August 22, 2017
2 HRS AGO - A Short History of Chop Blocks
Recently, due to an article at SportsFlu, there’s been a lot Expand
2 HRS AGO - A Short History of Chop Blocks
Recently, due to an article at SportsFlu, there’s been a lot of talk about chop blocking and who invented it. Here’s an entire thread devoted to it at the Mytabletennis.net forum. According to the article, it was “invented” by Koki Niwa, world #9 from Japan. Alas, it’s been around long before Koki was born in 1994.
To give you some perspective on how long players have been chop blocking, here’s a little history – and I’ll get to the point momentarily. How many of you remember the Paddle Point Rule? Until the early 1990s, if the ball went off the end of the table but hit your paddle, you lost the point, no matter how obviously the ball was off. Many thought it was a silly rule, and it was finally changed. (Here’s my blog where I explain how that happened – I made the original proposal to change the rule.) The argument for the rule was that sometimes players took the ball so quick off the bounce Collapse
August 17, 2017
5 DAYS AGO - Most Common Mistake
I’ve been thinking about what are the most common mistakes players make, Expand
5 DAYS AGO - Most Common Mistake
I’ve been thinking about what are the most common mistakes players make, and came to a surprising conclusion. There are lots of common problems that gradually decrease as players improve, but what one thing seems somewhat more prevalent than most as players move up? I think it’s contact on the serve is too high.
If you contact the ball too high, the ball bounces higher on the other side. But it’s a subtle thing, and so there’s not a lot of feedback that forces a player to lower his contact point. Instead, players just generally return the serve more consistently and more aggressively. The server often doesn’t notice this as it often just means the receiver, given a slightly higher ball (and so a larger target on the other side), may just push better than otherwise, or perhaps attack just a little better. Instead, learn to contact the ball lower on the serve, perhaps at net height. This leads to a lower serve, which forces the opponent Collapse
August 14, 2017
14/08/2017 - Today's blog will be up by 11AM or I will be forced to join a white nationalist group where we Expand
14/08/2017 - Today's blog will be up by 11AM or I will be forced to join a white nationalist group where we attempt to end the scourge of orange ping-pong balls in America. Meanwhile, this week's Tip of the Week is up: Attacking the Middle with the Forehand and Backhand. Collapse
August 9, 2017
09/08/2017 - Why Waldner Doesn’t Have to Move
Here’s the meme that’s making the rounds on Expand
09/08/2017 - Why Waldner Doesn’t Have to Move
Here’s the meme that’s making the rounds on Facebook. (Here’s the non-Facebook version.) “I am standing where the ball comes, that is why I don’t have to move, I can Read the Game,” said the great Jan-Ove Waldner.
Some will misunderstand this, taking it literally. Waldner did have to move, of course, but if you watched him play it often seemed like he wasn’t moving – because he was moving before the opponent hit the ball, and so was already there, waiting. Most players react to the ball as it is coming toward them, or perhaps as the opponent is hitting the ball - but this is way too late if you want to be a good player. Instead, you develop the habit of watching and reading the opponent, and reacting to where the ball is going the instant the opponent has committed, usually at the start of his forward swing. Here is my Tip on this, React to Opponent’s Swing.
This also helps if you want Collapse
August 4, 2017
04/08/2017 - ITTF Hall of Fame
One of my pet peeves is how international organizations can sometimes be so . . Expand
04/08/2017 - ITTF Hall of Fame
One of my pet peeves is how international organizations can sometimes be so . . . short-sighted. Here is a classic example. How do you get into the ITTF Hall of Fame? Well, for players, the eligibility rules are very simple: “Eligibility for the highest honor in international Table Tennis requires that the player must have won 5 Gold Medals in World Championships or the Olympic Games.”
This is downright silly. Winning a gold medal in Singles, where you were the best player, is worth more than winning it in Doubles (Men’s, Women’s, or Mixed) or Teams, where your finish is largely determined by other players. The result is a travesty of justice. The rules dramatically favor players who happen to have strong teammates.
Let’s take Stellan Bengtsson as an example. He won Men’s Singles at the 1971 Worlds, and won Men’s Doubles and Men’s Teams in 1973. He had five other silver and bronze medals at the Worlds, but in the end, Collapse
August 1, 2017
01/08/2017 - He Zhiwen
One of the strange things about being at a club where we have ten full-time coaches, Expand
01/08/2017 - He Zhiwen
One of the strange things about being at a club where we have ten full-time coaches, where I’m the only one who’s not Chinese, is often I don’t know what’s going on. Others assume I do since they are all talking about it – but in Chinese!!! So I didn’t know that He Zhiwen was even at our club until he’d been there about a week. I had just finished a long coaching session, and as I was walking to the front of the club I saw this elderly lefty pips-out penholder practicing with one of our top juniors. I stopped to watch because there was something about this player, whose strokes looked like machine guns as he almost mechanically smacked in ball after ball, both blocking and hitting, obviously a great player. So I asked Coach Jack, and he was surprised, thought I knew.
He was the famous Spanish player He Zhiwen, 55 years old, formerly a Chinese National Team member. He has now been at my club (MDTTC) for about three weeks, and I Collapse
What can table tennis players learn from Roger Federer?
20/07/2017 - One of my many sporting obsessions is watching Roger Federer play tennis. This has been going on Expand
20/07/2017 - One of my many sporting obsessions is watching Roger Federer play tennis. This has been going on over a decade. Whenever Federer plays, I’ll be following the score, willing him to win. As I watched Federer’s masterclass at this year's Wimbledon, I started thinking about what we table tennis players can learn from the great man. Is there anything he does on the tennis court, which we can transfer to the table tennis table? Actually I think there is plenty. In this blog post, I examine a few things Federer does particularly well which we can all learn from.
The post What can table tennis players learn from Roger Federer? appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching. Collapse
July 18, 2017
18/07/2017 - A Typical Private Coaching Session
What happens in a typical private coaching session? It depends Expand
18/07/2017 - A Typical Private Coaching Session
What happens in a typical private coaching session? It depends on the coach and the player. Some coaches are more practice partners, others do more coaching. (This also depends on the player - those with good technique need less coaching, more training.) Some coaches do only “live” hitting, while others mix in multiball training. Some coaches do the same drills with everyone, others vary the drills and personalize them for each player.
The player’s level, playing style, and goals greatly affect a session. Beginners work mostly on basics, while high-level players are mostly honing skills they already do at a high level. Players with different playing styles do different drills, obviously. But the player’s goals also make a huge difference. When working with a kid, the sky’s the limit, and coaches often train them as if they someday might be fighting to be world champion. Others might not have the coordination necessary, Collapse
(Video) How to read service spin
13/07/2017 - Returning serves can be tough. It’s something all table tennis players can struggle with at some Expand
13/07/2017 - Returning serves can be tough. It’s something all table tennis players can struggle with at some point or another. Even professional players will have certain opponents whose serves they find difficult to deal with. In this video lesson, I look at how to read service spin. I explain the two big clues to look out for when trying to read an opponent's serve. At the end of the video I do some of my serves. See if you can read the spin. Good luck...
The post (Video) How to read service spin appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching. Collapse
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August 21, 2017
1 DAY AGO - Tip of the Week
Fourth-Ball Backhand Loop Attack. Of course, today’s the day when you should Expand
1 DAY AGO - Tip of the Week
Fourth-Ball Backhand Loop Attack. Of course, today’s the day when you should browse through all of my Tips of the Week (497 total) since “Eclipse TT” is just an anagram for “Select Tip”!
Two Common Successful Serving Patterns
In the adult training session last night I pointed out that there are really two main successful serving patterns among most players. At the higher levels, the most common one is half-long toward the middle, often mixing in backhand and no-spin serves, with sidespin and side-top mixed in. By serving half-long, you make it tricky for the receiver to rush or angle you, while also making it difficult for him to attack. (Half-long means the second bounce, given the chance, would bounce just short of the end-line. Some serve it slightly longer, just past the end-line, leading to many awkward loop attempts.)
By serving to the middle it cuts off the extreme angles, and makes it easier to follow up with an attack, especially Collapse
August 16, 2017
6 DAYS AGO - Bob Tretheway RIP
He died yesterday, at age 69, of congestive heart failure, which he’d been Expand
6 DAYS AGO - Bob Tretheway RIP
He died yesterday, at age 69, of congestive heart failure, which he’d been suffering from for several years. Bob was the director for USA Table Tennis from the early 1980s to around 1989. (He was never officially the Executive Director of CEO – his formal title was National Program Director – but since we didn’t have an ED or CEO in those days, he essentially was it.)
In 1985, Bob was instrumental in starting up USATT’s Resident Training Program, starting in September that year. This was primarily a junior program for the best USA players, where they’d live in a dormitory (“Building 83”) at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, go to school (East Middle School and Palmer High School), and train at the table tennis hall (“Building 65”).
In December he brought me in, officially as a player (though I was too old for the program at 25), but really to help develop various coaching manuals, including Collapse
August 11, 2017
11/08/2017 - Progressive Coaching
A few days ago a student complained that while she could rally in drills, in Expand
11/08/2017 - Progressive Coaching
A few days ago a student complained that while she could rally in drills, in games she not only missed, but tended to hit the ball right at the opponent, as if it were a drill. She wanted to know how she could fix this. So I put her through the following progression of drills, in this specific order. The key was to first build up accuracy from both the forehand and backhand sides, then do so off random balls, while always attacking the three spots you should always go after in a match – wide forehand, wide backhand, and middle (the elbow, the mid-point between the forehand and backhand). (This will likely be expanded into a Tip of the Week.)
Forehand to forehand and backhand to backhand warm-up.
Forehand down the line to my backhand.
Backhand down the line to my forehand.
Alternate forehand and backhand, to my backhand.
Alternate forehand and backhand, to my forehand.
Alternate forehand and backhand, to my middle. This is where my elbow (midpoint between Collapse
August 8, 2017
08/08/2017 - Pong Road
On Friday night I saw Pong Road, a roughly 30-minute video (in three parts), “an Expand
08/08/2017 - Pong Road
On Friday night I saw Pong Road, a roughly 30-minute video (in three parts), “an episodic documentary that follows Rocky [Wang] along his journey. Get ready to see ping pong that you've never seen before.” Alas, it’s not online yet so you’ll just have to wait until they do so, or there’s a showing in your area. They do have more segments planned. Here’s their Facebook page, here’s “The Story,” which explains more about Pong Road, and here’s their About Page, with more on Rocky Wang, and on Mark Weismantel, who was the “director, cinematographer, editor, sound designer and art director.”
I’ve known Rocky since he was 13, in 1987. He’s also from Maryland, but strangely I first met him in Colorado. I was (at various times) the manager, director, and one of the coaches for the Resident Training Program for Table Tennis at the Olympic Training Center from 1985-1990, where many of the Collapse
August 3, 2017
03/08/2017 - Moving to the Wide Forehand, He Zhiwen, and Update on History of USATT, Vol. 20
Most of my Expand
03/08/2017 - Moving to the Wide Forehand, He Zhiwen, and Update on History of USATT, Vol. 20
Most of my students have figured out that while I can still move quickly to my left (i.e. to step around my backhand to attack with my forehand), I don’t move very well to my right anymore. And so they take great glee in finding chances to go that way. I actually encourage it – I want them to develop good tactical habits, and so the last thing I want them to do is develop a habit of holding back when they see the right tactical move. If I leave my forehand side open during a rally, they should jump on it, making it a habit that will carry over in real matches.
This problem with moving to my right has been true for a number of years, but for the last month or so I’ve been having problems with my right knee, which made it far worse. At the USA Nationals, where I was mostly coaching and attending meetings, I did manage in my free time to win Over 40 Hardbat Singles, but most players Collapse
July 31, 2017
31/07/2017 - Tip of the Week
Killer Practice Sessions. I actually wrote this article back in 2010, before I Expand
31/07/2017 - Tip of the Week
Killer Practice Sessions. I actually wrote this article back in 2010, before I started this blog, and never linked to it or used it as a Tip before.
I’m Back
What, you didn’t notice I was away? Here’s my write-up of my nine days at The Never-Ending Odyssey (TNEO) Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing Workshop. (Make sure to click through the 12 “Vacation” pictures! Sorry, no table tennis there. Also, if you know anything about GPS, see the next-to-last paragraph – it’s a mystery how my phone was reprogrammed to try to bring me to some local address when I was trying to drive home.)
There were two table tennis related items from the workshop. First, I brought my weighted ping-pong paddle and shadow practiced nearly every day. (I don’t think you can get this in the U.S. – I bought it in Taiwan when I coached the U.S. Junior Team there at the World Youth Cup in 1994.) Second, and more importantly, I hurt my right knee Collapse
July 20, 2017
20/07/2017 - Gone Until Monday, July 31
I’m on vacation and out of town starting this afternoon until Expand
20/07/2017 - Gone Until Monday, July 31
I’m on vacation and out of town starting this afternoon until Sunday, July 30. Normal people vacation at places like Disneyworld, beaches, or some other vacationy place. Me? Every year about this time I go to a science fiction writing workshop in Manchester, NH, for nine days of intense writing, critiquing, and classes. Fun!!! See you in eleven days.
How You Can Improve at Table Tennis
This morning I was going to write about the segment title – “How You Can Improve at Table Tennis.” But that literally would take a book. I considered shorter ways of doing it, but those would just touch the surface. Then I realized that probably my best and favorite Tip of the Week, “How to Move Up a Level,” pretty much covered it – and yet, these Tips, once published, tend to be lost and forgotten. So below I am reprinting this Tip of the Week from August 4, 2014. (My books Table Tennis Tips and More Table Tennis Tips both have Collapse
July 17, 2017
17/07/2017 - Tip of the Week
Sports Psychology.
Post Nationals Saturation Training
Now that the Nationals is Expand
17/07/2017 - Tip of the Week
Sports Psychology.
Post Nationals Saturation Training
Now that the Nationals is over, it’s time to address various technical issues with some students. You don’t want to mess around with their technique too much just before a major tournament, so there have been some cases where I averted my eyes to certain things, waiting until after the Nationals.
Now it’s time for a few of them to do a bit of Saturation Training. I’ve kept notes on players I’ve been coaching, and now we’re addressing these problems. I’ve noticed a similar bad habit among three of them, who seem to have adopted backhand ready stances as their neutral stance in matches, even though they don’t seem to do so when drilling. One player has been struggling with his forehand in fast rallies – he seems to go into a backhand stance sometimes, and tries to play forehands from that position. Many top players do this, but it takes a LOT of physical and table Collapse
July 13, 2017
13/07/2017 - My first Few Hours in Las Vegas
I think I had the worst first few hours in Las Vegas in the Expand
13/07/2017 - My first Few Hours in Las Vegas
I think I had the worst first few hours in Las Vegas in the history of table tennis in Las Vegas – and I didn’t even gamble. Most people gripe about this type of thing on Facebook or to friends; I get to blog about it! So here is how my first few hours went, starting from minutes after I landed for the USA Nationals on Sunday, July 2. Skip to the other segments if you don’t want to hear my gripes!!!
Right after landing I checked my email, and discovered a “poison pen” email from someone. I won’t go into details, let’s just say it was pretty ridiculous.
As I went out to catch the shuttle, I got to see the shuttle leave, and had to wait for the next one.
I got to the hotel at about 10AM, but the room wasn’t ready and check-in didn’t start until 11AM. So I found a comfortable spot, opened my laptop to check email and web pages . . . and it didn’t work. It was a brand new laptop, bought a week Collapse
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August 18, 2017
4 DAYS AGO - Off Today
As mentioned in my blog yesterday, I’m off today – I’ve been on the go Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Off Today
As mentioned in my blog yesterday, I’m off today – I’ve been on the go for weeks without a break, including ten straight 14-16 hour days while working with Tim on his new book. But to help you get through the weekend, why not follow the action at the Bulgarian Open and the El Salvador Junior & Cadet Open? Oh, and here’s video (1:35) of a baby feeding multiball to a player – the best multiball practice I’ve ever seen!!! Collapse
August 15, 2017
7 DAYS AGO - USATT Board Teleconference
Last night we had a USATT Board teleconference. (I’m one of the Expand
7 DAYS AGO - USATT Board Teleconference
Last night we had a USATT Board teleconference. (I’m one of the Nasty/Naughty/Notorious/Nonsensical/Nauseating/Notable/Neighborly/Noble/Nifty/Nicest Nine – you choose the adjective.) It was a relatively short one, starting at 7PM and ending around 8:20PM. Attending were eight board members, plus CEO Gordon Kaye, High Performance Director Jorg Bitzigeio, High Performance Committee Chair Carl Danner, and legal Counsel Dennis Taylor. Here’s a rundown.
September In-Person Meeting. This will take place in Washington DC, Sept 9-10. Most of the board that’s not in driving distance already has their flight tickets and hotel reservations. It’s relatively local to me, maybe a 45-minute drive. Note that USATT members are welcome to attend all except for closed sessions, which generally don’t take up much time. (In closed sessions we cover legal and personnel matters.) I’ll publish the agenda for that meeting when it comes up, Collapse
August 10, 2017
10/08/2017 - Coaching a Junior Class for the First Time
At the MyTableTennis forum someone asked about teaching Expand
10/08/2017 - Coaching a Junior Class for the First Time
At the MyTableTennis forum someone asked about teaching a junior class for the first time, and how to get them serious about the sport. Below is my response. The last paragraph might be the most important. But note the sale on the Handbook in the first paragraph! I’m willing to supply them at cost to large groups or to USATT events.
I have ten pages on this in my Professional Table Tennis Coaches Handbook, which comes in print ($5.99) and Kindle (currently on sale at 99 cents). I've run the beginning junior classes at MDTTC for decades.
I generally go with a 2-1 ration - 2/3 practice, 1/3 games. (More like 50-50 for kids 8 and under.) For new players, you'll be doing a lot of multiball. At the high school level, they should have the coordination to hit among themselves after some multiball practice.
For games, have them play king of the table, up-down tables, or Brazilian Teams. However, it's also good to Collapse
August 7, 2017
07/08/2017 - Tip of the Week
Feet Parallel to Table is Usually a Backhand Stance.
Weekend – Pong Road, Expand
07/08/2017 - Tip of the Week
Feet Parallel to Table is Usually a Backhand Stance.
Weekend – Pong Road, and History of U.S. Table Tennis, and Coaching
I had a hyper-busy table tennis weekend. Here’s a rundown.
On Friday I saw Pong Road, which features table tennis player and coach Rocky Wang on the road, at MDTTC (my club), Ashville, NC, and at a tournament in Knoxville, TN. I’ll blog about this later this week. I also managed to see Dark Tower on Saturday night and Game of Thrones on Sunday night. All were excellent, though the critics don’t seem to agree with me on Dark Tower. (I’ve read the five very long Game of Thrones books by George R.R. Martin – who I’ve met - but not the seven Dark Tower novels by Stephen King.)
I’m still working with USATT Historian Tim Boggan on his History of U.S. Table Tennis, Vol. 20, which covers 1993-94. I’ve mentioned several times that I’m doing the page layouts, but that’s really not quite Collapse
August 2, 2017
02/08/2017 - Timmy Boggan’s Coming to Town! [Sung to the tune of “Santa Claus is Coming to Expand
02/08/2017 - Timmy Boggan’s Coming to Town! [Sung to the tune of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”]
He’ll be here at 10AM, and when he says 10AM, he means exactly 10AM. Knowing Tim, at 10:01AM we’ll be working on Volume 20 (!) of his History of U.S. Table Tennis. As noted in previous blogs, I do the page layouts and photo work. Mal Anderson has already scanned the photos and sent them to me. We’ll be working from 7AM to 5PM for the next 10-12 days (working around my coaching schedule on weekends), with Tim looking over my shoulder and periodically saying things like, “That goes there, you fool!”
Tim keeps strange hours, going to bed every night around 7PM and getting up around 3AM. So he’ll be puttering around my house each morning, impatiently waiting for me so we can get started at 7AM. But he’s a USATT Hall of Famer and the USATT Historian, so who are we to judge?
This is a tricky time for me—or should I say exhausting? After I Collapse
August break and summer reading
28/07/2017 - I’m going to take a little break from blogging during August. I’ll be away on holiday Expand
28/07/2017 - I’m going to take a little break from blogging during August. I’ll be away on holiday for some of August, so no table tennis whatsoever (shock horror), although I may try and persuade my five year old boy to hit some balls in the holiday park. During August, I’m also going to be busy filming ... Read more
The post August break and summer reading appeared first on Tom Lodziak Table Tennis Coaching. Collapse
July 19, 2017
19/07/2017 - Goals
Why do you play table tennis? Everyone has a reason, and whether you’ve thought it Expand
19/07/2017 - Goals
Why do you play table tennis? Everyone has a reason, and whether you’ve thought it through or not, it always comes down to goals. Is your goal to have fun? Fitness? To quench your competitive spirit? Improvement? To reach a specific level or win a specific title? To make money?
Fun. This should be at least part of everyone’s reason. If it isn’t fun, why not find another sport or activity that is fun for you? The fun could be either from the play itself or from being around your table tennis friends.
Fitness. It’s a great way to get in shape, especially if you are training (i.e. doing drills, including lots of footwork drills).
Competitive Spirit. This is not to be confused with “fun.” Some people are just very competitive, and need to compete. Playing table tennis for them is like drinking coffee for someone else. They may take coaching to become better, or just to develop a specific technique that they want to use to compete, such as a Collapse
July 14, 2017
14/07/2017 - Today's Blog will be up by 10:30 AM or I'll have to cancel my meeting with the Russian Expand
14/07/2017 - Today's Blog will be up by 10:30 AM or I'll have to cancel my meeting with the Russian lawyer who has tips on how to beat the Chinese. Collapse
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