February 19, 2016
History of U.S. Table Tennis and Other TT Books
It's out – Tim Boggan's History of U.S. table Tennis, Volume 17!!! You may remember me blogging about the long hours of putting the 450 pages and 1500 illustrations together back in January with Tim. So why not buy a new volume or perhaps 17 of them? Cost is $40/book, but if you order all 17, it drops to $30/book! (If you have ordered previous volumes and want to buy the rest, you can negotiate with Tim.)
The volume covers 1989-1990, including a lot about the infamous 1990 U.S. Open/World Veterans/International Junior Championships. I'd say more about this, but then you wouldn't have to buy the book!!! (Sorry, only comes in print.)
If you can't afford all 17, and don't want to order them piecemeal, one option is to go for Volume V, which covers the Ping-Pong Diplomacy Years, 1971-72. Tim gives a first-hand look at those historic events, where we finally made contact with China, with the U.S. Team touring China and the Chinese Team touring the U.S.
So why not curl up with a nice historical table tennis book this weekend? Or, since you'll need to order the book, why not order it now so you can curl up with it next weekend?
Or, of course, you could order one of my books, which come in print and (in most cases) kindle versions. (Here's my Amazon page.) Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers has been the #1 best seller for table tennis almost continuously since it came out 27 months ago (as of tomorrow) – see the "#1 Best Seller for Table Tennis" citation next to it on the Amazon page. (Others books have taken over the #1 spot for short periods of time, mostly when they first come out.) It has 38 reviews – 31 5-star, six 4-star, and one 3-star – read over them to get a gist of the book. It comes in both print and kindle.
If you are looking for Tips, check out Table Tennis Tips. Or if you want a mix of essays on table tennis technique and stories about table tennis, go for Table Tennis Tales & Techniques. If you want to be a professional table tennis coach, go for the Professional Table Tennis Coaches Handbook.
If you are more in the mood for an inspirational story, check out "The Spirit of Pong," my fantasy table tennis novel about an American who goes to China to learn the secrets of table tennis, and trains with the spirits of past champions – you'll meet many of the greats, including Ogimura, Satoh, Rong Guotuan, Reisman, and special appearances by moderns including Waldner and Deng Yaping. (This is my favorite of my books.) It's a quick read, only 100 pages, and comes with a special 4-page humorous fantasy table tennis story, "Ping-Pong Ambition," about a man who wants to be the best table tennis player ever, and while training with a robot, the ball cracks . . . and out comes a genie that had been trapped in the ball for 10,000 years!!! (You'll have to read the story to find out how that happened.)
Here's my blog entry (updated) from December where I listed other table tennis books and linked to my reviews of them.
Table Tennis is Back in the Junior Olympics!!!
Here's the Junior Olympics Table Tennis Info Page – but there's little info there yet other than the main news that we're once again listed. We were part of it from the 1980s until just a few years ago, and now we're back in! The event will be held Aug. 1-3 in Houston, TX. The online listing shows it starting July 30, but July 30-31, Sat & Sun, is actually a 4-star tournament they are planning to be held in conjunction with the Junior Olympics, which start the next day and run Mon-Wed. As some of you may remember, when I ran for the USATT Board of Directors, this was one of the things I promised to push for. But while I pushed for it, special thanks goes to Wen Hsu and Richard Lee who made it happen! Richard and North American Table Tennis will be running the event, along with the 4-star tournament.
Ask the Coach Show
Episode #226 (19:29) - Serving Strategy (and other segments).
Official U.S. Olympic Trials Gear
Here's where you can buy it!
Texas Wesleyan Faces Rival at Regional Tournament
Here's the article from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
2016 World Championships Media Guide Now Available
Here it is. It includes:
- ITTF Overview
- History of Table Tennis
- Basic Table Tennis Rules
- Player lists and Bios
- WTTC Information
- Previous Results
- Major Event Winners
- Upcoming Major Events
- Media Guidelines
- General Media Information
- ITTF Media Contacts
Table Tennis Features
Here's a bunch of news items from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada – way up north, includes table tennis in snow pictures! Click on pictures for next one.
Promoting the Sport – Interview with Blake Cottrell
Here's the video interview (13:33) with the tournament director and promoter, by Samson Dubina.
Amazing Xu Xin Backhand Sidespin Flip Receive
Here's the video (15 sec, including slo-mo replay). It looks so simple, doesn't it?
Great Point
Here's the video (1:11) between Marcos Freitas of Portugal (world #11, #7 in November) and Adrien Mattenet of France (world #46, formerly #19).
International Table Tennis
Here's my periodic note (usually every Friday) that you can great international coverage at TableTennista (which especially covers the elite players well) and at the ITTF home page (which does great regional coverage). Butterfly also has a great news page.
Hulky Pong?
Here's the cartoon! (And here's the Hulk Racket - I own one!)
Mostly Non-Table Tennis - Win a Free Copy of Campaign 2100: Game of Scorpions
All you have to do is go to the Goodread's page, click on the "Enter Giveaway" link, and sign up! I will be sending signed copies to eight winners. (As I've blogged a number of times, one of the main characters in the SF novel is a professional table tennis player turned campaign director, with a number of table tennis scenes.)
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