May 22, 2015

Top Ten Reasons to Attend the 2015 US Open

If you aren’t one of the 471 players entered so far in the US Open (Las Vegas, July 6-11), or a parent or coach attending, then consider this a warning. If you don’t go to this years’ US Open, you are going to miss it!!! Just what are you going to miss? (Deadline is Sunday, May 31, with entries accepted until Sunday, June 7, with a $75 late fee.)  So here are the Top Ten Reasons to Enter the US Open.

  1. Compete in some of the 94 events, which are all listed on the US Open page, as well as on the domestic entry form (for US players) and the international entry form. (Here’s an event listing that shows who is entered in each event.) They include:
    1. Rating Events!!! 19 of them, from Under 800 to Under 2600, and that’s just singles.
    2. Under 2000 Tiered Super Round Robin! Here’s info.
    3. Over Age 18 Rating Events!!! Tired of losing to 10-year-olds who are 500 points under-rated? Then enter the Over 18 Rating Events – Under 1850, Under 1600, Under 1400, and Under 1250.
    4. Rating Doubles!!! Under 4200, Under 3700, Under 3200, Under 2700.
    5. Senior Events, 29 of them, from Over 30 to Over 80, both singles and doubles.
    6. Junior Events, 20 of them, from 9 & Under to Under 21.
    7. Handicap Singles – nope, not a Paralympic event, this is an event where you play one game to 41, and spot points based on the difference in rating. Here’s info.
    8. Hardbat (10) and Sandpaper (4) events!
    9. Paralympic Events (11)! (Mostly Wheelchair and Standing Disabled).
    10. Oh, and there’s also Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Mixed Doubles (for the truly elite).
  2. Spectate as the best players in the country and many from around the world congregate and battle for the top prizes.
  3. Shop at the many equipment booths. If you are an equipment junkie, this is heaven. If you are just looking for good equipment, this is heaven. If you just like to shop or like table tennis, this is heaven. Rackets and Sponges and Table Tennis Clothing, Oh My! (And you can buy signed copies of my books!!!)
  4. Meet up with friends – over 800 players are expected.
  5. Top Players and Coaches will be all over the place, and you’ll get to meet and talk to them. (I’ll be there – stop by and say hi.)
  6. Vacation – we’re talking Las Vegas!!!
  7. Tournament T-Shirts – FREE with entry!
  8. Pool Parties – More on that later!
  9. Caesars Palace and the LINQ. The hotels alone are a reason to go. You also get free entry to one event if you stay at one of them – here’s info.
  10. USATT Leaders will be there – here’s your chance to meet and yell at them politely discuss the issues!

Samson’s Book, Tim’s Book, My Books, Balticon Books

It’s a bookish time. Let’s see:

  1. Samson’s Book. Yesterday I finished editing Samson Dubina’s new coaching book, tentative titled “100 Days of Table Tennis Success.” It’s a hugely informative book, with exactly 100 chapters/subchapters! Final version will likely be around 190 pages. I’ll blog about it here when it’s out.
  2. Tim’s Book. On Monday Tim Boggan moves in with me for 10-14 days so I can do the page layouts and photo work on Volume 16 of his History of U.S. Table Tennis. This one covers 1988-89.
  3. My Books. They keep multiplying, and are now up to nine. Here’s my Amazon page, with my table tennis fantasy “The Spirit of Pong” the latest entry. (They are also listed, with short descriptions, at here at TableTennisCoaching.com.) The best-selling one right now is “Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers,” which if you have not yet bought you will suffer a 50-point loss in your next tournament.
  4. Balticon Books. I’ll spend much of this weekend as a panelist at Balticon, the regional science fiction convention. Here’s my bio at their site. I’ve got a reading and a book signing, where I’ll be selling three of my books, all up on my Amazon page: “Sorcerers in Space,” “The Spirit of Pong,” and “Pings and Pongs.” On Saturday night I’m moderating a panel on “What’s so Great about the Undead?” Besides being a fan of “The Walking Dead,” I’ve sold several stories about the undead/zombies, including “Running with the Dead” (sort of an equal rights for the dead story that features a dead high school kid who wants to be a miler on his high school track team but faces the Mile Mafia) and “The Devil’s Backbone” in the anthology “After Death,” about a colony of Undead living in (you guessed it) the Devil’s backbone. (He’s two miles tall.)

Improve Your Looping: Learn what skills you need at what levels

Here’s the new coaching article by Samson Dubina.

Ma Long Reverse Serve Training

Here’s the video (68 sec).

Ask the Coach with PingSkills

Episode #128 (19:20) – Men vs. Women.

Ask the Coach with Richard Prause

Part 11 (4:26) - How to Beat the Chinese. 

Incredible Returns, Spin Smash, and the Point Isn’t Over Till It’s Over

Here’s the video (41 sec).

Crazy Net Pop-up Edge Point

Here’s the video (6:32, but the link should take you directly to the point in question at 5:49), between Jens Lundqvist (near side) and Niagol Stoyanov. It’s a great rally even before the flukiness begins!

International Table Tennis

Here's my periodic note (usually every Friday) that you can great international coverage at TableTennista (which especially covers the elite players well) and at the ITTF home page (which does great regional coverage). Butterfly also has a great news page.

Balloon Pong

Here’s the picture! I’m told that the paddle is actually a pen, making the balloon holding it a shakehands penholder!

Popeye vs. Bluto

Here’s the picture! Backhand stances and hammer grips? My coaching services are in grave demand!

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