November 21, 2014

USATT Election

Sometime today USATT will announce the ballot for the upcoming USATT election. It'll likely be a USATT news item. (I'll add a "Breaking News!" item here when it comes out.) As I've blogged about, I applied to be on the ballot. If I'm on the ballot, then I'll create a "USATT Election" tab here, and start to blog about what I'll do as a USATT board member. I'll also put online the one-page statement I sent to USATT outlining why I want to run for the board, what I will do, and my qualifications. (When I say "what I will do," that also means I will work to get USATT to do it, so it'll become "we.") As I blogged on October 23, there are five major things I will do if I'm on the board, plus a growing number of "other issues" (currently at twelve) that I'd also like to take action on. (I blogged about these twelve on November 14.) Then I'll blog about each of the five issues, one per day, outlining the plans for each, and then blog about the other issues on the sixth day. And on the seventh day, I'll . . . play table tennis.

BREAKING NEWS: I'm on the ballot! See my new USATT Election tab in the menu on the left.

Violence in Table Tennis

Here's the video (54 sec). I was rather hesitant to put this one up as the one doing the violence - shoving the umpire off his chair - is a kid. But the video is everywhere now, and it was in a very public tournament. It's gone viral, with 681,273 hits as of right now. If you'll note there's a red and yellow card on the scoreboard, meaning the kid had already been yellow-carded and then penalized a point. Apparently the only way table tennis can get huge publicity is with incidents like this, or the one last month when Zhang Jike destroyed the barriers after winning the World Cup! (I'm saying this facetiously - but unfortunately there's some truth to it.)

Over the years there have been other such incidents involving kids, though not all violent. Here are a few.

  1. Back in the 1990s a kid from Canada (about twelve) was up match point and lost, and threw his racket at the barriers - and threw it too high so it went over and hit another kid in the eye, almost knocking his eye out. The injured kid (about eight) was rushed to the hospital and they said almost lost the eye, while the throwing kid got suspended I think two years, and his parents had to pay the medical bills.
  2. Probably the worst case of table tennis violence I know of was the reverse - a parent beating his kid. A player I was coaching in the final of Under 14 Boys at the U.S. Open was down 18-20 match point, but scored four in a row to win the match. A few minutes later, while I was talking to the winner, several other kids from my club came running over, yelling that the opponent's father was beating up his kid. I went out and found the 13-year-old sitting on the ground outside, leaning against a brick wall. According to witnesses his father had thrown him against the brick wall over and over. (Yes, authorities were notified, but I don't know what happened - but a year or so later the kid was no longer living with his father.)
  3. A kid I was coaching in a tournament was at 19-all in the third (back when games were to 21). The opponent got a net-edge to go up 20-19 match point - and the kid gave him the finger! I immediately ordered the kid to default the match. He didn't even protest, he knew his mistake, and never did anything like that again.
  4. If I got into all the problems with kids "choing!" between points that would be the topic for every blog over the next year.
  5. I was involved in one case of table tennis violence, where I could have been knifed. Back in 1977 when I was 17 I was practicing with Brian Masters at the Prince Georges Plaza Community Center, where there were two tables. I left the room to use the water fountain. When I returned there was a big argument going on at the next table, but I didn't pay much attention. Then one guy, about my age and size, accused me of breaking his racket. I didn't know what he was talking about, and I definitely hadn't broken his racket, or even touched it - I had been busy doing footwork drills. As I'd find out later, someone else had told him I'd done it, probably the person who had broken his. A while later I left to go home - it was late at night and dark outside. As I stepped out, the guy who'd accused me of breaking his racket literally jumped out from behind a tree or bush, where he'd been waiting for me - with a knife!!! I was cornered between him and a wall. Fortunately, I'd actually practiced some self-defense against a knife (well, a rubber knife) with my older brother. When he came at me, I did a little maneuver where I slapped his knife arm aside with my left (we were both right-handed), spun about so I got the knife arm under my right arm below the shoulder, and yanked away at it until he dropped the knife. (I may have broken his arm, and I pretty much yanked his arm out of the socket.) Some people from inside came running out and helped hold the guy while the police were called. I never told my parents because I was afraid they wouldn't let me keep practicing there.

Reverse Pendulum Backspin Serve Part 2

Here's the video (5:26) by Brett Clarke. Here was Part 1 (5:37), which I linked to a while back. Many players can only do this serve with sidespin and topspin, and in combination with a regular pendulum serve, that's a good variation. But when you can do it with backspin - which is harder to learn - it becomes a front-line serve. I like to use a regular pendulum serve motion and at the last second switch to reverse pendulum, usually either short to the forehand or long to the backhand.

What Are Your Pushing Leaks?

Here's the coaching article from Expert Table Tennis. Is the lowly push the most important stroke of all? And what is a "leak"?

Ask the Coach

Episode 32 (15:11) - What Should You Serve After a Let?

  • PingSkillers Question of the Day - 0:21: Should the ITTF bring in a time limit between points?
  • Question 1 - 3:06: What is the difference between pimple in and out rubber? I had heard about long pimple rubbers which are for chopping and defending can there be long pimple rubber which has its pimple in? I am going to change from pimple in rubber to pimple out. Nick
  • Question 2 - 5:22: I have this problem because I want to get my arm to my eyebrow for the forehand topspin so then my strokes are too vertical. I was told to shoot through the ball but I'm unable to stop myself from playing vertically. How can I hit through and not up? C Cc
  • Question 3 - 7:10: I try and do a forehand topspin but it keeps on hitting the net help? Kian
  • Question 4 - 8:31: As a lefty I've seen you hit a forehand and forehand smash with a curve to the right side of the table. Can you do a curve (screwball) to the left side with a forehand? What about a backhand smash screwball? Rex
  • Question 5 - 10:28: When I make a let serve touching the net, should I make the same serve again or make another serve? Kaustubh
  • Question 6 - 13:43: What do you think of the plastic ball is it better than the original? Kian

No Chinese Players in the 2014 World Tour Grand Finals

Here's the article from Tabletennista. Here's discussion on this at the Mytabletennis forum.

Central American and Caribbean Sports Games

Here's the ITTF article, which features Michael Hyatt, Oscar Molina, Guillermo Munoz, and Dexter St. Louis.

Pongathon Uni Challenge: Free Ping Pong Parties Sweeping the Nation!

Here's the video (1:50) from England. Why don't we have this in the U.S.? (Of course me, being the ultimate non-partier, would probably plan and set it up, and then stay home and read a book.)

Fan Zhendong Backhand

Here's the video (40 sec).

Incredible Rally

Here's the video (33 sec, including slow motion replay) of the point between Ma Long and Xu Xin.

Four-Year-Old Player

Here's the video (52 sec) - she's pretty good for someone whose shoulders barely reach the table!

Turkey Pong

Here it is - I like this one, and it's not too late to get one for Thanksgiving! (I vacillated between the current title and calling it "Turkey Tong" about ten times.)

Jorgen Persson on a Milk Carton

Here's the picture of the Swedish star and 1991 World Men's Singles Champion.

The New Plastic Ball

This new one is gonna slow down the sport a bit.

Early Egyptian Table Tennis

Here's the cartoon!

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