August 31, 2015
Tip of the Week
How to Serve to the Backhand Attacking Receiver.
School is Back
And with that, the eleven weeks of summer training camps at MDTTC are over. It means that, once I catch up the zillion items on my short-term todo list, I'll have more time during the day to do all the USATT stuff I promised to do when I ran for the Board of Directors, as well as recent appointments as chair of the USATT League Committee and as Regional Associations Coordinator. (These are all unpaid, volunteer positions. What is wrong with me???) I'll be blogging about those activities now and then. Since I generally finish the blog Mon-Fri around 9:30 or 10AM, that means I have to do most of that work either between that time and 2:30PM, or at night after coaching. (I sometimes have free mornings on weekends, but not always.)
But it also means we start up our Afterschool Program again, and begin coaching kids after school, both as part of that program and in private lessons. I'll be leaving to pick up kids at 2:30 this afternoon. It's actually a slow day; I'll be done coaching today at 5PM.
That pesky short-term todo list is a bit irritating, as every time I cross something off, it seems like there are two more items on it. Today I've got a number "easy" things to take care of – after finishing the Tip of the Week and blog this morning, I'm off to run errands: bank, post office, haircut, and (I dread this) I'm thinking of finally stopping off at the Verizon Store and getting a smart phone. ("Come to the Dark Side! We have cookies and you're constantly online checking email, forums, web pages…") I probably should research Verizon smart phones first.
There's also a lot of table tennis items on the todo list. I have some proposals on hidden serves and boosting I've blogged about I plan to formalize and send to the USATT Rules Committee. I have a number of local juniors to contact about our upcoming junior programs at MDTTC. There are a few press releases I need to create and send out about various items. There's the usual "class accounting" I do each week, where I update the rosters, schedules, and finances for the classes I teach. And 17 other items I won't bore you with.
I miss the good old days, when all I worried about was developing my own game!!!
91-Shot Lobbing Point!
Here's the unbelievable rally (2:27) between Par Gerell (SWE, world #49) and the lobbing Adrien Mattenet (FRA, world #51) this past weekend in the round of 16 at the Czech Open – at 10-all in the seventh! (Par would go on to win – brace yourself – 17-15! Alas, he'd lose to Japan's Yoshimura Maharu next round in the quarters.) When I saw the length of the video I assumed it included slow motion replay – nope, it's almost all rally, and not a single push! I've pondered this question before, and I'll ponder it again: Why do so many of the greatest points take place at deuce?
Help Wanted – Full-Time College Table Tennis Coach
Here's the help wanted posting by the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta.
Using the Reverse Pendulum Serve
Here's the new coaching article by Han Xiao.
McAfee's Mechanics: Preparing for Competition with Tactical Training Sessions
Here's the new coaching article from Richard McAfee.
The Quickest Way to Improve Your Win Percentage
Here's the new coaching article by British coach Tom Lodziak.
North American Girls Meet at Lily Yip Table Tennis Center
Washington DC Council Will Face Off on Ping Pong Tables
Here's the article about the upcoming DC Council Table Tennis Tournament, this Friday at Farragut Park. Alas, no time is given, and I couldn't find the time via Google. (Interesting tidbit: One of the members participating, Jack Evans, is brother-in-law to Sheri Cioroslan, who many of you remember as former USATT President Sheri Soderberg Pittman.)
Table Tennis Got Talent
Here's the new highlights video (6:48).
Training a Two-Year-Old?
Here's the video (49 sec)!
Serena Williams vs. Stan Wawrinka
Here's video (1:32) as the two tennis stars ping it out.
Dog and Ping-Pong Ball
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