat (where I was top seed and three-time defending champion), I just couldn’t play my normal game nor could I persevere. So, I got a silver and a bronze.

I’ve concluded that at age 66, I can no longer compete successfully in hardbat with the style I’ve played all these years. And so I plan to go to a slower blade. This will weaken my forehand somewhat, but will make my backhand stronger, both in regular backhands, as well as chopping, blocking, and chop-blocking (which is my favored defense on the backhand). We’ll see how it works. As to sponge play, I both hit and loop on the forehand, and if the shoulder is okay, I can play okay. The key is that with sponge, my backhand blocking is far more effective than I am on the backhand with hardbat. (During my peak years with sponge, on my serve and often on receive, I was also an all-out forehand player.)

Here are complete results of the US Nationals.

Minions Playing Table Tennis

Minions playing table tennis in one of their movies (link should take you to it, about two seconds long)
Minions playing table tennis with lots of volleying (15 sec).
Video of Minions playing table tennis (10 sec).
Repeating Gif Image of Minions playing table tennis.
Here's a picture from the Minions movie, where they are playing two-on-one table tennis. (Here's the non-Facebook version.)

Adam vs. World's BEST 11-year-old
Here’s the video (20 min) with Adam Bobrow!

***
Send us your own coaching news!

Larry Hodges Mon, 07/13/2026 - 15:34

July 6, 2026 Tip of the Week

Larry Hodges — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 16:36:20 +0000

July 6, 2026 Tip of the Week

Tip of the Week: What is the Goal of the Receiver?

Larry Hodges Mon, 07/06/2026 - 17:36

June 29, 2026

Larry Hodges — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 16:54:45 +0000

June 29, 2026

Next Blog July 13
As noted below, I’ll be at the US Nationals in San Jose, CA.

BREAKING NEWS - I'll be doing a Book-Signing at the Butterfly Booth at the US Nationals on Saturday, July 4, at 1PM. Stop by and say hello!

Tip of the Week
June 29, 2026 - Seven Placements and the Wide Angles.

United States Smash 2026
It’s taking place now, June 26-July 5, in Ontario, CA (near LA), with many of the best players in the world competing.

Here’s the ITTF page with results, news, and video.
Here’s the USATT page with news and results.
There’s also ShatouHub, “an unofficial fan-made utility for following US Smash with less time-zone and source confusion. It keeps the official WTT/US Smash links visible, adds local-time reminders, and gives fans a simple companion room after they have found the official stream.”

Bookselling at the MDTTC Open
(Click on image for larger version.)

I set up a table and sold my books at the MDTTC Open this past weekend. (Here are complete results.) I sold both my table tennis and science fiction books, as well as my travel book, “Larry's Adventures in Europe and Egypt: Seven Weeks Following Tour Guides with Little Flags and Funny Hats, and the Quest for the Elusive Dr Pepper.” (From 2019, when I visited 12 countries and saw all the major sites.) It sells surprisingly well, and lots of players of all ages spent time paging through it with all the pictures. My new children’s book, “Ping-Pong-Paddles Can't Talk!”, was also on sale and the kids took turns reading it. I sold 54 books. (Click on picture for larger version.)

US Nationals and Upcoming Schedule
I fly out to the US Nationals this Thursday. They are July 3-9 in San Jose, CA. I’m playing in six events. Over 65 Men’s Singles (seeded #8, with sponge); Hardbat Men’s Singles (seeded #7); Over 40 Hardbat (seeded #2); Over 60 Hardbat (seeded #1); Hardbat Doubles (seeded #1, with Ryan “The Nightmare” Gibson); and Sandpaper Singles (unseeded). I just hope my shoulder and knee hold up! (I’ve been to every US Nationals and US Open since 1985, and every US/North American Teams since 1976. Have to keep these strings going!)

After the Nationals, I’ll spend two days visiting relatives in nearby San Francisco. I return home on July 12. Here’s my upcoming schedule:

July 2-9 - US Nationals, San Jose, CA
July 10-12 - Visiting in San Francisco, CA
July 18-25 - “The Never-Ending Odyssey” Science Fiction Writing Workshop
Aug. 2-28 - Touring Europe (Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia), including competing in the Czech Classic Open in Ostrava, Aug. 22-23 (hardbat, sandpaper, wood)
Aug. 29-30 – World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim, CA. Literally hours after returning from Europe I fly out for two days!

Major League Table Tennis

New Atlanta Blazers Coach Koji Itagaki Ready to Build a Contender in MLTT Season 4 by Sean O’Neill
Home Page
Schedule
News
Video

Butterfly Training Tips
Why are these training tips so important for you? While I write a lot about the sport, including numerous coaching tips, there’s nothing like actually seeing it. Watch and learn what the stars do, and you too can become a star!

Arantxa Cossio Aceves – Forehand & Backhand Loop from underspin (64 sec)
Angel Naranjo – Banana Flip and Backhand Loop (59 sec)
Tiana Piyadasa – Full Table Random (62 sec)
Anav Gupta – Variation Backhand Opening (61 sec)
FETHOMANIA 27: Drill 4: Get Your Left Arm More Involved (68 sec)

New from PingSunday/EmRatThich

New from the Table Tennis Teaching Channel

A Rare Look at Pro-Level Half-Long Ball Training with Coach Sun (13:26)
Zhang Jike vs Dimitrij Ovtcharov 2026 (10:51)
Can’t Loop Backspin? Stop Letting Them Push (10:53)

New from Biomechanics Applied to Table Tennis

How I Built a Champion | Inside My Coaching System
Here’s the video (17:27) from Ti Long.

Pushing the Ball
Here’s the video (3:26) from Acceleraq with Yang Xiaoxin.

Doctor Karol Table Tennis
Here’s his page, based in Poland, with lots of coaching and other videos (in English).

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

USATT News

ITTF News

Table Tennis Caricatures from Etsy
Here’s where you can have one made!

Skeletons Playing Table Tennis Shirt
Here’s where you can buy one! I just ordered one (denim color).

Pug Pong
Here’s the video (10 sec)!

Cat Pong
Here’s the video (14 sec)!

Two Wild Videos From Tenis de Mesa from Sevilla!

Wild animated table tennis (57 sec)
Now no one can beat me in table tennis (24 sec)

10 Ultimate Challenges with the Jan Ove Waldner!
Here’s the video 11L35) from Table Tennis Daily!

***
Send us your own coaching news!

Larry Hodges Mon, 06/29/2026 - 17:54

June 22, 2026

Larry Hodges — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 15:53:50 +0000

June 22, 2026

Tip of the Week
June 22, 2026 - Shadow Practice Your Shots.

US Nationals
The US Nationals are coming up, July 3-9 in San Jose, CA. I’m playing in six events. Over 65 Men’s Singles (seeded #8, with sponge); Hardbat Men’s Singles (seeded #7); Over 40 Hardbat (seeded #2); Over 60 Hardbat (seeded #1); Hardbat Doubles (seeded #1, with Ryan “The Nightmare” Gibson); and Sandpaper Singles (unseeded). I’ve been training with both sponge and hardbat with Coach Lidney Castro at MDTTC. This week I’ll be practicing hardbat with Wang “Leo” Tiancheng. I just hope my shoulder and knee hold up! (I’ve been to every US Nationals and US Open since 1985, and every US/North American Teams since 1976. Have to keep these strings going!)

As always, I’ll have an advantage on most of my competition because I practice my serves and they don’t. Sssh!!! (You probably don’t either.) However, due to several extended breaks due to injuries, I’m more out of shape than I’d like, and tire too easily. This is a problem because, despite my age (66), I still play a rather energetic style, racing around the court attacking with my forehand, while most of my peers play more restful two-winged games. Late in matches my legs and shoulder start to tire and all the will power in the world won’t make those muscles move as fast as I’d like them to go. I’ll also likely be out of breath much of the time. I have made one adjustment in my game this past year, both sponge and hardbat – I receive a lot more with my backhand than before, even against deep serves that I normally look to forehand attack.

Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk!
There are 8.3 billion people on Earth. In its first week, Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk! sold 116 copies. This means there are still 8,299,999,884 of you who have not bought a copy. There’s still time to get on the bandwagon and get yours today!!!

I’ll be selling them (and all my books) at the MDTTC Open on June 27-28. I’m also doing a reading and signing at the Butterfly booth at the US Nationals in San Jose, on July 4 or 5. (Butterfly will be selling the book sometime this week and at their booth at the Nationals.) If you’re a table tennis blogger who’d like to review a copy, email me.

One thing I’ve verified – since it’s hardcover, 80 pages, it’s perfect for chopping and hitting against backspin! I should be able to take down most USATT members with it. Perhaps I’ll take challenges at the Nationals.

As a reminder, it’s a table tennis book for kids AND for the kid in all of us. Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk! is a humorous Seussian rhyming children’s picture book that introduces table tennis to kids. It features a nervous boy (Kevin) and his talking paddle in their first tournament, where he meets and plays a girl (Li) who is really good, and they have an adventurous match. Along the way, kids learn about the sport, with themes on facing your fears, working toward a goal, honesty, and friendship. 80 pages in full color (no AI), ages 7-12 and up.

Butterfly Tips

Tashiya Piyadasa – Modified Random Drill with Tashiya Piyadasa (63 sec).
Episode 11: Ask The Expert Live With Logan Rietz | How to Choose the Best Table Tennis Shoes (article and video 19:05)

Can Players Trained in the U.S. Compete With Chinese Players?
Here’s the article by Bob Chen.

New from PingSunday/EmRatThich
11 new videos this past week and numerous articles!

Can AI Really Replace a Table Tennis Coach?
Here’s the video (8:14) from Ti Long.

The Hardest thing About the Forehand Flip
Here’s the video (3:01) from Acceleraq.

New from Global TT Studio

New from the Table Tennis Teaching Channel

How to Play Dirty with Short Pimples (Without Breaking the Rules)
Here’s the video (2:21) from PP Table Tennis/Pingispågarna.

My South Korean Tournament Nightmare
Here’s the article and video (26 min) from Tom Lodziak.

Training with Quadri Aruna Part 2
Here’s the video (17:40). Here’s Part 1 (26:01) from seven months ago. See numerous other Quadri Aruna videos and other videos at TonysTableTennis.

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

New from ITTF

Ping Pong - Official Trailer
Here’s the video (1:46) for Ping Pong the Animation, which you can rent or buy at Amazon Prime.

Duck Pong
Because who wouldn’t want a shirt with ducks playing table tennis? (They’re actually geese, but “Duck Pong” has a better ring to it.)

Ready, Set, MATCH!
Here’s the video (51 min, with 5 min of table tennis). It’s cartoon animals competing in various sports. The link should take you to 8:05, where the table tennis starts, which ends at 13:08. It’s in Russian, but it’s still pretty interesting and seemingly well done.

Non-Table Tennis - The Eye in the Sky of the Blueberry Pie
The anthology “SciFi To Go: Food for Thought” is on sale at Amazon in both print and kindle. It includes my humorous flash story, “The Eye in the Sky of the Blueberry Pie.” When a planetary-sized blueberry pie comes plummeting down on Earth, scientists and religious folk debate who sent it while normal people prepare to get smooshed.

***
Send us your own coaching news!

Larry Hodges Mon, 06/22/2026 - 16:53

June 15, 2026

Larry Hodges — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 17:04:16 +0000

June 15, 2026

Tip of the Week
Why You MUST Attack the Deep Serve.

“Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk!” – PUBLISHED
Here it is at Amazon! Finally – a table tennis book for kids AND for the kid in all of us. “Ping-Pong Paddles Can't Talk!” is a humorous Seussian rhyming children’s picture book that introduces table tennis to kids. It features a nervous boy (Kevin) and his talking paddle in their first tournament, where he meets and plays a girl (Li) who is really good, and they have an adventurous match. Along the way, kids learn about the sport, with themes on facing your fears, working toward a goal, honesty, and friendship. 80 pages in full color (no AI), ages 7-12 and up.

Get it for your kids or your students. If you like table tennis (or Dr. Seuss), get it for yourself. It’s listed as ages 7-12 and up, and note the “and up.” If you like it, please rate & review at Amazon. (There’s a link there that allows you to read a lot of the pages and see the pictures.) Help spread the word!

I’ll be selling them (and all my books) at the MDTTC Open on June 27-28. I’m also doing a reading and signing at the Butterfly booth at the US Nationals in San Jose, on July 4 or 5. (Butterfly will be selling the book in about a week.) If you’re a table tennis blogger who’d like to review a copy, email me.

Here’s the review from PingSunday. Excerpts:

“The children’s table tennis book we’ve been waiting for."
“The match scenes are exciting, the characters are memorable, and the pacing keeps children engaged throughout the book.”
“The illustrations by Shalini Soni Mazumdar are absolutely beautiful.”
“The journey of Kevin feels familiar to anyone who has ever picked up a paddle and wondered how far they could go.”
“Kevin learns how to face his fears, pursue a goal, be honest, and build friendships through sport. These lessons are delivered naturally through the story rather than as lectures, making them much more meaningful for young readers.”
“For parents, coaches, and clubs looking to introduce children to table tennis, I highly recommend this book. It is entertaining, educational, beautifully illustrated, and filled with positive messages. Most importantly, it might inspire a new generation of players to pick up a paddle and begin their own adventure.”

Here’s a review from Pingispagarna on Facebook.

Multiball and Shadow Training in China
Here’s video (18 sec) of a training session where they combine the two. We do this at our club as well, though usually only one or two doing shadow. I need to show this to our kids so they take it more seriously! (Some do not like the shadow part.)

Table Tennis Shirts From Joseph Lee
Long-time umpire (now retired) Joseph Lee emailed me that he has hordes of tournament-specific, size medium T-shirts (US Open, Nationals, NA Teams, Trials, foreign events, etc.) and they are taking up too much closet space. He is willing to sell them at a token price. Here’s a picture of some of them. If you are interested in them, email him directly.

Major League Table Tennis

June 15: Sean O’Neill’s Early Favorites for MLTT Season 4
June 15: Quadri Aruna Bringing Global Star Power to the Atlanta Blazers by Sean O’Neill
Home Page
Schedule
News
Video

New from Butterfly

Anqi Luo – Forehand Short & Long Push (1:39)
Ask The Expert Live With Logan Rietz | Blade Materials (23:28)
The ITTF Pan American Para Championships: Pressure, Planning, and a Breakthrough Performance by Jeff Yamada
The Messy Middle: Harnessing Mid-Year Reflection by Dr. Alan Chu

New from PingSunday/EmRatThich
15 new videos this past week and numerous articles! (This includes their review of “Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk!”)

Pendulum Serve Tutorial – 5 Steps to Pro Level
Here’s the video (7:23) from Andrea Levenko.

Train Like a WTT Player: 13 Elite Drills & 20 Real Match Situations
Here’s the video (12:10) from Ti Long.

Stop Diving for Balls
Here’s the video (2:39) with Yang Xiaoxin, from Acceleraq.

New from the Global TT Studio

New from the Table Tennis Teaching Channel

Zhang Jike’s Ping Pong Bot Training Plan (9:43)
How to Return Illegal Hidden Serves (9:28)
Backhand loop half long backspin (1:56)
One Video to Understand and Fix Backhand Body Power with the Triangle Concept (4:07)
Fangbo WTT2026 1st game (4:41)

Exclusive Interview with Li-Ning at the World Table Tennis Championships London
Here’s the video (14:48) from PP Table Tennis/Pingispågarna.

Anton Kallberg – Slow Burn to World Class
Here’s the video (4:39) from Taco Backhand.

New from PingSkills
Ask the Coach.

New from Steve Hopkins

New from USATT

New from ITTF

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

Funny Cat & Dog Play Fake Table Tennis — Disaster in 5 Seconds
Here’s the video (15 sec)!

INDIA's Funky Styles: Levels 1-12
Here’s the video (18:11) from Adam Bobrow!

Non-Table Tennis
I recently sold my short “Ordinary Civilian” (4900 words) to the Independent Fantasy & Sci-Fi Magazine, my second sale to them. It’ll be out on July 1. Here’s a profile they just put up of me and the story. The story - what do you do when the world's population is made up of four billion supervillains trying to kill you, four billion superheroes trying to protect you, and you're the only one without superpowers? While a bit over-the-top, it thematically shows the values of friendship and inclusion. (It starts off with John’s best friend, the supervillain Flying Hate, calling and asking if he could wait a few minutes before stepping outside as he wants to drop a bulldozer on him but he overslept and it’s not quite ready.)

***
Send us your own coaching news!

Larry Hodges Mon, 06/15/2026 - 18:04

June 8, 2026

Larry Hodges — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:50:42 +0000

June 8, 2026

Tip of the Week
Do You Hit to the Three Spots?

Anti, Long Pips, and Inverted – the Return of the Prodigal Player
After six weeks of experimenting, I’ve decided to go back to inverted on my backhand. It’s not that the long pips and anti on the backhand didn’t work, it’s more a combination that they didn’t magically transport me into being the best player in the world; they didn’t solve my inability to move as I used to (while the backhand block was fine, I often watched balls whiz by on the wide corners); and most important, I just didn’t enjoy playing with them as much as I did with inverted, where I could emulate the best players in the world and pretend I could play like them.

Another factor is it takes time to adjust to such a different surface. I was getting there, but then one of my molars cracked, and it turned out to be a rather serious issue – and I ended up with what they called dental extraction surgery last Tuesday, and under orders not to do anything seriously physical for a week. So, right as I’m preparing to win everything at the upcoming Nationals (July 3-9 in San Jose), I lost a week. Perhaps worse, after a week of couch-potatoness, I’m well out of shape again.

I was given the okay to take long walks after the first five days. Yesterday (Sunday) I spent six hours walking around Washington DC. I spent two hours at the National Zoo, then took the subway downtown and walked about, visiting the ~~Trump~~ Kennedy Center (they still haven’t taken Trump’s name off, but they are required to do so by June 12 (this Friday); Lincoln Memorial; Washington Monument; White House (watched all the construction as they prepare the “circus” part of Bread and Circuses – Google it); American History Museum; and the Natural History Museum. Since I’m about 20 miles north and practically grew up in the Natural History Museum (my parents both worked there as an entomologist and scientific illustrator) and I go there a few times a year, I know it very well. I often do editing at the Lincoln Memorial.

One really irritating thing – there’s all sorts of construction on the National Mall as they prepare for the 250th Anniversary celebrations. But the bozos in charge forgot to leave walkways through it. So, when you get out of the Smithsonian Metro Station, instead of a two-minute walk to the Natural History Museum, you have to take a 25-minute detour way off to the side to the nearest street. There were lots of irritated people and lots of security people who seemed to spend most of their time explaining this to irritated tourists. The only good news from this is I got more exercise. But my legs are extremely sore and stiff. I have my first practice session in a week tomorrow, and I’ll probably be paying for my National Mall excursion.

Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk!
Yesterday I sent messages to a number of table tennis writers/bloggers/vloggers, inviting them to review the upcoming children’s table tennis book. Next Monday I’ll blog about its grand opening! If you are a table tennis writer/blogger/vlogger, email me if you’d like a copy to review. The book is finalized and looks great! It’s 80 pages and fully illustrated in color. (No AI was used.) It’ll be sold at Amazon and Butterfly. I have two author copies coming to me this Friday, and 50 more soon afterwards. I’ll be selling it along with all 27 of my table tennis books at the June 27-28 MDTTC Open, and it’ll be on sale at the Butterfly booth at the US Nationals in July.

This isn’t just for kids – adults will love it too, unless you’re an old fuddy-duddy. Well, are you?

On interesting thing – in the original cover, the girl on the far side, Li, was playing right-handed. (That’s how she appears in the cover illustrations I’ve shared here a few times.) But early on we established in the book that she’s left-handed. So, we had to change the cover and some of the illustrations. There’s no mention of her being lefty in the text, she’s just drawn that way – and I almost missed the fact that in the initial sketches, she sometimes was lefty, sometimes righty! I just wasn’t looking for it. (The other main star, Kevin, was also sketched as a lefty a few times, and I almost didn’t catch that at first. He’s holding the paddle in his left hand on the cover, but that’s just because it made the illustration better, and he’s not actually playing lefty.)

Table Tennis Exhibition I Did Eleven Years Ago
Here’s the video (25 min), with Stefano Ratti my partner/opponent. The first six minutes are a demonstration, then we get to the exhibition. Lots of trick shots. Gee, I could play really well back then! (I should have used a microphone so I can be heard better. Turn your volume up. But exhibition tricks are more visual.)

Help Shape Major League Table Tennis
Here’s the news item from Major League Table Tennis. As I’ve blogged about, MLTT and the spread of full-time training centers are by far the two biggest and best things to happen to table tennis in the US in many decades, perhaps ever.

Butterfly Training Tips

Does Watching High-Level Players Help Amateur Players Improve? By Coach Bob Chen
Here’s the article by Coach Bob Chen.

20 New Skills in 14 Days | Marcus’s Table Tennis Transformation
Here’s the video (10:31) from Ti Long.

The Layered Table Tennis System
Here’s the video (7:52) from Biomechanics Applied to Table Tennis.

Want to Feel Real Body Power in Your Loops?
Here’s the video (6:01) from the Table Tennis Teaching Channel, where they teach the “Triangle Theory.”

How to Chop Block
Here’s the video (2:41) from Acceleraq, with Dutch Table Tennis National Team Member Milo de Boer.

New from Ping Sunday/EmRatThich
Here’s his video page, lots of new ones.

New from Global TT Studio

New from PingSkills
Ask the Coach.

Inside the Fan Zone at the World Team Championships
Here’s the video (6:18) from Pingispagarna.

The Spirit That Faded: Xu Xin's Final Era
Here’s the video (3:52) from Beyond the Podium.

NCTTA Scholarship Program Deadline Approaching--ACT NOW!
Here’s the news item.

New from Steve Hopkins

New from USATT

New from ITTF

Two Humorous Table Tennis Sites
Since these two sites have regular humorous items each week, rather than link to each I just link to the sites for those who wish to partake.

Ping Pong Maestros – spectacular and funny table tennis videos
Shots Table Tennis – near daily table tennis cartoons

It’s a Table Tennis Thing. You Wouldn’t Understand.
Here’s where you can buy the shirt at Amazon!

Never Try to Run Under a Table
Here’s the video (9 sec)!

Ping-Pong Egg Switch
Here’s the video (24 sec) – it’s hilarious! Have to try this at my club (but bring cleaning supplies).

***
Send us your own coaching news!

Larry Hodges Mon, 06/08/2026 - 17:50

June 1, 2026

Larry Hodges — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 17:26:49 +0000

June 1, 2026

Tip of the Week
A Forehand Stance While Blocking.

Weekend Coaching and MDTTC Party
I fed a lot of multiball this weekend. I’d say the focus was on accuracy, especially when looping where I had them try to hit my water bottle. We also did a lot of down-the-line work. One key issue that comes up a lot when forehand looping against backspin is finding the balance between looping with spin and more arc, and looping with more speed where you drive the ball mostly forward with a lower trajectory. With softer sponges like Tenergy, looping is easier as it springs the ball out with lots of arcing topspin. With harder sponges, players tend to rip the ball more, ending the point with one shot. In multiball, where the ball mostly comes out the same every time, kids discover they can rip the ball over and over. But in a game situation, where the ball is more unpredictable, this type of shot is less consistent. So, players have to find the balance between the two.

We had our season-ending party on Saturday, with over 100 people attending, about 60 of them junior players. Lots of pizza, Chinese food, deserts, etc. Then I sent them out on the tables to hit with mini-paddles, over-sized paddles, hardbat, and so on. But as usual, the most popular activity was the two-table game. As I’ve done for decades at these parties, I pushed two tables together so it’s an 18-foot table. I put a chair on each side of the table in the middle, with a barrier between them as the net. Lots of counterlooping, fishing, and lobbing! They’d play singles, doubles, winner-stay-on (games to 2, no deuce), and the surprising favorite this time, around-the-table, where they’d play round after round with players who missed sitting out until it was down to two players, who’d them play one point for that round’s championships. (When it’s down to three players, they have to really move!) I set up two long tables in this way, and at one point over 40 kids were playing on the tables. Here’s a picture I took near the end when many had already left.

Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk!
The last illustrations were finalized over the weekend. It’s been a long process as I had to go over each picture for accuracy. At one point I realized the two main players had switched hands in some illustrations, and those pictures had to be redone. There’s a great picture of the main star, Kevin, smashing while his rival, Li, dives for the ball – but initially she was drawn playing righty when she’s a lefty. There was also a problem that it seemed to show him hitting off the end, so that had to be fixed. I was picky about getting the grips and strokes right and other aspects. But it’s done! The illustrator, who is in India, is compiling the final pages, and tomorrow I should be doing a final proofing. It should be out by Monday, June 15. If you live near the Maryland Table Tennis Center, come to the MDTTC Open, June 27-28. I’ll be there selling (and autographing) all 27 of my books, including this one, all discounted.

For those who missed my earlier blogs on this, it’s a humorous Seussian rhyming children’s picture book that introduces table tennis to kids. It features a nervous boy (Kevin) and his talking paddle in their first tournament, where he meets and plays a girl (Li) who is really good, and they have an adventurous match. Along the way, kids learn about the sport, with themes on facing your fears, working toward a goal, honesty, and friendship. About 80 pages.

Portland Paddlers 2025-2026 Major League Table Tennis Champions
Here’s the video (3:59), created by Sean O’Neill.

Butterfly Training Tips

Angel Naranjo – Serve Return & Forehand Loop (57 sec)
Anav Gupta – Backhand Flip & Backhand Loop Combo (78 sec)
FETHOMANIA 27: Drill 2: What should be your goal when the ball comes high? (57 sec)

Give Me 7 Minutes To Fix Your Forehand
Here’s the video (7 min) from Andrea Levenko.

The Pendulum Serve
Here’s the video (60 sec) from Glam Hub

Zhang Jike Leg Workout: 3 Home Exercises for Explosive Power
Here’s the video (11:37) from Peak Performance.

New from Acceleraq
How to Backhand Flick (3:45) with Dutch National Table Tennis Team Member, Milo de Boer.

New from Biomechanics Applied to Table Tennis

Why Repeating Strokes Ruins Your Table Tennis (and What to Do) (8:09)
Basic fundamentals of table tennis. Forehand Sidespin Left (6:50)

New from the Table Tennis Teaching Channel

Novak Djokovic on Mental Strength
Here’s the video (1:33).

GlobalTTStudio
Here’s a site I just found with a lot of good coaching videos.

New from PingSunday
Lots of new videos this past week. (Some are members only, but most are not.)

New from PingSkills
Ask the Coach.

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

Moyland Captures Back-to-Back WTT Youth Contender Titles
Here’s the USATT news item.

Waldner History
Here’s the video (7:04) featuring Jan-Ove Waldner, one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. From Tenis de Mesa from Sevilla (but in English).

Doris M Rice Foundation Generously Donates to NCTTA Scholarship Fund
Here’s the NCTTA news item.

New from the ITTF

Two Humorous Table Tennis Sites

Ping Pong Maestros – spectacular and funny table tennis videos
Shots Table Tennis – near daily table tennis cartoons

Bear vs. Hardhat Worker
Here’s the video (13 sec)!

Table Tennis Greeting Cards
Here they are, from Red Bubble!

Mostly Non-Table Tennis – Three New Publications
Over the last three days three science fiction & fantasy stories I’d sold were published. One of them you can read online, and has a table tennis scene. The stories are:

Global Warming is a Hoax Says the Alien in the Spare Bedroom. You can read this one online – and it has a table tennis scene where two aliens play! It also has a great image at the start of the story which accurately shows the alien in the story. But look closely at the picture on the right and you can see it’s of two players playing table tennis.
Synopsis: Jimmy keeps discovering there’s an alien living in his spare bedroom – but there’s a problem. Unless he’s looking directly at the alien, he forgets about it after ten seconds. There are millions of these aliens freeloading in homes around the world – and they have an agenda.
Perfect Person. This one you’d have to order a copy to read.
Synopsis: When Sam dies he goes to Heaven – but it’s vacant and run-down because, after thousands of years, he’s the first person to ever qualify. (Hell, on the other hand, is jammed and takes up all of the heavenly resources.) He sets about fixing things up . . . but it’s rather lonely when it’s just you and an ancient, computerized Saint Peter.
Trojan Alien. For this one you have to order the anthology, either print or kindle The stories in the anthology are all “drabbles,” only 100 words – but they pack a wallop in that space! The story involves the US president and his cabinet debating what to do about a horse-shaped satellite aliens have left in orbit around the Earth.

Non-Table Tennis – I'm Interviewed by Anomaly Magazine
Here’s the interview, with three questions about my science fiction writing.

***
Send us your own coaching news!

Larry Hodges Mon, 06/01/2026 - 18:26

May 25, 2026

Larry Hodges — Mon, 25 May 2026 15:37:40 +0000

May 25, 2026

Tip of the Week
May 25: How To Return Different Serves.

Weekend Coaching and Long Pips
I did both multiball and live hitting with players in our junior training sessions. I did a lot of drills that focused on transitioning from looping a backspin to attacking the follow-up block. At the beginning to intermediate level, after a heavy push forces the opponent to lift the ball, a follow-up quick block that makes them move often leads to them lifting their next shot off the end. This is especially true if you block to the wide forehand, where a player tends to lower their shoulder when reaching wide, leading to going off the end.

I did a little experiment. When feeding multiball with younger kids, I watched them do footwork and how focused and intent they were. They mostly mindlessly do the movements. Then I put my water bottle on the table and ordered them to not to hit it. (They know when I say that it means to hit it.) Their eyes light up and the mindlessness is gone, and their shots get better and better. Guess which method helps them improve more?

Meanwhile, as I’ve blogged about, because of knee problems I’ve been experimenting on the backhand with frictionless antispin and long pips ox (no sponge). Since I’m primarily a forehand attacker who mostly blocks on the backhand, these fit my game. I’ve found the antispin to be trickier to learn than expected, and I have less control with it. With the long pips, I have a nature chop-blocking motion that works really well with it. So, between the two, I’ll probably go with the long pips. (Though I’m still toying with staying with inverted. I’d still mostly use inverted when coaching.) One “wild card” is there are different types of frictionless antispin. The one recommended to me is only sold in Europe, so I ordered a sheet – but it takes weeks, and hasn’t arrived. So, I’ve been using a different type until it does. But I do have to decide soon what to use on my backhand as I have the US Nationals coming up in early July.

US Open Entry Form – End of an Era?
Here’s the info page for the event in December in Las Vegas. Here’s the entry form, or as they strangely call it these days, the prospectus. I’ve already entered and expect to play and coach at it. So, why is it the End of an Era?

From 1992-1995 I was editor of USA Table Tennis Magazine, a print magazine that went to all USATT members. During that time I also edited/proofed the eight entry forms for the US Open and US Nationals. When I was hired again as editor (1999-2007), I once again edited the entry forms, and continued doing so since. I’ve been doing so every Open and Nationals since 1999. They send me the draft and I always get back to them within 24 hours (usually just a couple hours), even when I was out of the country coaching a US Team in Austria or sightseeing in Brazil.

Some ask why I continue to do this with the current administration when, as readers here know, I have some issues with them. But I consider this a separate thing. It works well for both sides as proofing is a skill, not something that anyone can do, and I happen to be pretty good at it. I always catch a number of typos and other problems. (If I’m reading a novel and on page 200 and there’s a character named Marjorie, I’ll immediately point out that on page 10, it was spelled Marjory. This really happened, though I don’t remember the actual page numbers.) For me, I like seeing the entry form early so I can start making early plans. Plus, it’s one of my contributions to table tennis, a way to help out.

However, this year they decided not to use my services, thereby ending my streak of proofing 55 consecutive US Open/Nationals entry forms since 1999. (I only found out when I saw the US Open announcement a few days ago, with the entry form already online.) So, what is the result?

I only did a quick look-through instead of my usual pain-staking examination, and probably missed a lot. So will most readers. Perhaps it’s not important that they refer to the US Open as the “US Nationals” four times. Or that four events are listed out of sequence. Or that they still list the USATT Annual General Assembly even though the USATT board voted to cancel that. (Did they change their mind? If so, why is it scheduled during first round of Men’s Singles, 6:30PM on Thursday, when many coaches and players will be watching?) There are some other scheduling issues that I’d normally point out to them, such as having Over 60 Hardbat Men and Women (two events) at 6:30 PM Sat, with Hardbat Men and Women (two events) 15 minutes later at 6:45 PM. (They are listed out of sequence in the schedule.) Since there’s a large intersection there (since probably half the players in hardbat are over 60, including me), that means the second RRs are going to be delayed up to two hours. Or that a few events aren’t clearly listed as RR or SE. Or the mathematical impossibility of all RR groups being 3 or 4, since you can’t do that if you have 5 total entries. Or not needing the Covid policy section since we it’s long after the Covid epidemic ended. Or that the schedules randomly abbreviate as Thu or Thurs. And who knows what else if I went over it closely. (I always find typos!)

Maybe this is all nitpicking, and USATT and many others won’t care, and that’s fine. But it sure looks more professional without these issues, and the issues could lead to confusion or other problems. I personally think taking the extra day in May to get these things right for an event in December is worth it. But it’s not my call or my problem now.

New from Butterfly

New from Acceleraq with Dutch National Team Member Milo de Boer

How to Forehand Smash (2:54)
How to Backhand Counter Loop (2:38)

I Analyzed EVERY Service from Félix Lebrun vs. Lin Shidong … MASTERCLASS
Here’s the video (10:37) from Enzo Angles.

Comprehensive Methodology for Table Tennis
Here’s the video (7:13) from Biomechanics Applied to Table Tennis.

Backhand Loop vs Backspin & Topspin
Here’s the video (2:43) with Micah Salmon from Pingispågarna (PP Table Tennis)

New from the Table Tennis Teaching Channel

New from PingSunday/EmRatThich
12 new videos this past week.

How Are Serves Likely to be Returned?
Here’s the article by Tom Lodziak.

The Mental Edge That Won the World: Lessons from Team China at London 2026
Here’s the article by Dr. Alan Chu, PhD, CMPC).

The Unstoppable Spin: Why We Can’t Quit Table Tennis?
Here’s the article by Coach Di Liu.

From Nervous to Focused: Real Competition Advice from Years of Professional Play
Here’s the article by Coach Bob Chen.

The Correct Way of Stretching for Table Tennis
Here’s the article by Coach Meinhard Korte.

Table Tennis England April Coaches Newsletter
Here it is!

NCTTA 2026 Board of Director Elections
Here’s the news item.

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly

New from USATT

Two Humorous Table Tennis Sites

Ping Pong Maestros – spectacular and funny table tennis videos
Shots Table Tennis – near daily table tennis cartoons

Free-Form Ping-Pong?
Here’s the video (19 sec). As the caption says, “Can Hugo Calderano do this?”

Man vs. Ping Pong Machine | The Cartoon Lounge | The New Yorker
Here’s the video (2:10) from nine years ago, but someone reposted it and I’ve never seen it before.

Chaotic Table Tennis Class
Here’s the video/comic strip (16 sec)!

Non-Table Tennis – I’m a Perfect Person
It’s official – I’m a Perfect Person! Or so it appears. In the upcoming June 1 issue of The Independent Fantasy and Sci-Fi Magazine, they will feature my fantasy story, “Perfect Person.” In the promotion I linked to it seems to label me as a Perfect Person. (Shhh – it’s a secret!) The story is about a person who goes to Heaven . . . and discovers that, after thousands of years, he's the first person to qualify. And with nobody there all these years, it's a bit rundown. As is a computerized Saint Peter. (Story should go up on Sunday, June 1; I’ll link to it in my blog on Monday next week.)

***
Send us your own coaching news!

Larry Hodges Mon, 05/25/2026 - 16:37

May 18, 2026

Larry Hodges — Mon, 18 May 2026 16:24:28 +0000

May 18, 2026

Tip of the Week
Develop an Overpowering Strength.

Frictionless Antispin and Long Pips
Due to problems with my right knee, I’m having difficulty playing my normal forehand attack game. (It might also have something to do with being 66, born in the last full year of the Eisenhower Administration.) So, I’ve been dabbling with long pips ox (no sponge) and frictionless antispin. The long pips actually fit my game very well, since I mostly just block on the backhand. I’ve resisted switching to it for decades since I’m a coach, and I’m a better practice partner with inverted on both sides. Before, as a full-time coach, I’d often hit with our top players as I coached them. Now I only do group sessions where I’m either walking around, feeding multiball, or acting as a practice partner for our beginning and intermediate players, only occasionally hitting with our top players. I can easily switch back to inverted when I hit with these players, ranging from beginner to perhaps 1800.

I’m actually somewhat experienced with long pips as I’ve used them many times as a practice partner for decades. I have two huge racket cases full of rackets to pull out as needed when players need to practice against a specific surface, and they include long pips no sponge (for blocking), long pips with 1mm sponge (for chopping), and one with medium-long pips (both blocking and hitting). The only problem is that the thinness of the surface messes up my grip, and the lowered weight messes up my timing. However, I’ve been experimenting with the grip and getting used to the weight.

The frictionless antispin was a surprise. (And I thought I knew everything about table tennis!) With long pips, I mostly chop-block, with maximizes the amount of spin I return, and gives great control. Once you understand how long pips works, it’s all intuitive. But frictionless antispin is seemingly non-intuitive. As I learned both in practice and in online articles and discussions, a chop-block lowers the amount of spin you return. Think about it – someone loops at you with heavy topspin. If I chop down on the ball at contact, you’d think I’d return more spin, but that actually deadens the spin, and so you return it with less backspin. But if I just stick the racket out and let the ball hit it straight on, it returns almost all of the spin, and is most effective. (But I feel like I lose some control that way.) It’s mind-bogglingly weird.

At this point I’m leaning toward either 1) long pips ox, or 2) maybe, just maybe, if my knee seems more or less okay and I don’t feel 100 years old, inverted again. We’ll see. I’ll be in Over 65 at the Nationals in July. I’ll also be in the hardbat events.

Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk!

The inside illustrations look great! They are almost all done, but some need minor corrections. The book should be out by June 15. As noted previously, it’s a humorous Seussian rhyming children’s picture book that introduces table tennis to kids. It 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. Along the way, kids learn about the sport, with themes on facing your fears, working toward a goal, honesty, and friendship.

I plan to send copies to table tennis bloggers. If interested, email me! I’m also toying with advertising in USATT’s Table Tennis Insider.

One strange thing – I’d like to advertise somewhere on the ITTF webpage. I’ve emailed them a number of times this past month with their Contact Us page and various other emails listed on their webpages, but no response. Jeez, I want to give them money and they don’t seem to want it!!! If any ITTF people read this, please email me and perhaps we can figure out how I can send them large sums of cash.

Meanwhile, while you (or at least the kids in our sport) anxiously await this book, don’t forget about my other table tennis books!

World Team Championships
They were held Apr. 28 – May 10 in London. Here are some links.

Here’s the ITTF page with links.
World Table Tennis page.
ITTF news page, which is all about the Worlds.

Here are articles by Steve Hopkins/Butterfly, most recent first.

Behind The Scenes of the World Championships 2026
Here’s the video (15:53) from Andreas Levenko.

How Coaches Learned From the Elite at London 2026
Here’s the article from Table Tennis England.

Major League Table Tennis

New from Butterfly

Arantxa Cossio Aceves – Random Play (84 sec)
Marcos Madrid – One or Two Pattern (38 sec)

How to Forehand Counterloop
Here’s the video (2:57) with Milo de Boer from acceleraq.

New from Ti Long

4 Daily Forehand Warm-Ups (1:46)
Third Ball Attack – Pivot Forehand Down The Line (12 sec)
How to attack left-handed pendulum serves | 6 STEPS (1:27)

New from the Table Tennis Teaching Channel

Average to Pro Serve in 7 Days!
Here’s the video (7:27) from Table Tennis Daily.

PingSunday/EmRatThich
29 videos this past week, and dozens more before that from the Worlds.

New from PingSkills
Ask the Coach.

New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly
(Note – articles on Worlds are in World Team Championships segment.)

Formulation of Fitness Norms for Skill-Specific Components in Table Tennis Performance
Here’s the technical article, care of Kevin Finn at Peak Performance Table Tennis, from the International Journal of Original Recent Advanced Research, an “International Peer Reviewed Journal.”

Two Humorous Table Tennis Sites

Ping Pong Maestros – spectacular and funny table tennis videos
Shots Table Tennis – near daily table tennis cartoons

I Challenged Google
Here’s the video (14:48) from Adam Bobrow!

New Sales & Publications – Drabbles!
I’m now a professional drabblist. What’s a drabble, you ask? It’s one of those small niche markets – it’s a story that’s exactly 100 words long. Here are two that I sold and were published this past week. Both have historical references. See if you can get both. Hint for the second one – it’s a reference to a song. But don’t spend too much time on it, the years go by swiftly.

***
Send us your own coaching news!

Larry Hodges Mon, 05/18/2026 - 17:24