June 3, 2016

USATT Date of Birth and Citizenship, Ratings Searches, and Nationals
If you are a USATT member, you should go to USA Table Tennis; click on the Update Profile link (on right, under the "Get Your USATT Merchandise Here" ad); log in; click on "Edit my Info"; and check your Date of Birth and Citizenship. If either needs to be added or corrected, email USATT Membership Director Jon Tayler. And then explore the pages, adding additional info as you choose. If you find any problems – and some of this is still being tested – email Jon. (Note that if you are thinking about giving a false DOB or citizenship – DON'T. You will likely be asked to provide proof at tournaments!)

On a side note, there is a chance that when you click on Update Profile, it'll take you to a page that says, "Sorry, you're not authorized to view this page." If so, click on the Dashboard on top right. They are fixing this problem, but as of this writing I'm still getting that. [UPDATE: As of now, shortly after noon, the link now takes me directly to the Dashboard, so I think this problem is fixed.]

On another side note, there have been numerous database problems with age searches in USATT ratings searches. USATT knows about the problem – I've brought it to their attention approximately ten million times – and they are working on this as well. (There seems to have been a problem I think with the Date of Birth field being filled in with Date Last Played, leading to numerous older players being listed as being under one year of age, and so showing up in all the junior age searches. This is being worked on.)

Also note that the first deadline for entering the USA Nationals is this Sunday, June 5. After that, the prices for all events go up $10. Final deadline is June 12. Hope to see you there!

Introspection
Introspection: "The examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes; self-analysis, self-examination." This is an important quality for coaches, athletes, and everyone else, but we'll focus here on coaches and athletes. I'm going to do a little introspection on my own coaching habits, and compare it to a player returning serve, moving the feet, and to running a mile.

A coach should know not only his strengths and weaknesses, but also his tendencies. For example, I've always known that I have a tendency to be too soft on players, i.e. not work them hard enough. At first thought, a reader might think that means I am too soft on players – and while that could be true, it's not necessarily true. The very fact that I examine myself (introspection) and realize this tendency means that I can overcome it.

Let's use the example of a receiver in table tennis. Suppose a player has a tendency to be too passive with his receive. Surprisingly, this doesn't mean he's too passive with his receive – it means that, unless he takes notice, he's too passive with his receive, perhaps pushing too much. But the very fact that he knows this is his tendency means he can tell himself to be more aggressive, thereby overcoming this tendency. Tendency is not what you do, it's what you tend to do if you don't take action.

Regarding that receiver, there really are two reasons why he tends to be too passive. He might not realize he's too passive, and so just does it out of habit; or he might not have developed the techniques for attacking serves, and so tends to receive passively. In both cases, once the player does some introspection and realizes what is happening, he can fix the problem. 

A similar example might be a player who tends to be stationary rather than moving his feet. The very fact that he knows this (introspection!) means that he should take action to overcome it. When I'm tired from a day of coaching, and am playing points with a student, my tendency is to just stand there and keep the ball in play. Since I know this, I consciously get my feet moving between points (perhaps shadow stroking a bit), and focus on moving my feet during points – and so overcome the tendency.

Long ago – over 40 years ago – I ran the mile on my high school track team, which was four laps around the track. My tendency was to start out fast, take the lead, and try to keep it. But by the end of the second lap I'd be slowing, and by the fourth lap everyone would pass me. So I had to overcome this tendency, and hold back some the first two laps. Then, halfway through, I could let myself go – and the result was I ran 4:50 miles and won a number of medals. (By contrast, when I started out fast, I'd be 20 seconds slower as I could barely jog that last lap.)

Going back to coaching, as noted, my tendency is to go soft on players, not working them as hard as they could be worked. (I'm too nice!) But I know this, and so can overcome it. I don't always – some players are in it more for fun or simply won't try hard, and so you have to find the right balance. But when working with a motivated player – or a player who can be motivated (most fall in this category) – a coach who tends to be soft needs to overcome that tendency and push the player to the limit.

Now examine your own playing or coaching. What are your tendencies? Which ones have you already overcome? Which ones do you need to overcome? Once you recognize your own tendencies, you can turn an apparent weakness into a strength!

Interview with Alan Cooke: England’s Performance Coach
Here's the podcast (43:44) from Expert Table Tennis. Items covered include:

• Alan’s review of the World Team Championships [1:30]
• An update on Rio 2016 for Team GB [3:00]
• How Paul, Liam, and Sam prepared for Kuala Lumpur [5:00]
• The current plans for Rio 2016 [10:00]
• How and why to use periodization in your table tennis training [11:45]
• How to use goal setting for your tournaments [14:15]
• How to stay focused during a tournament [16:30]
• Alan’s coaching style and philosophy [19:00]
• What Alan says to the players in the corner [22:30]
• The correct mindset when facing “unbeatable players” [25:30]
• How to debrief, reflect, and learn after a tournament [27:30]
• Using video analysis to learn about yourself and others [31:30]
• What the plan is for Team GB after Rio [33:00]
• What separates top 50 players from top 20 players in the world [35:15]
• The future for English table tennis [38:00]

Dynamic Table Tennis Warmup
Here's the video (3:28) from Samson Dubina.

Two Table Tennis Paralympians to Compete in the Olympic Games
Here's the ITTF Press Release.

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.

25 Little Known Facts About Forrest Gump
Here's the article. Items #9, 13, 18, and 22 are specifically about table tennis.

Not Even Forrest Gump Could Survive This Ping-Pong Ball Gatling Gun
Here's the article and video (3:34). I want one!

Umpire Head Shot
Here's the video (15 sec). I don't remember ever hitting an umpire with the ball, but I once ran all-out into one while going for a shot.

Lola Pong
Here's the new cartoon (from this past Sunday).

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