September 2, 2015

Are We Done Yet?/Can We Practice More?

It's always interesting to see the different attitudes. Recently I had a session with two younger kids, who took turns, one doing multiball, the other ball pickup. One didn't try very hard except in spurts, kept asking what time it was, kept close track of how much longer he had to practice, and tried to bargain to leave early. The other was silent throughout all this, practicing pretty hard. But when the session ended and the first kid raced away happily, the second one asked, "Can we practice more?" Since I didn't have another session for 30 minutes, we did an extra 20 minutes (no charge). He got some good stroking and smashing practice. (We did it live, not multiball.)

You can always tell which ones will get good. Sure, there's talent (let's not start that argument for now!), but the ones who are determined to get good have this disturbing tendency to get good, while those who want to get out of practice or don't try have this weird tendency to not get good. I don't understand it!!!

On a related topic, long-time and older players often find themselves hitting the wall in their attempts to improve, even when they try hard. Often they start to give up, as even though they practice more (like the second kid above), they don't improve as much as they'd like. For those, I suggest taking a look at what they are practicing. I've seen players lose match after match because they couldn't block, and afterwards spent all their time practicing their attack. Or players who lose over and over because they couldn't return serves, and afterwards spent all their time practicing their attack. Or players who lose over and over because their serves are weak, and afterwards they spent all their time practicing their attack. (See a pattern?)

Of course, there are other types, who practice very hard on something they need in their game, but once a game starts goes back to their old habits and so never incorporate their new talents. When you incorporate a new talent, you will usually lose at first. Accept that as the short-term cost for long-term improvement.

The quickest way to improve, and the quickest way for a coach to see if a player is really serious? See how much time they spend practicing their serves on their own. (Or receive.) But don't just practice simple serves – aim high and develop advanced serves. See a coach or top player for help, or study videos of top players serving. And then work on these advanced serves. This article might help: Practicing Serves the Productive Way. (I've met at least two players who were no more than 1000 level other than serves, but their serves were at least 2000 level. Both studied videos of top players serving, and then guess what they were practicing in their basements all the time?)

Help Khaleel Asgarali Compete and Train in Germany

Here's the funding page. He's a top player and coach here in Maryland. Here's how his bio starts – to read the rest, go to the funding page! "My name is Khaleel Asgarali and I have dedicated my life to the sport of table tennis. I was born in Trinidad and Tobago but migrated with my family to Maryland in 1992. My father was a top table tennis player in our homeland so I naturally was trained at an early age to follow in his footsteps."

Risk Taking Out on the Table

Here's the new coaching article from Matt Hetherington.

Never Turn Down the Chance to Try New Table Tennis Equipment

Here's the article from Table Tennis 11.

11 Questions with Adam Bobrow

Here's the USATT interview with the Professional Table Tennis Commentator, Actor, Voice Actor, MC, Comedian & Ping Pong Pro at SPiN Standard.

Ma Long – Topspin Near the Table

Here's the new video (3:14) of the men's world champion. [NOTE - the comment below points out this is just an "bad copy" of an excerpt from this video (55:29) from 2013. The copies part starts at 31:08.]

100 Days to the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals

Here's the new promotional video (46 sec).

Czech Open Women's Final

Here is the highlights video (4:09) of the final between Ai Fukuhara and Jeon Jihee.

Ping-Pong Around the State of Maine

Here's the video (2:38).

Playing Ping-Pong in Shorts, Just Like a Red

Here's the article in the Washington Post – lots of fun language, with the ping-pong mention in the last paragraph.

"I don't always play ping pong. But when I do…"

Here's the meme!

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