March 27, 2018

Tip of the Week
Finding Simple Tactics That Work.

MDTTC Spring Break Camp
We had a great first day of camp yesterday. As usual in recent years, I worked with the beginners - though they weren't all exactly "beginners"! I got to work with one five-year-old for the first time. I was expecting to have get him started, but lo and behold, he'd been taking lessons regularly with our coaches, and already had an excellent forehand, a decent backhand when in position (not easy when your head barely comes over the table and so the racket hides the ball when you hit backhands unless you hit from the side), and had incredible focus for his age. He was fun to work with.

There were five in my group. All had played, though two (both about 8) hadn't had formal coaching. With those two, I focused on the basics, while the others did more footwork. By the end of the morning training session, all five were doing the two-one drill.

They had great stroking practice at the end of the session when we did the cups game, where they'd stack cups into walls and fortresses, and then knock them down as I fed multiball.

During break I taught two of the older players (both about 13) the "backspin game." Each serves backspin five times, twice each. (No rallying in this game.) If the ball bounces back into the net, one point. If it bounces cleanly back over the net on one bounce, three points. If it bounces back over the net but takes more than one bonce on the far side, or nicks the net in either direction, it's two points. My record for three-points in a row (i.e. bounceback serves) is 14. I took one turn, didn't do so great, but scored 14 points in ten serves, with four three-pointers and a pair of one-pointers. The two new players played for a while and both did a few three-pointers. Soon they'll be challenging me, so I better go practice!

Seamaster German Open
Here's the ITTF home page for the event, which was held this past weekend in Bremen, GER. Ma Long is back!!! Here are some links.

Mastering the Mental Approach to Tournament Play
Here's the article by Brian Pace.

The Perfect Stroke?
Here's the article by Samson Dubina.

Ma Long Seeking Number 1 Ranking
Here's the new podcast (25:47) from PingSkills. Other topics covered:

  • Joke of the Week
  • On this Week
  • Tournament Wrap
  • Tip and Drill (Trill) of the Week
  • Advanced Forehand Footwork
  • Chopping Against a Pusher
  • Playing a Backhand Dominant Player

Join my Journey to the Olympics - Estee Ackerman
Here's her Go Fund Me page.

History of USATT – Volume XX – Chapter 21
Here’s chapter 21 of Tim Boggan’s latest volume, which covers 1993-1994. Or you can buy it and previous volumes at www.timboggantabletennis.com. Chapter 21 covers "Jan/Feb 1994 -Tournaments."

DHS ITTF Top 10 - 2018 Qatar Open
Here's the video (5:30).

Westchester Table Tennis Center March 2018 Open Singles Final - Jian Li vs Kai Zhang
Here's the video (22:29).

Mixed-Reality Table Tennis
Here's the video (61 sec) of an "interactive digital table tennis experience."

Around the Bottle Serve Challenge
Here are two new videos.

  • Roy Ke (13 sec) - set to music, with a bottle flip AND a back flip! (This was at MDTTC, my club.)
  • Keenan Southall (65 sec) - set to music, with dancing fire! (Here's the shortened version - 36 sec.)

Play Table Tennis with a PILLOW I Challenge Pongfinity Ep. 13
Here's the video (5:03)!

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