May 11, 2016

USATT Announces Roster of National Coaches
Here's the announcement. They include Lily Yip, Barney Reed, Teodor "Doru" Gheorghe, Massimo Costantini, Stefan Feth, Wang Qing Liang ("Leon"), Zhou Xin, Han Xiao, Sean O'Neill, Maggie Tian, and Samson Dubina. (Han Xiao and Wang Qing Liang are both from my club, MDTTC.)

Most (or all?) of these coaches will be at the upcoming USATT Training Camp to be held at the Lily Yip TTC in New Jersey, July 10-24, right after the USA Nationals. The camp is primarily for members of the USA Junior, Cadet, and Mini-Cadet Team Members, with a number of others also invited. USATT's High Performance Director, Cory Eider, will be directing it. I'm the (unpaid volunteer) manager for the camp and one of the coaches, though I'll primarily be an assistant coach, helping out where needed – probably feeding multiball, acting as a practice partner for some of the mini-cadet players, or walking around looking important. (I'm no longer fast enough to train with the cadets and juniors, alas.) I'll be there the first 12 days, but have to leave two days early to go to my annual "vacation" – a writing workshop in Manchester, NH, July 22-30. 

There's always been a bit of confusion in the USATT coaching nomenclature as we have two types of "National" coaches. In this context, we are talking about the coaches who will coach the USA National Teams – Men's and Women's; Junior, Cadet, and Mini-Cadet Boys' and Girls'; and Paralympic. However, in the USATT coaching certification program the highest level is National Coach. I know, because I'm a USATT Certified National Coach. (Yes, I'm available for autographs, form a line.) I was one of the National Team Coaches at various times during the 1990s and early 2000s, including coaching the USA National Boys' Team at the World Youth Cup Championships in Taiwan and numerous other tournaments. I toyed with applying this year, but decided I didn't have time.

Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers – 50 Reviews!
We did it! As of this morning, there are now 50 reviews at Amazon for Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers. As noted in my blog on Monday, this should greatly help with sales. The reviews are pretty good, with 43 of them 5-stars, six 4-stars, and one 3-star. Thank you all!

MDTTC Newsletter
Here's the May issue, which Butterfly now puts up each month. (It gets emailed to everyone on the MDTTC database.) I'm the editor. 

MHTableTennis Video Training Blog Day 5: Forehand Loop vs. Chop
Here's the video (4:37).

100 Things to Watch at Rio Olympics
Here's the article and video (78 sec) from Sports Illustrated. But of course there's only one thing to watch at the Rio Olympics – see #81! "Want to feel old? Kanak Jha will be the first U.S. Olympian born in the 2000s. The 15-year-old will compete in table tennis, where he has consistently been a member of the U.S. national team since 2014."

Table Tennis Legends Tie the Knot
Here's the article and video (2:15) on Hall of Famers Si Wasserman (94) and Patty Martinez (64) getting married at Oceanside senior center where they play each week!

Table Tennis Art Photos
Here's the gallery from CLJ Studios.

Ping Pong in China is Like Football Here
Here's the video (3:08) from 11 Alive in Atlanta.

Steve Rowe’s Visit to the NWT with Aerobic Table Tennis
Here's the article.

Liang Xu Won the Knoxville Spring Giant Round Robin Open 2016
Here's the article.

All America Over 40 Tour Rosemead Over 40 Table Tennis Tournament
Here's the USATT article on this tournament in California.

2016 Millcreek Giant Round Robin
Here's the article.

Double-Pool Pong
Here's the video (36 sec)!

***
Send us your own coaching news!