September 9, 2015

Table Tennis Bucket List

A long time ago, when Pterodactyls ruled the skies, Jimmy Carter was president, and I had just graduated high school (1978), I put together a bucket list - things I wanted to someday do. Some of it was table tennis; some was writing; some was other things, like traveling to historical sites. At the time I was rated around 1800. (I didn't start until I was 16.)

Since you are a table tennis person (why else would you be reading this?), why not create your own table tennis bucket list? Here are some suggestions.

  1. Achieve a certain rating.
  2. Win a state or national title.
  3. Play table tennis in a certain number states.
  4. Play table tennis in a certain number of clubs. 
  5. Play at a U.S. Open or Nationals.
  6. Become proficient at multiple styles.
  7. Master a certain stroke you've never been able to do well.
  8. Start and/or run a club/tournament/league/training program.
  9. Become a USATT or ITTF certified coach.
  10. Become a USATT certified umpire.

Here is the bucket list I made. I've managed to do 14 of the 20, but still have a few to go.  (This was not the original order, which was scrawled in somewhat random order on a lined paper in very bad handwriting.)

  1. √ Break 2000. My highest rating was 2292, but with rating inflation, that's higher in modern ratings, though techniques have also improved even as the ratings inflated. I had about 50 ratings over 2250 without ever breaking 2300, alas.
  2. √ Win a state or national table tennis title. I've won 26 in college teams & doubles, and in hardbat.
  3. √ Coach a national table tennis champion. I've coached hundreds in junior national and junior Olympics.
  4. √ Write a book on table tennis. I've written seven.
  5. √ Visit all 50 U.S. states. The final one was New Hampshire in 2006.
  6. √ Tour China. Took a three-day tour after the 1995 Worlds, and visited the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden Palace, and many other sites.
  7. √ Write a novel. I've written three, two published.
  8. √ Qualify for Science Fiction Writers of America. This requires selling either a novel or three short stories to a "professional market."
  9. √ Adopt a dog from a shelter. Sheeba was four when I adopted her in 2002, and she lived to be 16. This is her trying to get bacon.
  10. √ Own a house. I've owned it since 2001. I make the final payment on it in April, 2018.
  11. √ Visit Disneyworld. I went there for two days back in 1987 – I want to go again!
  12. √ Publish a cartoon. I had five or six published in my college newspaper – a career I wish I could have focused on. I also had this one published in USA Table Tennis Magazine. I also like to do play with pictures in Photoshop – here's probably the weirdest one I've ever created. There's also my Donald Trump table tennis one!
  13. √ Get published in a math or science journal. I had a paper published in Math and Computer Science Education Magazine in 1986 for solving the "Magic Rectangles" problem posed by Mark Gardner.
  14. √ Work at a zoo. I'm going to take credit for this, since I spent an entire summer working at the Insect Zoo at the National History Museum. But I'm not sure that's what I was thinking about at the time. (I took a day off last year to visit the Smithsonian National Zoo for the first time in probably 30 years.)
  15. Spend a week in the middle of nowhere with just a pile of books. I've sort of done this at home, but never "in the middle of nowhere." I just don't have the time – but I'm thinking I might make time sometime this next year.
  16. Tour the ancient ruins of Rome and Greece and the Great Pyramids. At least three times I've made plans, but again I've just never had the time, not to mention the cost.
  17. Visit all seven continents. I've only been to North America and Asia, alas. Only countries I've been to are USA, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Japan – all as either coach of the USA Junior Team (Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, and of course USA) or as a table tennis writer (China and Japan).
  18. Spend a week at a major overseas training center. Came close to this as I was the team coach for the USA Junior Team that trained in a Taiwanese training center in 1994 for four days. But I'd like to spend time at either the Chinese National Training Center, the Werner Schlager Academy, or something like that.
  19. Patent an invention. I have a whole file on ideas that are likely patentable, but I've never had time to work on this.
  20. Ride in a helicopter or in a submarine with a view. Alas. 

Rhythm and Timing – Underrated Table Tennis Skills

Here's the new coaching article from Expert Table Tennis.

Backhand Sidespin Flick Tutorial – the Banana Flip

Here's the new coaching video (6:28) from William Henzell. This is one of the best tutorials on the shot I've ever seen. 

Interesting Table Tennis Training

Here's the video (2:02), which includes hitting targets and more conventional training.

Emma's First Swing Ping-Pong Lesson

Here's the video (67 sec). I wouldn't mind buying one for our club for the younger kids, but apparently it's only sold in France and Belgium.

ITTF Monthly Pongcast – August 2015

Here's the video (14:22).

Highlights from Austria Open Men's Final

Here's the video (2:02) of the best points between Jun Mizutani and Dimitrij Ovtcharov. That's Adam Bobrow doing the commentary.

Polish Video

Here's the video (32 sec) of what appears to be a preview of a tournament and then a sensational point.

Between Legs Shot at North American Championships

Here's the video (24 sec). That's Canada's Marko Medjugorac making the crazy shot as they score against USA's Timothy Wang and Kanak Jha.

Off-Table Inside-Out Around-the-Net Sidespin Backhand Counter-Smash from the Forehand Side

Here's the video of this fundamental shot that every beginner should master (21 sec, including slow motion replay).

North American Men's Team Champions on JibJab

Here's the video (66 sec). Can you name the players? (Spoiler - 60 seconds in you see all five. L-R: Jimmy Butler, Kanak Jha, Yahao Zhang, Coach Stefan Feth, Timothy Wang.)

May the Pong Be With You

Here's the picture of Darth Vader with light saber paddle from Mike Mezyan. (Here's the non-Facebook version.)

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