June 11, 2015
Miscellaneous Table Tennis Stuff
Lots of table tennis stuff happening recently. Here’s a rundown.
- NBC News. On Tuesday they came in to do a special on Navin Kumar, Parkinson’s, and table tennis. I acted as Navin’s practice partner and was interviewed. I’ll post when the news video is up – should be within a week or so.
- Diet. Due to arm injuries and then Tim Boggan’s two-week stay, I haven’t been as active as usual the last couple of months, and when I’m not active, I tend to also eat more. Result? I’m at 195 lbs, which isn’t good. I plan to lose 10 pounds by the U.S. Open.
- The Spirit of Pong. One of my students, 10-year-old Daniel Sofer, found three typos in The Spirit of Pong. Also, despite the explanation in the Introduction, some seem to think I got Kong Linghui (Chinese Women’s Coach) and Liu Guoliang (Chinese Men’s Coach) mixed up when I decided to name the fictional Chinese Men’s Coach in the book “Kong Guoliang.” So I’m going to change his title in the book to simply “Chinese Head Coach.” I’ve put in these changes, and a note about Daniel in the Introduction – now the USA Men’s Coach, “Dan Steth,” is partly named after him, as well as Dan Seemiller and Stefan Feth (past and present USA Men’s Coaches). Due to the wonders of Print on Demand, I will upload the changes this morning, and the new version will be up within a day.
- History of U.S. Table Tennis. Tim Boggan had a few last-minute corrections, including adding two photo replacements I have to scan and put in, so I’ll be doing that later this morning, and then uploading the final version. Within a day or so Volume 16 will be ready. Tim will be selling the directly – you order from him, and he’ll send you an autographed copy. More on this when it’s officially ready.
- Booth at U.S. Open. I’m debating whether to get a booth there. Cost for a 10’ booth would be $750, plus $55 for a table, plus insurance, shipping costs, etc. If I did this, I’d be selling my table tennis books. I wouldn’t do it alone – I’d look to share the booth (and costs) with others, perhaps ones also selling books or videos. I’m not going to make money – I’ll lose money for sure – but it’ll be fun, and give me a place to leave my playing bag all day and to hang out when not coaching. (I’d likely only be at the booth at most half the time.) If interested in joining me, let me know. Deadline is Monday.
- Public Table Tennis Speaking. One of my students, 13-year-old Sameer, gave a speech at his school’s graduation. While I didn’t see it, it brought back memories of my learning to give speeches. When MDTTC opened in 1992, I’d already coached a lot, including some group sessions, but they were always nerve-wracking, since talking to groups wasn’t a strength back then. So I took a public speaking course, and practice giving table tennis speeches in away the instructor suggested – I lectured my dog, and the dryer. (The idea was to have something that actually moved about as a stand-in audience.) It worked, and I’ve been giving table tennis talks to groups regularly for 23 years now.
- Olympic Theme Song. Here’s Navin Kumar playing the theme on his violin. He’s a student of mine who is leaving for Barcelona next week for a Paralympic event – and he could use some funding help.
- Return of My Short Side-Top Serve. I’m not as fast as I used to be, and because of that, in practice matches with students, I tend to serve more backspin than I used to, so I’d more often get a slower backspin return I could forehand loop. The problem was this meant not just moving, but also lifting the ball and overpowering the backspin, which isn’t as easy when on the move. Recently I’ve gone back to my favored short side-top serves, where the return might be a big quicker, but all I have to do is drive forward – and it’s worked. Students are learning that to stop my forehand attack, they have to be aggressive, place the returns, and hide their placements until the last second, with last-minute changes. Because if they don’t…
Ask the Coach
Episode #140 (18:54) – Half Short Ball.
How Do You Maintain Focus During a Match
Here’s the video (2:50) as part of the “Ask Mark” series at Expert Table Tennis.
Training – Are you Practicing the Right Things?
Here’s the new coaching article by Samson Dubina.
Table Tennis on Cover of Wall Street Journal’s Business & Tech. Page
Here’s the cover. Alas, I believe you have to subscribe (i.e. pay) to see the article.
World Table Tennis Day Celebration – Buenos Aires, Argentina
Here’s the video (4:50) – with a little of everything.
Xu Xin vs. Fang Bo, Chinese Super League 2015
Here’s the video (6:03, with time between point removed).
Two-Hour Session in 26 Seconds
Here’s the video – all in time lapse mode.
Pistol Paddle
Here’s the racket for sale for $19.95 – you ready to be a pistol packin’ outlaw?
How to Weaponize Table Tennis Balls with a Ping-Pong Gun
Here’s the video (5:00) – ball gun shoots balls at 106mph! (Note link to Table Tennis Ball Speed article, which shows that contrary to popular myth that says balls are hit up to 100mph, the fastest hit balls are about 70mph.)
Pong Picture
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