May 4, 2016

USATT National Team System
Here's the new document with the USATT Statement of Core Beliefs, Team Selection Procedures, and National Team Funding Methodology. The document is 10 pages long. Pages 2-9 are about the selection procedures for the USA National Junior, Cadet, and Mini Cadet Teams, and page 10 is about funding for team members. The first page is perhaps of most interest to readers. Below is the text from page 1, starting with the Henry Ford quote.

Perhaps the most important of these is #3, about creating a "team first" culture. At various times in the past, countries such as Hungary, Sweden, Korean, and Japan challenged and beat the Chinese – and they did so by working as a team. It's somewhat eyebrow-raising, for example, that I can give a lecture on how to play most of the top USA junior players that juniors from my club often face, but have no real idea about the top juniors from China, Japan, Germany, etc. Why? Because the focus right now is on beating other USA players. That's not going to completely go away, but once we have a core group of up-and-coming players who really can challenge their rivals from around the world, it's key that our top coaches know these rivals so they can train our players to beat them, both strategically (long-term development) and tactically (tactics at the table).

An example of strategic development comes from watching our top juniors compete against their rivals. There's been much discussion of this among coaches (usually informally), and there's a general consensus that while our players can match up in a number of ways, they are behind in physical training and receive. So guess what we need to focus on? But it's not enough to focus on fixing weaknesses; we also have to focus on developing overpowering strengths – and sometimes the best way of doing that is to work so hard at a weakness that it becomes an overpowering strength. Like physical fitness and receive!

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."
-Henry Ford

The National Team System will focus on a “52-week approach,” with an emphasis on teamwork, collaboration, coordination, and commitment. By better leveraging our collective system-wide resources, we will provide our athletes, coaches and key stakeholders with the necessary tools to develop and sustain competitive excellence. Simply put, our staff, coaches, clubs, players and families must work as one with a collective goal of systematic international competitive excellence.

How We Will Achieve This

1. Professionalize the National Team System;
2. Clearly articulate the goals, procedures, priorities and expectations;
3. Create a “team first” culture among athletes, coaches, clubs, and parents;
4. Develop a system-wide approach to elite player and coaching development with a strong emphasis on coordination, integration and interaction;
5. Utilize technology to enable collaboration among key stakeholders;
6. Reduce the importance of team trials events in selecting national teams, particularly among younger players with a stronger emphasis on development;
7. Provide continuity and expand participation by increasing team sizes and qualification opportunities;
8. Hire high quality national coaches to work in a system to work regularly with team members, parents, local/regional coaches, and clubs;
9. Produce programs and camps designed to build team spirit, monitor physical fitness, playing techniques, and mental strength;
10. Provide training tools and programs to supplement local training programs; and
11. Be more efficient and effective with funding by placing a greater emphasis on ability, potential, and commitment to excellence.

USA Nationals Entry Form
Here it is! The tournament will be held July 4-9 in Las Vegas. This year there are exactly 100 events - I think that's a record. And for those not keeping track, yes, they flipped the Nationals and Open, with the Open now in December. There were several reasons for this, but the biggest was the problem kids had in attending the Nationals in December due to its proximity to final exams. Hope to see you all there!

California State Championships
They are this weekend, at the ICC in Milpitas. Finally, our biggest state has a State Championship! (With the New York State Championships the following weekend! As well as the Alabama State Championships!)

How to Play Table Tennis
Here's the ITTF series of eight videos, averaging about three minutes each. They include Service Basics; Reverse Pendulum Backspin Serve; Forehand Topspin; Backhand Drive; Backhand Topspin; Forehand Drive; Service Receive; and Block.

Important Positioning Tips
Here's the coaching article from former USA National Team Member Judy Hugh.

Ma Long Multiball
Here's video (30 min) of Ma Long doing multiball a year ago. Lots to study here!

JOOLA and HW Global Encourage Young Players
Here's the article that features one of the junior programs at MDTTC, for the most talented and hardest working players from ages 7-10.

Gordon Kaye Interview at ICC Table Tennis Center
Here's the interview (2 min) with the USATT CEO.

Table Tennis Coaching's Dynamic Duo: Interview with Jeff and Alois from PingSkills
Here's the interview (with links to numerous videos) from MH Table Tennis.

Getting To Know Michael Landers
Here's the video (6 min).

Is the Tech Bubble Popping? Ping Pong Offers an Answer
Here's the article from the Wall Street Journal.

Dubina Table Tennis Academy Grows Table Tennis in Northeast Ohio
Here's the USATT article.

11 Questions with Patrick Hrdlicka
Here's the USATT interview.

Interview with Gavin Evans: Bulletproof Table Tennis
Here's the podcast (53:18) from Expert Table Tennis. In this episode you’ll learn:

• Gavin’s first memories of table tennis as a five-year-old [1:00]
• How Gavin improved so quickly and overtook his brothers [4:00]
• Gavin’s experience of playing in China [12.00]
• What it was like being part of the England team as a cadet [15:00]
• What to do when you’re not playing your best table tennis [24:00]
• All about Gavin’s injury problems as a junior [30:00]
• Gavin’s advice for dealing with adversity in table tennis and life [34:00]
• What life is like for Gavin now [40:00]
• Gavin’s Top Tip – Build a bulletproof body [44:00]
• How to contact/follow Gavin [50:00]

The Perfect Match: Timo Boll and KUKA
Here's the video (80 sec).

Susan Sarandon and James Corden Battle Kids in Ping Pong
Here's the video (90 sec) from the Late Show! Susan and James talk trash with the kids.

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