December 30, 2015

Coaching Matches is Trickier Now
Coaching matches used to be easier. In most matches in the "old days" (twenty years ago?) there'd be a style conflict since the odds of two players with the same style playing was rather low. I mean, what were the odds of two players playing with the same style, such as, say, both being two-winged loopers? Sure, it happened sometimes, but there were a lot more common styles back in those days – hitters, counter-hitters, blockers, choppers, various types of pips-out, conventional penholders, Seemiller grip, and all sorts of forehand/backhand combinations.

All of these styles still exist, but it's a matter of degree – they used to be common. Now the matches I coach are mostly up-and-coming players who train regularly under top coaches, and so there are very few "old-fashioned" styles among them – they are nearly all two-winged loopers these days. The few that don't play that way are still usually inverted players who loop both sides, just not all the time.

With style conflicts, there are obvious tactics. There was the thrill of the clash of styles, such as when a looper met a hitter, or a one-winged forehand looper met a blocker. The tactics were more straightforward.

These days, since the large majority of the matches I coach are between standard two-winged loopers, coaching is a bit subtler. Both players tend to play the same, with the same serves, same surfaces, same strokes, and often the same strengths and weaknesses, with subtle differences in degree.

There's still diversity, but nothing like before. In the past it was like throwing a lion, a wolf, a bear, a giant anaconda, a crocodile, a rhinoceros, a shark, and a black widow spider into the quarterfinals, and they'd battle it out. Now it's more or less eight lions, all running around looping everything. The game is more athletic, but it's also more uniform.

As a side note, coaching matches was also easier when games were to 21 – lots more time to watch and decide what to say between games, and there were fewer games as well. (Most matches were best of three to 21, some big matches best of five.) Now you send your player out there, and you've only got it seems like three minutes before you do it again.

Ask the Coach Show

• Episode 205 (24:55) – PingSkills Yearly Membership Winner
• Episode 206 (23:30) – Ma Long or Fan Zhendong for Gold
• Episode 207 (21:59) – The forgotten art of pushing
• Episode 208 (25:29) – Table Tennis: The Dangerous Sport

New USATT Membership System Launches January 1st!
Here's the USATT article.

Tomokazu Harimoto Promising At 11 Years Old 
Here's the latest article on the Japanese prodigy. He's now ranked #223 in the world. At age 11. For perspective, the #1 ranked U.S. man is Timothy Wang, #278 in the world.

Top 5 Moments of 2015
Here's the new video (3:22).

Even the Best Make Mistakes
Here's video (35 sec, including slo-mo replay, and the following point) of world #4 Dimitrij Ovtcharov not just missing his serve, but hitting it off the edge of his racket so the ball goes directly to the opponent's side of the table – and it happens at 9-all in the first against world #1 Ma Long!

Table Tennis Training with Children with Down Syndrome
Here's the video (2:46).

Righty Penhold to Lefty Shakehand in One Second
Here's the video (24 sec, including slo-mo replay).

The Caw: Legends Todd Heap and Jonathan Ogden Playing Ping-Pong
Here's the article and picture of the two Baltimore Ravens.

The "Eye-Table"?
Here's the picture – we'll just call it the iTable. (Here's the non-Facebook version.)

Best Table Tennis Scene Ever?
Here's video (21 sec) of Maggy Q's intro scene from Balls of Fury.

Cat Plays Ping Pong!
Here's the video (42 sec) from 1951 – this cat really can play!

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