January 12, 2015

Tip of the Week

Develop Your Primary and Secondary Skills.

Two Books, Two Sabbaticals?

I think, with eight books out and an insatiable reading habit, I can be considered the "bookish" type. (Here are my books. Buy them!!!) Here are my upcoming table tennis book plans.

Short-term: I've got two books I want to do soon. The first is "Parents Guide to Table Tennis." Alas, with this blog, my USATT work, my MDTTC work, and a zillion other things on my todo list, I'm not finding the time to do this. Also, by the time I finish writing this blog each morning I'm pretty much writed out (no, that's not a word, but you get the meaning). So when can I write this book?

I think the solution is I'm going to have to take a one-week sabbatical from the blog next week. Monday (Jan. 19) is already MLK Day, and I was planning to take that off anyway. Tuesday is a "Professional Day" for teachers with no school, and so we have no afterschool program that day, so I can easily take that day off as well. So no blogs next week as I work on the book (Jan. 19-23, Mon-Fri).

"Parents Guide to Table Tennis" would include general info on table tennis and USATT; advantages of table tennis (healthy; few injuries; size not important; develops hand-eye coordination, tactical and strategic thinking skills, and self-discipline; and it's an Olympic sport); equipment; what you want in a coach; what to expect of your child (goals, attitude, fun vs. improvement, self-discipline, hard work = improvement, what to do with especially "talented" kids); parental and child etiquette; private and group coaching; tournaments and leagues; and juniors and ratings.

Any suggestions on other topics it should include? Comment below!!!

The other book would be a novel, "The Paddle of Pong," which I blogged about briefly last Tuesday. I write a lot about table tennis and I also write science fiction & fantasy, so I decided it's time to really combine the two and write a real table tennis fantasy. My published novel, "Sorcerers in Space," does feature a kid who has to give up his dreams of ping-pong stardom to save the world, but it doesn't really feature table tennis. (I have another SF novel making the rounds, "Campaign 2100," which does feature table tennis quite a bit, but it's not really central to the novel.)

"The Paddle of Pong" would be a table tennis fantasy dramedy. Our hero is a mid-level American player who aspires to be a champion. So he goes to China to learn the secrets of table tennis - and finds a mentor, treachery, and a fantasy world where he must achieve the Body of Pong, the Spirit of Pong, and most importantly, the Paddle of Pong - all while being haunted by the spirits of table tennis champions past.

So when could I write this? If the sabbatical next week works out, I might take another Feb. 16-20. Feb. 16 is President's Day, so I was planning to take that day off anyway. (I wouldn't be able to write the whole thing that week, but I'd get a good start on it. I've already written the first chapter, which gets our hero to the door of the National Training Center in China.)

Long-term: Here are other books I plan to do at some point:

  • Rewrite of Table Tennis: Steps to Success (probably retitled as simply Table Tennis Fundamentals). I don't have time for this right now as it would require a lot of writing and a huge quantity of new pictures. But I expect to get to this eventually.
  • Rewrite of Instructor's Guide to Table Tennis. The teaches how to coach table tennis at the lower levels, and is primarily for beginning coaches and non-table tennis coaches, such as PE instructors. I wrote the original version in the late 1980s. It was USATT's official coaching manual for about 20 years.
  • More Table Tennis Tips. Last year I came out with Table Tennis Tips, which compiled in logical fashion all 150 Tips of the Week published from 2011-2013. Early in 2017 I'll compile the tips from 2014-2016, and another book will be born!
  • More Pings and Pongs. The anthology "Pings and Pongs" has 30 of my best short story sales. However, since that time I've sold a lot more, and I now have enough for the sequel. After each story is published I have to wait from 3-6 months before the rights come back to me, and then I can compile them in this sequel.

USATT Board issues

I'm currently in an email discussion with a number of others regarding the various issues I focused on when I ran for the Board. (Anyone who thinks those were just "political" issues is missing the point - I ran to get these things done, and that's going to be my primary focus.) Alas, these types of discussions must remain confidential. I'll report on them when they become "official," such as things discussed at USATT Board Meetings (except during closed sessions where they mostly discuss personnel issues). I'm already facing the expected "This is how we always do it" responses from some people. It really is hard to bring change to an organization that's been doing the same old things for so many years, no matter how unsuccessful these "same old things" have been. At the same time, there are other USATT people who are eager to see USATT succeed and embrace the changes needed.  

World Team Cup

Here's the ITTF page for the event (results, articles, video, pictures), which finished yesterday. China swept both Men's and Women's Teams, the sun rose this morning, and we still have gravity. Note the links under "Media," which includes the Daily Reviews, Shots of the Day, and Quotes. Here's the ITTF Press Release, and the article from Tabletennista. Here are World Team Cup Highlights (2:59).

Table Tennis Training with Kong Linghui

Here's the new video (23:42) of 1995 World and 2000 Olympic Men's Singles Gold Medalist Kong Linghui teaching table tennis. He's now coach of the Chinese Women's Team that dominates the world.

Coaching Articles by Samson Dubina

Here are two new ones:

Reverse Penhold Racket Angle

Here's the video (3:24) from Tao Li Table Tennis.

Ask the Coach

Episode #55 (17:49) - Tactics Against a Good Flicker

  • Last #PQOTD  - 0:55
  • What is your Table Tennis Goal for 2015?
  • #PQOTD  - 1:36: What did you think of the results of the ITTF Star Awards?
  • Discussion - 1:49: World Cup results
  • Question 1 - 4:50: During a match my opponent started to read the spin of my serves very well. And then he started to flick aggressively every short serve or even my short receive of his serve. As the result, I lost many points to it. What would a good player do? Ilia
  • Question 2 - 7:49: I am not confident if I play a backhand smash or a forehand smash. So I rarely play them, is there a way to improve my confidence? Jukemc
  • Question 3 - 10:50: I am getting good with my forehand counterhit but do I wait till it becomes very consistent then learn a loop or switch between them? When to use counterhit and loop while playing? Am I right that professional use loops only and never counterhits? Mohammad
  • Question 4 - 13:07: Should I join a table tennis club? Jukemc
  • Question 5 - 14:09: Hi guys, during a point I hit a shot that tipped the net, bounced on top of the plastic side piece holding the net and spun back onto the table on the other side. I doubt I'll ever see that again but in case I do, how would you rule that? George
  • Question 6 - 15:28: When moving to the left should I start the move with my left or right foot, or does it make a difference? In the videos it seems that a move to the left is started with the right foot, and a move to the right is started with the left foot. Bill

Navin Kumar Eligible to Participate in Para Table Tennis

Here's the USATT article. I'm mentioned in it as Navin's coach!

2014 North American Tour Grand Final

Here's the flyer for the event to take place at the Westchester TTC in NY, Feb. 6-8.

Marty Reisman's Tribute Feature from SPiN NY 2014

Here's the video (16:15).

Ping Pong Ruler

Here's a page that does lots of equipment reviews.

Custom Barrier Rackets

Here's the picture - a two-tiered stacking approach!

Ma Long vs. Zhang Jike at the 2014 China Team Trials

Here's the video (14:48, with time between points taken out).

Ten Things China Does Better than Everyone Else

Here's the CNN article. See the second item, "Indoor Sports."
"Its state system of athletic training has perfected a foolproof method for producing top gymnasts, ping pong champs, badminton aces and diving divas."
"Chinese competitors are practically unbeatable at badminton and table tennis, winning more gold medals in these events than any other country at the Olympics."

U.S. Aerobic Ping Pong

Here's the page. Make sure to watch the "Health Works" video (2:21).

Incredible Around-the-Net Backhand

Here's the video (28 sec).

Women's Soccer Pong

Here's the video (14 sec) of two women really going at it! Here's a video (3:45) I linked to previously of men going at it in a "top ten" rallies listing.

Framework - Making a Ping-Pong Table?

Here's the video (3:04) of an episode of "Framework" where a group each tries to design a better table. (Starts with two rather long commercials, alas.) "You must bring style into something mundane." "The ever-so-cocky Freddy thinks he has as masterpiece of a ping pong table design, but Common reminds him of something he missed."

Top 10 Table Tennis Tricks

Here's the video (2:31).

Trick Shots

Here's video (47 sec) of Adam Bobrow and Josep Anton Velazquez doing trick shots as they circle the table at center court at the World Team Cup.

Big Eyes Adam Bobrow

Here's the picture.

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