August 6, 2018

Tip of the Week
Training the Subconscious.

Top Ten Surprising Thing About Top Table Tennis Players
Top table tennis players can often seem a different species than the rest of us. After all, they have powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men! Here are ten things about top players that might surprise you.

  1. Away from the table they aren't that much different from other people. Really! It's only when they are training, and how intense they often are during training, that sets them apart. Bother them while they are training and you might get a slightly irritated "What do you want?" look. So wait until they are off the table and you'll find them 100% normal. Or at least close!
  2. They get their touch on short balls not by just hitting the ball lightly, but by grazing the ball. The grazing motion not only puts backspin on the ball, but makes the ball bounce off the racket more slowly, making it easy to drop the ball short.
  3. Their favorite serve is often no-spin! More specifically, half-long no-spin (so second bounce, given the chance, would be near the end-line), very low to the net, where they fake putting spin on the ball, usually backspin. This serve, when used in contrast to spin serves, is highly effective as it doesn't give the receiver any spin to use against you. They are harder to drop short and low or push heavy against than backspin serves, and harder to flip than sidespin or topspin serves. (But a big key here is keeping it low.) The first time someone told me that the no-spin serve was a favorite of many top players I thought he was crazy. But it's true.
  4. Often the biggest challenge a top player has is finding someone near their level to train with. Yep, getting good has its challenges.
  5. Most of them started when they were very young. It's very difficult to become a top player otherwise.
  6. When no one's around you'll often find them practicing their serves. Why? Because they have a drive to be great, and that includes "boring" serve practice.
  7. At tournaments they usually arrange in advance who they will practice with and at what times, who their coach will be, what they will eat, and so on.
  8. Top players are often besieged by much weaker players who want to play them. Don't be one of those besiegers. But when you do play a top player in practice, if you are willing to let them spot you points, it'll be more of a challenge and therefore more interesting to them.
  9. Not all top players are top coaches, but they all are good at teaching something. Pick their brains every chance you can!
  10. If you are looking for a good coach, ask a top player. They generally know who the really good coaches are.

Table Tennis News
Here are some you should be browsing daily.

Lifetime Achievement Award
On Thursday, July 5, at the USATT Hall of Fame Banquet during the U.S. Nationals, I was honored to be awarded this year's USATT Lifetime Achievement Award. (Five others were inducted into the Hall that night - I was inducted in 2003.) Here's the video (21:29). It starts with a pre-taped video from 2-time Olympian Todd Sweeris. At 4:24, 5-time U.S. Men's Champion Dan Seemiller gives his introduction to me. At 7:00 I give my acceptance speech. Here are some photos that they played on the viewing screen.

Capital Area Table Tennis League
You can now sign up for the fall season! This is for players in the Washington DC area - DC, Maryland, Virginia, and surrounding states. Here's the great promotional video (82 sec) put together by Pongmobile. Last season we had 17 teams and 84 players. Come join us!

ITTF Strategic Plan, 2018-2024
Here it is!

2018 Asia-Europe All Star Challenge
Here's the home page with news stories. Asia won 7-3.

Tom's Table Tennis Tips
Here's the latest newsletter from Tom Lodziak, with links to lots of tips.

Tom Lodziak's Blog
Here are his two latest entries.

Inside-Out Backhand Flick (Strawberry)
Here's the article from Eli Baraty.

Weekly Blog from Coach Jon
Here's his blog page, with entries every Thursday.

Radical Service Rule Suggestion
Here's the podcast (38:47) from Pingskills. Segments include:

  • Joke of the Week - What’s worse than finding a worm in your apple?
  • On This Week - Maharu Yoshimura is having a birthday.
  • Winner of the Harimoto Competition
  • Tournament Wrap
  • Tip and Drill of the Week
  • Big Serve Rule Change
  • What is a Set?
  • Golden Point
  • Loose Grip

Legends Tour Videos

Han Xiao Testifies Before Senate Subcommittee
Here's the video (2:13:30). "Officials with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Gymnastics (USAG) and Michigan State University (MSU) testified before a Senate Commerce subcommittee on changes the institutions have made to protect amateur athletes from abuse." Han, a long-time U.S. National Team Member and four-time U.S. Men's Doubles Champion, is the USOC Athletes' Advisory Council Chair. He gives testimony from 42:33 to 48:33, and shorter segments at 1:36:50 and 2:09:21.

Melton Table Tennis Newsletter
Here's the latest newsletter from this Australian TTC, with lots of interesting articles. One thing - in the article on page 6 about table tennis on the moon (!), it says gravity there is 1/70th what we have on earth, but that's not right - it's about 1/6. (Here are their archives for previous newsletters.) Regarding table tennis on the moon, here's my October 24, 2012 blog on playing table tennis on the moon and other planets.

Most Round the Table Players Ever!
Here's the picture! (Here's the non-Facebook version.) Note that each table has a group of players, circling the table as they keep the ball in play - 1252 players in all!

Ping-Pong Battle in the London Underground
Here's the video (62 sec). "These guys play an epic tongue ping-pong battle in the London underground."

I'm Pinging in the Rain!
Here's the video (11 sec)! Make sure to have "I'm Singing in the Rain" in your head as you view it.

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