June 8, 2015

Tip of the Week

What to Think About in a Match.

MDTTC Featured in Montgomery County Magazine

This is the Olympic Sport of . . . Table Tennis came out over the weekend, featuring my club, the Maryland Table Tennis Center. The player pictured - and one of the main ones featured - is Ryan Dabbs, 11, who I’ll be coaching at the U.S. Open. To get that picture of him smashing a winner I lobbed up about 50 balls, one at a time, with him smashing and cameraman taking pictures until he got the perfect shot.

Weekend Coaching Sessions

It was another busy coaching weekend. In the junior class on Sunday, we did a LOT of side-to-side footwork, just forehand to backhand, with the focus on grip. Why? Because I’d noticed a number of the kids changing their grips for forehand and backhand. They needed to find a grip where they could hit both forehands and backhands with little grip change. (Some minor grip changes are okay, but not a lot.)

In the adult training session we did a lot of down-the-line practice. A number of players were trying to hit their forehands down the line with contorted upper body and arm movements, so we spent time working on that – hitting down the line is no problem if you position yourself properly (right foot more back, more shoulder rotation) and time the ball right (a little later, by the back leg). We finished the session with a lot of service practice.

In my private coaching sessions, one drill I’m doing a lot of recently is a serve and backhand loop game. The student serves backspin to my backhand, I push to his backhand, he backhand loops, and we play out the point. It’s both drill and game, and good practice. We also do variations where the student follows with a forehand from the backhand, or I push to the forehand and he forehand loops, or I push anywhere and he loops.

History of U.S. Table Tennis

Our long national nightmare is over – or at least mine is! On Saturday night, after 13 straight days of work, Tim Boggan and I finished the page layouts for Volume 16 of History of U.S. Table Tennis, which covers 1988-89.

From Monday, May 25, through Saturday, June 6, I worked thirteen consecutive roughly 17-hour days, where I’d roughly start work with Tim as early as 5AM and normally work almost non-stop (with a short lunch break) until I left to coach around 2:30 PM in our afterschool program at MDTTC. I’d also have private and group coaching most nights and weekends. When I’d return I’d have my blog to do and a zillion other things from my todo list. Sunday wasn’t so easy either, with 2.5 hours of private coaching, 3.0 hours of group coaching, and several other hours on various other projects.

The book is 427 pages long (8.5” x 11” pages), a little short by past standards, but it smashed all records for graphics, with 1327 jammed into those pages – better than three per page. The previous volume had set the record at 978, with the last ten volumes all over 800. (The numbers are all at TimBogganTableTennis.com.)

Here’s the cover, featuring the dancing clown from the 1989 Worlds, with ping-pong balls cascading all over him. Here’s the Magic Ball video (3:09) from those Worlds, showing the clown for about ten seconds starting 19 seconds in – but I strongly suggest watching the whole thing from the start as it’s hands-down the best table tennis song ever. I still use it in my mind to get psyched up for a match.

Like I’ve done with all his volumes, I’ve already created the files for createspace.com, which allows us to print and sell them. The new volume will likely be on sale in a week or so. The main delay is that once it’s ready, I’ll have a proof copy sent to Tim. Once he gives the final okay, he’ll be able to sell them within days. Once it’s ready, I’ll announce it here, and Tim will start distributing the flyer I created for him.

New Coaching Articles from Samson Dubina

Ask the Coach

Episode #137 (16:10) – Attacking Medium Long Balls (and other topics).

Backhand Banana Flip Kills

Here’s the video (20 sec) – go for it! (However, I’d generally recommend not flipping so aggressively and focusing on placement, unless of course the serve is weak.)

Koki Niwa Training

Here’s a new video (3:22) of the world #11 Japanese star training. The commentary is in Japanese, but you don’t need to know Japanese to watch.

Physical Training by Galina Georginova

Meiklejohn National Senior Championships

Here are the results from this past weekend. Jim Butler once again swept Over 40, Senior Elites, and Hardbat.  

Table Tennis Targets Schools in Samoa

Here’s the newspaper article on Richard McAfee’s coaching seminars in Samoa, which (for us geographically-challenged Americans) is almost in the dead center of the Pacific, about 2500 miles south of the Hawaiian islands. (Here’s a map.)

Seattle Installing Ping Pong Tables in City Parks to Deter Crime

Here’s the article.

Another Incredible Behind-the-Back Shot

Here’s the video (24 sec). How does this compare to these past ones I’ve linked to?

The Most Unlucky Player – Timo Boll

Here’s the new video (5:32).

Floor Pong?

Here’s the video (43 sec) as a player falls to the floor and continues the rally on his knees, not even attempting to get up – and ends it with a loop kill while still on his knees!

Ball Rolling on Net Serve

Here’s the video (23 sec) – is it real? I suspect the net is cut at the top, creating a thin passage for the ball to roll across.

More Mike Mezyan Pictures

NOTE - If you are unable to see these pictures, all you have to do is join the Table Tennis Group - it's easy! Here are all the past, present, and (soon) future pictures he's collected. (I pick out his best ones for here - he has more.)

***
Send us your own coaching news!