August 15, 2013

MDTTC Camp

There seems to be two groups in this week's group of beginning kids: those who want to play real games (up-down tables games to 11, king of the table) and those who want to hit targets while I feed multiball (pyramids of paper cups, Froggy). Since we have twelve of these beginners in the 5-8 range, I've pretty much divided them into these two groups when we get to games. The better ones tend to want to play real games. None of the four girls want to play competitive games - they perpetually want to line up and take turns hitting the poor paper cups and Froggy. They're inseparable.

There is amazing improvement in their target skills. I end many sessions with the bottle game, where they line up and try to hit a Gatorade bottle that I assure them is filled with something disgusting, like squeezed worm juice, which I have to drink if they hit it. Both groups love this game - the competitive ones compete to see who can make me drink the most. Normally beginning kids in this age group don't hit it that often, but the last two days they've been incredible, hitting it over and Over and OVER! I've drunk a lot of worm juice.

I had a private session with one up-and-coming junior I've been coaching for the past six months or so, with a supposed rating of 950. Yeah, right - he can loop over and over against my block, and pretty hard. "You're really working me!" I told him as I was sweating pretty hard trying to block all his loops. He was looping forehands from his backhand side to my backhand block. Some people don't understand that blocking involves footwork; good blockers work hard to block well.

Nature Versus Nurture

After my blog on talent yesterday someone brought this article in Skeptic Magazine to my attention. It basically debunks the 10,000 hour rule and other arguments for the "no such thing as talent" belief. However, like many other articles, it discusses physical and mental skills as if they were the same. That many purely physical skills are mostly genetic (such as sprinting speed or jumping ability, i.e. fast twitch muscle) is fact, but the bigger question is about the mental ones, such as hand-eye coordination, etc. Some aspects, such as IQ, have been researched to death and much of that is genetic. Like many articles on the topic, the article doesn't really address how hard a player trains, just the hours put in - 10,000 hours of mindless training in a skill sport isn't anything like 10,000 hours of hard-driven practice. There is a difference. The article also cites this New York Times article on the subject, which also seems to show that talent matters.

Regardless, my experiences in table tennis show that even "untalented" kids will become very good if they put in that hypothetical 10,000 hours, as long as they really work at it and have good coaching. Can they become the very best? That's the more interesting question. My current views are in yesterday's blog.

My Life

My life seems to center around seven things.

  • Table tennis coaching
  • Table tennis writing
  • Table tennis organizing and promotion
  • Writing science fiction & fantasy
  • Promoting my science fiction & fantasy
  • Reading and watching movies
  • My dog Sheeba (a corgi mix, now 15 and a half years old)

It's way too much. Here's my "Big Todo List":

  • Full-time coaching.
  • Daily Blog and Tip of the Week.
  • Two upcoming ITTF coaching seminars, Sept. 2-6 and Oct. 2-7 (one I'm attending, one I'm teaching).
  • Rewrite of Table Tennis: Steps to Success (tentatively retitled Table Tennis Fundamentals), with new photos.
  • Rewrite of Instructor's Guide to Table Tennis, with new photos.
  • Maryland Junior League (on hold for now).
  • Promotion and translations for Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers.
  • Promotion for upcoming novel ("The Giant Face in the Sky," coming Nov. 15).
  • Writing sequel to "The Giant Face in the Sky," with plans to have it out in time for the World Fantasy Convention in Washington DC, Nov. 6-9, 2013.
  • Rewrite of other novel, "Campaign 2100: Rise of the Moderates" - a publisher is interested, but asked for a rewrite, but with no guarantee that they'd accept the new version. 

Few from the table tennis world realize just how much time and effort I've put into my "second career," science fiction & fantasy writing. I've sold 67 short stories, and currently have 39 others making the rounds. I've got three other short stories in various stages of completion. Here's my science fiction & fantasy page, which I'm planning a major upgrade soon.

During our two-hour lunch break from camp this morning, besides taking the kids to the daily trek to 7-11, I'll be studying for the ITTF coaching seminar, and if I have time, starting the list of needed photos for the planned "Table Tennis Fundamentals" book.

ITTF Hopes Camp in NJ

Here's an ITTF article on the ITTF Hopes Camp being held at the Lily Yip Training Center in New Jersey, Aug. 10-16.

2013 Para Pan Am Games

Here's the USATT table tennis info page on the Para Pan Am Games, to be held in Costa Rica, Dec. 9-16.

Table Tennis for the Elderly in Virginia Beach

Here's a video (3 min) about a table tennis program for the elderly at Westminster Canterbury in Virginia Beach. It shows a 101-year-old playing, interviews the elderly, and talks about the benefits to the brain.

Table Tennis "Boogie Woogie" - Shot of the Day!

Here's a video (32 sec, with replays) of an incredible shot in the final of the 2013 Netherland National Youth Championships.

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