March 28, 2017

Stomach Queasiness and the Tip of the Week
For the second day in a row I woke up to what feels like the World Table Tennis Championships going on in my stomach. I’m guessing it’s some sort of stomach virus, or some sort of cold or flu, or perhaps I swallowed a gross of ping-pong balls or something. Symptoms are extreme stomach queasiness and discomfort; runny nose; extreme exhaustion; and an extreme compulsion to lie down for a few years. I started writing the Tip of the Week (Serve and Forehand Loop), but I think I’ll finish that tomorrow. I did manage to get through 3.5 hours of coaching yesterday, despite exhaustion, helped out by one player having to cancel (I had 4.5 hours scheduled). Tonight I only have two. (My current schedule: Sun 8.5 hours; Mon 4.5 hours; Tue 2 hours; Wed 2 hours; Thu & Fri off - writing days; Sat 5-7 hours.) 

Some of this might have been brought on by recent very bad sleep habits. I generally go to bed sometime between midnight and 1AM, and up at 7AM, but recently I’ve been up until 3AM, and still getting up at 7AM as that’s when I keep waking up – probably because the sun is up. Last night I went to bed at 9:30PM, and got up at 7:30AM – ten hours! – something I never do except when I’m sick or completely exhausted.

USA National Team Trials
They were held at the Triangle TTC in North Carolina this past weekend, Thur-Sun. Here’s the USA Team Trials page for the event, with results, articles, and video. I was going to blog about this, but I think the articles by Matt give a pretty good picture.

New Articles from Samson Dubina

The Ten Commandments of Table Tennis Serves
Here’s the article from Coach Jon.

Backhand Topspin - Chinese Coach Learn
Here’s the video (5:48).

How to Serve Short with Side Spin in Table Tennis
Here’s the video (7:53) from EmRatThich Table Tennis Coach.

Essential Warm Up and Stretching Techniques for a Healthy Table Tennis Player Part 1
Here’s the ITTF video (16:49).

New World Ranking Scheme; Effective from January 2018
Here’s the ITTF article.

Women's Teams Bring Star Power to National Championships in Wisconsin
Here’s the NCTTA article.

Tribute to Kunal Chodri
Here’s the video (63 sec) of the new USA Team Member.

Incredible Rally at the ITTF World Junior Championships!
Here’s the video (46 sec) featuring USA’s Kanak Jha and Argentina’s Horacio Cifuentes.

Bill Gates Receives Signed Oversized Paddle
Here’s the picture of the gift he receives from Peking University students in Beijing. (Here’s the non-Facebook version.)

Dining Room Table Folds Out into Full-Sized Ping-Pong Table
Here’s the video (46 sec).

Chinese Park Pong
Here are videos of Scott Preiss (57 sec, there will be lobs) and son Austin Preiss (44 sec) playing locals in a park in China.

Coach Max Between the Paddles
Here’s the repeating video (5 sec) as Indian Coach Massimo “Max” Costantini (formerly USA and Italian coach) sidespins loops between the paddles.

Awesome Japanese Skills in Ping Pong 3
Here’s the video (2:19).

Look Back on a Hilarious Year of Ask A Pro Anything with Adam Bobrow
Here’s the video (32 sec).

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