October 6, 2016

No Blog Friday or Monday – Capclave, World Women’s Cup, USATT Board Meeting
Here’s my schedule over the next few days.

  • Friday and Saturday – at the Capclave Science Fiction Convention, where I’m on three panels, doing a reading, two signings, and I’m a finalist for the annual Small Press Award for Short Stories, given out Saturday night. Here’s my more detailed schedule in my science fiction blog.
  • Sunday – I drive up to Philadelphia for the Women’s World Cup. The semifinals are at 2 and 3PM, the 3-4 playoff at 6PM, and the final at 7PM. Here’s a more detailed schedule for Fri-Sun from the ITTF.
  • Monday – I attend the USA Table Tennis Board of Directors Meeting in Philadelphia. (I’m on the Board.) The agenda isn’t out yet. Then I drive home, returning late on Monday night.

Full-time Table Tennis Centers Revisited
Yesterday I blogged about that dark day ten years ago when USATT board members literally mocked the idea of full-time training centers. I thought I’d elaborate here on the type of thinking that goes on here.

When the idea of a new table tennis program comes up, many get stuck in the present with this deep-set belief that it’s a zero-sum game, that there are only so many players and so only so many full-time clubs or other table tennis programs are possible. They look at how many table tennis players there are, and can’t get beyond those numbers. And it’s true that given the number players in a specific region, it can only support so many table tennis centers, as well as tournaments and leagues.

But what many at that meeting ten years ago didn’t get, and what many still don’t get, is that it is not a zero-sum game. The reality that full-time clubs develop their own base of players. A full-time club that doesn’t do this is going to be a short-lived club. By setting up a full-time club with professional coaches and coaching programs (group and private), junior programs, senior programs, leagues, tournaments, and open play, the club creates a demand that leads to lots of new players. For perspective, my club, the Maryland Table Tennis Center, has something like 400 members. (I co-founded it in 1992.) I’d guess that about 20-30 of them would be playing if not for the club. That means the club created nearly 400 new players.

Another myth is that a full-time club hurts other clubs in the area. Unless they are essentially next door to each other, this simply isn’t true. Each one creates its own base of players, and with a larger base of players, both clubs end up with more and more players in their leagues, tournaments, and other programs. In the long term, more clubs lead to more prosperity for all of them. (“A rising tide lifts all boats.”)

The Ultimate Guide to Table Tennis Psychology
Here’s the article from Expert Table Tennis. Here are the topics covered:

  1. A positive attitude
  2. A high level of self-motivation
  3. High, realistic goals
  4. Good people skills
  5. Positive self-talk
  6. Positive mental imagery
  7. Control over anxiety
  8. Control over emotions
  9. Maintaining concentration

Unique Drills: Learn how to write new robot drills!!!
Here’s the new video (5:33) from Samson Dubina.

Beltway Plaza’s Table Tennis Challenge
Here’s the info flyer on the event this Saturday from 1-4PM at Beltway Plaza in Greenbelt, Maryland. “See if you can beat our resident pro, Navin Kumar, for prizes and to support the Michael J. Fox Parkinson’s Foundation.” (Navin, “The Bionic Man,” has Parkinson’s and a partially mechanical heart.)

Richest Table Tennis League Coming to Asia-Pacific Region
Here's the article

Fang Bo - Best Rallies
Here’s the new video (2:44) of the 2015 World Men’s Singles Finalist from China.

Roller Coaster Pong
Here’s the picture!

Non-Table Tennis – Campaign 2100: Game of Scorpions on Sale
The kindle version of Campaign 2100: Game of Scorpions at Amazon is currently on sale for just $4.99. This is my science fiction novel about the election for president of Earth in the year 2100, where the world has adopted the American two-party electoral system – with a number of table tennis scenes as one of the major characters is a professional table tennis player who becomes a campaign director. I’m doing two book signings for this on Saturday – see note at top.

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