July 29, 2019
29/07/2019 - This week's blog will go up tomorrow, on Tuesday, July 30. I meant to do it today, but after Expand
29/07/2019 - This week's blog will go up tomorrow, on Tuesday, July 30. I meant to do it today, but after my two weeks out of town, I'm exhausted and battling a background headache, and the two are ganging up on me as they keep yelling, "Go back to bed!" So I'm going back to bed for a few hours. Meanwhile, the Tip of the Week is up, Do You Want to Know an Opponent's Rating Before a Match? Here's A Little Multiball (16 sec) - at that age moving like that is fun! And here's Triangular Pong (14 sec)! So . . . see you tomorrow! Collapse
July 8, 2019
08/07/2019 - This week's blog will go up tomorrow, on Tuesday, July 9. I only got back from the Nationals Expand
08/07/2019 - This week's blog will go up tomorrow, on Tuesday, July 9. I only got back from the Nationals on Sunday, and today (Monday) I have a number of timely issues to take care of. Meanwhile, here is this week's Tip of the Week, Take the Shot!
Here's today's ToDo list - both table tennis and science fiction issues.
Write up coaching report on players I coached at Nationals
Work out finances from Nationals (some complications)
Format Tim Boggan's Volume 23 of History of U.S. Table Tennis into individual chapters, optimize each chapter, and send to USATT for publication
Choose, format, and send photos to the China Daily News for two upcoming table tennis articles I'm interviewed in
Update and send USATT Regionalization Plans to USATT CEO Virginia Sung
Check on discrepancy in online book sales - royalties don't seem to match sales
Take large luggage bag to repair shop for broken wheel - needs to be fixed by next weekend
Submit SF stories to magazines - deadlines are Collapse
June 24, 2019
24/06/2019 - This week's blog will be up by 12:30PM or I get caged up in a pen at the Mexico border with no Expand
24/06/2019 - This week's blog will be up by 12:30PM or I get caged up in a pen at the Mexico border with no ping-pong paddle. Collapse
June 10, 2019
10/06/2019 - Tip of the Week
Should You Play Differently at Deuce?
USA Players Training and Competing in Expand
10/06/2019 - Tip of the Week
Should You Play Differently at Deuce?
USA Players Training and Competing in Europe
Here are two new articles on this, both by Matt Hetherington:
Europe Calls for New Generation of US Table Tennis Super Stars
Michael Tran Prepares to Head for New Horizons
This is HUGE news - from the first article, we now have 23 USA players, mostly juniors or under 20, all training and playing in Europe (mostly Germany), representing clubs in professional leagues. This is GREAT news, and here's why.
I've always thought that for a USA players to reach the highest levels, either USATT needs to find a way to set up professional leagues across the country (very difficult and expensive, and you have to attract lots of top overseas players to raise the level), or we need to send our players overseas to those professional leagues. Since we can't get do the former, we are now doing the latter. When USATT was looking to hire High Performance Directors twice in the last few years, Collapse
Table Tennis Question about types and colours of rubbers
30/05/2019 - My question is about the difference between types and colours of table tennis rubbers
May 20, 2019
20/05/2019 - Tip of the Week
Recipe for Table Tennis Success. I had a little fun this week!
Virginia Sung Expand
20/05/2019 - Tip of the Week
Recipe for Table Tennis Success. I had a little fun this week!
Virginia Sung Appointed New CEO of USA Table Tennis
Here's the USATT article. She starts work today. Here main credentials (from the article, and these are only a very brief outline):
Ms Sung founded and served as CEO of a number of large scale businesses in China, some with over 200 employees. She also holds a Bachelor of Philosophy from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. As a player, she represented the USA on numerous occasions, including as a six-time member of the US World Championships team between 1993 and 2001, a finalist in the Women's Singles event at the 2001 National Championships, and the co-winner of National Champion Women's Doubles event in 1998.
I knew her from many years ago, but mostly as a seemingly very shy junior after she moved to the U.S. from China at age 14, when her English wasn't so good. (She's very fluent now, almost no accent.) She lived and Collapse
Table Tennis Question - Placement of service
11/05/2019 - When you are serving, do you have to send the ball in between your opponent's corners of the table?
May 6, 2019
06/05/2019 - This week's blog will go up tomorrow (Tuesday). I have an incredibly painful toothache and Expand
06/05/2019 - This week's blog will go up tomorrow (Tuesday). I have an incredibly painful toothache and have an "emergency" appointment at noon today. Until this is fixed I won't be doing much of anything. Collapse
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August 12, 2019
6 DAYS AGO - Next Blog Will Be on October 7, but Tips Will Go Up Every Monday
I'll be away until the end of Expand
6 DAYS AGO - Next Blog Will Be on October 7, but Tips Will Go Up Every Monday
I'll be away until the end of September - see segment below. However, I've written a bunch of Tips of the Week in advance, and so they will continue to go up every Monday while I'm gone.
Tip of the Week
Serving Short. I've done similar articles on specific short serves, but this is a more general article.
What's Your Non-Playing Table Tennis Expertise?
If you are reading this, you are probably a table tennis player, or at least a former player. But there's more to table tennis than just playing. There are other aspects of the game you can do, either because you enjoy doing it, or to help out. So . . . what's Your Non-Playing Table Tennis Expertise? (The links below are for people in the U.S., but others can contact their country's association.)
Coaching (Note that they are revamping this, with a new USATT Coaching Education and Certification process being created in conjunction with the Collapse
Table Football Alive And Kicking After 98 Years
13/07/2019 - Table football has pretty much survived everything that has been thrown at it down the years. Expand
13/07/2019 - Table football has pretty much survived everything that has been thrown at it down the years. First, it was simple board games such as Monopoly and Snakes & Ladders, in which luck played a massive part in deciding who would end up as winner. Roll the dice, pray for plenty of sixes, and hope this […]
The post Table Football Alive And Kicking After 98 Years appeared first on GoSports Reviews. Collapse
Three Young Darts Players Who Could Be Number One in the Sport
05/07/2019 - Three Young Darts Players Who Could Be Number One in the Sport Three-time world champion Michael Expand
05/07/2019 - Three Young Darts Players Who Could Be Number One in the Sport Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen has been a dominant figure in darts ever since he won his maiden world title with the PDC in 2014. The Dutchman is a winner of 32 premier events and has been a long way clear at the […]
The post Three Young Darts Players Who Could Be Number One in the Sport appeared first on GoSports Reviews. Collapse
June 17, 2019
17/06/2019 - Tip of the Week
Six-Step Training Progression. (This is an old article that I never used as a Tip, Expand
17/06/2019 - Tip of the Week
Six-Step Training Progression. (This is an old article that I never used as a Tip, so I did some updating.)
Weekend Coaching
In our Thursday Beginning Class, we introduced the players to forehand looping - or, for most of them, rolling the ball with topspin. For some of the more advanced ones we had them both looping and following it up with a smash. (Key issue: drop shoulder some for loop, keep up for smash.) We also did some service practice.
On Saturday I fed multiball for two hours to John Olsen and Kevin Walton, getting them ready for the table tennis events at the World Senior Games in Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 19-21. We've been doing this most Saturdays for the last two months. We finish each session with me serving to them so they can work on receive, about 7 minutes each.
In the Sunday Beginning Class we introduced them to random drills. The main drill was putting the ball randomly to the forehand or backhand, and they had to correctly react, not Collapse
June 3, 2019
03/06/2019 - Tip of the Week
What to Think About Between Points . . . and What NOT to Think About.
Why Many Top Expand
03/06/2019 - Tip of the Week
What to Think About Between Points . . . and What NOT to Think About.
Why Many Top Players and Up-and-Coming Players are NOT Innovative
Here's a strange thing I've noticed. I sometimes let up-and-coming players (especially juniors) practice against my serves, which are notoriously rather tricky. Especially the first time out, they miss, over and over. What I've noticed is that it is the weaker players who immediately try to copy my serves!
I think I know the reason. Suppose you have two players starting out. One copies the best players like Ma Long, and keeps working to develop perfect shots like them. This player hones those shots and improves rapidly until he too is a top player. Now imagine the second one, who is more innovative. Because of this, he experiments more than the first player, and keeps trying new ways of doing his shots. Result? He never quite perfects his shots like the first player. The moral here is that when it comes to fundamentals, Collapse
Table Tennis Question - When should the umpire call the score?
27/05/2019 - Can you tell me when the umpire should call the score
Best Tennis Racquets to Buy in 2019: Reviews and Guide
16/05/2019 - Photo by bobby2906, If you are looking to take your tennis game to the next level this summer, Expand
16/05/2019 - Photo by bobby2906, If you are looking to take your tennis game to the next level this summer, you’ll need the best available tools for the job. You may already have a decent tennis racquet but one that doesn’t suit your style of play. Just like ping pong players that need the most versatile penhold […]
The post Best Tennis Racquets to Buy in 2019: Reviews and Guide appeared first on GoSports Reviews. Collapse
Table Tennis Question - Serve hitting lines or edges
07/05/2019 - Can you tell me what happens when the serve hits a line or edge of the table
April 29, 2019
29/04/2019 - This week's blog will be up by 1PM or the Night King throws an ice spear at me and Thanos Expand
29/04/2019 - This week's blog will be up by 1PM or the Night King throws an ice spear at me and Thanos snaps his fingers and turns me to dust. (I got back late last night from coaching and the coaches meeting and so missed the 9PM showing of "Game of Thrones," and so had to watch the midnight showing - and then stayed up until about 3AM Googling and reading about the episode.) But the Tip of the Week is up, Rope-a-Dope Defense. Collapse
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August 5, 2019
05/08/2019 - This week's blog will be up by 12:30 PM or the DOW will plunge 600 points. Oh wait...
Best Baseball Video Games On The Market
09/07/2019 - Video games give fans the chance to emulate their heroes in a way that we all love. Whether you Expand
09/07/2019 - Video games give fans the chance to emulate their heroes in a way that we all love. Whether you are swinging the bat to score home runs or sitting in the office and building a dynasty, video games give you the chance to step into someone else’s shoes and be a star. Here is a […]
The post Best Baseball Video Games On The Market appeared first on GoSports Reviews. Collapse
Authorised Racket Coverings - List of Authorised Table Tennis Rubbers
02/07/2019 - Which racket coverings are authorised by the ITTF? Find out here...
Best European Darts Venues: Top Four Places to Watch The Arrows
14/06/2019 - Darts is one of the most popular sports in Europe and it still commands a dedicated fanbase, who Expand
14/06/2019 - Darts is one of the most popular sports in Europe and it still commands a dedicated fanbase, who regularly enjoy watching all of the drama unfold at the oche. Darts devotees often attend multiple events on the calendar, taking in action on both the Professional Darts Corporation and British Darts Organisation tours. Despite the majority […]
The post Best European Darts Venues: Top Four Places to Watch The Arrows appeared first on GoSports Reviews. Collapse
Table Tennis Question about Let Serves
31/05/2019 - I know it is a let when the serve hits the net, but how many chances do you get to serve again?
May 27, 2019
27/05/2019 - This week's blog will go up on Tuesday, May 28. However, the Tip of the Week is up - Why You Expand
27/05/2019 - This week's blog will go up on Tuesday, May 28. However, the Tip of the Week is up - Why You Should Develop a Backhand Loop. Have a great Memorial Day! Collapse
May 13, 2019
13/05/2019 - This week's blog will be up by 1PM or the Chinese will slap a 25% tariff on all copies of Expand
13/05/2019 - This week's blog will be up by 1PM or the Chinese will slap a 25% tariff on all copies of Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers. This will dramatically lower sales. Since I pay taxes on these, this will lead to a shortfall of revenue for the U.S., leading to a major financial deficit that could lead to utter ruin. On the other hand, the lack of copies of Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers in China could drastically hurt their team's performance in international competition, thereby improving the U.S.'s chances. After all, does anyone seriously think Ma Long could have won Men's Singles at the last Worlds without his copy of Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers? Collapse
May 7, 2019
07/05/2019 - Tip of the Week
Playing Short Pips on the Forehand.
Sorry, no regular blog this week. I just went Expand
07/05/2019 - Tip of the Week
Playing Short Pips on the Forehand.
Sorry, no regular blog this week. I just went through the most painful 24 hours of my life. I came down with a "minor" toothache last week, but since I had a dentist appointment already for this week - ironically, at 9:40AM today (Tuesday), which is about when I'm writing this - I thought I could wait. But on Sunday it got very, very painful, and I barely made it through the two classes I teach those days.
I discovered that if I swirled room-temperature water over it the pain went away for about 30 seconds. So starting sometime on Sunday night, and until a little before noon on Monday (when I saw the dentist), I literally sat in my lounge chair with cases of water and some big plastic cups, and every 30 seconds or so would take a small mouthful of water, swirl, and spit out into the big cups. I kept that up for about 15 hours straight, never sleeping - I had no choice, it was either that or searing pain. I went through Collapse
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