June 15, 2026

Tip of the Week
Why You MUST Attack the Deep Serve.

“Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk!” – PUBLISHED
Here it is at Amazon! Finally – a table tennis book for kids AND for the kid in all of us. “Ping-Pong Paddles Can't Talk!” is a humorous Seussian rhyming children’s picture book that introduces table tennis to kids. It features a nervous boy (Kevin) and his talking paddle in their first tournament, where he meets and plays a girl (Li) who is really good, and they have an adventurous match. Along the way, kids learn about the sport, with themes on facing your fears, working toward a goal, honesty, and friendship. 80 pages in full color (no AI), ages 7-12 and up. 

Get it for your kids or your students. If you like table tennis (or Dr. Seuss), get it for yourself. It’s listed as ages 7-12 and up, and note the “and up.” If you like it, please rate & review at Amazon. (There’s a link there that allows you to read a lot of the pages and see the pictures.) Help spread the word!

I’ll be selling them (and all my books) at the MDTTC Open on June 27-28. I’m also doing a reading and signing at the Butterfly booth at the US Nationals in San Jose, on July 4 or 5. (Butterfly will be selling the book in about a week.) If you’re a table tennis blogger who’d like to review a copy, email me.

Here’s the review from PingSunday. Excerpts:

  • “The children’s table tennis book we’ve been waiting for."
  • “The match scenes are exciting, the characters are memorable, and the pacing keeps children engaged throughout the book.”
  • “The illustrations by Shalini Soni Mazumdar are absolutely beautiful.”
  • “The journey of Kevin feels familiar to anyone who has ever picked up a paddle and wondered how far they could go.”
  • “Kevin learns how to face his fears, pursue a goal, be honest, and build friendships through sport. These lessons are delivered naturally through the story rather than as lectures, making them much more meaningful for young readers.”
  • “For parents, coaches, and clubs looking to introduce children to table tennis, I highly recommend this book. It is entertaining, educational, beautifully illustrated, and filled with positive messages. Most importantly, it might inspire a new generation of players to pick up a paddle and begin their own adventure.”

Here’s a review from Pingispagarna on Facebook.

Multiball and Shadow Training in China
Here’s video (18 sec) of a training session where they combine the two. We do this at our club as well, though usually only one or two doing shadow. I need to show this to our kids so they take it more seriously! (Some do not like the shadow part.)

Free Table Tennis Shirts From Joseph Lee
Long-time umpire (now retired) Joseph Lee emailed me that he has hordes of tournament-specific size medium T-shirts (US Open, Nationals, NA Teams, Trials, foreign events, etc.) and they are taking up too much closet space. He is willing to give them away. Here’s a picture of some of them. If you are interested in them, email him directly.

Major League Table Tennis

New from Butterfly

New from PingSunday/EmRatThich
15 new videos this past week and numerous articles! (This includes their review of “Ping-Pong Paddles Can’t Talk!”)

Pendulum Serve Tutorial – 5 Steps to Pro Level
Here’s the video (7:23) from Andrea Levenko.

Train Like a WTT Player: 13 Elite Drills & 20 Real Match Situations
Here’s the video (12:10) from Ti Long.

Stop Diving for Balls
Here’s the video (2:39) with Yang Xiaoxin, from Acceleraq.

New from the Global TT Studio

New from the Table Tennis Teaching Channel

Exclusive Interview with Li-Ning at the World Table Tennis Championships London
Here’s the video (14:48) from PP Table Tennis/Pingispågarna.

Anton Kallberg – Slow Burn to World Class
Here’s the video (4:39) from Taco Backhand.

New from PingSkills
Ask the Coach.

New from Steve Hopkins

New from USATT

New from ITTF

Why I Lose at Ping Pong
Here’s where you can buy the shirt at Amazon!

Funny Cat & Dog Play Fake Table Tennis — Disaster in 5 Seconds
Here’s the video (15 sec)!

INDIA's Funky Styles: Levels 1-12
Here’s the video (18:11) from Adam Bobrow!

Non-Table Tennis
I recently sold my short “Ordinary Civilian” (4900 words) to the Independent Fantasy & Sci-Fi Magazine, my second sale to them. It’ll be out on July 1. Here’s a profile they just put up of me and the story. The story - what do you do when the world's population is made up of four billion supervillains trying to kill you, four billion superheroes trying to protect you, and you're the only one without superpowers? While a bit over-the-top, it thematically shows the values of friendship and inclusion. (It starts off with John’s best friend, the supervillain Flying Hate, calling and asking if he could wait a few minutes before stepping outside as he wants to drop a bulldozer on him but he overslept and it’s not quite ready.)

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