May 19, 2025

Tip of the Week
Learn from Students of the Game, Crafty Veterans, and Hedgehogs.

Weekend Coaching, Dr. Seuss, Ongoing Injuries, and the Baltimore Science Fiction Convention
I coached in three junior group sessions. The focus this weekend might have been random play. I did a lot of random drills and just random rallying with players. The keys here are 1) ready position; 2) don’t anticipate, just react; and 3) return to ready position.

Besides the normal keys to a good ready position, a key thing I emphasize is that their ready position changes based on where I’m hitting the ball. If they go to my wide forehand, then I have more angle into their wide forehand (assuming we’re both righties), and less into their backhand, and so they have to move toward their forehand side. They also should roughly point their racket at where I’m hitting the ball from, so they can move equally well to their forehand or backhand side, depending on where I hit the ball.

From doing so many rote drills, the strokes may be good, but too often players, after hitting a forehand, get into a forehand position for the next shot, and vice versa after hitting a backhand shot. A side benefit of all this is I got to teach the kids the words “neuromuscular adaptation,” which is training the brain to react to such random shots. (Kids are fascinated by long words, about half of them immediately recited “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.”

Dr. Seuss has also entered our training. I’ve been working on children’s picture book, currently titled, “Paddles Can’t Talk!”, which would be a Seussian rhyming story about a kids first tournament and general introduction to the sport for those roughly ages 5-9. I ordered copies of “The Cat in the Hat” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” as examples – I’m using a similar rhyming meter as he used in them. But both books are hardcover, and I discovered I can play TT really well with them, mostly chopping and pick-hitting – and so I’ve been staying after sessions and taking on challenges. I’m probably about 1800 with them. Yesterday some of the kids borrowed “The Cat in the Hat” while I used “Grinch” and we had some good rallies, with them attacking and me chopping.

Alas, I’m currently dealing with too many doctors. Dr. Seuss; Dr Pepper (my go-to drink while writing, including right now); plus doctors for my upcoming cataract surgery on my left eye (May 28), and other doctors for various problems with my shoulder, knees, and feet. Plus, this morning I woke up with my neck killing me. (See last segment below.)

Things took a turn for the worse on Saturday. We have an Elite League on Saturdays at 4PM for players rated over 2000. I’ve been running them for the past six months, but playing sporadically due to shoulder issues. I was sufficiently read to play on Saturday – but in my first match, second game, I pulled something in my lower right side while forehand looping. I played a few points after that, then had to stop. I don’t think it’s a major injury, but I will likely take this week off from practicing. Then, on Wed, May 28, I have the right eye cataract surgery, and so will have to take another 10-12 days off. So, I’ll likely take up to three weeks off – a good thing for all the ongoing issues that come with trying to train like a 25-year-old at age 65 – problems with my shoulder, arm, neck, side, knees, and feet. During the break, I’ll do a lot of walking, and shadow practice with a weighted racket. I should then have three more weeks of practice before I leave for the Nationals on June 28.

Meanwhile (and this is non-table tennis), next weekend I’ll be coaching on Saturday morning. Then I leave for Balticon, the annual Baltimore science fiction convention, where I’m a panelist. (I’ll be there on Friday as well, plus Sat & Sun. Here’s my Balticon Bio.) I’m only on two panels this year:

• Critiquing Do’s and Don’ts (Saturday 5:30 PM)
• Lightbulb Moments; How Authors Develop Ideas (Sunday 11:30 AM)

MASTER the Backhand Loop Against Underspin
Here’s the video (24:13) from Louis Levene.

Your Serve or Mine
Here’s the video (56:46) on Ping-Pong Diplomacy (1971-72) that aired on PBS on April 26.

DONE FOR THIS WEEK – Neck Problem
I did the above for my blog this morning, but I have to stop. I woke up this morning with my neck hurting, and can barely hold my head up right now. It’s been bothering me all week, but I think I slept on it wrong, and aggravated it more when I first got up this morning. Plus, my side is still bothering me from where I pulled it on Saturday, and my shoulder is an ongoing issue. So, I’m going to post this, then go lie down with my head propped on a pillow. Between this and my cataract surgery, I think I’m going to get a lot of rest and reading these next three weeks.

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