September 8, 2015

Tip of the Week

Never Look for a Winner.

North American Championships

They were held this past weekend (Sat-Mon) in Toronto. Here's the ITTF page for the event, which has results, articles, pictures, quotes, and video. Here's the ITTF Press Release.

The big news is that USA swept everything over Canada, all eight events – Men's and Women's Singles and Teams, Cadet Boys' and Girls' Singles, and Junior Boys' and Girls' Teams. Historically, there have been many USA-Canada battles for many decades, and it's usually been competitive. But the strength and depth of USA Cadets is just too strong for Canada. As I've blogged a number of times, USA is stronger at the cadet level than it has ever been in history, and it's not even close. (Cadets is under 15, but due to dates used, some players are eligible after turning 15.)

But USA had to make two near miraculous comebacks to get the 8-0 sweep. In the Women's Singles Final, Lily Zhang (USA) was down 0-3 to Mo Zhang (CAN) before coming back to win 4-3. In the Men's Team Final, USA (Jim Butler, Timothy Wang, Kanak Jha) was down 0-2 before coming back to win 3-2. (Here's the match sheet.)

But USA overall dominance was rather obvious. In Women's Singles, seven of the eight quarterfinalists were USA, with Mo Zhang the only Canadian. In Men's Singles three of the four semifinalists were USA, including cadets Kanak Jha and Jack Wang. In Cadet Boys, all four semifinalists and seven of the eight quarterfinalists were USA. In Cadet Girls, all four semifinalists were USA.

The USA Cadet dominance showed even more in Junior Teams, which is for players under 18. The USA Boys' Team were all cadets, as were two of the three on the Junior Girls' Team, and both teams beat Canada 3-0.

I wasn't at the tournament but watched many of the matches online. Two things stood out: USA dominance at the cadet level, and all the illegal hidden serves – it's gotten even worse than I thought. I'll blog about that later, but the rampant cheating that is allowed in our sport is unbelievable. We've taught our kids that if you want to compete, you have to cheat. (I've blogged about this a lot, but rest assured I'm working on this – see this blog on hidden serves.)

In the Zone

Here's the new coaching article by Stephen Freedman with Clyde Young.

Ma Long Training

Here's the new video (2:01, includes slow motion).

Li Xiaodong on Serving

Here's the new video (23:28) from the Chinese coach.

Edmonton Junior Training

Here's the video (69 sec).

Multiball with Navin Kumar

Here's 95 seconds of my feeding multiball to Navin. (I've blogged numerous times about Navin, alias "The Bionic Man," who has a partially mechanical heart and Parkinson's.)

Hou Yingchao Wins Butterfly LA Open

Here's the article by Barbara Wei (with link to video), and here are the results. (Hou defeated Joo Saehyuk in the final.)

Table Tennis and Baseball

Here's the new article from Coach Jon.

With a Paddle, Tennis Stars Find They're Up the Creek

Here's the article from the New York Times.

11 Questions with Rahul Acharya

Here's the USATT Interview.

ITTF President Meets Tokyo 2020 President to Discuss Additional Gold

Here's the ITTF press release.

Kids Open in Dusseldorf

Here's the video (2:54).

Waldner, Persson, Appelgren

Here's the new video (2:32) featuring the Swedish legends.

Washington DC Council Plays Table Tennis

Here are 13 pictures, and here's an article. On the far side of the first picture is Jack Evans, DC Councilman and brother-in-law to Sheri Cioroslan (who many of you remember as former USATT President Sheri Soderberg Pittman). (I blogged about this briefly last Monday; here's the article on it.)

Andy Akiho's Ping Pong Concerto

Here's the short video (60 sec). Here's the article with link to the full version – over two hours!

El Bandito Richard McAfee

Here's the picture! (Here's the non-Facebook version.) Here's the rest of his gang.

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.)

• Super Colorful Wavy Sides Table Pong
• Super Colorful Table Legs Pong
• Puppy vs. Net Pong
• Ping-Pong Ball Dispenser (but the table's under a maroon canvas?)

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