TableTennisCoaching.com - - Your worldwide center for table tennis coaching http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/ en May 12, 2025 http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3655 <span class="field field-name-title field-formatter-string field-type-string field-label-hidden">May 12, 2025</span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field-node--body field-formatter-text-default field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden has-single"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item"><p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Tip of the Week</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3654" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Warm Up Your Serves</a>.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Weekend Coaching</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I think the mantra for this weekend was, “If you can’t do it in practice games, how can you do it in a serous match?” and “If you are scared to do the shot, that means you need to practice the shot, and that’s what this is – practice!” In practice games, too often players were pushing too much, scared to loop. How do you overcome that? By looping every chance you can!!! We also played some doubles, where it’s even more important to loop deep serves – and so I was all over anyone who didn’t. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Other than that, it was mostly the standard focus on fundamentals, with lots of stroking and footwork drills. I had a couple of multiball sessions with advanced beginners where we worked on smashing. I put an empty bowl on the table, and their job was to hit it over and over until they knocked it off the table. I coached in four group sessions, and after some of them I pulled out my new secret paddle – a hardbat copy of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and used it to chop and pick-hit my way to victory in numerous challenge matches. (I’m about 1800 with it.) Why do I have a copy of this book? See segment below about “New Table Tennis Novels”! </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>My Training</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I’m still working to get ready for senior and hardbat events at the upcoming US Nationals, Huntsman World Senior Games, National Senior Games, and Maryland Senior Olympics. Alas, I’m having more shoulder problems. I was training four times a week and trying to play matches 1-2 times a week, but with the ongoing shoulder issues, I’ve had to cut down on it, and for now don’t practice on consecutive days. I’m also having some knee problems, alas. But I can work around these issues. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New Table Tennis Novels . . . and Dinosaurs</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Two new table tennis novels are coming out. They are:</span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">“<b><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/796326/underspin-by-ey-zhao/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Underspin</a></b>” by E. Y. Zhao, 252 pages, coming Sept. 23. (Here’s the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Underspin-Novel-Y-Zhao/dp/1662603266" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Amazon link</a>.) I received an advanced copy to read and review, and last night I read the first 77 pages. It’s a somewhat dark story of the rise and fall of a table tennis star. The novel starts with the player’s funeral – he dies in “mysterious fashion” in his 20s. The rest of the novel is about his rise and fall as we learn how it all happened, from his junior years to the end. The story is told in 14 chapters, each from the POV of a different person in his life, ranging from other players, an umpire, and his overly-strict coach. I’ll write a full review later after I finish the novel. (Tomorrow I plan to spend much of the day at the Smithsonian museums in DC, where I’ll spend a few hours at one of the museum cafeterias reading it. Then, from 6:30-8:45 PM I’ll be at the Natural History Museum to watch the free movie, “<a href="https://www.naturalhistory.si.edu/events/natural-history-big-screen-why-dinosaurs" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Why Dinosaurs?</a>” followed by a question and answer period with the movie’s co-directors and several paleontologists. Feel free to join us!)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">“<b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1964700035" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Ping</a></b>” by Lisa Lucas and Steve Landsberg, 144 pages. “Alternating between the pivotal 1971 Ping-Pong Diplomacy - where a simple game of table tennis thawed the icy relations between the U.S. and China during the Cold War - and the present-day struggles of a family weighed down by legacy, Ping is a compelling tale of history, politics, and personal conflict.” I just ordered a copy, and will likely read and review it soon. <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brainstorm/202505/ping-pong-is-more-than-a-simple-game" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s an interview</a> with one of the authors about the novel. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Recently, in a flash of insight, I realized what this world needed was a Dr. Seussian-like humorous rhyming picture book introduction to table tennis, for kids roughly ages 6-9. And so, I’m working on it. The working title is, “<b>Ping-Pong Paddles Don’t Talk!</b>” It’s about a very nervous kid in his first tournament, where he meets seemingly overbearing adults and other tribulations .  .  . and yes, his paddle does talk. When the text is ready, I’ll have to hire an illustrator as I’m no artist. I bought a copy of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” as a model to emulate – I’m writing it in “Seussian Anapestic Tetrameter.” (I already have two TT novels – “<b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Pong-Larry-Hodges/dp/1512117080/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">The Spirit of Pong</a></b>” and the novelette “<b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/First-Galactic-Table-Tennis-Championships/dp/B0BCD4ZLKH" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">First Galactic Table Tennis Championships</a></b>.”)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Major League Table Tennis</b><br /> Follow the action! (Here are news items over the last month.)</span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/new-york-slice-and-koki-niwa-on-path-to-challenge-in-mltt/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">New York Slice and Koki Niwa on Path to Challenge in MLTT</a> by Steve Hopkins</span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/meet-the-new-faces-of-mltt/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Meet the New Faces of MLTT!</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.majorponghead.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Major Pong Head</a> (blog coverage)</span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/league/schedule/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Schedule</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Home Page</a></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Butterfly Training Tips </b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-anagha-kasichainula-forehand-backhand-loop-stroke-chemistry/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Forehand &amp; Backhand Loop Stroke Chemistry</a> (75 sec) with Anagha Kasichainula</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-sanuka-herath-two-short-returns-two-follow-up-attacks/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Two Short Returns, Two Follow up Attacks</a> (66 sec) with Sanuka Herath</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-kevin-doyle-two-backhand-loops-two-forehand-loops/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Two Backhand Loops, Two Forehand Loops</a> (53 sec) with Kevin Doyle</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/coach-feth-explains-how-to-shift-your-weight-properly/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Coach Feth Explains How to Shift Your Weight Properly</a> (44 sec)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/bowmar-sports-tournament-highlights-karolayn-maldonaldo-wtt-youth-contender-cuenca-highlights/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Karolayn Maldonaldo WTT Youth Contender Cuenca Highlights</a> (60 sec)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Matt Hetherington</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPQcq3Zn6QI" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Kick Your Opponents into Submission with the Hook Kicker Table Tennis Serve!">Kick Your Opponents into Submission with the Hook Kicker Table Tennis Serve!</a> (4:07)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgjAymEMFJ0" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Improving Forehand Footwork | The 4 Min Edit">Improving Forehand Footwork</a> (4:08)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Andreas Levenko</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRaUgqpV9uQ" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Multiball Training - My personal Training Routine for max Improvement 🏓">Multiball Training - My personal Training Routine for max Improvement</a> (8:11)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQdn5-yiKnQ&amp;pp=0gcJCYUJAYcqIYzv" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="5 Table Tennis Secrets That Will Change Your Game Forever 🚀🏓">5 Table Tennis Secrets That Will Change Your Game Forever</a> (8:10)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeU8J06moCk" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Upper Body Stretching Routine for Table Tennis | 30 Minute Follow-Along 🏓">Upper Body Stretching Routine for Table Tennis | 30 Minute Follow-Along</a> (32:48)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXGjYLFVp4c" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="PUSH &amp; COUNTERSPIN 🏓 The Most Effective Combination in Table Tennis 🔥">PUSH &amp; COUNTERSPIN The Most Effective Combination in Table Tennis</a> (8:02)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84BG2M_68FM&amp;pp=0gcJCYUJAYcqIYzv" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="The only SERVICE TUTORIAL you'll EVER need 🏓 | Andreas Levenko Table Tennis">The only SERVICE TUTORIAL you'll EVER need</a> (6:01)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FUA0RKEnck" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="The Ultimate Short Receive Guide 💥 | Table Tennis Tutorial">The Ultimate Short Receive Guide</a> (6:09)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>1 TIP - Improve Serve - SPEED - CONTROL - HIDE SPIN - EEFFICIENCY…</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W7PQ8N2_DY&amp;ab_channel=TILONGCLUB-ProfessionalTableTennisTraining" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (9:52) from Ti Long. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Short Topspin Hook Serve</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqdEtUQxCUQ&amp;ab_channel=PongSpace" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (2:52) from Pong Space. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>11 Exercises to Improve Striking and Footwork Techniques</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zegLha6pMn8&amp;ab_channel=Dr.TableTennis" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (8:12) from Dr. Table Tennis.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>It Is Not So Easy As It Looks!</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmm0iZjM5Kk&amp;ab_channel=Pingisp%C3%A5garna" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (3:09) from Pingispågarna. I introduced versions of this game to our club, and the younger kids often play it during breaks. They usually do it across the width of the table (five feet), and start out just tossing the ball by hand. As they improve, they do it with their racket. We call the game, “Bounce.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>I Challenged A Pro With A Mystery Table Tennis Bat!</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcjwPsSmMXQ&amp;ab_channel=TableTennisDaily" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (6:50) as Table Tennis Daily challenges USA’s Kanak Jha!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Sharath Kamal: How He Became the Face of Indian Table Tennis</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8b0p53T2bc&amp;ab_channel=BeyondThePodium" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (4:10) from Beyond the Podium. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/tomokazu-harimoto-signs-with-okayama-rivets/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Tomokazu Harimoto Signs with Okayama Rivets</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/coton-and-hursey-youth-take-top-prizes-at-u21-euros/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Coton and Hursey: Youth Take Top Prizes at U21 Euros</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/european-under-21-championships-final-four/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">European Under 21 Championships: Final Four</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/jessie-xu-qualifies-to-represent-canada-at-two-major-international-table-tennis-events-in-2025/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Jessie Xu Qualifies to Represent Canada at Two Major International Table Tennis Events in 2025</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Record-Breaking 2025 USATT Pacific Championships Highlight Bay Area’s Table Tennis Dominance</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/may/06/record-breaking-2025-usatt-pacific-championships-highlight-bay-area-s-table-tennis-dominance" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the USATT article</a>. Strangely, there is no attribution as to who wrote the article. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from ITTF</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/05/12/the-elite-take-centre-stage/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">The Elite Take Centre Stage</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/05/12/from-houston-silver-to-olympic-medal-moregards-quest-for-doha-gold/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="From Houston Silver To Olympic Medal: Moregard's Quest for Doha Gold">From Houston Silver To Olympic Medal: Moregard's Quest for Doha Gold</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/05/12/great-britain-shine-in-laskos-challenger-event/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Great Britain Shine in Lasko’s Challenger Event">Great Britain Shine in Lasko’s Challenger Event</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/05/09/doha-2025-opening-weekend-blockbusters-set-to-ignite-world-championships/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="1 Week to Doha 2025: Opening Weekend Blockbusters Set To Ignite World Championships">1 Week to Doha 2025: Opening Weekend Blockbusters Set To Ignite World Championships</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/05/09/statement-on-the-publication-of-the-ittf-group-financial-statements-2023-and-2024/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Statement on the Publication of the ITTF Group Financial Statements 2023 and 2024">Statement on the Publication of the ITTF Group Financial Statements 2023 and 2024</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/05/08/ittf-hopes-programme-returns-to-yearly-cycle-sheffield-selected-to-host-2025-world-hopes-week-challenge/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="ITTF Hopes Programme Returns to Yearly Cycle; Sheffield Selected to Host 2025 World Hopes Week &amp; Challenge ">ITTF Hopes Programme Returns to Yearly Cycle; Sheffield Selected to Host 2025 World Hopes Week &amp; Challenge</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/05/07/liebherr-returns-to-the-forefront-of-table-tennis-in-2025/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Liebherr Returns to the Forefront of Table Tennis in 2025">Liebherr Returns to the Forefront of Table Tennis in 2025</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/05/06/ittf-world-championships-doha-2025-historic-trophies-await-the-worlds-best/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="ITTF World Championships Doha 2025: Historic Trophies Await the World's Best">ITTF World Championships Doha 2025: Historic Trophies Await the World's Best</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/05/06/its-laskos-turn-for-ittf-world-para-challenger/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="It’s Lasko’s Turn For ITTF World Para Challenger!">It’s Lasko’s Turn For ITTF World Para Challenger!</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Meatball Pong</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OjIogkUrghA" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (60 sec) – toward the end they play ping-pong with a meatball as a ball!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>I Warned the Basketball Club Members Playing on the Table Tennis Table</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WkIcZGGa-Q&amp;ab_channel=DoraRomComMangas" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the manga cartoon</a> (14:29).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Table Tennis EPP</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTRaIvqA3y0&amp;ab_channel=rita" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the cartoon TT video</a> (91 sec) from the Kingston School of Art.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Extremely Fun Ping Pong</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9oDPRs30u0&amp;ab_channel=Pongfinity" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (11:41) from Pongfinity! “We have 15 completely new challenges.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">***<br /> <a href="mailto:larry@larrytt.com" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Send us</a> your own coaching news!</span></span></p> </div></div> </div> <span class="field field-name-uid field-formatter-author field-type-entity-reference field-label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/3" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Larry Hodges</span></span> <span class="field field-name-created field-formatter-timestamp field-type-created field-label-hidden">Mon, 05/12/2025 - 15:16</span> <section class="field field-node--comment-node-blog field-formatter-comment-default field-name-comment-node-blog field-type-comment field-label-hidden display-mode-threaded comment-bundle-comment-node-blog comment-wrapper"> <a name="comments"></a></section> Mon, 12 May 2025 14:16:41 +0000 Larry Hodges 3655 at http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3655#comments May 5, 2025 http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3653 <span class="field field-name-title field-formatter-string field-type-string field-label-hidden">May 5, 2025</span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field-node--body field-formatter-text-default field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden has-single"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item"><p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Tip of the Week</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3652" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Top Eleven Things About Top Table Tennis Players</a>. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Talking Table Tennis</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">One of the quickest and easiest ways to tell if someone is a real student of the game is simple – ask them table tennis questions. If someone has spent many years or decades studying and thinking about the game, they’ll have lots and Lots and LOTS of thoughts about it. So, ask them. In the huge majority of the time, they’ll love to talk table tennis. It’s what they do!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">This is especially true of coaches. It’s their profession. Some coaches coach only because they have nothing else they can do, and may not really be that interested in it. They put in the time for the money, and have the needed playing level as a practice partner, and they are often good at the fundamentals – they know how a forehand should be hit, etc. HOWEVER...</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">They may not put out the extra effort other than what’s needed. They’ll mostly teach the standard fundamentals without taking into consideration the specific needs of individual players. They won’t spend a lot of time watching you play so they can better coach. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">We expect players to keep learning, yet many coaches do not. I always like to talk coaching with other coaches or players, at the club or tournaments. Some do not, and it often shows in their coaching. Unless you think you know more about every single aspect of the game than another coach or player, you can learn from him. I know coaches who think that way, and could never learn anything from me or most other coaches - their arrogance really hurts them, and ultimately their players. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">So, if you see me at a tournament, and I don’t look too busy – and most tournaments are at 70% waiting around – feel free to come up and talk table tennis. Warning – I can be triggered into long soliloquies by questions about tactics, strategic development, serve, receive, how to develop as a coach, or hardbat. (Also science fiction writing and presidential history!) Bring popcorn and any of <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/larryhodgesbooks" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">my books</a> you’d like me to sign. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>MDTTC Open Results</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.omnipong.com/T-tourney.asp?t=103&amp;r=4409" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here they are</a>! The tournament was held this past weekend at MDTTC. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Major League Table Tennis</b><br /> Follow the action! (Here are news items over the last month.) </span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">April 29 - <a href="https://mltt.com/mltt-completes-2025-draft-finalizes-season-3-rosters/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">MLTT Completes 2025 Draft, Finalizes Season 3 Rosters</a></span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">April 24 - <a href="https://mltt.com/major-league-table-tennis-and-finally-announce-multi-year-partnership/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Major League Table Tennis and finally Announce Multi-Year Partnership</a></span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">April 16 - <a href="https://mltt.com/butterfly-extends-partnership-with-major-league-table-tennis-through-the-2027-2028-season/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Butterfly Extends Partnership with Major League Table Tennis Through the 2027–2028 Season</a></span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">April 13 - <a href="https://mltt.com/carolina-gold-rush-defeat-texas-smash-to-win-2025-mltt-cup/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Carolina Gold Rush Defeat Texas Smash to Win 2025 MLTT Cup</a></span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">April 2 - <a href="https://mltt.com/los-angeles-seattle-spinners-mll-relocation-ownership/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Spinners Relocating to Los Angeles, Add New Ownership</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.majorponghead.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Major Pong Head</a> (blog coverage)</span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/league/schedule/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Schedule</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Home Page</a></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Butterfly Training Tips </b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/move-both-legs-at-the-same-time/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Move Both Legs at the Same Time!</a> (51 sec) by Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/align-your-wrist-and-your-forearm/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Align Your Wrist and Your Forearm</a> (50 sec) by Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/where-should-the-top-of-the-racket-point/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Where Should the Top of the Racket Point?</a> (52) by Stefan Feth and Larry Thoman</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-anqi-luo-backhand-forehand-middle-looping/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Backhand, Forehand, Middle Looping</a> (72 sec) with Anqi Luo</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-anagha-kasichainula-flip-to-loop-follow-up/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Flip to Loop Follow up</a> (64 sec) with Anagha Kasichainula</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-jeff-yamada-falkenburg-modified/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Falkenburg Modified</a> (2:21) with Jeff Yamada</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-rachid-el-bou-bou-backhand-loop-forehand-pivot/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Backhand Loop &amp; Forehand Pivot</a> (54 sec) Rachid El Bou Bou</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-lingshuai-meng-backhand-punch-block/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Backhand Punch Block</a> (62 sec) with Lingshuai Meng</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Pingispågarna</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmm0iZjM5Kk&amp;pp=0gcJCYUJAYcqIYzv" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="IT IS NOT SO EASY AS IT LOOKS! [TABLE TENNIS BOUNCE CHALLENGE]">IT IS NOT SO EASY AS IT LOOKS!</a> (3:10)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDIkGm5FLM0" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="3 TIPS TO IMPROVE QUICKLY in table tennis | tips | medium level tutorial | ping pong">3 TIPS TO IMPROVE QUICKLY</a> (2:39)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_vTtkjGHKY" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="How to do the Pendulum Serve in Table Tennis (tutorial)- Serve Like a Pro!">How to do the Pendulum Serve in Table Tennis</a> (2:17)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Pongspace</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1npnK-xDK4" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Long Hook Kick Serve | Table Tennis Tutorial">Long Hook Kick Serve</a> (3:32)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukzpTu6keQM" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="10th Xu Shaofa Barebat Championship">10th Xu Shaofa Barebat Championship</a> (17:15)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FivF-6no_mI" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="How to Do a Hook Serve | Table Tennis Tutorial">How to Do a Hook Serve</a> (3:03)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPq3SMxNZDk" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Learning the Long Hook Serve | Table Tennis Tutorial">Learning the Long Hook Serve</a> (3:21)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Two- to Four-Minute Tips from Matt Hetherington</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@MHTableTennis/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s his video page</a> with eight new tips over the last two weeks. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Tom Lodziak</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoach.me.uk/how-to-get-more-benefit-from-your-club-sessions/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">How to get more benefit from your club sessions</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoach.me.uk/whats-in-your-bag-essential-items-every-table-tennis-player-needs/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">What’s in your bag? Essential items every table tennis player needs</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Lots of Coaching Videos at TTProNet</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://app.ttpronet.com/academy" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video page</a> from Robert Gardos. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Fan Zhendong Analysis of the Forehand Topspin Backswing</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI46VQKiMo8" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (7:11) from Biomechanics Applied to Table Tennis. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Hugo Calderano Push Tactic Against Tomokazu Harimoto</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHTsMTZDinw&amp;ab_channel=Drupepong" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (56 sec) from Drupe Pong. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from PingSkills</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum#gsc.tab=0" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Ask the Coach</a></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Zhang Jike – The Rockstar of Table Tennis</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG3ikBv84zA&amp;ab_channel=tacobackhand" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (8:52) from Taco Backhand. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>May 2025 Table Tennis History Magazine</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://issuu.com/swaythlingclub/docs/tth_may_2025?fr=sMGU2Mjg0ODkzNTQ" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the new issue</a>, from Editor Steve Grant. <a href="https://pingpongfeverautho.wixsite.com/table-tennis-history/file-share/b62cd423-509e-4715-be39-0ad70c3e8495" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here are past issues</a>. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Table Tennis Articles from Technical Journals</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.eurjhm.com/index.php/eurjhm/article/view/890" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">A six-week force-velocity profile based training is effective to optimize jump and change of direction performance in elite table tennis players</a> (European Journal of Human Movement, care of Kevin Finn/<a href="https://peakperformancetabletennis.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Peak Performance Table Tennis</a>)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0317839" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Table tennis coaching system based on a multimodal large language model with a table tennis knowledge base</a> (PLOS One, care of Kevin Finn/<a href="https://peakperformancetabletennis.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Peak Performance Table Tennis</a>)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-94196-7" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Evaluation of the winning technical and tactical actions of the best female table tennis players in the years 1970-2021</a> (Scientific Reports)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Steve Hopkins</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/bye-timo-series/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Bye Timo Series</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/world-championships-preview-worlds-best-crowd-the-stage-in-doha/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">World Championships Preview: World’s Best Crowd the Stage in Doha</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/pair-of-golds-for-van-emburgh-at-ittf-world-challenger-sao-paulo/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Pair of Golds for Van Emburgh at ITTF World Challenger São Paulo</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from USATT</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/may/01/entries-now-open-for-the-2025-us-open-table-tennis-championships-at-mandalay-bay-december-16-21" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline"><span style="font-weight:normal">Entries Now Open for the 2025 U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships at Mandalay Bay, December 16–21</span></a></b></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/april/29/us-para-table-tennis-shows-grit-and-growth-at-ittf-world-para-challenger-sao-paulo" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">US Para Table Tennis Shows Grit and Growth at ITTF World Para Challenger Sao Paulo</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from ITTF</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/05/05/paralympic-champions-triumph-at-podgorica-challenger/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Paralympic Champions Triumph at Podgorica Challenger</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/05/02/first-olympic-solidarity-course-in-twenty-years-a-huge-success-for-uzbekistan/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="First Olympic Solidarity course in twenty years a huge success for Uzbekistan">First Olympic Solidarity course in twenty years a huge success for Uzbekistan</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/05/01/cuenca-hosts-2025-international-referee-school-a-continued-commitment-to-level-3-referee-education/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Cuenca Hosts 2025 International Referee School: A Continued Commitment to Level 3 Referee Education">Cuenca Hosts 2025 International Referee School: A Continued Commitment to Level 3 Referee Education</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/04/30/path-to-glory-revealed-as-draw-sets-the-stage-for-world-champs-doha-2025/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Path to Glory Revealed as Draw Sets the Stage for World Championships Doha 2025">Path to Glory Revealed as Draw Sets the Stage for World Championships Doha 2025</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/04/30/paralympic-champions-return-to-action-at-ittf-world-para-challenger-podgorica/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Paralympic Champions Return To Action at ITTF World Para Challenger Podgorica">Paralympic Champions Return To Action at ITTF World Para Challenger Podgorica</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/04/29/golden-homecoming-brazilian-para-stars-shine-at-sao-paulo-challenger/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Golden Homecoming: Brazilian Para Stars Shine at São Paulo Challenger">Golden Homecoming: Brazilian Para Stars Shine at São Paulo Challenger</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/04/28/drawing-closer-to-doha-tuesdays-rankings-to-set-stage-for-world-championships-finals-draw-ceremony/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Drawing Closer to Doha: Tuesday's Rankings Sets Stage for World Championships Finals Draw Ceremony">Drawing Closer to Doha: Tuesday's Rankings Sets Stage for World Championships Finals Draw Ceremony</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/04/28/agricultural-bank-of-china-named-official-partner-of-the-ittf-world-championships-finals-doha-2025/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Agricultural Bank of China Named Official Partner of the ITTF World Championships Finals Doha 2025">Agricultural Bank of China Named Official Partner of the ITTF World Championships Finals Doha 2025</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>The Ping Pong of Tariffs</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.cartoonmovement.com/cartoon/ping-pong-tariffs?cartoonist=/cartoonist/31901" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the cartoon</a>!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Warning: May Start Talking About Table Tennis</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Warning-Talking-Table-Tennis-T-Shirt/dp/B09MC58LRW" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s where you can buy the shirt</a>!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>One of the Craziest Ping-Pong Music Videos</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eycYEnRIwqs&amp;ab_channel=AronChupa%26LittleSisNora" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here it is</a> (2:20) – Little Sis Nora, AronChupa - Ping Pong. Will you ever get that song out of your head?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Pool vs Pong Venomtrickshots</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVsK1loNak0&amp;ab_channel=MHTableTennis" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (2:16) from Matt Hetherington!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Adam vs. Philippines level 1-14</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dirQH0iWyPY&amp;ab_channel=AdamBobrow" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (14:12) from Adam Bobrow!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">***<br /> <a href="mailto:larry@larrytt.com" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Send us</a> your own coaching news!</span></span></p> </div></div> </div> <span class="field field-name-uid field-formatter-author field-type-entity-reference field-label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/3" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Larry Hodges</span></span> <span class="field field-name-created field-formatter-timestamp field-type-created field-label-hidden">Mon, 05/05/2025 - 14:03</span> <section class="field field-node--comment-node-blog field-formatter-comment-default field-name-comment-node-blog field-type-comment field-label-hidden display-mode-threaded comment-bundle-comment-node-blog comment-wrapper"> <a name="comments"></a></section> Mon, 05 May 2025 13:03:19 +0000 Larry Hodges 3653 at http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3653#comments April 28, 2025 http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3651 <span class="field field-name-title field-formatter-string field-type-string field-label-hidden">April 28, 2025</span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field-node--body field-formatter-text-default field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden has-single"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item"><p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Recent Tips of the Week</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">March 17, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3643" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Forehand-Backhand Grip Changes and Learning New Techniques</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">March 24, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3645" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Your Racket Is Your Musical Instrument</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">March 31, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3646" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Study Opponents’ Serves</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">April 07, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3647" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">How to Come Back from Down 0-2 in a Match</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">April 14, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3648" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Three Modes of Match Play - Serious, Practice, Beginner</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">April 21, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3649" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Belief, Focus, Play Free</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">April 28, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3650" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Backhand Receive Against a Short Serve to the Forehand</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Cataracts, Vision, and Weight Training</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I had cataract surgery on my right eye on March 25 – and it was a HUGE success. Before the surgery, I had 20-150 vision in that eye, along with 20-70 vision in my left eye. The result was I couldn’t recognize people from 30 feet or so. When I coached at the club, there was a clock about 30 feet away – and I couldn’t read it. Here are the results - including the improvement of the left eye – see below. I can now read the clock and recognize anyone easily from across the club, about 120 feet away. I can stand at the far side of the club, look across those 120 feet and out the door, across the street, and not only read the street signs for businesses, but their phone numbers in smaller print. My right eye now is at 20-15, far better than even the doctor had thought would happen. With reading glasses, I can easily read now. (I blogged about how, before, I couldn’t read for more than a few minutes without getting a headache.) </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I was going to have cataract surgery on the left eye in early April, but a seeming miracle occurred. I'd been using Clear Eyes eye drops every morning for years. It turns out they are not good for you, <a href="https://www.bouldermedicalcenter.com/drugstore-confusion-which-eye-drop-is-best-for-me/#:~:text=Drops%20to%20Avoid,for%20red%20eyes%20or%20allergies." style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">as the eye doctor explained</a>. They were a primary cause of my left eye vision problems. The eye doctor had me switch to using Systane eye drops, and the result was my left eye is now 20-25, with no surgery. So, I cancelled the surgery. However, after the success of the first surgery, and knowing that the cataracts in my left eye are going to get progressively worse in the next year or two, I went ahead and rescheduled. I took the earliest time available, which is May 28. With two “perfect” eyes, imagine how good my table tennis will be!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">However, two realities have struck. First, after years of not really seeing the ball clearly, now I can read spin much better – but my reactions are out of practice. I’m working on it, but often I read spin but don’t react properly, especially on receive. Often I’ll realize this right as I’m about to hit the ball, but it’s too late. But I’m a lot better off now than before!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Second, a primary reason I played well at the US Open in December (where I won Over 40 and Over 60 Hardbat) was I did weight training from August to December. But after the Open, I stopped. When I started playing after the cataract surgery in mid-April, I discovered I was way out of shape and played poorly, even though I could see the ball so much better. I also got exhausted quickly when I play – alas, I play a rather physical game for my age. (Weight training not only builds up muscle, it builds up stamina.) I went to the gym two weeks ago, and struggled to lift what I had been lifting easily in Nov and Dec. So, I started up again. But it’ll take time. (I’m weight training three times/week again, doing four sessions/week with 2550 coach/practice partner Lidney Castro, and plan to play matches 2-3 times/week. I weighed 202 a couple weeks ago, and have dropped to 199, and hope to get to 190 or below. Also, lots of stretching.)</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">So, my plan is to train hard until the May 28 surgery. Then I’ll have to take about ten days off – no strenuous activity, no lifting anything more than ten pounds. But this time I’ll do what I should have done last time. Instead of sitting about all that time, the doctor said I can go for long walks to stay in shape. So, that’s what I’ll do each day. Then I’ll have about three weeks to prepare for the Nationals – I fly out on June 28. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Here’s perhaps the most interesting thing about my new vision. I’m still amazed at how I can clearly read signs in the distance, and see the label on the ball as it spins. But I went out at night recently and saw the full moon – and I could see it clearly for the first time in ages, and clearly see all the land masses on it. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Here’s my upcoming schedule, both TT and SF. I’m doing a lot more competing than before, where I’ve mostly coached the last few decades. But I get to battle for medals and titles at both senior events (mostly Over 60 and Over 65 singles and doubles events, where I use sponge) and hardbat events. At the SF conventions I’m a panelist and do book signings. Come say hi if you see me at any of these events (presumably the TT ones!). </span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">May 23-26              Baltimore Science Fiction Convention</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">May 28                   Cataract surgery on left eye</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">May 30-June 2       Possibly coaching at US Junior Trials in Charlotte, NC</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">June 28-July 4        US Nationals, Ontario, CA</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">July 12                   MD Senior Olympics</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">July 18-26             “The Never-Ending Odyssey” Science Fiction Writing Workshop, Manchester, NH – I go every year. This is my 16th time, including 13 years in a row.</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Aug. 1-3                National Senior Games, Des Moines, IA.</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Aug. 9-19              World Science Fiction Convention (Aug. 13-17) &amp; sightseeing in Seattle, WA</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Oct. 6-9                 Huntsman World Senior Games, St. George, UT</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Nov. 6-9                US Hall of Fame Dinner and Inductions/Si &amp; Patty Wasserman Junior &amp; Open, LA</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Nov. 21-23            Philadelphia Science Fiction Convention</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Nov. 28-30            North American Teams Teams</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Dec. 16-21            US Open, Las Vegas, NV                                           </span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Weekend Coaching</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I generally coach at three group junior training sessions on weekends. Some of the highlights of this past weekend:</span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">The usual focus on footwork and good technique, and both live play and multiball. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Worked with numerous players on serves, including several who are now learning the reverse forehand pendulum serve. Also discussed with one of our advanced players how to make the serve more effective, with a few tips I learned from Jimmy Butler, who may do this serve better than anyone in the US. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Worked a lot with three beginning/intermediate kids on smashing – and they learned it pretty well. Key thing is a good backswing, turn sideways, and a smooth stroke. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Actual exchange after I missed a shot: Kid: “You missed!” Me: “No I didn’t, I just aimed differently.” Kid: “I saw you miss!” Me: “I can’t even spell M-I-S-S.” Kid: “You just spelled it!” Me: “No I didn’t, ‘it’ is spelled I-T, and I spelled M-I-S-S.” Kid: “You spelled ‘miss’ again!” Me: “How can I spell ‘miss’ again when I can’t even spell M-I-S-S?” Kid: “You spelled it again!” Me: “How many times do I have to explain that ‘it’ is spelled I-T? You keep MISSspelling it!” And so on...</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">One of the kids now collects ping-pong balls. I went through my shelves and found about 30 different ones for him. Many years ago I collected balls, and had over 1,000 different ones. But someone from Europe had been collecting them since the 1950s (!), and much more actively, and had something like 15,000. He bought my entire collection for a flat $1,000. </span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Deception As Fair Play: Applying “Trickeration” To Business Strategy</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youngupstarts.com/2025/04/04/deception-as-fair-play-applying-trickeration-to-business-strategy/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the article</a> – and it uses a story I told them about tactics I used once in a match to trick an opponent into playing poor tactics against me! They showed how this type of tactic can be used in businesses, calling it, “trickeration.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>USATT Bylaw Changes</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://assets.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blteb7d012fc7ebef7f/blt32a7a3258f66b9e1/67e4208f42bb03d8a762614d/USATT_-_25_03-25a_-_(Notice_and_Agenda_-_April_07_2025).pdf" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here they are</a>. I haven’t gone over them closely and probably won’t – but one change that jumped out at me is that they are cancelling the annual USATT Assembly. (See where they are deleting 15.2 of the <a href="https://www.usatt.org/governance-and-financials/bylaws" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">USATT bylaws</a>.) The rationale is, “Since all board meetings are public and that holding the General Assembly during a major competition is impracticable, there is no need for this provision.” This makes no sense. First, the purpose of the USATT Assembly has always been for USATT members to meet and talk with board members and staff, ask questions, and make suggestions. It was done at major tournaments because that’s when we’d have lots of USATT members. Attending a board meeting is not the same thing, as that’s simply the board of directions doing their business as always, not for the purpose of listening to and meeting the membership. Second, if it were impracticable, then how is it they’ve done it for something like twenty years under past administrations? </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Chinese Table Tennis chief Liu Guoliang Quits, Wang Liqin, Ma Long to Head Olympic Charge</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3307545/chinese-table-tennis-chief-liu-guoliang-resigns-replaced-olympic-champion-wang" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the article</a> from the South China Morning Post. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Table Tennis Evolution Since 1933</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=633771175653800&amp;rdid=20njzCexzpKYxcxs" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (2:22). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Point of the Year?</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=691043706927086" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (1:25, point ends at .54). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Coaching and News from All Over</b><br /> Since I’ve been away for six weeks, rather than try to list every interesting article, here are links to some of the main news and coaching pages that have been active in that time, and you can pick and choose. I’ll get back to linking to individual articles next week.</span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://butterflyonline.com/news/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Butterfly News and Coaching &amp; Video Tips</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">USATT News</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/news/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">ITTF News</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="color:blue"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/news/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Major League Table Tennis</a></span></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="http://nctta.org/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">NCTTA News</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@pongspace9577/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">PongSpace</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@MHTableTennis/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">MH Table Tennis</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIyhoU4jcjFWkeelzga-2qA/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Ti Long</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/Pingisp%C3%A5garna/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Pingispågarna</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@tacobackhand3294/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Taco Backhand</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://pingskills.com/blog" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">PingSkills Blog</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum#gsc.tab=0" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">PingSkills Ask the Coach</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@AdamBobrow/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Adam Bobrow</a> – humorous TT videos</span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Pongfinity/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Pongfinity</a> – humorous TT videos</span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Non-Table Tennis – Science Fiction &amp; Fantasy Stories</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I had four short stories published recently. </span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Apr. 17, 2025 – “<b><a href="https://flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2025/04/17/prissy-and-the-rude-fly/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Prissy and the Rude Fly</a></b>” (Flash Fiction Magazine). Prissy is a spider who’s minding her own business when she’s attacked by a swashbuckling fly.</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Mar. 28, 2025 – “<b>High Plains Centaur</b>” (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2MYDY5S" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Wyrd Wytchy West anthology</a>). When a gunslinging centaur shows up to run for sheriff and clean up the town, the crooked sheriff and his hired guns (a vampire and a drunken, red-eyed unicorn) fight back. But what is the centaur’s real purpose?</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Mar. 30, 2025 – Two stories: “<b>As a Matter of Fact the Universe Does Revolve Around Me</b>” and “<b>Pretty Pictures at War</b>” (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Between-Realms-Dragon-Press-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0DY8F8Y35" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Dragon Soul’s Between Realms Anthology</a>). In the first one, A teenage girl is literally the center of the universe, which revolves around her, and scientists cannot understand it. Then Galactic Citizens show up. In the second one, after a well-meaning 4-D being inadvertently humiliates him, a vengeful billionaire invades their 4-D universe with an army. Things don’t go as planned.</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I also sold two more stories. Yes, I get paid for all my SF stories as well as for my TT coaching!</span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">“<b>The Asteroid of Dinocles</b>” sold to the upcoming Space Dinos anthology.<span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; padding:0in"> The asteroid that was supposed to kill the dinosaurs instead went into orbit around Earth, for reasons you learn in the story. Velociraptors evolved (with pet lemurs), and with telescopes they see a building on the asteroid. This leads to a space race and the first landing on the asteroid. Nothing is as they expect, with a (hopefully) mind-blowing ending. (The title refers to the story of The Sword of Damocles - except instead of a sword hanging over them, it's this asteroid.)</span></span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">“<b>The Crab and the Cambrian Ghost</b>” sold to the upcoming Murderfish anthology. A paranoid hermit crab believes the world is out to get him and vows vengeance – and then meets a ghostly nautilus with unnatural powers.</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">***<br /> <a href="mailto:larry@larrytt.com" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Send us</a> your own coaching news!</span></span></p> </div></div> </div> <span class="field field-name-uid field-formatter-author field-type-entity-reference field-label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/3" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Larry Hodges</span></span> <span class="field field-name-created field-formatter-timestamp field-type-created field-label-hidden">Mon, 04/28/2025 - 16:18</span> <section class="field field-node--comment-node-blog field-formatter-comment-default field-name-comment-node-blog field-type-comment field-label-hidden display-mode-threaded comment-bundle-comment-node-blog comment-wrapper"> <a name="comments"></a></section> Mon, 28 Apr 2025 15:18:03 +0000 Larry Hodges 3651 at http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3651#comments March 17, 2025 http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3644 <span class="field field-name-title field-formatter-string field-type-string field-label-hidden">March 17, 2025</span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field-node--body field-formatter-text-default field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden has-single"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item"><p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>NEXT BLOG – APRIL 28– SEE SEGMENT BELOW</b></span></span><br /> <em><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>BUT TIPS EVERY MONDAY</b></span></span></em></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Tips of the Week</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">March 17, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3643" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Playing the Weird Style</a></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">March 24, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3645" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Your Racket Is Your Musical Instrument</a></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">March 31, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3646" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Study Opponents' Serves</a></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">April 7, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3647" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">How to Come Back from Down 0-2 in a Match</a></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">April 14, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3648" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Three Modes of Match Play - Serious, Practice, Beginner</a></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">April 21, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3649" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Belief, Focus, Play Free</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Cataracts and Next Blog April 28</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I’m putting my blog on hold temporarily, tentatively starting again on April 28. However, <i>there will still be a Tip of the Week every Monday.</i> (I’ve already written enough to get through June.)</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Why? Because my eyes have gotten so bad that just reading text on a screen (even enlarged) gives me headaches. I’ve blogged about my upcoming cataract surgeries (Mar. 25 and Apr. 8), but as the dates approach, my eyes are getting progressively worse. I’ve mostly given up on reading which to me is like giving up on eating – I usually read a few hours every day. But after 5 minutes of reading I get a headache. It’s the same for staring at a computer screen. I’m mostly seeing out of my left eye, which puts a strain on it. My right eye was measured at 20-150 a couple months ago, but seems to be worse now. My left eye was measured at 20-70 and also seems to have worsened. I usually write every day, but that’s mostly on hold now. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">One other side effect of the surgeries – I’m not supposed to do anything physical for two weeks after each surgery. Since they are two weeks apart, that means one month. Physical activity puts pressure on the eye and can damage them in the two weeks after the surgery. I demonstrated feeding multiball to the doctor, and he said it’s too much. So, during that month I can’t play table tennis, feed multiball, lift anything over ten pounds, and other restrictions. I even have to wear heavy sunglasses if I go outside to protect the eyes after the surgeries. I do have the okay to go for long walks, but have to walk leisurely, no brisk walking. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">So, until about April 28 or so I won’t be reading or staring at my computer screen too much, and starting March 25, playing table tennis or much of anything else. It’s going to be a boring time! (We have a tournament next weekend, March 22-23, so no group sessions that weekend, so I’m done with coaching until two weeks after the second surgery.) The only good news – I can watch movies or TV as watching them is not as painful as reading text on a screen. I’m thinking of watching from start to finish one of the two following shows that I’ve never seen, either The Sopranos (86 episodes, about 55 min each) or Star Trek Voyager (172 episodes, about 45 min each). I might have time to do both! (On a related note, my shoulder’s been bothering me again, so taking these five weeks off may be helpful there as well.) </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">One hopeful thought - even straining to see the ball, I was playing at about 2100 level. When I can actually see the ball clearly again instead of just a blur, maybe I'll be 2200 level again, not bad for age 65. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">And just for the record, after writing the above and below and proofing it, I once again have a headache...</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>My New Book - Psychologie, Mental et Tennis de Table</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">My 23rd book is out – but there’s a catch. <i>It’s in French!!!</i> It’s on sale at Amazon in France - <a href="https://www.amazon.fr/Psychologie-Mental-Tennis-Table-Hodges/dp/B0F1KFXQ7F/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Psychologie, Mental et Tennis de Table</a>. That roughly translates as “Psychology, Mental and Table Tennis.” The print version is 97 pages, with a kindle version coming later. David Salomez, who translated my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Table-Tennis-Tactics-Thinkers-Hodges/dp/1477643788" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers</a> into <a href="https://www.amazon.fr/Tactiques-Tennis-Table-Pongistes-Penseurs/dp/151143189X" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">French</a>, had the idea of taking my 50 best Tips of the Week that involve sports psychology, translating them into French, and putting them together as a book. (I okayed it and we worked out a split of the profits.) I might put it together in English later – not sure. I wrote a forward to it (which includes pointing out that I’m not a sports psychologist, that I’m writing from the perspective as an experienced coach with many decades of experience who’s also taken a lot of sports psychology sessions and read books on it, while recommending further reading, such as <a href="https://dorakurimay.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Dora Kurimay’s page and books</a>. When my eyes feel up to it, I’ll add the new book to <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/larryhodgesbooks" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">my book listing</a>.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Here’s the book’s description, as written by David and Google translated into English – and I didn’t see it until literally this morning:</span></span></p> <blockquote><p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">“An iconic figure in table tennis in the United States, Larry Hodges' reputation is well established internationally. Author of several table tennis books, including the best-selling <i>Table Tennis for Thinkers</i>, Larry offers no fewer than 50 tips for developing your mental strength and approaching each competition and/or match better equipped psychologically!”</span></span></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>US Nationals</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/2025-us-national-championships" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Entry form is out and you can now enter</a>. As I’ve done with every US Open and Nationals starting in 1999, I proofed the entry form (which these days they call the prospectus). Normally I have fun doing so, but this time it was painful due to my cataracts, and I had a massive headache during and afterwards. It’s the last serious reading I’ll be doing for a while. I’ve already entered – I’m playing lots of senior (with sponge) and hardbat events.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Weekend Coaching</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Between my eye and shoulder problems, it wasn’t a fun coaching weekend. Trying to watch a blurry little white ball flying about where one eye is almost blind and the other half blind causes eye strain, plus I’m trying not to aggravate the shoulder. We did the usual footwork drills, with an emphasis on active feet. I reminded players the importance of getting the feel of the stroke and contact right, and when you do it right, remember the feel of it and repeat. One kid learned how to serve backspin so the ball comes backwards. Some of the younger kids are getting good at hammering out fast serves that smack into targets I put deep on the table. I ended the sessions by mentioning I’d be away for a month, and explained briefly about the cataract surgery. Interestingly, one kid with glasses stayed after and grilled me all about the surgery – I think he’s a budding optometrist. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">***<br /> <a href="mailto:larry@larrytt.com" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Send us</a> your own coaching news!</span></span></p> </div></div> </div> <span class="field field-name-uid field-formatter-author field-type-entity-reference field-label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/3" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Larry Hodges</span></span> <span class="field field-name-created field-formatter-timestamp field-type-created field-label-hidden">Mon, 03/17/2025 - 15:50</span> <section class="field field-node--comment-node-blog field-formatter-comment-default field-name-comment-node-blog field-type-comment field-label-hidden display-mode-threaded comment-bundle-comment-node-blog comment-wrapper"> <a name="comments"></a></section> Mon, 17 Mar 2025 15:50:46 +0000 Larry Hodges 3644 at http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3644#comments March 10, 2025 http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3642 <span class="field field-name-title field-formatter-string field-type-string field-label-hidden">March 10, 2025</span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field-node--body field-formatter-text-default field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden has-single"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item"><p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Tip of the Week</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3641" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Where to Contact a Push</a>.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Weekend Coaching, Shoulder, Cataracts, and Writing</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">It always amazes me how fast kids can mimic shots. The key I’ve found is to make sure they have a good grip and proper foot positioning. If you get both of those right, and you show and guide them through the stroke, the rest falls into place as if you were holding two ends of a rubber band. Get either wrong, and the rubber band (the player) gets twisted. (Here’s my Tip from almost 13 years ago on this, <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/836" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Grip and Stance</a>.) Once they can do the stroke correctly, then you do a lot of multiball with them until they can also time it. And work from there until someday they can beat you!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I had a group of four junior players rotating with me in one session, mostly doing forehand footwork drills. None had ever done over 100 in a row before. By the end of the session, all four had done 200 or more. They are learning that (to paraphrase Yogi Berra), the game is 90% mental and the other half physical. The math might not work, but the gist of it is true – and with proper focus, getting one or two hundred in a row becomes easy. And it’ll pay off later on in matches. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I had some fun with the kids where I pointed out that according to the rules, you’re supposed to hit the ball on the far side of the table. That means that if you miss a shot, you are breaking the rules, and are therefore a cheater. The kids had fun calling each other “Cheater!” after that. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I finished my shoulder therapy this past week. The shoulder still has a small sore spot, but overall it’s back to near 100% usage. I went back into training this past week as I prepare for upcoming senior (sponge) and hardbat events. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">However, the next hurdle are cataracts. As I’ve mentioned, my eyes have really gotten bad, with 20-150 vision in the right, 20-70 in the left. I have cataract surgery on both coming up, on Mar. 25 and Apr. 8. After each surgery I cannot exercise for two weeks – and since they are two weeks apart, that means one month. That includes most coaching, even multiball training. I also have to wear wrap-around sunglasses if I go outside, avoid touching my eyes, never lift anything over 10 pounds, or just about anything else physical – it puts pressure on the eyes. But if all goes well, by late April/early May my thundering forehand will once again cause terror in the hearts of . . . those who play at a lower level than me. Even with the cataracts and shoulder issues, I was playing at a 2100 level – rating down to 2090 at age 65 – but I’m hoping this will get me back over 2200. We’ll see. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I’m also working on a big, secret writing project. Hint – it’s a new table tennis book I’m collaborated on with someone – and it’s in French! (Perhaps an English version later.) More on this later. I also did a bunch of science fiction writing, and sold a bunch – see segment at end!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Independent Director Kelly Watson Elected as USATT Board Chair (as Richard Char’s Illegal Term Ends)</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/march/10/independent-director-kelly-watson-elected-as-usatt-board-chair" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the USATT article</a> on Watson’s election at the USATT board meeting held on Thursday, Mar. 6. That finally ended Richard Char’s illegal third term as chair of the board. He served a total of 759 days (108 weeks and three days) after the USATT board elected him to the illegal term as chair on Feb. 6, 2023 – a stain on their legacy. It was pointed out to them before and after, but few would speak up or go against their leaders. Here’s my <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3580" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">July 1, 2024 blog</a> about it. Many of us will not forget this blatant disregard for the laws that govern our sport. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Major League Table Tennis</b><br /> Follow the action!</span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_daJbp3aKk" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Five Reasons Why I Love Major League Table Tennis</a> (3:51) from Matt Hetherington</span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.majorponghead.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Major Pong Head</a> (blog coverage)</span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/league/schedule/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Schedule</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Home Page</a></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Butterfly Training Tips and Highlights</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-oscar-birriel-backhand-flip/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Backhand Flip</a> (52 sec) with Oscar Birriel</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-taiwo-adeyinka-footwork-and-stroke-chemistry/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Footwork and Stroke Chemistry</a> (65 sec) with Taiwo Adeyinka</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-hong-lin-two-backhand-one-forehand-2/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Two Backhand, One Forehand</a> (54 sec) with Hong Lin</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-rogelio-castro-over-the-table-attacking/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Over the Table Attacking</a> (89 sec) with Rogelio Castro</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/bowmar-sports-tournament-highlights-2025-pan-am-cup-bella-xu-match-highlights/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">2025 Pan Am Cup Bella Xu Match Highlights</a> (83 sec)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Mastering the Art of Spin - Serve Like a Pro!</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n9_BEV3dWs" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (5:24) from Pingispågarna. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Prepare to Loop After Pushing</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5W-6w-xH_E" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (2:13) from PongSpace. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Level Up Backhand Topspin against Backspin in 5 Minutes</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tD0_EVFbn8" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (5:50) from Ti Long. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>The Day Truls Möregårdh SHOCKED The Tabletennis World!</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXTWa-kxNVU" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (6:01) from Beyond the Podium. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>My Practice with Ross: 1900 VS 2800!</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5jgo2tF7CI" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (13:51) from Enzo Angles. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Talkin' Smash by JOOLA Ep17: Evolving Your Training Regime</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtO0E7nsTXo" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (44:37) with Liam Pitchford and Matt Hetherington. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from PingSkills</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum#gsc.tab=0" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Ask the Coach</a></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>BEST POINTS | Top 16 Europe Cup 2025 from Spin Rally</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHOTWad0sv0" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">PART 1</a> (7:14).</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqrgeHERSTE" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">PART 2</a> (7:07)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/wtt-champions-chongqing-preview-jha-draws-felix-first/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">WTT Champions Chongqing Preview: Jha Draws Felix First</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/2025-rhode-island-high-school-team-table-tennis-championships/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">2025 Rhode Island High School Team Table Tennis Championships</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/a-celebration-of-international-womens-day/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">A Celebration of International Women’s Day</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/ittf-para-tier-structure-for-2025/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">ITTF Para Tier Structure for 2025</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/wtt-champions-chongqing-2025-kanak-jha-among-late-additions/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">WTT Champions Chongqing 2025: Kanak Jha Among Late Additions</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>2025 Pan American Table Tennis Cup: An Event Of Excellence In San Francisco</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/2025-pan-american-table-tennis-cup-an-event-of-excellence-in-san-francisco/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the article</a> by Edgardo Vazquez, National Coach from Puerto Rico</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from ITTF</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/03/10/sharath-kamal-set-to-retire-the-legend-who-redefined-indian-table-tennis/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Sharath Kamal Set to Retire: The Legend Who Redefined Indian Table Tennis</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/03/10/charge-of-intentional-misrepresentation-against-para-circuit-athlete-found-proven/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Charge of Intentional Misrepresentation Against Para Circuit Athlete Found Proven">Charge of Intentional Misrepresentation Against Para Circuit Athlete Found Proven</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/03/07/candidates-for-ittf-president/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Candidates for ITTF President">Candidates for ITTF President</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/03/07/candidates-for-ittf-executive-board/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Candidates for ITTF Executive Board">Candidates for ITTF Executive Board</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/03/06/ittf-accelerates-action-for-gender-equality-in-table-tennis/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="ITTF Accelerates Action for Gender Equality in Table Tennis">ITTF Accelerates Action for Gender Equality in Table Tennis</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/03/06/coach-suspended-for-10-years-following-anti-harassment-policy-violation-finding-by-ittf-tribunal/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Coach Suspended for 10 Years Following Anti-Harassment Policy Violation Finding by ITTF Tribunal">Coach Suspended for 10 Years Following Anti-Harassment Policy Violation Finding by ITTF Tribunal</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/03/05/exciting-ittf-development-initiatives-in-the-americas-ittf-consuteme-circle-8-mixed-team-competition/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Exciting ITTF Development Initiatives in the Americas: ITTF–CONSUTEME Circle 8 Mixed Team Competition">Exciting ITTF Development Initiatives in the Americas: ITTF–CONSUTEME Circle 8 Mixed Team Competition</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/03/05/the-future-begins-now-as-new-era-of-para-table-tennis-opens/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="The Future Begins Now as New Era of Para Table Tennis Opens">The Future Begins Now as New Era of Para Table Tennis Opens</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/03/04/media-accreditation-now-open-for-the-ittf-mens-womens-world-cup-macao-2025/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Media Accreditation Now Open for the ITTF Men's &amp; Women's World Cup Macao 2025">Media Accreditation Now Open for the ITTF Men's &amp; Women's World Cup Macao 2025</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Custom Team or Individual TT Shirts with Nice Graphics</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/PRIMESTY-Custom-Tennis-Personalized-Jersey/dp/B0DTLLWT3P?th=1" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s where you can buy them</a>!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Seven Table Tennis Cartoons from Saturday Evening Post</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2022/05/cartoons-ping-pong/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here they are</a>!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Adam Bobrow vs. Korean Olympian Shin Yu-bin</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95xmCAbS9iA&amp;ab_channel=AdamBobrow" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (15:12)!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Non-Table Tennis – Short Story Sales &amp; Publications</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">In my other life as a science fiction &amp; fantasy writer, I’ve had a flurry of sales recently, with six sales since Feb. 21, plus one story published. (Overall I’ve sold 233 short stories and 4 novels.) I’ll post when the issues come out. Here is a rundown:</span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Mar. 12, but already out: “<b>Two Democratic Civilizations Passing in the Twilight of the Boondocks of the Galaxy</b>” was published in <a href="https://comicsahoy.com/comics/babs-6" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">BAB’s #6 from Ahoy Comics</a>. While primarily a comic book, they include a SF story at the end of each issue, and I’ve sold them three. (They pay well!) A huge ship of galaxy-wandering snake-like art-loving aliens shows up, and since they slightly outnumber humans (it’s a big ship and they’re crammed into it) and since they worship democracy, they claim Earth as their own . . . and give us one hour to leave.</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Mar. 8: “<b>Thank You Miss Kittykat!</b>” sold to Amazing Stories anthology (resale). Humans genetically engineer dogs and cats for high intelligence and opposable thumbs. There’s a war, with humans and dogs allied against the cats. The cats win, and now . . . we're the pets.</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Mar. 5: “<b>High Plains Centaur</b>” sold to Wyrd Wytchy West anthology (resale). When a gunslinging centaur shows up to run for sheriff and clean up the town, the crooked sheriff and his hired guns (a vampire and a drunken, red-eyed unicorn) fight back. But what is the centaur’s real plan?</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Mar. 3: “<b>The AI Went Down to the Submissions Page</b>” sold to the Sci-Phi Journal. It's a takeoff on "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," where a human writer and an AI go head-to-head trying to sell a story, and things don't look so good for our poor human.</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Feb. 27: “<b>The Last Monologue</b>” sold to Ahoy Comics. A satiric confrontation between Red Dread, a woman trying to break the glass ceiling in the field of world domination, and the heroic mansplaining Agent 000.</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Feb. 24: “<b>NASA’s Plan</b>” sold to Chortle Magazine. A funny, rather silly look at NASA's asteroid defense plan. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Feb. 21: “<b>Rat Race</b>” sold to Zooscape Magazine. The story takes place a million years in the future. Humans are extinct, and rats have evolved to take their place. Zuk, a ratropologist – an expert in rat history – is stuck at a cubicle all day with a tail-yanking boss as he writes sensationalist articles for tabloids about ancient rat history and their mistreatment by humans, while mocking the homeless rats outside his window who live on leftover garbage and seem to be enjoying themselves. Zuk hates his life but doesn’t want to sink to the level of the homeless rats. What to do?</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">***<br /> <a href="mailto:larry@larrytt.com" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Send us</a> your own coaching news!</span></span></p> </div></div> </div> <span class="field field-name-uid field-formatter-author field-type-entity-reference field-label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/3" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Larry Hodges</span></span> <span class="field field-name-created field-formatter-timestamp field-type-created field-label-hidden">Mon, 03/10/2025 - 17:08</span> <section class="field field-node--comment-node-blog field-formatter-comment-default field-name-comment-node-blog field-type-comment field-label-hidden display-mode-threaded comment-bundle-comment-node-blog comment-wrapper"> <a name="comments"></a></section> Mon, 10 Mar 2025 17:08:35 +0000 Larry Hodges 3642 at http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3642#comments March 3, 2025 http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3640 <span class="field field-name-title field-formatter-string field-type-string field-label-hidden">March 3, 2025</span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field-node--body field-formatter-text-default field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden has-single"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item"><p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Tip of the Week</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3639" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Contact the Bottom of the Ball When Serving Backspin</a>.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Weekend Coaching</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I coached in three junior group sessions over the weekend, each 1.5 hours. One issue that came up a few times was balance. Many really don’t understand how important it is – but many top players and coaches consider it one of the most important things. If you are even slightly off balance, then before you can move the other way, you have to recover your balance, which is time you don’t have in many rallies. It’s especially important after you move to the wide corners, which is also when most players do go off balance – which is why they don’t recover in time, and then call out, <i>“I’m too slow!”</i> No – they weren’t too slow, they were off-balance. Here are eight Tips of the Week I’ve written over the years on balance and recovery.</span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/1287" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Balance Throughout the Stroke</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/590" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Balance Leads to Feet-first Footwork</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/706" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Balance is a Habit</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/2224" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Recover from the Previous Shot</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3367" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">If You Get Caught Out of Position, Either You Made a Mistake or Your Opponent Did Something Great </a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/668" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Forehands from the Backhand Corner</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3615" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">How to Do a Relentless Three-Point Attack</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3637" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Eight Quick Tips for Quicker Footwork</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Before one of the sessions started I brought out a new “ping-pong ball” – a miniature superball! I rallied with the kids using it, then let them hit with it among themselves. It was incredibly bouncy, hard to keep on the table. When it hit the floor, it inevitably bounced over the barriers, so I ended up acting as ballboy just to keep the ball from bouncing away. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Top Ten Ways to Become the Best Table Tennis Player in the World</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">So, which of these will launch you toward world table tennis domination?</span></span></p> <ol> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Practice really hard with a really good coach. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Be born in China with table tennis-playing parents who start you off early and then send you to the best coaches in the country. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Kill everyone in the world who is better than you. Since it’s difficult to find them all, just kill everyone. (Time to make use of your kill shot!)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Become immortal and outlast all those who are better than you. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Travel in time to the 1880s or earlier, before table tennis was invented. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Travel in time with your fancy sponge racket to the hardbat age, and if you are a 2200 or better looper with spinny serves, you’ll be the best in the world - at least until the best hardbat players get used to your loops and spinny serves. If you are less than 2200, then see #1 above. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Find an uninhabited world. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Dig a hole and go into it. If everyone better than you is ON the world, then you are the best player IN the world. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Find all the players who are better than you. Synchronize watches. Then, at an established time, have them all jump in the air so they are no longer in or on the world. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Add to the ITTF rulebook 2.5.15: “A player is defined as only [your name].”</span></span></li> </ol> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Illegal Chair of the USATT Board: Week 108</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">It’s now been 756 days (108 weeks) since USATT elected Richard Char to an illegal third term as chair of the USATT board on Feb. 6, 2023 – such a stain on their legacy. Here’s my <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3580" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">July 1 blog</a> about it. Normally the USATT board meets in Jan or Feb, but this year they haven’t had a meeting yet, and so Char continues as chair until the next board meeting, where they are required to vote for a new chair (assuming they follow the USATT bylaws this time). They have finally scheduled a board meeting on Zoom for this Thursday, Mar. 6 at 11AM eastern time. (Here’s the <a href="https://www.usatt.org/governance-and-financials/agenda-and-notices" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">USATT BOD Agendas and Notices</a> page. The notice of the meeting doesn’t include an agenda, which they usually do.) I don’t know who they’ll elect, but I do know that many of us will not forget this blatant disregard for USATT bylaws. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Major League Table Tennis</b><br /> Follow the action!</span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Home Page</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/league/schedule/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Schedule</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/alert-mltt-returned-this-past-friday-in-charlotte/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">ALERT: MLTT Returned This Past Friday in Charlotte!</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.majorponghead.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Major Pong Head</a> (blog coverage)</span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Butterfly Training Tips and Highlights</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-kou-lei-backhand-forehand-looping/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Backhand &amp; Forehand Looping</a> (67 sec) with Kou Lei</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/bowmar-sports-tournament-highlights-tiffany-ke-chinese-club-tournament-match-2/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Tiffany Ke Chinese Club Tournament Match 2</a> (5:52) – Tiffany has short pips on forehand. </span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from PongSpace</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DPQE_f53d8" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="How to Change the Direction of the Serve | Table Tennis Tutorial">How to Change the Direction of the Serve</a> (2:08)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mx2mtrkTJ8" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Table Tennis Serve Tactics | Table Tennis Tutorial">Table Tennis Serve Tactics</a> (3:59)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>What to Prepare For After a Long Backspin Serve</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvM9T1to9tk" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (4:30) from Ti Long.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Table Tennis Daily</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m0LbKJPuuI" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Ma Long vs Jan Ove Waldner | GOAT Battle">Ma Long vs Jan Ove Waldner | GOAT Battle</a> (4:57) – great exhibition points!</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LFRmzkRbHY" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="We Trained Like Pros! | Singapore Smash">We Trained Like Pros! | Singapore Smash</a>  (5:18)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from PingSkills</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum#gsc.tab=0" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Ask the Coach</a></span></span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from TT11TV</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quofxm6y-4o" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Truls Moregardh vs Anton Kallberg | Final 2025 Swedish National Championships</a> (14:51)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWt9Su2FRQE" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Wang Chuqin vs Liang Jingkun | Final Asian Cup 2025</a> (11:18)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/borussia-dusseldorf-wins-3-straight-to-extend-ttbl-lead/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Borussia Dusseldorf Wins 3 Straight to Extend TTBL Lead</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/world-cup-preview-continental-cup-semifinalists-punch-tickets-to-macao/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">World Cup Preview: Continental Cup Semifinalists Punch Tickets to Macao</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/yingbin-over-apolonia-in-cappadocia/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Yingbin over Apolonia in Cappadocia</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/latest-rankings-kanak-jha-reaches-26-lily-zhang-reaches-25/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Latest Rankings: Kanak Jha Reaches 26, Lily Zhang Reaches 25</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>NCTTA Supports High School Table Tennis in the USA</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="http://nctta.org/content/nctta-supports-high-school-table-tennis-usa" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the article</a>. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from USATT</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I’ve included all of the articles on the ITTF Pan Am Cup. </span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/february/26/usatt-partners-with-eleven-table-tennis-to-bring-virtual-reality-table-tennis-to-clubs-and-tournaments" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">USATT Partners with Eleven Table Tennis to Bring Virtual Reality Table Tennis to Clubs and Tournaments</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/february/24/kanak-jha-is-the-new-ittf-pan-american-cup-2025-men-s-champion-takahashi-wins-second-straight-women-s-title" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Kanak Jha is the New ITTF Pan American Cup 2025 Men’s Champion, Takahashi Wins Second Straight Women’s Title</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/february/23/pan-am-cup-2025-kanak-jha-and-lily-zhang-have-reached-the-finals" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Pan Am Cup 2025: Kanak Jha and Lily Zhang Have Reached the Finals</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/february/23/the-u-s-sends-three-into-the-pan-american-cup-semifinals" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">The U.S. Sends Three into the Pan American Cup Semifinals</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/february/22/usa-advancing-to-2025-pan-am-cup-quarterfinals" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">USA Advancing to 2025 Pan Am Cup Quarterfinals</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/february/20/2025-ittf-pan-american-cup-main-draw-set-after-prelim-round" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">2025 ITTF Pan American Cup Main Draw Set after Prelim Round</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/february/19/american-paris-olympic-stars-kanak-jha-lily-zhang-and-amy-wang-headline-2025-ittf-pan-american-cup" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">American Paris Olympic Stars Kanak Jha, Lily Zhang and Amy Wang Headline 2025 ITTF Pan American Cup</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from ITTF</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/03/01/road-to-macao-continental-cups-set-dramatic-stage-for-world-cup-showdown/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Road to Macao: Continental Cups Conclude, Setting Dramatic Stage for World Cup Showdown</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/02/24/road-to-macao-africas-best-vie-for-world-cup-qualification-at-the-ittf-african-cup-2025/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Road to Macao: Omar Assar and Hana Goda crowned champions as African Stars Secure Their Spots at the ITTF World Cup 2025">Road to Macao: Omar Assar and Hana Goda crowned champions as African Stars Secure Their Spots at the ITTF World Cup 2025</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Big Serve Table Tennis - Demo video by Peter Luxton</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9gTd0GydyA" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (7:36) – make sure to read the text under the video. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>I May Start Talking About Table Tennis At Any Time</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/Funny-Warning-Table-Tennis-Ping-Pong-by-FulviaContreras/99177138.IJ6L0" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s where you can buy the shirt</a>!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New Table Tennis Technique!</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gcwkbBw6M2w" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (8 sec), “This should be illegal in table tennis.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Floor Pong Challenge</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/1311234939905719" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (18 sec)!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>How to Destroy a Kid’s Weekend</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gcwkbBw6M2w" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (16 sec)</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Making History at Pongfinity Cup</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOy4XfPsyRA" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (19:32)! “We hosted the first ever Pongfinity Cup and competed in the men's singles class!”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">***<br /> <a href="mailto:larry@larrytt.com" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Send us</a> your own coaching news!</span></span></p> </div></div> </div> <span class="field field-name-uid field-formatter-author field-type-entity-reference field-label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/3" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Larry Hodges</span></span> <span class="field field-name-created field-formatter-timestamp field-type-created field-label-hidden">Mon, 03/03/2025 - 16:48</span> <section class="field field-node--comment-node-blog field-formatter-comment-default field-name-comment-node-blog field-type-comment field-label-hidden display-mode-threaded comment-bundle-comment-node-blog comment-wrapper"> <a name="comments"></a></section> Mon, 03 Mar 2025 16:48:12 +0000 Larry Hodges 3640 at http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3640#comments February 24, 2025 http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3638 <span class="field field-name-title field-formatter-string field-type-string field-label-hidden">February 24, 2025</span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field-node--body field-formatter-text-default field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden has-single"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item"><p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Tips of the Week</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Here are links to the last two, since I was out of town last week and didn’t have a blog to post the link from. </span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Feb. 17, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3636" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Forehand-Backhand Grip Changes</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Feb. 24, 2025: <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3637" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Eight Quick Tips for Quicker Footwork</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>2025 US Junior National Ranking Tournament I</b><br /> They were held Feb. 13-17 at the Westchester TTC in New York. MDTTC had ten junior players there and five coaches. Since players in different age groups never played at the same time, we had more coaches than we really needed. Result? I didn’t coach as many matches as I normally would in big tournaments or trials. Fortunately, the tournament director, Vlad Farcas, let me use one of the tables behind the control desk as a mini-office, and I spent my free time there, writing both table tennis tips and working on a pair of science fiction stories. (As many readers know, my world these days is equally split between TT and SF.) The good news – I now have Tips of the Week through May! </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">The tournament ran on time, with some delays when a previous round’s match ran late. There will be a second Ranking Tournament later this year, tentatively in late May or early June. Here are some links.</span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left: 8px;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://assets.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blteb7d012fc7ebef7f/blt074920c1ae8ea1f9/67a3bb014405de0de44b1cab/HP_Junior_National_Team_Selection_Overview_Updated_Jan_2025.pdf" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">2025 Junior National Team Selection Procedure</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left: 8px;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://stadiumcompete.com/tournament/1b4b7c48-c45d-44d2-85ca-0a59f741ec78" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Complete results</a>, care of Stadium TT</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left: 8px;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://rlondon.smugmug.com/Table-Tennis/Tournaments/2025-USATT-Junior-National-Team-Trials" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Pictures</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left: 8px;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.metrosportsmag.com/single-post/future-olympians-gather-in-westchester" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Future Olympians Gather at the Westchester Table Tennis Center for the 2025 USA Table Tennis Junior Ranking Tournament</a> (from Metro Sports Magazine)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Some of our MDTTC players did pretty well. Richik Ghosh, age 10, finished third in Under 11 Boys, and is now rated 2132. Ryan Lin, age 15, finished fourth in Under 17 Boys (with another year of eligibility), and is now rated 2459. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">For many players, a Trials isn’t just an event where they try to make the National Team – for most, that’s not likely. For those players it’s a time to gain experience and find out what’s needed so they can make it in the future. Some of our players were still playing in ways that won’t be helpful for this – but a Trials like this opens their eyes to what they have to do for next time. For example, one player has a good backhand loop in practice, but rarely uses it in tournaments. I told this player this is the LAST tournament where he/she doesn’t backhand loop regularly. Another hits too much on the forehand instead of looping – after this, he/she needs to loop everything on the forehand unless it’s above his/her eyes or a reflex block. Another needs more tournament experience. For those in contention for making a team, it’s payoff time. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Weekend Coaching</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I think the highlight of coaching this weekend was encouraging players to play the way they want to be playing one year from now. For many, that means less pushing and more attacking. As I keep emphasizing when they play practice games – up-down tables, games to 11 – if you can’t do it in these practice games, how will you ever do it in a tournament? The ones who fully grasp this and apply it will almost always become advanced players. One player received serves in a completely defensive backhand stance; we fixed that up. Another tried to “muscle” his loops rather than smoothly execute them, so I tried to convince him you get more power and control by relaxing and letting the muscles flow together rather than jerking mostly one muscle group, which is what you get when you try to muscle the ball. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>I Taught Steve Aoki Table Tennis</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVkqm_Bre60&amp;t=6s" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (5:42) from Matt Hetherington. Steven Hiroyuki Aoki is an American DJ and record producer. “I had the chance to spend a few days at Steve Aoki's house in Las Vegas teaching him how to play table tennis. I went along with US Olympians Kanak Jha and Amy Wang on the first night who left him mindblown and even more eager to learn. The next two nights were spent trying to work on as much basic foundation stuff as possible, and Steve picked it up super fast. We also threw in a couple of cold plunges! Steve is the only individual in the world with his own residential PingPod setup, and it's really cool!”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Coaching and News from All Over</b><br /> Since I’ve been away for two weeks, rather than try to list every interesting article, here are links to some of the main news and coaching pages that have been active in that time, and you can pick and choose. I’ll get back to linking to individual articles next week.</span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://butterflyonline.com/news/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Butterfly News and Coaching &amp; Video Tips</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">USATT News</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/news/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">ITTF News</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Major League Table Tennis</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="http://nctta.org/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">NCTTA News</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@pongspace9577/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">PongSpace</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIyhoU4jcjFWkeelzga-2qA/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Ti Long</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/Pingisp%C3%A5garna/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Pingispågarna</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@tacobackhand3294/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Taco Backhand</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://app.ttpronet.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">TTProNet</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.allabouttabletennis.com/how-to-play-table-tennis.html" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">All About Table Tennis</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://pingskills.com/blog" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">PingSkills Blog</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum#gsc.tab=0" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">PingSkills Ask the Coach</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@OlavKTTT/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Olav Kosolosky</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/tmfromsevilla" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Tenis de Mesa from Sevilla</a> (A lot of AI table tennis cartoons)</span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@AdamBobrow/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Adam Bobrow</a> – humorous TT videos</span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Pongfinity/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Pongfinity</a> – humorous TT videos</span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Table Tennis on The Pitt</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">There was table on the Feb. 13, 2025 episode of The Pitt (a medical drama), titles, “1:00 PM.” I didn’t see it, but I’m told a character said he was a player from the South Park Table Tennis Club, and he’d been injured playing table tennis. Here are two screen shots, care of Chip Patton:</span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">“...<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10226883286614812&amp;set=pcb.10226883302375206" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">by the South Park Table Tennis Club.</a>” (Here’s the <a href="https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/480537038_10226883286694814_5578183151955239205_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&amp;ccb=1-7&amp;_nc_sid=127cfc&amp;_nc_ohc=mcXUrUJVw7gQ7kNvgEvGYkL&amp;_nc_oc=AdgVADbgysPLEbB30CeLTN3sxwnOnJrquK0Nd_CfGkOI9xsNkt45jgYB1xrNiKl8QywyR4byJ7mmJVEDI5Pi1BTP&amp;_nc_zt=23&amp;_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&amp;_nc_gid=AK9pIHBlm5-wHiaejTReHNK&amp;oh=00_AYC5IxZAw_zXivoU0vZsWHKP4xYSzfiGErMAqGDJyyb7dw&amp;oe=67C27934" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">non-Facebook version</a>.) </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">“<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10226883286374806&amp;set=pcb.10226883302375206" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">My goal is to get a rating over 2,000.</a>” (Here’s the <a href="https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/480327140_10226883286414807_3801234798906501818_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&amp;ccb=1-7&amp;_nc_sid=127cfc&amp;_nc_ohc=u7ptsElYkWoQ7kNvgELDhu1&amp;_nc_oc=AdiOj9KRxFzYJqQ1f1aD1Cp5eJtr_j2aNDSheo6JRpNMUxWlM_18b83osLg4mFvNKAuqFX04vy_rM-TQOdD4H1O7&amp;_nc_zt=23&amp;_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&amp;_nc_gid=AHvVWTIyHoFxcJ-5uyCdi_C&amp;oh=00_AYBnxqJPFTOs7GLhztIrieGW9x2HO1y9CMmuCyFweNHykg&amp;oe=67C29D31" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">non-Facebook version</a>.) </span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Panda Table Tennis Shirts</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Here are three.</span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Table-Tennis-Panda-Tabletennis-T-Shirt/dp/B0DJTF91JY" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Table Tennis: Because it’s more fun than chewing bamboo</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Panda-Tennis-Funny-Player-T-Shirt/dp/B0CTCL8CJZ" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">All I want to do is table tennis</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ping-Pong-Player-Tennis-T-Shirt/dp/B09JZX4N9G" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Running panda player</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Cat Pong</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=9175980835772034" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the latest video</a> (17 sec)! This cat is good – I want it in my junior training program. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Huge Number of Colorful Ping-Pong Balls Dropped Down Stairs</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qwSe6Wozuro" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (27 sec)!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>A Table for Two on Valentine’s Day</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Here’s the cartoon! (Here’s the <a href="https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/479497347_10170582420940162_6282894433855080703_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p180x540_tt6&amp;_nc_cat=102&amp;ccb=1-7&amp;_nc_sid=833d8c&amp;_nc_ohc=mXDmYWa0uTsQ7kNvgGj82FZ&amp;_nc_oc=AdgX8qi2rTJqvV0er3X5T4NMdT5tZC591miS0HTRA5DF_oMfu_YdKCwujohw9dDpTA1_HemFNZ1Z17RNMpA1vYZs&amp;_nc_zt=23&amp;_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&amp;_nc_gid=AfAlJ_zZzByBRoAo7_pr0-e&amp;oh=00_AYBMaISmACwkVPg8rYGyEO8kWHrxEq2PwXdVkrkV7S26Bw&amp;oe=67C29130" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">non-Facebook version</a>.) </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Non-Table Tennis - Tucson and Tombstone, Feb. 18-21</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Last Tuesday morning, right after the Junior Team Trials, I flew out to Tucson, Arizona, for three days of vacation there and in Tombstone. It was a great experience – I needed the break, and I came back not only more revved, but I also have all sorts of upcoming writing plans, both TT and SF. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">In Tucson, I visited the Tucson Desert Museum, the Pima Air &amp; Space Museum, and the Mission San Xavier del Bac. In Tombstone, I saw all four 30-minute Old West gunfight shows. One was a re-enactment of the actual famed gunfight at the OK Corral, taking place on the actual spot it took place, which was actually down the street from the actual OK Corral, which is where we entered and bought tickets. Two others re-enacted other famous gunfights, and the fourth was a comedy gunfight show. The main street in Tombstone is Allen Steet, and I visited all the shops there and bought more <a href="https://www.larrytt.com/images/Tombstone-Tucson-souvenirs.jpg">souvenirs </a>than usual. (</span></span>8 magnets, 2 books, 3 figurines, a blue geode, fool's gold, and 3 American flags stuck in my French toast breakfasts all three mornings in Tombstone.) I<span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"> visited Boot Hill (which included a printout of who was in each grave – some interesting people there), took the Trolly Tour, went on a deep underground tour of an old silver mine, did the Ghosts and Gunslingers of the Wild West tour, saw the Tombstone Historama, visited Wyatt Earp’s house, and visited four museums: the OK Corral Museum, the Old Courthouse State Park Museum, the Epitaph Newspaper Museum, and the Rose Tree 1880’s Mining Museum (which also has the world’s largest rose tree in the world, about 90 feet across!). Alas, the Gunfighter Hall of Fame Museum was closed for the week. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">One surprising highlight – <i>the stars!</i> Due to light pollution, you can only see a few in Maryland. Many decades ago, in the Boy Scouts on camping trips on Old Rag Mountain and other places, I remember seeing it for real – massive numbers of stars and the Milky Way itself. Out in Tombstone, far from most city lights, the stars were out again. I spent considerable time just staring at them. I also spent some time just walking up and down Allen Street, knowing Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday, all walked the same ground. I also found the spot where Morgan was shot and killed, and where Virgil was shot and badly injured. I even retraced the steps that the Earps and Holliday took on their way to the big shootout. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Non-Table Tennis – “The Worshippers Themselves” and “Rat Race”</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">My story “The Worshippers Themselves” (3000 words) came out last week in <a href="https://blackcatweekly.com/b/Q5dga" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Black Cat Weekly</a>, my second sale to them. On a faraway star system an alien genius is locked up in an insane asylum because he believes the whispers they all hear in their heads, which the leadership claims they are imagining, are actually the prayers of beings from a faraway star system pleading for help. He decides to seek the truth by finding these people and answering their prayers – with great difficulty and unexpected results. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">On Friday, I sold “Rat Race” (2800 words) to Zooscape Magazine. (They specialize in "furry" stories with anthropomorphic animals.) The story takes place a million years in the future. Humans are extinct, and rats have evolved to take their place. Zuk, a ratropologist – an expert in rat history – is stuck at a cubicle all day with a tail-yanking boss as he writes sensationalist articles for tabloids about ancient rat history and their mistreatment by humans, while mocking the homeless rats outside his window who live on leftover garbage and seem to be enjoying themselves. Zuk hates his life but doesn’t want to sink to the level of the homeless rats. What to do? </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">***<br /> <a href="mailto:larry@larrytt.com" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Send us</a> your own coaching news!</span></span></p> </div></div> </div> <span class="field field-name-uid field-formatter-author field-type-entity-reference field-label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/3" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Larry Hodges</span></span> <span class="field field-name-created field-formatter-timestamp field-type-created field-label-hidden">Mon, 02/24/2025 - 18:10</span> <section class="field field-node--comment-node-blog field-formatter-comment-default field-name-comment-node-blog field-type-comment field-label-hidden display-mode-threaded comment-bundle-comment-node-blog comment-wrapper"> <a name="comments"></a></section> Mon, 24 Feb 2025 18:10:26 +0000 Larry Hodges 3638 at http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3638#comments February 10, 2025 http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3635 <span class="field field-name-title field-formatter-string field-type-string field-label-hidden">February 10, 2025</span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field-node--body field-formatter-text-default field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden has-single"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item"><p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>No Blog on February 17, but There Will Be a Tip of the Week</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I’ll be out of town, coaching at the US Junior Trials, July 13-17. Next blog will be Feb. 24.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Tip of the Week</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3634" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Why Are You Attacking Heavy Backspin Into the Net?</a></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>MDTTC Open and the US Junior Trials</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.omnipong.com/T-tourney.asp?t=103&amp;r=4407" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here are the results</a> of the MDTTC Open held this past weekend. For some, it was a warmup for the upcoming US Junior Trials next week. I coached and watched a number of matches on Saturday, focusing on the players I may be coaching at the Trials. I’ve spoken to some of them on their preparation, especially the sports psychology aspect. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">The Junior Trials are at the Westchester TTC in New York, about a four-hour drive away, Feb. 13-17. We have ten players competing, with five MDTTC coaches going. Vlad Farcas, who is running the Trials, held a roughly one-hour Zoom meeting on Saturday night (57 participants) to go over everything. Main thing of interest was the new Trials system, a progressive format where players play single elimination, but each round the winners go into a higher bracket, losers into a lower one. It’s apparently similar to the Swiss System that USATT used to use for Trials (circa 1990s), but has some major differences. I don’t think there’s an online explanation yet – when/if there is, I’ll link to it, either adding it here or in my next blog when I write about the Trials. I’ll learn more about the system at the Trials. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">The Trials are Thu-Mon. We’ll be driving up on Wednesday. Could be slow – it’s supposed to snow on Tuesday, and perhaps more on Wednesday. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Shoulder and Fitness and Eyes, Oh My!</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">The good news is that I got the okay to start training again. They did an MRI on my shoulder, and it’s a small tendon tear of the rotator cuff. But it’s not severe enough to warrant taking more time off. I’m still doing shoulder therapy with a trainer and daily exercises, mostly with an elastic band. I have to avoid really extending my arm out too quickly, but I can do normal table tennis training now. One key thing – since hitting aggressive backhands is what really bothers the shoulder, rather than do that for, say, 5-7 minutes, I only do it for at most two minutes, but come back to it several times in a training session. It so happens that playing my backhand more aggressively is a key thing I’m working on, so this is a major focus. I did two sessions last week with fellow coach Lidney Castro, and they went well, except. . . </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">. . . after taking six weeks off, I’m out of shape again!!! Not as bad as it was last August, but training was exhausting, and I had to stop several times to catch my breath. The problem is I insist on doing drills at the essentially same pace and intensity as I did years ago, including various footwork drills – but I’ll be 65 in a few weeks. My theory is simple – use it or lose it. That means both continuing to practice covering as much of the table with my forehand attack as possible, and drilling at the fastest pace I can do consistently. (But the one major concession is I’m really working on my backhand attack since I physically do have to play that more now in games.) The problem – I’m very consistent in drills, and so some of these footwork drill rallies go on and On and ON – until I finally smack a winner just to end it so I can catch my breath. I’m not just out of breath but my legs also start to die. But it’ll get better the more I do it. One funny thing – as Lidney also agrees, when I’m rested, I’m 2200 (with glasses – see below), but as soon as I get tired, my level drops dramatically, to perhaps a struggling 1900. When the legs go, I simply can’t move effectively. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">One other key thing – at the advice of the optometrist, I pulled out my old glasses from almost a decade ago, when I stopped wearing them. (I’m one of those weird cases where as I aged, my distance vision got better and better but I started to need reading glasses. It’s only this past year that the cataracts began clouding my vision.) As readers here know, I’m having cataract surgery in both eyes (March 25 and April 8), and until then my vision is very poor – 20-70 in my left eye, 20-150 in my right, which is horrible. But I made an incredible discovery – I can see much better with the old glasses, so I’m wearing them now when I train, and can read spin MUCH better. With the cataract surgery, it’ll be even better. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>USATT Lifetime Member Jim Mossberg Establishes First Table Tennis Scholarship at Virginia Tech</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/february/03/usatt-lifetime-member-jim-mossberg-establishes-first-table-tennis-scholarship-at-virginia-tech" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the USATT article</a>, by Barbara Wei. Jim Mossberg is a long-time player and leader in Maryland Table Tennis and a big help to me when I started playing in 1976. He ran the New Carrollton TTC where I played for years, and ran numerous local tournaments that I played in. He was also one of the first locals to develop a good backhand loop against backspin – something I wish I’d copied back then rather than deciding to become an all-out forehand attacker! </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>TTProNet</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://app.ttpronet.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s TTProNet</a>, which was created and is operated by Robert Gardos. I wrote about them in <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3633" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">my blog last week</a>. They did take my suggestion to have intro info in the Welcome/Login page. (If you are not registered, the link takes you there; if you are registered, it takes you to your Dashboard.) Here’s the new info on the Login Page:</span></span></p> <p style="margin-left:48px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">With <b>25+ years of professional experience</b> and <b>18 years in the World Top 50</b>, I know what truly matters in table tennis. That’s why I created <b>TTProNet</b>, the ultimate platform for players, clubs, and coaches. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>TTProNet is built on 3 key pillars:</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:56px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list 1.0in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Connections</b> – Find players, clubs, coaches, and opportunities with no middlemen.</span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:56px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list 1.0in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Academy</b> – Everything about table tennis: technique, training, fitness, yoga, meditation, nutrition, physiotherapy, and planning.</span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:56px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list 1.0in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Forum</b> – Exchange ideas, learn from the best, and improve every day.</span></span></span></li> </ul> <p style="margin-left:48px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Register for FREE and become part of the world’s biggest table tennis community.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Mastering Doubles Table Tennis: Key Strategies</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.feedspot.com/fs/tk/GEbRwGUf5%2Bod5ukZ28kZyd8SybJaFSgXTu7xGtjOGczjFsCsnE4rKiLxGVkYBVnT3hH27J1Q4SZGFRVRCQVHBRBF%2Ba6RWCDlF%2BHjGtPFGMgcQwf0k1scJEzeFVQZ91L%2BIg8I4ZBVGONZFh9TDQgTBBRbwfOiWxQqShgaShfCXQIjSsH2l00YJRQ%3D" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the article and video</a> (10:57) courtesy of Sean O’Neill. (Video is in Japanese but demonstrates doubles techniques.) After reading the article, you might want to get my book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXJ9JNBV" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Table Tennis Doubles for Champions</a>! </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Major League Table Tennis</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Follow the action!</span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Home Page</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/league/schedule/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Schedule</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.majorponghead.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Major Pong Head</a> (blog coverage)</span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Best Tips from Fan Zhendong</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/best-tips-from-fan-zhendong-tip-3-backhand-topspin-against-topspin/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Tip #3 – Backhand Topspin Against Topspin</a> (2:27)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/best-tips-from-fan-zhendong-tip-4-backhand-topspin-against-backspin/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Tip #4 – Backhand Topspin Against Backspin</a> (3:20)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Butterfly Training Tips </b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-angel-naranjo-forehand-backhand-smash/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Forehand &amp; Backhand Smash</a> (57 sec) with Angel Naranjo</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-arantxa-cossio-aceves-random-sequence-looping/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Random Sequence Looping</a> (60 sec) with Arantxa Cossio Aceves</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-anav-gupta-middle-forehand-middle-backhand-2-2/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Middle, Forehand, Middle, Backhand</a> (68 sec) with Anav Gupta</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/bowmar-sports-tournament-highlights-tiffany-ke-chinese-inner-club-tournament/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Tiffany Ke Chinese Inner Club Tournament</a> (highlights, 4 min. She has short pips on forehand.)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>MH Table Tennis</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">After a long break, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@MHTableTennis/videos" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Matt Hetherington is back</a>! Here are his recent videos over the past two weeks. (A number of them were taken at MDTTC.)</span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVkqm_Bre60" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="I Taught Steve Aoki Table Tennis 🏓">I Taught Steve Aoki Table Tennis</a> (5:43)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f34wavrcIt0" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="My #1 Tip for Improving Footwork for Developing Players">My #1 Tip for Improving Footwork for Developing Players</a> (2:23)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmBptVi36Ww" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Serious About Table Tennis? Go to China. At Least Once!">Serious About Table Tennis? Go to China. At Least Once!</a> (11:07)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRzywr0UfJw&amp;t=11s" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Tips from a 5-Time Olympian on Building a Better Backhand">Tips from a 5-Time Olympian on Building a Better Backhand</a> (2:27)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTLE5cSCqFg" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="VLOG: The Struggles of Returning to Practice After a Long Break">VLOG: The Struggles of Returning to Practice After a Long Break</a> (5:18)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS-cRTbpzzs" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="JJ Lin Introducing Me to the Audience 🥹">JJ Lin Introducing Me to the Audience</a> (1:12)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14p3FqtY5xs" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Daniel Gorak v Petr Korbel MS Final Highlights">Daniel Gorak v Petr Korbel MS Final Highlights</a> (4:10)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6QTApqucG8" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Taking on Chongqing’s Future Stars Part 2">Taking on Chongqing’s Future Stars Part 2</a> (2:47)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdxrsy3wHSs" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Taking on Chongqing’s Future Stars part 1">Taking on Chongqing’s Future Stars part 1</a> (3:35)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Ti Long</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RumQ9XmLWlM" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Ti Long training camp at JJS SKY HAWK 2nd time - 2024">Ti Long training camp at JJS SKY HAWK 2nd time - 2024</a> (7:09)</span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpdEPwSLNbU" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Ti Long and his mother attend training camp in Mumbai">Ti Long and his mother attend training camp in Mumbai</a> (9:31)</span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Enzo Angles</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3dQyGnR4xI" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Can you IMPROVE at Table Tennis by Playing VR ?">Can you IMPROVE at Table Tennis by Playing VR ?</a> 8:35)</span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kng_Ko-OWHE" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="6 Reasons Why Getting Angry Can Make You a Better Table Tennis Player !">6 Reasons Why Getting Angry Can Make You a Better Table Tennis Player !</a> (13:06)</span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Why (NOT) Serve From the Corner of the Table? (T&amp;S EP. 05)</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGyMVaXQFfs" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (12:34) from Olav Kosolosky</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Backhand Counter Roadmap</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEFpPhug43k" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (16:16) from Drupe Pong. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Tips to Improve Your Mental Strength in Ping Pong</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3edS0UhZMOo" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (3:20) from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=channel_header&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbC1feFRKTVhJYklvQmVNeHZ2QmNWS3YtSnNvd3xBQ3Jtc0trTW1nZG5ucWx2WmVFMFZwR1ZzQWV6MEhhV3kxcHRHTzRnYWd1aDdfbXJhRHRVd3duTTIyWFF2V21mQkM2RWtCd3A0S3dWVTlkN2pUTVJGcVpqUDdGZDkxa2xFNmwtYTBMbmRBbGZ0ZjRPSngyVEt4cw&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FPingispagarna" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Pingispagarna</a>.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Mental Training Tip – From Wishful Thinking to Reality: The WOOP Approach for New Year Goals</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/mental-training-tip-from-wishful-thinking-to-reality-the-woop-approach-for-new-year-goals/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the article</a> by Dr. Alan Chu, Ph.D., CMPC.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>When to Attack with Long Pips</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FkbpCVe0NA" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (2:55) with Yang Xiaoxin from Pongspace. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from PingSkills</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum#gsc.tab=0" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Ask the Coach</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.pingskills.com/podcast/show-377-the-zen-tree-and-table-tennis" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Show #377 - The Zen Tree and Table Tennis</a> (33:18)</span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Stanislav Gomozkov | The Father Of The Modern Backhand</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVG_nHb7csw" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (4:30) from Table Tennis Media.<br /> EDIT - Some disagree with the idea of Gomozkov as the "Father of the Modern Backhand." And it's true that his backhand is more of a punch, which some top players do use (including me), but not as their primary backhand, which is more of a topspin backhand close to the table. As John Olsen wrote to me: </span></span></p> <blockquote><p>I saw this video, not even close to being true, Russian propaganda. Gomoskov had a "racket higher than wrist" drive backhand, very steady but nothing like a modern high elbow spinny backhand. The modern backhand is generally credited to Antun Stipancic: <br /> <a data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="5" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLvZwj2duUk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLvZwj2duUk">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLvZwj2duUk</a></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Great Fishing and Lobbing Rally</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/626180973132996" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (72 sec) – with a big finish! From a coaching perspective, the one smashing is telegraphing the direction of his smashes with his shoulders. He needs to hide the direction until just before contact or change the direction just as he’s about to smash. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Nvidia CEO scrubbed floors to pay for table tennis tournaments in high school—now he's worth $115 billion</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2024/12/17/nvidia-ceo-scrubbed-floors-to-pay-for-table-tennis-tournaments-in-high-school.html" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the article</a> on Jensen Huang from CNBC. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Lin Shidong: China’s New PRODIGY? – Breaking Barriers at Just 18!</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCDBHeqdsCE" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (5:12) from Beyond the Podium. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/singapore-smash-update-both-americans-runs-end/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Singapore Smash Update: Americans Bow Out After Successes</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/kanak-jha-upsets-moregard-to-reach-final-16/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Kanak Jha Upsets Moregard to Reach Final 16</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/lily-wins-again-in-singapore/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Lily Wins Again in Singapore</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/whos-on-top-us-men/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Who’s On Top – US Men</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/shidong-shines-in-singapore/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Shidong Shines in Singapore</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/new-no-1-shidong-and-jingkun-reach-final-in-singapore/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">New No.1? Shidong and Jingkun Reach Final in Singapore</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/ittf-pan-american-cup-2025-present-by-j-p-morgan/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Don’t Miss Out The ITTF Pan American Cup 2025 – Present by J.P Morgan</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from ITTF</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/02/10/europes-table-tennis-finest-converge-world-cup-qualification-showdown-in-montreux/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Europe's Table Tennis Finest Converge: World Cup Qualification Showdown in Montreux</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/02/08/ittf-attu-asian-cup-2025-continental-titans-compete-for-world-cup-spots/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup 2025: Continental Titans Compete for World Cup Spots ">ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup 2025: Continental Titans Compete for World Cup Spots</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/02/06/countdown-to-doha-100-days-until-the-ittf-world-championships-finals-2025/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Countdown to Doha: 100 Days Until the ITTF World Championships Finals 2025">Countdown to Doha: 100 Days Until the ITTF World Championships Finals 2025</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/02/05/ittf-participation-program-new-olympic-cycle-heralds-expanded-global-vision-for-2025/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="ITTF Participation Program: New Olympic Cycle Heralds Expanded Global Vision for 2025">ITTF Participation Program: New Olympic Cycle Heralds Expanded Global Vision for 2025</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/02/05/ittf-pan-american-cup-2025-continents-top-players-battle-for-world-cup-spots/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="ITTF Pan American Cup 2025: Continent's Top Players Set to Battle for World Cup Spots ">ITTF Pan American Cup 2025: Continent's Top Players Set to Battle for World Cup Spots</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>There’s No Crying in Table Tennis</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Theres-No-Crying-Tennis-T-Shirt/dp/B0D4TFQNBV" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Shirt Version #1</a> (this is the one to get!)</span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Table-Tennis-Funny-Ping-Pong/dp/B07XLV8YDX" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Shirt Version #2</a></span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Makoroni-THERES-CRYING-Unique-COFFEE/dp/B07YRD44ZT" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Mug Pink</a></span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Makoroni-THERES-CRYING-Unique-Coffee/dp/B07YRDWXNW" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Mug Blue</a></span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://fineartamerica.com/featured/theres-no-crying-in-table-tennis-funny-ping-pong-the-perfect-presents.html" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Wall Artwork</a> (also pillow, puzzle, bag, stationary, phone case, beach towel, mugs, and shirts)</span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Portland MiLTT Preview</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/100000289388369/videos/625418106731929" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (1:25)! </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Epic Cartoon Table Tennis Battle</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QXiJullchg" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> – the first 3:35 are table tennis. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Which Shots Are Illegal?</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xJfuk_ZBuZU" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (17 sec)! Wait, you can’t shove your opponent?!!!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Ping Pong Pots</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HHVZTtRVnTU" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (31 sec) – kids (and adults) – why not raid your kitchen for pots and try this?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Four-Table Pong</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8CprwIKr5Jw" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (41 sec)!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Pongfinity vs. World's Best Team</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcYGjawJ-ws" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (13:06)!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">***<br /> <a href="mailto:larry@larrytt.com" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Send us</a> your own coaching news!</span></span></p> </div></div> </div> <span class="field field-name-uid field-formatter-author field-type-entity-reference field-label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/3" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Larry Hodges</span></span> <span class="field field-name-created field-formatter-timestamp field-type-created field-label-hidden">Mon, 02/10/2025 - 18:32</span> <section class="field field-node--comment-node-blog field-formatter-comment-default field-name-comment-node-blog field-type-comment field-label-hidden display-mode-threaded comment-bundle-comment-node-blog comment-wrapper"> <a name="comments"></a></section> Mon, 10 Feb 2025 18:32:16 +0000 Larry Hodges 3635 at http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3635#comments February 3, 2025 http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3633 <span class="field field-name-title field-formatter-string field-type-string field-label-hidden">February 3, 2025</span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field-node--body field-formatter-text-default field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden has-single"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item"><p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Tip of the Week</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3632" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Tactical Observations for the Subconscious</a>.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Weekend Coaching</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I think one of the most important aspects of a junior training program is to <i>make things interesting</i>. It’s very easy for the coach to just send the players out to the table and call out the same old drills, session after session, focusing on rote learning and discipline. But kids aren’t robots. You have to make it interesting so they <i>want</i> to improve. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Why would a kid want to work hard to improve at something they are not interested in? They may go through the motions, but if their heart isn't in it, then they aren't going to improve nearly as fast as one who really wants it. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I find the key to that is to constantly challenge them, often with new things. Kids who come early often get the chance to try to return my serves – and since I assure them, “My serves cannot be returned,” the challenge is right there! And yes, they are hooked both with fascination at the various spins and the challenge to return them, which they (eventually) inevitably do, especially when I give out hints on how to do so. I always pretend frustration when they do so, and say, “You’re just lucky, you’ll never do it again” – which is, of course, another challenge. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">In drills, I find it’s often good, once their technique is pretty good, to count how many shots they get in a row – challenge them to set new personal records. Or in multiball or serve practice put targets on the table and challenge them to hit them. (I think I have convinced a few of them that my cheap water bottles are actually “$1000 Target Specials,” and if they hit them, they’ll get damaged – so, as I tell them, I put them in the safest place I can find, on the table, since, “You’re not good enough to hit it.” Another challenge!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">For service practice, I’ll challenge them to serve backspin so the ball stops or rolls backwards into the net – and I show how to do this, often serving a little high at first, and gradually learning to do this with a low serve. With a sidespin serve, I’ll line up two bottles and challenge them to curve the ball around the first bottle and hit the second. When they can do these things, then they can put tremendous spin on the ball, and just as importantly, they can control the serve – both keys to a good serve. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Two key things are 1) even when doing this, I’m making sure they use good technique, and 2) surprisingly, by having them aim at targets they are learning to let their subconscious take control of their shots, which is what you have to do in games. I remind them of this, showing how I can consistently smack a bottle from eight feet away if I don’t consciously aim at it, instead letting my subconscious take over, i.e., my training, while if I try to consciously aim, my accuracy goes down dramatically. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I think some or most of the top junior players that came out of my club (and presumably others) started out as beginning kids fascinated by the sport, and that made them self-motivated and determined to be great. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Major League Table Tennis on CBS Sports</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">They had their first major TV broadcast last night on CBS Sports. (Here’s the news item, <a href="https://mltt.com/cbs-sports-television-agreement/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Major League Table Tennis Announces National Television Agreement with CBS Sports</a>.) It was an hour long, with Texas Smash coming from behind to defeat the Seattle Spinners, with Nandan Naresh scoring the decisive point at the end in the "Golden Game." Commentating were Evan Lepler (play by play) and Matt Hetherington (color). I thought it was well presented. It was fun listening in on the tactical advice given between games – though much of it was more motivational. I had my own tactical thoughts. For example, when Amy Wang was playing, I remembered the “Amy Rules” I developed years ago when I coached against her a number of times. (Basically, two firm tactical rules to follow when playing her. Don’t worry, Amy, I’ll keep them secret!) I have (or used to have) similar “rules” for playing many of the top US players, developed from many hours of watching live and on video. </span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Home Page</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.majorponghead.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Major Pong Head</a> (blog coverage)</span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Why Table Tennis Really Is Chess at Light Speed</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://blog.paddlepalace.com/2012/09/table-tennis-tip-why-table-tennis-really-is-chess-at-light-speed/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the article</a> I wrote for Paddle Palace back in 2012. For some reason it’s recently been making the rounds online. I wonder if anyone from the world of chess has seen it?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>TT Pro Net</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://app.ttpronet.com/login" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">It’s live</a>! You have to register first. Pro player Robert Gardos is behind it. (I suggested they put some of the info below in the front page so players have a reason to register.) I’m told, “TTProNet is an innovative platform designed to enhance the table tennis experience for enthusiasts around the globe. Accessible from anywhere, it offers a comprehensive suite of features tailored to meet the needs of players, coaches, and fans alike. I haven’t had time to explore it myself – I’ll leave that to you – but I’m told its key features are:</span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Global Connectivity: Connect with fellow table tennis enthusiasts worldwide, fostering a vibrant community that transcends geographical boundaries. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Comprehensive Resources: Access a wealth of information, including training materials, match analyses, and the latest news in the table tennis world. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Event Tracking: Stay informed about upcoming tournaments and events, no matter where you are, ensuring you never miss an opportunity to engage with the sport. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Personalized Experience: Tailor your experience to your preferences, receiving content and updates that align with your interests and skill level. By leveraging these features, TTProNet aims to make table tennis more accessible and engaging for individuals across the globe, providing tools and resources that can be utilized from any location. </span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Best Tips from Fan Zhendong – Tip #2 – Forehand Topspin Against Backspin</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/best-tips-from-fan-zhendong-tip-2-forehand-topspin-against-backspin/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (2:10). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Butterfly Training Tips </b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-maybelline-menendez-modified-falkenburg/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Modified Falkenburg</a> (49 sec) with Maybelline Menendez. NOTE – I like this version and may start using it. A key thing is I think I’ll have the player play the second backhand more aggressively than the first, though both should be aggressive. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-hong-lin-two-backhand-one-forehand/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Two Backhand, One Forehand</a> (54 sec) with Hong Lin</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-rachid-el-bou-bou-forehand-loop-footwork/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Forehand Loop &amp; Footwork</a> (54 sec) with Rachid El Bou Bou</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-angel-naranjo-backhand-chop-block-forehand-loop-pivot/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Backhand Chop Block &amp; Forehand Loop Pivot</a> (58 sec) with Angel Naranjo</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Ti Long</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92dUz8VddPM" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="How to return a serve Pendulum half long">How to return a serve Pendulum half long</a> (3:55) – good explanation on how to backhand attack these serves. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uluQ20zrj2g" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="How to do Forehand Topspin against Backspin without using knees">How to do Forehand Topspin against Backspin without using knees</a> (4:42)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from PingSkills</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.pingskills.com/podcast/show-377-the-zen-tree-and-table-tennis" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Show #377 - The Zen Tree and Table Tennis</a></span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.pingskills.com/blog/progress-isnt-linear" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Nature's Path to Progress: Growing Through Struggles</a></span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum#gsc.tab=0" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Ask the Coach</a></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Table Tennis Tips and Techniques – 24 Spins</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Here’s the video (4:31) from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@ttbiomech" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Biomechanics Applied to Table Tennis</a> (formerly Biomechanics Academy Table Tennis). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>How Meditation Can Make You a Better Table Tennis Player?</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKCdkTe4YeQ" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (8:58) from Enzo Angles. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Learn the Crossover Point with Long Pips</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOd1lljRcL8" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (2:03) with Yang Xiaoxin.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>How to Play 3 Players in Table Tennis</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ45GevFbZA" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (2:45) from Pingispågarna.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Bowmar Sports Tournament Highlights – Sally Moyland Sights &amp; Sounds in Chengdu</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/bowmar-sports-tournament-highlights-sally-moyland-sights-sounds-in-chengdu/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (4:28). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Taco Backhand</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVCabl_aC38" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="The Most Entertaining Table Tennis Player Ever?">The Most Entertaining Table Tennis Player Ever?</a> (2:13)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdnCZNTwzsY" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Werner Schlager | The Underdog Who Shocked the World">Werner Schlager | The Underdog Who Shocked the World</a> (2:53)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>From Hong Kong Women's Champion to Harvard University</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="http://nctta.org/content/hong-kong-womens-champion-harvard-university" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the NCTTA article</a> by Michael Reff.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/kanak-clears-first-round-in-singapore/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Kanak Clears First Round in Singapore</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/2025-us-adult-national-ranking-tournament-series-update/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">2025 US Adult National Ranking Tournament Series Update</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/lily-zhang-logs-first-round-win-in-singapore/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Lily Zhang Logs First Round Win in Singapore</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/singapore-smash-update-mix-of-youth-and-experience-fight-through-qualifiers/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Singapore Smash Update: Mix of Youth and Experience Fight through Qualifiers</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from USATT</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/january/29/usatt-invites-members-to-apply-for-advisory-committee-positions" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">USATT Invites Members to Apply for Advisory Committee Positions</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/january/28/national-teams-take-shape-after-ranking-tournament-i" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">National Teams Take Shape After Ranking Tournament I</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from ITTF</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/02/03/ittf-oceania-cup-2025-world-cup-qualification-battles-set-to-ignite-melbourne/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">ITTF-Oceania Cup 2025: World Cup Qualification Battles Set to Ignite Melbourne</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/02/02/ittf-task-force-engages-players-and-stakeholders-in-wide-ranging-consultations/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="ITTF Task Force Engages Players and Stakeholders in Wide-Ranging Consultations">ITTF Task Force Engages Players and Stakeholders in Wide-Ranging Consultations</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/01/31/february-marks-start-of-road-to-macao-as-continental-cups-offer-world-cup-qualification/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="UPDATED: February Marks Start of Road to Macao as Continental Cups Offer World Cup Qualification">UPDATED: February Marks Start of Road to Macao as Continental Cups Offer World Cup Qualification</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/01/29/ittf-mentorship-2024-fostering-growth-and-excellence/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="ITTF Mentorship 2024: Fostering Growth and Excellence ">ITTF Mentorship 2024: Fostering Growth and Excellence</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Would You Rather Have...</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/K8Ea9hGM1Ok" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (13 sec)!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Quit Spying on Us!</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://image.cagle.com/146259/980/-ping-pong-diplomacy.png" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the US-China cartoon</a>!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Getting Marmaduke to Take Medicine – Ping-Pong Style</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://i.pinimg.com/736x/df/78/d9/df78d96d36f47a0c9db9d8cd82a6ca51.jpg" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the cartoon</a>!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Somewhere, A Coach Regrets Introducing Ping-Pong Powerlifting</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://comicskingdom.com/insanity-streak/2025-01-30" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the cartoon</a>!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Non-Table Tennis – Three New Stories</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Last week I had three new science fiction/fantasy stories published. (Yes, I get paid for these stories!) The first two below both came out in the new Dragon Soul’s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Legends-Soul-Press-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0DNRSTH63" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Dragon Legends anthology</a>. </span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">“<b>The Dragon, the Knight, and the Red-Eyed Flying Unicorn”</b><br /> A knight on his mighty unicorn steed tells his story as he battles a huge, drunken dragon (you). The sarcastic unicorn just wants to eat &amp; drink. The story is told simultaneously in first- (the knight), second- (the dragon, i.e., you, the reader), and third-person (the unicorn) for humorous effect.</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">“<b>Small Dragon’s Gold</b>”<br /> A small, pathetic, but highly idealistic and hyper-polite dragon ekes out a living at a street corner by lighting people's cigarettes with his breath for a nickel. He’s determined to get back the gold stolen from him by a cocky, swashbuckling woman, who thoroughly humiliates him - but he won’t give up.</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">“<b>Mad Molly and the Nuclear Bomb</b>” at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DVP94DVR" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Rainy Weather Days</a>.<br /> Mad Molly is an 80-year-old black autistic math professor in Washington DC. She must get the Frooty-Tooty ice cream cake to her sister in Paris by 6PM, when she calculates it will start melting, as she does every Tuesday. She does so via Worldwide Express, with a direct tube through the Earth's interior, DC to Paris, for when it absolutely, positively must be there on time. But a terrorist sends a nuke from Paris to DC. Using her math skills, can Mad Molly stop the bomb from destroying DC so she can get the ice cream cake to her sister on time?</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">***<br /> <a href="mailto:larry@larrytt.com" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Send us</a> your own coaching news!</span></span></p> </div></div> </div> <span class="field field-name-uid field-formatter-author field-type-entity-reference field-label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/3" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Larry Hodges</span></span> <span class="field field-name-created field-formatter-timestamp field-type-created field-label-hidden">Mon, 02/03/2025 - 16:28</span> <section class="field field-node--comment-node-blog field-formatter-comment-default field-name-comment-node-blog field-type-comment field-label-hidden display-mode-threaded comment-bundle-comment-node-blog comment-wrapper"> <a name="comments"></a></section> Mon, 03 Feb 2025 16:28:47 +0000 Larry Hodges 3633 at http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3633#comments January 27, 2025 http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3631 <span class="field field-name-title field-formatter-string field-type-string field-label-hidden">January 27, 2025</span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field-node--body field-formatter-text-default field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden has-single"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item"><p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Tip of the Week</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3630" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Do You Serve a Lot of Net Serves? Good!!!</a></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Weekend Coaching, Tips, Eyes, and Shoulder</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Over the last few weeks several new players have joined our junior training program. I’ve worked a lot with each of them, working on developing their fundamentals. I think one of the key things here is focusing on grip and stance – if you get both of those right, the rest often falls into place as if you were holding two ends of a rubber band. Get either wrong, and the rubber band (the player) gets twisted. (Here’s my Tip from almost 13 years ago on this, <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/836" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Grip and Stance</a>.) </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">On the forehand, it’s also important to focus on the idea that you rotate the shoulders back, thereby giving yourself a big hitting zone to the side. Once that becomes a habit, the rest becomes easy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">You know the quickest way to teach spinny serves? Let the kids take turns trying to return my serves. (I keep saying, “My serves cannot be returned.” Eventually someone gets one back, I act all surprised and disgusted, and the kid all excited.) When they see these serves, they all want to learn them, and instead of us trying to teach them, they <i>want</i> us to teach them. Then I start them off by just tossing the ball up, spinning it with their racket, and catching the ball, and repeat. It’s amazing how fast they pick it up. Soon they are serving backspins that stop on the table or even roll back into the net. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I had another long afternoon writing up Tips of the Week. I keep a file of Tip ideas, and periodically write them up. I have enough Tips now written for through April. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">As noted previously, I’ve developed cataracts – no wonder I’ve had difficulty reading spin, especially sponge serves! My left eye is 20-70, my right eye 20-150. I was hoping to have the surgery in February but there weren’t any openings. So, here are the dates: they will do the right eye on Mar. 25, the left eye on Apr. 8. For each eye, there’s a one-day and one-week post-op, plus a pre-op for each eye, plus the original eye testing where it was determined I needed the surgery, and the pre-cataract evaluation with the surgeon who will do the operation. I also have to do a regular physical in advance of the surgeries. In all, I will have eleven different appointments for this. Two done, nine to go! </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Meanwhile, starting last week I’m meeting with a physical therapist twice a week to work on my shoulder, plus a series of exercises I have to do daily. They did an MRI of it last week – I see the doctor about it on Wednesday, where he’ll be able to give a better diagnosis. The current diagnosis is, “Incomplete rotator cuff tear or rupture of right shoulder.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Junior Team Trials, Tombstone, African Safari, and This Year’s Travel</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I have a lot of travel planned this year. Below is my schedule so far. If you are at any of these events and have copies of any of <a href="https://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/larryhodgesbooks">my books</a>, bring them along and I’ll sign them!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I have two events coming up in February, back-to-back. The US Junior Trials are at the Westchester TTC in New York, Feb. 13-17. I believe we have nine MDTTC players competing, with four coaches, including me. So, for the next few weeks I’ll watching these players closely. But I’ve also been restless, and made plans for two more trips. Immediately after the Junior Trials, I’m flying out to <a href="https://discovertombstone.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Tombstone, AZ</a>, for several days of Wild Wild West fun! (I actually have to fly to Tucson, then take a bus or possibly Uber to Tombstone, 75 miles away.) I fly out the morning of Tue, Feb. 18, and return on Fri, Feb. 21, just in time to coach that weekend. Maybe I’ll intervene in the O.K. Corral gunfight re-enactment – let the Clanton’s win! </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I’ve also decided to do a once-in-a-lifetime African safari. I am waiting until after the cataract surgery to finalize the plans, but it’ll likely be a seven-day tour in Kenya and Tanzania in early June. <a href="https://www.viator.com/tours/Nairobi/7-Days-Exceptional-Kenya-and-Tanzania-Safari/d5280-202080P187" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the one I plan on doing</a>. I also plan to visit the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StTeresasTTC/about_details" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">St Teresa Table Tennis Club</a> in Nairobi, Kenya.  </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><u>My Current 2025 Travel Schedule, both TT and SF</u></span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Feb. 13-17             Thu-Mon, US Junior Trials #1, Westchester, NY</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Feb. 18-21             Tue-Fri, Tombstone, AZ</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">May 23-26             Balticon – Baltimore SF Convention (panelist)</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Early June              African Safari - Kenya, Tanzania</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">June 28-July 4       US Nationals, Ontario, CA </span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">July 18-26             TNEO Science Fiction Writing Workshop, Manchester, NH</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Aug. 1-3                National Senior Games, Des Moines, IA (tentative)</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Aug. 9-19              World SF Convention (Aug. 13-17, panelist) &amp; sightseeing in Seattle, WA</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Aug. 29-31            U<span style="color:black">S Open Teams, Myrtle Beach, SC (tentative)</span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Sept. 19-21            Capclave SF Convention, Rockville, MD (panelist)</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Oct. 6-9                 Huntsman World Senior Games, St. George, UT</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Nov. 7-9                US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Inductions and Si &amp; Patty Wasserman Junior &amp; Open, El Monte, CA</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Nov. 28-30            North American Teams – 50th straight year, starting in 1976 (except for cancelled 2020)</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Dec. 15-20?           US Open in Las Vegas</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Best Tips from Fan Zhendong – Tip #1 – Forehand Topspin</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/best-tips-from-fan-zhendong-tip-1-forehand-topspin/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (2:04), with English sub-titles. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Butterfly Training Tips </b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-rachid-el-bou-bou-backhand-looping-and-footwork/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Backhand Looping and Footwork</a> (66 sec) with Rachid El Bou Bou</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/butterfly-training-tips-with-arantxa-cossio-aceves-random-backhand-forehand-looping/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Random Backhand &amp; Forehand Looping</a> (65 sec) with Arantxa Cossio Aceves</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>The Multiball Battle</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh7wdoVOJnE" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (2:15) from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/Pingisp%C3%A5garna" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Pingispågarna</a></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Four Effective Ways to Return Underspin Serves in Table Tennis</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://blog.paddlepalace.com/2025/01/4-returns-against-underspin-serves/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the article and video</a> (5:55) from Yasiris Ortiz/Paddle Palace. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>3 Things to Help Improve Your Backhand Long Pips Attack with Yang Xiaoxin</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoADes5ztCk" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (3:09) from PongSpace. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Talkin' Smash by JOOLA Ep16: Developing Your Own Playing Style and Strengths</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzaeA4a7HN8" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (28:26) with Vitor Ishiy and Matt Hetherington.<b> </b></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from PingSkills</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://pingskills.com/table-tennis-forum#gsc.tab=0" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Ask the Coach</a></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Bowmar Sports Tournament Highlights</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/bowmar-sports-tournament-highlights-arantxa-cossio-aceves-wtt-highlights/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Arantxa Cossio Aceves WTT Highlights</a> (66 sec)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/bowmar-sports-tournament-highlights-rachel-wang-world-high-school-games/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Rachel Wang World High School Games</a> (76 sec)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/bowmar-sports-tournament-highlights-karolayn-maldonado-tournament-highlights-2/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Karolayn Maldonado Tournament Highlights</a> (58 sec)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/bowmar-sports-tournament-highlights-oscar-birriel-singles-dusseldorf-wtt/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Oscar Birriel Singles Dusseldorf WTT</a> (72 sec)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>CITTA Dreams League: Empowering Young Players With Competition and Growth</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/citta-dreams-league-empowering-young-players-with-competition-and-growth/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the article</a> by Rachel Wang. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Major League Table Tennis</b><br /> Follow the action!</span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://mltt.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Home Page</a></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.majorponghead.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Major Pong Head</a> (blog coverage)</span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/tickets-on-sale-for-mltt-championship-weekend-%f0%9f%9a%a8/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Tickets on sale for MLTT Championship Weekend!</a></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from NCTTA</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="http://nctta.org/content/empowering-athletes-coaching-insights-para-table-tennis-success" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Empowering Athletes: Coaching Insights for Para Table Tennis Success</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="http://nctta.org/content/you-too-can-qualify-olympics" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">You Too Can Qualify for the Olympics</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>First 2025 Adult National Ranking Tournament Begins</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.usatt.org/news/2025/january/24/first-2025-adult-national-ranking-tournament-begins" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the USATT News item</a>. Here are the <a href="https://www.omnipong.com/T-tourney.asp?t=103&amp;r=1277" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">results</a> from Omnipong. “As the first of two annual ranking tournaments, this event determines the initial eight roster spots for the 2025 National Teams.” But there’s something really wrong when you run an event like this and only 23 players show – 14 in Men’s, 9 in Women’s. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from Steve Hopkins/Butterfly</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/euro-champions-league-update/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Euro Champions League Update</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/new-ittf-racket-compliance-rules/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">New ITTF Racket Compliance Rules</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/moregardh-wins-jerring-award/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Moregardh Wins Jerring Award</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/north-american-stand-out-at-wtt-youth-contender-san-francisco-2025/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">North American Stand Out At WTT Youth Contender San Francisco 2025</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>All Japan Championships</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTl1xRsuTaQ" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (12:04) of the Men’s Final between Sora Matsushima and Hiroto Shinozuka. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qJ4NYGAzuk" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s video</a> (14:08) of Matsushima’s upset of Tomokazu Harimoto in the semifinals. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Brianna Burgos, Fabiola Diaz, Alondra Rodriguez, And Oscar Birriel Join National Teams</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.butterflyonline.com/brianna-burgos-fabiola-diaz-alondra-rodriguez-and-oscar-birriel-join-national-teams/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the article</a> on the Puerto Rican National Team. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Interview with Danish Superstar Jonathan Groth</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiHnhFbfKtg" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (61 min) with the world #18 from Table Tennis Daily. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from ITTF</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/01/27/chuang-chih-yuan-a-legend-of-table-tennis-bids-farewell/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Chuang Chih-Yuan: A Legend of Table Tennis Bids Farewell</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/01/22/swedish-table-tennis-celebrates-historic-night-at-sports-gala/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="Swedish Table Tennis Celebrates Historic Night at Sports Gala">Swedish Table Tennis Celebrates Historic Night at Sports Gala</a></span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.ittf.com/2025/01/21/ittf-and-mga-forge-new-data-sharing-agreement/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline" title="ITTF and MGA Forge New Data Sharing Agreement">ITTF and MGA Forge New Data Sharing Agreement</a></span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Ping-Pong Whisperer</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://us.amazon.com/Table-Tennis-Player-Whisperer-Ping-Pong/dp/B0BG6CL3HX" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s where you can buy the shirt</a> at Amazon!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>This Is How You Loosen Up Before a Match!</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/1088274236646243" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (26 sec) of Felix and Alexis Lebrun running around the table as they rally. The funny thing is . . . this really is a good way to loosen up. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Playing on the World’s Biggest Ping-Pong Table</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XzUFkFztIzM" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (10 sec)!</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Pro Table Tennis Player Beats Me With His Phone?!</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc4ETwtH1oQ" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Here’s the video</a> (7:54) from Table Tennis Daily, where he takes on world #26 Anders Lind of Denmark. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>New from PingPongMaestros</b></span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/613379041179721" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Block Like a Boss</a> (13 sec)!</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BQtmKCYNGuk" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">How to Humiliate Your Trainer’s Serves</a> (17 sec)</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KCFxl5gAUmM" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">How They Think I Play</a> (13 sec)</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><b>Non-Table Tennis – Science Fiction &amp; Fantasy Publications</b></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I have a whole mess of short stories just published or about to be published! Here’s a short listing. (Yes, I get paid for each of them.) I was also interviewed. </span></span></p> <ul> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/642644559492671/posts/2050671358689977" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">I was interviewed by Celestial Echo Press</a> on Thursday. Last November they published my story, “<b>Life and Death and Bongo Drums</b>,” in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ruth-Anns-Guide-Time-Travel/dp/1951967054" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Ruth and Ann’s Guide to Time Travel anthology</a>.</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">My story “<b>Dragon Cuisine</b>” was published Thursday in Dragon Soul’s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Flight-Press.../dp/B0DSWGDZKP" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Dragon Legends anthology</a>. A young dragon seeks his fortune, and battles his food – humans – but a wizard turns him into a huge, dragon-sized frog. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">My story “<b>Legacy</b>” was published on Tuesday in the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Alternative.../dp/1949476472" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Alternative Liberties anthology</a>. It’s a political satire about the ending of Trump’s second term in office – with nuclear holocaust, killer robots, galactic conquest, and a big twist. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">My story “<b><a href="https://amazingstories.com/2024/10/thank-you-miss-kittykat-by-larry-hodges-free-story/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Thank You Miss Kittykat!”</a></b> was tied for “<a href="https://amazingstories.com/2025/01/fourth-quarter-readers-choice-awards-announced-2-2-2/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Second Runner-up</a>” in the Amazing Stories Reader’s Choice Awards. Humans genetically engineer dogs and cats for high intelligence and opposable thumbs. There’s a war, with humans and dogs allied against the cats. The cats win, and now we are the pets.</span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">This Thursday, Jan. 30, I have two stories coming out, “<b>The Dragon, the Knight, and the Red-Eyed Flying Unicorn”</b> AND “<b>Small Dragon’s Gold</b>,” both in Dragon Soul’s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Legends-Soul-Press-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0DNRSTH63" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Dragon Legends anthology</a>. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">This Friday, Jan. 31, my story “<b>Mad Molly and the Nuclear Bomb</b>” comes out at <a href="https://rainyweatherdays.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Rainy Weather Days</a>. </span></span></li> <li style="margin-left:8px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">I have another twelve (12!) stories in other upcoming publications. I’ve been busy, both in TT and SF!</span></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">***<br /> <a href="mailto:larry@larrytt.com" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Send us</a> your own coaching news!</span></span></p> </div></div> </div> <span class="field field-name-uid field-formatter-author field-type-entity-reference field-label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/3" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Larry Hodges</span></span> <span class="field field-name-created field-formatter-timestamp field-type-created field-label-hidden">Mon, 01/27/2025 - 18:11</span> <section class="field field-node--comment-node-blog field-formatter-comment-default field-name-comment-node-blog field-type-comment field-label-hidden display-mode-threaded comment-bundle-comment-node-blog comment-wrapper"> <a name="comments"></a></section> Mon, 27 Jan 2025 18:11:06 +0000 Larry Hodges 3631 at http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com http://www.tabletenniscoaching.com/node/3631#comments