November 3, 2011

How Leagues Spur Growth

I was asked this morning who could (or would?) play in a nationwide table tennis league. I'd already talked about Germany and its 11,000 clubs and 700,000 players, England's 500,000, France's 300,000, etc., and how other sports also do this, and how these huge numbers come almost exclusively from leagues. Here's an excerpt of my response, which explains a bit more precisely and concisely how this happens.

"Anyone can join the league as part of a team representing a club, with the membership rate to be determined. This is the stage where new clubs are often certified or created, as players list the place they practice as their club (solving the U.S. problem of hordes of non-sanctioned clubs full of non-USATT players), or find and create ones for the purposes of the league (leading to hordes of new clubs, which soon fill up with new players who join the league, snowballing membership). There are always details to be worked out, which is why you go to experienced league directors (in club to club leagues) in the U.S., overseas, and in other sports to see how they did it, and then design a U.S. model."

There was a lot more written in the discussion, but I can't print what others wrote, and much of what I wrote only makes sense in the context of what others had written. I may write more on this later. However, one thing I've concluded is that it is far more likely that an independent group creates such a league - some are already working on it - than USATT, since independent groups can make and implement decisions in ways USATT is simply unable to do.

Plus, of course, leagues simply aren't among USATT's three vague "priorities," as decided at the 2009 Strategic Meeting (and unchanged), which are "Junior Development," "Grow Membership Through Added Value," and "Communications." I do agree with the "Junior Development" one, but not in the direction they are going, which I won't go into. The focus needs to be on recruiting and training coaches to set up and run junior programs. But nothing has been implemented from the task force on "Junior Development" in the two years since it was created.

Someone did say that I had convinced USATT at the Strategic Meeting that leagues should be a priority, and I responded, "On the contrary, I completely failed to convince everyone, or even a majority, that leagues should be a priority, which is why it did not become one of the three priorities. Please, nobody argue otherwise; if a majority agreed that leagues should have been one of the top three priorities, than it would have been one of the top three priorities. A huge opportunity was missed."

Article #1300

In the Nov/Dec 2011 issue of USA Table Tennis Magazine, I have a coaching article on footwork entitled, "Are You a Tree or a Squirrel?" This is my 1300th published article (plus four books). Wowie! Here's a listing of all 1300, many linked online - why not spend the next few weeks reading them all? Here's the opening paragraph of the article:

"Squirrels run circles around trees, and there's a lesson there. If you are a tree, you just stand there, rooted to the ground, waiting on each shot to see if you have to move. By the time you realize you have to move - how often does your opponent happen to hit the ball right into your forehand or backhand pocket so it'll hit right in the middle of your paddle? - it's too late, and so you can only awkwardly reach for the ball. There are no proud redwoods in table tennis, only weeping willows."

Samson Dubina returning half-long balls

Here's Samson topspinning half-long balls, with his forehand (1:57) and with his backhand (1:46). These are balls that, given the chance, the second bounce would be just off the end. These are difficult for some players to loop, but once you get the knack, they are easy to topspin.

The Art of Table Tennis

Here's a video (4:05) of amazing points from 2010 and 2011. A lot of both great forehand and backhand play - many such videos focus mostly on forehand shots. Don't miss the Samsonov backhand counter-kill at 3:29, which they then show in slow motion from two angles.

The Table Tennis Collector

The November, 2011 issue of The Table Tennis Collector just came out, their 62nd issue. The Table Tennis Collector is a quarterly magazine published by the ITTF Museum. If you are really, Really, REALLY interested in table tennis history, especially U.S. history, then buy some of Tim Boggan's History of U.S. Table Tennis books. You won't be able to put them down.

The NBA and Table Tennis

Table Tennis Nation talks about NBA players and table tennis, including Michael Jordan, Yao Ming, Rod Higgins, Carmelo Anthony, and Speedy Claxton. (If you want to see more basketball players, or other athletes and celebrities playing table tennis, see the Celebrities Playing Table Tennis page.)

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Frustrating emails

I spent much of yesterday, and already a chunk of this morning, responding to highly frustrating emails. There's an email discussion going on among USATT board members and some committee members about coaching that I won't elaborate on. I'd love to quote the emails, but that would be inappropriate. It's more about the type of thinking behind the emails than the specifics of the current argument that I find so mind-numbing and representative of the same type of thinking that has stagnated table tennis in this country for so long. Let's just say that times like this I am deeply pessimistic about whether USATT can ever take the lead in developing table tennis in this country. Almost for sure it's going to have to come from outside individuals and clubs by setting up leagues and coaching programs independently from the national governing body for table tennis in the USA.

Strategic Versus Tactical Thinking

Here's an excerpt from the book I'm working on, "Table Tennis Tactics: A Thinker's Guide."

"What's the difference between Strategic and Tactical thinking? Strategic thinking is how you develop your game. Tactical thinking is how you use what you have to win. For example, if you have a good loop, a strategic thinker would think about what types of serves will set up your loop, and develop those serves in practice sessions. A tactical thinker would think about what serves will set up your loop in a match against a given opponent. Strategic thinking takes place during the developmental stage of your game--which never ends as long as you are still practicing. Tactical thinking takes place while preparing for and playing a specific match.

"Suppose you have a weak forehand attack against backspin. When an opponent pushes heavy to your forehand, you have to tactically choose whether to use your weak forehand attack (perhaps using good ball placement to make up for the weakness of the attack), or whether to just push it back. Tactically, these are probably your only options. Strategically, you should note this weakness in your game, and go practice it so next time you aren't so limited tactically."

In an email on coaching mixed in with the aggravating ones I mentioned above, I wrote the following, which I think is pertinent to the above. 

"One important distinction is the difference between tactical and strategic coaching. Tactical coaching is what you do at the table in a match. Strategic coaching is how you coach the player to develop their games. In this country, we need coaches like Bengtsson and Constantini (and others - I'm not going to make a comprehensive list) who can take the lead in strategic development of our players. For example, when our players go overseas, they get clobbered on receive. So we need someone at the top to work with the coaches so that they will better train the aspects of the game where our players are lacking. As Sean [O'Neill] wrote, our players tend to train to be USA champions or team members, and so aren't prepared when they play outside the U.S., where players are trained with higher aspirations. In other words, in the U.S. we train to be 2600, while overseas players train to be 2900."

From Stiff and Slow to Loose and Juiced

I played some practice matches yesterday with a hardbat against Ty Hoff, who was in town for a few days. At first, I felt stiff and slow. Then, as I got tired, my muscles began to loosen up. Suddenly, I was tired, and yet loose and juiced! (When I say "juiced," I mean I was moving fast, but that doesn't rhyme with "loose.") It was a grueling match where I was racing around the court attacking with my forehand, and I began to tire. The more tired I got, the faster I got! By the end, I was exhausted but moving like a cheetah. I wonder if this was unique to me, who's pretty stiff, or if others have had this experience? (We won't talk about Ty's three net winners at the very end as Ty pulled it out, 21-18 in the fifth.)

Designing Your Table Tennis Game Plan

Here's a nice article by Samson Dubina on planning game strategy. He asks the following questions about your opponent, and elaborates on each.

• How are their serves better than mine?
• How are their serve returns better than mine?
• How are their attacks better than mine?
• How is their defense better than mine? 
• How is their footwork better than mine? 
• How are their game patterns?
• How are they able to adjust to the playing conditions?

Zhang Jike versus Timo Boll

Here's a nice video of World Champion Zhang Jike of China versus world #2 Timo Boll of Germany, the best European. The time between points has been removed, so you get it all in 6:13. (It's from two years ago at the Danish Open.) 

The Mouse That Toured

Yesterday, after finishing a table tennis session, I pulled open my playing bag to put my racket back inside. A mouse jumped out! Apparently the mouse had climbed in while I was at the table, perhaps after taking a tour of the club. Should we set out cheese to feed the mouse, or mousetraps?

Here's a 34-second video of what happens when 100 ping-pong balls meets 100 mousetraps.

And since we're on the subject of mice, if you want a ping-pong mouse, here are seven. Here's another.

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Celebrities Playing Table Tennis

I've updated the Celebrities Playing Table Tennis page, with 11 new celebrities and 14 new pictures, bringing the totals up to 1285 pictures of 1285 celebrities. (Some pictures have multiple celebrities, so numbers below may appear not to add up.) New this month (and "new" means I already had pictures of that celebrity, but have put up new ones):

• Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler's wife
• Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys quarterback
• Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos quarterback
• Tiger Woods, golfer (new picture)
• Payne Stewart, golfer
• Sebastian Coe, English Olympic 1500 meter Olympic gold medalist
• Andy Murray, tennis player (2 new pictures)
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, tennis player (2 new pictures)
• Boris Becker, tennis player
• Bill Tilden, tennis player (2 new pictures)
• Francis Hunter, tennis player (3 pictures)
• Justin Gimelstob, tennis player
• Wladimir Klitschko, Ukrainian heavyweight boxer (new picture)
• Magnus Carlsen, chess player (2 pictures)
• Boris Johnson, mayor of London (new picture)
• Beatrice Lillie, actress
• Junior Durkin, actor
• Howard Jacobson, author (new picture)

Serve practice

I think the best way to do it, and way I do it (including a lot recently) is to practice one serve motion and one spin, depth, and placement variation at a time. After you've done a bunch of that one, do another variation with that motion. When you've practiced all the spin, depth, and placement variations for that motion, then practice doing them randomly. If you have trouble controlling one of them, go back and practice it until you have control of it, then go back to serving them randomly. When all this is done, move to the next service motion, and repeat. At the very end, randomly practice all the variations with all the motions.

A few important points. First, don't get in the habit of rapid-fire serving. Visualize each serve in your head before you do it, and make sure your execution matches what you visualize, including where it bounces on your side of the table, how it breaks, etc. Second, you should also practice subtle differences in the serves. For example, vary your follow-through on each serve to throw opponents off. On a forehand pendulum serve, sometimes follow through down, sometimes sideways, sometimes up. If you don't practice it, you won't be able to do it effectively in a match. Third, don't forget fast & deep serves. They take a disproportionate amount of time to develop the timing, and so put in extra practice with them.

Crazy inside-out sidespin by Wang Liqin

It's only nine seconds long, but if you want to learn how to loop inside-out with crazy inside-out sidespin, this is the video to watch. Shown at full speed and in slow motion, from two angles.

Pongcast Videos

• 2011 European Championships (26:53), with play-by-play commentary, and time between points removed.
• 2011 Swedish Open (30:30), starts off with "Classic Moments in Table Tennis History," then goes to the Swedish Open, with play-by-play commentary, and time between points removed.

Iran pulls out of "Ping-Pong Diplomacy"

North and South Korea, and India and Pakistan are all competing in Monaco in this modern version of Ping-Pong Diplomacy run by the Monaco-based Peace and Sport, but Iran has pulled out, with no reason given. Other teams competing are USA, China, Japan, Russia, France, and Qatar. Here's the ESPN article.

Big Ping-Pong

When I say Big Ping-Pong, I mean BIG PING-PONG. Watch this video (0:43), and see if you agree.

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Tip of the Week

When to React.

Serve Cycling

Many or most players use just a few simple serves, on the theory that if you have too many serve motions, you'll have trouble perfecting any of them, plus you'll have trouble learning and reacting to all the possible returns. (Surprisingly, two serves done with the same spin and placement but a different motion are often returned differently by opponents.) There's nothing wrong with doing it this way. I do urge players like this to have alternate "trick" serves to throw at their opponents as a variation, which both gives them "free" points as well as making their other serves more effective as the receiver has more serves to worry about.

However, there's another way to serve, which I call "cycling." What this means is that you constantly throw different serves at your opponent, essentially cycling through your entire repertoire, often almost in sequence. The goal is never to use the same serve twice in a row, and usually not even the same service motion twice in a row.  Challenge the opponent with every variation you have, with as many service motions, spins, speeds, depths, and placements as possible. Your goal is to make them miss or pop up your serve. Try to fry their brain. Keep track of which serves give the opponent the most trouble, and recycle those serves more often than others. Use the most effective serves not just at the end of a close game, but throughout a game to make sure it isn't a close game. (Or to make a game you would have lost into a close game.)

I've always used this type of serving against some opponents, and recently I've taken to doing it more and more, with surprising effectiveness. Often I play entire games without using the same serve twice. While it's more effective at lower levels, it's surprisingly effective against many advanced players as well, as long as you don't overdo the long serves. One key - you will have to practice your serves a lot to effective cycle your serves in this way. In particular, you need to serve low, and for short serves and serves where the second bounce should be near the end-line, the depth.

The Magic of Table Tennis

Here's a great video of table tennis clips, set to music (7:39). One of the best I've seen.

Fierce ping-pong competition erupts outside Red Wings locker room

Sometimes, in the middle of a fight, a hockey game breaks out. In this case, in the middle of a hockey game (or at least after practice) a bunch of ping-pong games broke out. Here's a video (1:05) and article about the Detroit Red Wings playing table tennis. Players included Ty Conklin, Danny Cleary, Jiri Hudler, Brad Stuart, Patrick Eaves, and Nicklas Lidstrom. 

Happy Halloween!

In honor of Halloween, here are three table tennis Halloween videos!

• Michael Myers plays ping-pong (0:35) - he's a sore loser.
• Halloween ping-pong tournament (1:11) - features Scream, Mike Wazowski (the one-eyed green thing from "Monsters, Inc.," Dude in Robe
• Horror-ble ping-pong (1:03) - features Death versus the Evil Pumpkin

The Official Table Tennis Nation Halloween Costume Guide 2011

Who do you want to be for Halloween? Marty Reisman? Forrest Gump? Christopher Walken? Susan Sarandon? These are all great possibilities, and the site gives step-by-step instructions for each of these costumes.

Susan Sarandon Trick Shot Video

Since some of you might be dressing up as Susan Sarandon for Halloween (see segment above), this is the perfect time to bring you the Susan Sarandon Trick Shot Video (1:08). Yes, it features Susan Sarandon and her ping-pong bag of tricks.

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Werner Schlager on Talent

2003 World Men's Singles Champion Werner Schlager of Austria recently made a surprise appearance on the about.com table tennis forum. While explaining how Germany's Timo Boll (European #1, world #2) did something so well, he wrote, "I can assure you, there is only one 'magic' behind it: a little talent and many of years of practice." When asked to elaborate on the subject of talent, this is what he wrote:

"Imagine you are born with a double resolution of your eyes retina. You can see with more detail than others. Any exercise regarding reading, searching, etc. is somehow easy for you. But: Probably you wouldn't even realize that you have that gift. Because for you it is NORMAL.

"And this is why i see my gift (far more unspectacular than double resolution retinas, lol) also as "not so special". Probably it is very special to others, but i couldn't even describe you my talent. Is it logical thinking? Is it body movement sensitivity? Is it vision? Is it creativity? Is it my low muscle tension? Hmmm- most likely a little bit of all the things i just mentioned...that is why i stated: 'a little bit of talent' ;)

"But i somehow still believe everybody can play as good as i do- or better. And every time somebody fails, i scratch my head and almost can't believe it.

"Because for me it is easy and normal."

Jun Mizutani's backspin serve

They call it his "ghost serve," but it's just heavy backspin. The video shows how he does it in just 55 seconds. (One thing you can't see very well in the video is that he contacts the ball near the tip, where the racket is moving fastest, thereby creating the most spin.) Here are two tips.

First, while it's good practice to create a backspin serve that's so spinny and short that it bounces back into the net, you generally have to serve slightly high to do so, as Mizutani does here. It's more effective to serve it lower, and so that the second bounce (given the chance) is near the end-line, with more forward motion so that it doesn't bounce backward despite the extreme backspin. The serve Mizutani is doing is more for show, and is easier to return than one that goes deeper, faster, and lower.

Second, learn to do this serve where you also contact the ball near the handle, but with the same vigorous motion you use to produce heavy backspin by contacting the ball toward the tip. Then you'll be able to create heavy backspin and "heavy no-spin" with the same motion, which will confuse your opponent and lead to many missed or popped-up returns. ("Heavy no-spin," where you use a big serving motion but serve with no spin, is my favorite table tennis term.)

Zhang Jike loop

Here's world champion Zhang Jike's loop against a chopper (2:20).

High rating ambitions

Every year at about this time I'm always struck by the number of players using the "Team Finder" page for the North American Teams Championships to try to get on a much higher-rated team than their own rating. Personally, I'd feel rather awkward about trying to team up with players rated much higher. I'm sure every one of these players would argue that they are under-rated. (If they were over-rated, would they be looking for lower-rated teammates?) I've cut & pasted some of the ratings and messages there.

• 500: I'm looking for a team rated in the 500-1300 range.
• 1287: I am underrated and play as if I'm rated 2100.
• 1635: We are looking for three players 1700 to 1850. Call me or email.
• 1650: looking to join a team around 1700-1850 rating
• 1700: Looking for a team with players ranging from 1750-1900.
• 1884: Im looking for a syrong team who hace a rating between 1900- 2100
• 1948: I'm looking to join a team with 2 players over 2000.
• 2145: LOOKING FOR A TEAM 2300 LEVEL
• 2236: Want a team with ratings above 2400 as that was my rating before.

Jackie Chan table tennis commercial

Here's a 30-second 2007 Visa commercial starring Jackie Chan as he tries to get it to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 by making the Olympic Team. He ends up using his Visa card instead.

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When to react

Have you ever studied your opponent to see exactly when in his strokes he commits to a specific placement? If not, you are handicapping yourself. Most players commit to a direction before they start their forward swing, and you should be moving to the ball as they start their forward swing. But most players don't react until the opponent has hit the ball, thereby wasting a lot of valuable time. More on this in this Monday's Tip of the Week.

Chinese footwork

These six short videos are perhaps the best videos I've ever seen on footwork, as well as a great example on proper stroking technique. Coach Wang Wen Jie of China explains Chinese footwork - which is pretty much the way all world-class players move, Chinese or otherwise. The various footwork techniques are shown both a regular speed and in slow motion, and explained by the coach.

• Chinese Footwork Part 1 - Forehand From Half Table (2:36)
• Chinese Footwork Part 2 - Connecting Forehand and Backhand (3:07)
• Chinese Footwork Part 3 - Pivot and Cross Step (3:56)
• Chinese Footwork Part 4 - Small Steps (3:53)
• Chinese Footwork Part 5 - Body Balance (1:03)
• Chinese Footwork Part 6 - Forehand from the middle (3:53)

Physical training for table tennis

A blog reader (who wished to stay anonymous) sent me these videos of physical training for table tennis. I think the titles are in French. There's a bunch of them - enjoy!

• Travail physique Pôle espoirs Centre (9:01)
• Programme physique été 2011 (3:06)
• Rapidité Appuis/ Préparation physique/coaching sportif Nantes (7:41)
• EXERCICES PREPARATION PHYSIQUE ADRESSE ET EQUILIBRE TENNIS DE TABLE N°2.mpg (2:54)
• Le travail des appuis (1:52)
• les appuis (1:05)
• Préparation Physique _1 (0:18) (This is the first of 13 very short videos, but if you like this one, you can go on to the next 12.)

Table tennis at its "worst"

I'm not sure why they call it this, but this is a great highlights reel (4:16). It starts off with Samsonov and some magical graphics, then goes on to highlight Samsonov and most of the Chinese and European top players. 

Final of 1973 Worlds

Here's the final eight points (2:59) of the Men's Singles Final at the 1973 World, Kjell Johannson versus Xi Enting. Enting leads 17-14 at the start, then at 19-18, wins on two edge balls in a row!

Your next opponent

If you can handle this guy, then you are ready for anyone. Sure, he's bigger than you, has big teeth and bad breath, and will probably eat you if you win, but you're playing for pride. He's a defensive player - he likes to chop things - so be patient and play his middle.

Attendance figures, U.S. Open and USA Nationals

Recently I posted the attendance figures for the USA Nationals, 1994 to present. I've done the same for the U.S. Open. Below are the raw stats (which now includes location) and two graphs. Figures do not include players who played only in doubles, hardbat, or sandpaper. (Hardbat was added in 1997, sandpaper in 2010.)

• U.S. Open attendance, 1994-2011
• USA Nationals attendance, 1994-2010

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More on Kjell Johansson

Here's the ITTF obit on Kjell Johansson. (I wrote about him in yesterday's blog.)

Table Tennis Tactics and Acronyms

I'm now hard at work on my new book, with the working title "Table Tennis Tactics: A Thinker's Guide." (Alternate titles: "A Thinker's Guide to Table Tennis Tactics" or "The Tao of Table Tennis Tactics." The advantage of the working title is that if the title starts out with "Table Tennis Tactics," it'll come up higher in online searches for table tennis and tactics.) I plan to have the first draft done by the Nationals in December. Here's a tidbit - recently I realized that all tactical thinking comes down to WEAR - Watch, Experiment, Analyze, and Remember. So WEAR your tactics with pride!

My other favorite table tennis acronym is on how to SPUR the growth of USA Table Tennis. Show the sport; get the masses to Play; get them to join USATT; and get them to Rejoin.

Tactics against a certain player

Here are examples of the tactics I use against a top player I play somewhat regularly. No, I won't give the name of the player, but it gives an example of the type of tactics you can use in a match. You'll note that most of the tactics are service tactics. That's the norm since those are what you have the most control over.

1. Short pendulum serve to forehand and sometimes middle with changing spins forces mistakes and weak returns if not overused. Start out by using deceptive spin. Later go to more spin, which is less deceptive, but the increase in spin (especially side-top) catches the player off guard.
2. Tomahawk serve (side-top or side-backspin) short or half-long to FH. Return is almost always toward my forehand, setting up my loop. Hold back on this serve so opponent doesn't get used to it. It's the go-to serve at the end of a close game.
3. Fast no-spin to elbow. This draws the player toward the middle with a backhand receive, and sets me up to hit an aggressive backhand to the now open wide backhand.
4. Short no-spin serves to middle cuts off the angles and keeps the player from pushing too heavy, and so sets me up for a loop, often off the bounce since I don't have to worry about the angles. Sometimes vary this with a short heavy chop serve, which will usually be pushed back heavy, which I loop slow and spinny deep to the wide corners.
5. After any serve and loop that goes deep on the table, be ready to smash or loop kill the next ball. Don't hesitate.
6. Sudden but occasional deep chop serve to the backhand often catches the player off guard and is pushed back, even though the player has a nice backhand loop. Watch closely how the player is receiving so I see quickly if I'm going to get a push or loop return.
7. First loop should be varied to the wide corners and middle. If I make it look like I'm going to the forehand, the player often reacts too soon, leaving backhand side open.
8. When receiving, look to aim to the backhand with a push return, then at the last second change directions and push either wide to the forehand (to draw the player out of position) or to the middle (to make the player choose forehand or backhand and draw out of position).
9. In backhand exchanges, look for chances to play aggressively to the wide backhand and at the elbow. Stay out of the middle backhand area and never go to the forehand unless I have an extreme angle or the player is out of position.
10. If the player hits a ball short in a rally, take it aggressively mostly to the wide forehand, since the player tends to leave that slightly open.
11. In fast exchanges, look for chances to suddenly chop. This throws the player off and gets me out of fast exchanges that the player is good at.
12. Lob and fish side to side with varying spin and height to force errors, and look for chances to lob to wide forehand to get a smash to my forehand to counter-attack or lob or fish with lots of spin.

Volunteers needed for 2012 Olympic Trials

The 2012 USA Olympic Trials (Feb. 9-12) and North American Olympic Trials (Apr. 20-22)will be held in Cary, NC. If you'd like to volunteer, play, or just spectate, visit their home page. Here's the text from the invitation latter I received.

"As you have hopefully heard, the US and North American Olympic Trials in Table Tennis are coming to Cary, North Carolina in February and April of 2012. This is an exciting event that will feature the best table tennis players in North America as they qualify to compete at the Olympic Games in London. We are now beginning to accept applications from local citizens who want to volunteer at the Olympic Trials. The volunteer application is now available on our website at www.cary2012.com. Available volunteer opportunities include venue operations, hospitality, and transportation. Volunteers will receive a commemorative tee shirt for their participation. 

"Additionally, we still have a special opportunity to be among the first to purchase the limited availability Friends of Table Tennis package. For $75, you receive all-event admission to both the U.S. and North America Trials, as well as admission to a special VIP reception featuring the country's top players. Seating is limited, so purchase your Friends of Table Tennis package today! Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.cary2012.com or the Cary Arts Center Box Office."

Denver Bronco Table Tennis Player

Quarterback Tim Tebow plays table tennis - see pictures and video!

Funny and spectacular table tennis

Here's both a funny and spectacular table tennis video (4:28). I love the part where the players are rolling in the tables. And don't miss the behind the back blocks at 1:29, 1:36, and 2:17, or the  penguin at the end!

Table Tennis Nation to Settle Occupy Wall Street

Yes, with Marty Reisman involved, all problems will be resolved. Here's the story. "Not since Lorne Michaels offered The Beatles $3000 to appear on Saturday Night Live has such a compelling offer been made to solve an ongoing national and international crisis."

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"The Hammer" dies at 65

Kjell Johnansson of Sweden, 1973 World Men's Singles Finalist (losing on two edge balls at 19-all in the fifth), who teamed with Stellan Bengtsson to battle with the Chinese for years (winning Men's Teams in 1973 and Men's Doubles three times, once with Bengtsson, twice with Hans Alser), and known for his "hammer" forehand, died yesterday at age 65. Here's an NBC Sports obit. He was a hero of mine long ago; I spent huge amounts of time copying his forehand. Along with Yugoslavia's Dragutin Surbek, he proved that you could be tall and still move extremely fast. Here are three clips of him playing in the final of Men's Singles at the 1973 Worlds.

• Clip one (15 sec)
• Clip two (13 sec)
• Clip three (8 sec)

Have a good forehand? Have a tomahawk serve?

If you have a good forehand, do you have a good forehand tomahawk serve that goes short to the opponent's forehand? (This is for two righties or two lefties.) This is the serve where you serve with the racket tip up, and contact the ball on the right side, so it curves to the left, and the spin makes the ball come to your right off the opponent's paddle. It's awkward for many to take a short ball on the forehand side and aim to the right - try it and you'll see why. Until you reach the advanced levels, nearly everyone returns this serve toward the forehand side - you know, your strong side? If you don't overuse it, you'll get a lot of easy balls to attack. Just sayin'.

Why coach table tennis?

Here's an English Table Tennis Association coaching recruitment video. Successful table tennis countries understand the importance of such recruitment. (3:31)

Regional table tennis differences?

I'm always hearing about how this region or that is stronger than other regions, that players from one region beat players from another region with the same rating. However, when I look at the facts, almost always it comes down to local players beating players who had to travel to the tournament. (Another example is when an unorthodox player travels and then beats lots of "stronger" players who are not used to his weird style, but that works only for certain specific players, not for a group of players from one region.)

Below is a posting I did on about.com on the subject, which I thought I'd repost here. Someone had posted at about how players from the east had done poorly playing in the Los Angeles Open, and how this shows that table tennis is stronger on the west coast. Here's my response:

It's not exactly a neutral test when one group has to 1) travel 3000 miles (jet lag) 2) to an unfamiliar area and 3) play almost exclusively unfamiliar players. (Those from the region where the tournament is held have played each other more often, and you get more into a rhythm in tournaments when you play players you are familiar with, which then puts you in a better position to win against unfamiliar players.)

To have a fair comparison, you'd have to see how west coasters do after flying to eastern tournaments, or how they all do in a more neutral area. Also, using anecdotal evidence rarely shows anything. I could just as easily point out that Tong Tong Gong (from Maryland, I coached him) was seeded 9th at the Cadet Trials last year, but made the team (top four) by upsetting three consecutive west coast players. But that's anecdotal. You have to look at a relatively large sampling or you get lots of volatility.

For example, a cursory look at Mark Croitoroo's (2334) results at the LA Open show he lost 20 rating points. A closer look shows that he lost it because he lost 25 points in a deuce in the fifth loss to a 2206 west coaster, while gaining 10 by beating a 2364 west coaster at 10,6,7. An even closer look (at the entry form) shows that he lost to the 2206 in the U2500 even, which started at 1PM on Sat, while defeating the 2364 easily in the Open, which started five hours later, giving him more time to adjust. (His only other match where he lost rating points was a 5-point loss to a 2404 player from Texas.)

When I coach players each year after traveling a distance to the Nationals and Open and other tournaments, one thing that stands out year after year is that they start out relatively poorly but play better and better as the tournament goes on. Sometimes we travel early to make up for this, as in the case of Tong Tong last year, who was there and practicing three days before the Cadet Trials, and who likely would have had very different results otherwise.

Looping long pushes to the backhand

Here's a video from Coach Tao Li from Table Tennis University that shows how to step around and forehand loop those long pushes to your backhand (3:01).

Physical training with Christophe Legout

I think this is physical training for table tennis (2:57) by former French champion Christophe Legout, but I'm not sure - it's all in French. (And no, there is no "r" at the end of Christophe.)

A Waldner point

Here's Jan-Ove Waldner playing the type of incredible point that only he could do.

Table Tennista

Table Tennista is a good place for international table tennis coverage. It's even divided by sections; here's the Americas section.

Future table tennis movies

Here are 40 table tennis movies I'd like to see, in no particular order. Yes, I was bored. Feel free to comment with your own titles. (Here's the IMDB Top 250, if that helps.)

1. Indiana Jones and the Power of Ping-Pong
2. Harry Potter and the Ping-Pong Ball
3. The Pongfather (Parts I, II, III)
4. Pong Story (Parts 1-3)
5. Twelve Angry Ping-Pong Players
6. Pong Fiction
7. One Flew Over the Ping-Pong Table
8. Lord of the Table
9. Raiders of the Lost Ball
10. Pong Wars
11. Pong Club
12. Pong Hard
13. Pongman
14. The Ping-Pong Redemption
15. Seven Pongurai
16. Goodpongers
17. Casaponga
18. The Silence of the Sponge
19. Dr. Ping-Pong or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Sponge
20. Ping-Pong Now
21. Ponginator
22. Saving Private Pong
23. PONG-E
24. Lawrence of Ping-Pong
25. To Kill a Looper
26. Pong is Beautiful
27. Back to the Table
28. Raging Pong
29. The Net on the Ping-Pong Table
30. Pongheart
31. The Wizard of Pong
32. The Sixth Ball Attack
33. The Ponger King
34. Pongface
35. Jan-Ove Waldner and the Chinese Kid
36. Gone with the Ball
37. Ping-Pong Day
38. The Man who Looped the Ping-Pong Ball
39. Once Upon a Time on the Table
40. Mr. Pong Goes to USATT

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Tip of the Week

Feet at more than shoulder width.

The Technique of Zhang Jike

There was a nice posting recently at mytabletennis.com by "blahness" that linked to numerous videos of World Men's Singles Champion Zhang Jike of China, highlighting his many techniques. Here are those links - to see blahness's own excellent commentary, see the link above.

• Forehands and backhands
• Forehands and backhands from mid-distance
• Backhand and forehand training with Xu Xin
• Warming up with Wang Hao
• Looping against backspin
• Forehand loop against backspin
• Serve and receive practice with Xu Xin
• Third-ball attack practice with Liu Guoliang
• Match with Germany's Bastian Steger
• Warming up with Xu Xin, mostly serve and receive
• Reverse pendulum serve
• Backhand over-the-table loop against a short ball

Good coaches and bad coaches

When I browse the online table tennis forums, sometimes I don't look at the name of the writer at first. Recently I noticed something. I kept reading things that I disagreed with - and over and over I'd look up at the name, and it would be the same people.  No, they were not "name" coaches, and no, they hadn't developed any top players, but they had a lot of armchair theories that aren't particularly effective in real table tennis, techniques that had been tried and, usually for very specific reasons, didn't work, and that, to be blunt, were just plain wrong. Yes, there are always a few examples of a "failed" technique that later on became successful, such as reverse penhold backhands or receiving short balls to the forehand with the backhand (mostly against backhand serve type sidespin), but they are very few; for every example of this, there are countless examples of techniques that some online "coach" argues for that you should avoid. For it to work, the technique has to be used successfully, and until that happens, use caution in developing your game based on unorthodox techniques that some online "coach" preaches.  

Most of the "name" coaches do know their stuff (sorry, anti-elitists!), but more interesting than that are the small group of lower-level (or just unknown) players who really do know what they are talking about. (The key is knowing what you don't know, and sticking with what you do know.) Moral - be careful what you read out there. Some of the more prolific writers giving table tennis tips know as much about table tennis coaching as I do about how an automobile engine works. (There's a gerbil on a spinning wheel, right?)

Interview with Timo Boll

Table Tennis Talk interviews Timo Boll after he wins the recent European Championships.

New Olympic rule hurts China, helps everyone else

New rule - countries will only be allowed two players at the Olympics, meaning China can only win two medals, which leaves one for the rest of the world. Link also includes a video of England's Paul Drinkhall on mind games (2:20).

Friday exhibition and coaching

On Friday about 20 kids (ages 5-10) from a local school came to the Maryland Table Tennis Center for two hours. I did a humorous exhibition with Raghu Nadmichettu. Then, after a short demonstration and talk on the grip and basic strokes, we put them in two groups, half with me, half with Raghu, for multiball, with us feeding two of them at a time, and the rest picking up balls. Then we played a game of around the world, the kids going around three tables between shots, three misses and they're out. Then it was free play for about an hour. I spent much of it on one table challenging the kids to return my "fastball," which is what I call my fast topspin serve. They were very determined, and every now and then one would do so, and I would give them "The Glare." (I let them know where the ball was going or they would have had zero chance.) Hopefully some of them will be back.

Micronesia and McAfee

USATT Coaching Chair Richard McAfee just ran a training camp in Micronesia - that's somewhere between the Philippines and Indonesia, but you knew that, right? Here's the ITTF story. As I pointed out to Richard, there's something really right about outdoor table tennis on grass.

Ping-Pong for Poverty

Here's a video (1:47) on the Ping-Pong for Poverty in Virginia Beach, which starts with a rather spectacular emptying of a few zillion ping-pong balls out of a car. They raised $100,000 over three years, including $60,000 this year. That's Scott and Austin Preiss doing the exhibition.

A crow trying to eat a ping-pong ball

Because how else would you spend the next sixteen seconds of your life?

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Looping versus Hitting

The advantage goes to looping, at least at the higher levels. But everyone's different, and below world-class levels there are many hitters who eat loopers for breakfast. 

The advantages of looping versus hitting

1. The extreme topspin in a loop pulls the ball down, so you can keep the ball in play at high speeds and effectively attack even low balls.
2. The topspin makes the ball bounce low and fast on the table, making it hard for the opponent to handle it.
3. The topspin jumps up off the opponent's racket, making it tricky to keep on the table and low.
4. Because you can loop the ball on the drop, you have more time to get into position for the shot, and so can loop over and over more easily than hitting over and over.
5. A looper can often turn a hitter into a blocker.
6. Because the ball jumps off the table and then sails downward, it's difficult to block or counter a loop effectively from off the table unless you are advanced enough to counterloop. To make an effective return, you generally have to stay at the table and block the ball off the bounce. Against a fast incoming ball, you have little time to react. Against a hitter, you can take a half step back to give yourself more time. Against a looper, that rarely works.

The advantages of hitting versus looping

1. It's a quicker stroke.
2. It's easier to learn.
3. A hitter can often turn a looper into a lobber.
4. You can generally create more speed since all of your power is going into speed.

The 2011 U.S. Table Tennis Hall of Fame Inductees

They are (and this link includes bios) . . . drum roll please . . . Quang Bui, Jim Butler, Jasna Rather (players); Jim McQueen (contributor); and Mal Anderson is the Mark Mathews Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. Here's a listing of the current U.S. Table Tennis Hall of Fame.

Table Tennis at the Pan Am Games

Here are the table tennis results from the just completed Pan Am Games. Here are some articles. USA finished with three bronzes, in Women's Team (Ariel Hsing, Lily Zhang, Erica Wu), with Ariel and Lily each getting bronze medals in Women's Singles. Mo Zhang of Canada won the gold medal for Women's Singles. Here are more detailed USA results.

Table Tennis News Video

Pongcast brings you the table tennis news, putting together this video (26:53) on the latest table tennis news. After a rather long one-minute intro, they talk about the sport, starting with a video of Susan Sarandon playing at the Spin Club in New York City, then go on to table tennis robots, the new "hyperbolic" serve, news from Europe, and other news.

ITTF Coaches in the USA

All fourteen of the coaches from the ITTF seminar I ran in April are now certified. They are (in alphabetic order): Carmencita "Camy" Alexandrescu (NV), Benjamin D. Arnold (PA), Changping Duan (MD), Jeff Fuchs (PA), John Hsu (MD), Charlene Liu (MD), Juan Ly (FL), Vahid Mosafari (MD), Dan Notestein (VA), John Olsen (VA), Jef Savage (PA), Jeff Smart (MD), David Varkey (PA), and Shaobo "Bob" Zhu (PA). Overall, there are now 44 USA coaches who are ITTF certified. Here is the ITTF coaches database; put in "USA" and you'll see the complete list for USA.

Group Coaching for Kids

This morning I'm off to coach a new group of about 20 new kids coming to the Maryland Table Tennis Center. They are from a local Optimal Learning Center. I'm going to start off with an exhibition, then go over a few basics, then introduce them to ball bouncing on the racket and various table tennis relay races. Then it'll on to the tables.

Entries at the USA Nationals

Currently there are 374 entries listed in the online listing. (You can search by name or event.) However, there are undoubtedly numerous entries not yet entered into the database or entering late, so I expect a bunch more, though it'll probably be a low turnout since, let's face it, Virginia Beach is not a "vacationland" like Las Vegas.

Here's a graph of the number of entries we've received at the Nationals each year going back to 1994, when the info first went online. (These numbers are from the USATT ratings database and only include players who played in rated events; they do not include players who only played doubles or hardbat.)  It was held in Las Vegas in each of these years. As you can see, we've regressed badly since 2006, though we had an uptick last year. It'd be nice if we could get back to where we were five years ago. Below are the actual numbers, though I think the graph shows it better.

• 2011: ?
• 2010: 686
• 2009: 597
• 2008: 604
• 2007: 730
• 2006: 837 record high
• 2005: 829
• 2004: 755
• 2003: 707
• 2002: 678
• 2001: 672
• 2000: 686
• 1999: 658
• 1998: 592
• 1997: 650
• 1996: 613
• 1995: 660
• 1994: 598

Photos of the Day in the Wall Street Journal

See photo #2!

This is not where the ball is supposed to go

Here are seven seconds of someone spitting a ball at a wall and catching it in his mouth.

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