April 8, 2019

Tip of the Week
Remember Your Best Match.

Miscellaneous Topics

  • Weekend Coaching - I was actually supposed to spend Fri and Sat at the Ravencon Science Fiction Convention in Williamsburg, VA, but had to drop out because I was sick. The only coaching I did was on Sunday, 3.5 hours of group sessions. We started a new ten-week Beginning Junior Class. The focus in the first class was grip, stance, ball-bouncing, and the forehand. We finished with games, with half the class playing real ones, the younger ones playing first around-the-world, and then taking turns trying to hit my Gatorade bottle, with me feeding multiball - if they hit it, I had to drink the "worm juice" inside.
    In the more advanced Talent Development Program, the younger kids usually do lots and lots of multiball, but this time we had them do footwork drills among themselves. For some of them, it was the first time they'd done footwork drills except with a coach, either live or multiball. They did surprisingly well - ingraining the strokes with all that multiball worked! Afterwards I went out for dinner with the other coaches (ten of us) and we went over each of the kids. I had a lot of input, especially with the five kids I'd coached at Cary Cup.
  • Tim Boggan's History of U.S. Table Tennis, Volume 23 - Yep, you read that right - Volume 23. USATT Historian Tim Boggan moved in with me once again Sunday morning so we can put together the latest volume in his History of U.S. Table Tennis series. As usual, we'll be working something like 7AM to 5PM each day for about ten work days. This time there's going to be a two-day break in the middle as I have to run the MDTTC April Open next weekend, April 13-14. (Klaus Wood is now my co-director.) So things will be a bit busy for a while. To complicate things, I caught a cold from the Cary Cup last weekend, and have been sick since Wednesday.
  • April Fools Day Blog - A number of people didn't realize that last week's blog was on April 1 - yep, April Fools Day. See the segment "ITTF and USATT Rule Changes and Announcements and a Board Brawl," and read the first letter of each line, going down. But the idea of umpires awarding both players a point after a great rally - it falls just within the realm of possibility that maybe, just maybe, ITTF would do it!!!
  • 101 Dalmatians Full-Time Clubs - Here's the listing - yep, we broke the 100 mark! (I added in the latest Spin TT Clubs in NY and DC.) I still remember in December, 2006, when there were about eight full-time clubs in the U.S., that I gave a presentation to the USATT board of directors, trying to convince them to make it a goal to have 100 full-time clubs within ten years. Two of them literally laughed at the idea, and no one would support it. But here we are! (Imagine if USATT had helped out in those early years?)
  • JOOLA MDTTC April Open - I'll be running the MDTTC April Open next weekend with Klaus Wood, in Gaithersburg, MD. Enter early! Some events fill up by Thursday or so. Events include Open, U2400, U2200, U2000, U1900, U1600, U1300, U1000, Over 50, Under 15, and Under 12.
  • USATT Update Notice on Olympic Selection Procedures - Here's the USATT news item. They've changed the procedures. As for me, I'm no longer on the board of directors (didn't run for re-election), and so I'm no longer involved in this issue. Thank God!!! :) But frankly, I'm tired of even discussing the issue.  

USATT and Houston Sports Authority Announce Bid for 2021 World Table Tennis Championships
Here's the cover letter! We have a really good chance. We'll know in about two weeks.
=>BREAKING NEWS (added Wednesday morning): Houston Makes Bid to Create History in 2021 (USATT article by Matt Hetherington)

Actions and Notices from the March 30-31 USATT Board of Directors Meeting
Here they are. Minutes will go up later, after they are approved by the board. Here is the USATT Minutes page.

ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup
Here's the ITTF page for the event to be held in Yokohama, Japan, April 5-7.

New from Eli Baraty

Brilliant Blocking Skills – with Paul Drinkhall
Here's the video (8:27) from Tom Lodziak.

New from Samson Dubina

I Am Standing Where the Ball Comes
Here's the Waldner meme. (Here's the non-Facebook version.) The point is that if you watch the opponent, you can figure out early where the ball is going, and so get there early rather than having to move at the last second.

Coaches Thinking Outside the Box
Here's the video (3 min).

Inside My Mind | Manika Batra
Here's the ITTF video (70 sec) on the world #56 (formerly 46) from India.

8 Questions with Timo Boll!
Here's the ITTF interview.

New from Steve Hopkins

New from the National Collegiate TTA

Dangerously Fast Table Tennis
Here's the article from Coach Jon.

Ma Long vs Fan Zhendong | 2019 ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup (Final)
Here's the video (16:04).

2019 XIOM Cary Cup Final - Filip Szymanski vs Jishan Liang (Highlights)
Here's the video (5:47).

World Table Tennis Day
Here's the ITTF World Table Tennis Day page, which took place Saturday.

Heading in the Right Direction, Exciting Future Ahead for USA Stars
Here's the ITTF article.

Kumar's Clean Sweep and Sung's Revenge Highlight Final Day
Here's the article by Matt Hetherington on the Youth National Ranking Tournament.

Sticking to What You Love, Even if it Means Late Nights & Long Commutes
Here's the article by Adar Alguetti.

Not Your Typical Fundraiser: Nonprofit Promotes Cheating to Raise Money
Here's the article. "Between black-tie galas and silent auctions, fundraising events in D.C. can get pretty stale. But one local nonprofit is shaking up the philanthropic scene."

History of USATT – Volume 22
Here is Chapter Sixteen of Tim Boggan's History of U.S. Table Tennis, subtitled "Liu takes Sears title." Or you can buy it and previous (and future) volumes at www.timboggantabletennis.com. Volume 22 is 469 pages with 1447 graphics, and covers all the wild things that happened in 1996-97 - and I'm mentioned a lot! Why not buy a copy - or the entire set at a discount? Tim sells them directly, so when you order them, you get it autographed - order your copy now!

The Making of the Ping-Pong Scenes in Forrest Gump
Here's the video (2:55)!

UCLA Pong Fundraiser
Here's the video (9 sec)!

A New Cat Pong
Here's the video (12 sec)!

David vs. Goliath Pong?
Here's the picture! (Here's the non-Facebook version.)

Ping Pong Stereotypes
Here's the video (2:56)!

Table Tennis on a Tight Rope
Here's the video (23 sec)!

Hot Stuff: Little Devil Pong?
Here's the comic book!

Move It Like Pauli!
Here's the video (25 sec) of this new table tennis dance!

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