(By MDTTC)
Olympic Gold Medalist Chen Longcan Visiting MDTTC & other news
Welcome to the 67th issue of the MDTTC News! As usual, there’s lots of news to report and new and ongoing programs, and we hope to see you at some of them. As usual a special thanks to MDTTC sponsors Butterfly and HW Global Foundation. Make sure to read my daily table tennis blog – I often write about MDTTC happenings there. And if you have a nice picture taken at MDTTC, email it to me and it might make the newsletter!
-Editor and Coach Larry Hodges; Publisher Wen Hsu.
CONTENT IN THIS ISSUE:
- Holiday Hours
- MDTTC Winter Camp: December 26 -30
- Olympic Gold Medalist & World Champion Chen Longcan Visiting MDTTC
- MDTTC Junior Group Classes: Register Now for Winter Sessions
- Adult Program Updates
- North American Teams
- MDTTC Leagues
- Bowen Chen Interview
- Private Coaching
- Birthday Parties and Rental Space for Corporate and Private Events
- MDTTC Web and Facebook Pages
- Tip of the Month: Top Sixteen Reasons Players Don’t Improve
- Bonus Tip of the Month: Three Simple Side-to-Side Drills
Holiday Hours
MDTTC will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. We will be open during the U.S. Open. Please visit the club’s website MDTTC.com for updates on Holiday Hours.
MDTTC Winter Camp
The annual Christmas/Winter Camp will be held Dec. 26-30. The camp is for all levels and ages, though most of the players will be juniors. (If you don’t mind training with hard-working kids, adults are welcome!) You can order Chinese food in the morning to be delivered for lunch. For more info, see the MDTTC Camp Page. NOTE – Chen Longcan will be coaching at the camp – see below!
Former Olympic Gold Medalist and World Champion Chen Longcan at MDTTC
He will be visiting Maryland Table Tennis Center in December & January, coaching at the MDTTC Winter Camp, Dec. 26-30, 2017, and giving private lessons. To schedule private lessons, please call 301.519.8580 or email us at Marylandttc@gmail.com. (See picture at top.)
MDTTC Junior Programs – Register Now for Winter Sessions
- Sunday Junior Class. The new Winter Session starts on January 7, 2018 (Sundays 4:00-5:30 PM, ten weeks). This is for novices/beginners/advanced beginners, ages 6-14, with Coach Larry, John Hsu and others assisting. Kids will be grouped by skill level and age.
- Tuesday Level 2 Junior Class. The new Winter Session begins on January 9, 2017 (Tuesdays, 6-7 PM, ten weeks). This is intended for kids 8-15 who enjoy playing table tennis and want to improve their game. Players must know the basics in table tennis and/or have taken table tennis lessons previously. The class is kept small for individualized instruction with Coach John Hsu and other assisting.
- Thursday Junior Class. January 18 – March 15, 6:30-7:30 PM. Sign up the Winter Session online with Dept. of Montgomery County Recreation.
MDTTC Adult Programs
- Tuesday and/or Friday Lunch Group Training (1:00-2:00 pm) for all levels. Improve your table tennis skills while getting great physical and mental exercises. Every player will get one-on-one playing time with Coach Jeffrey Zeng (2550+ rating).
- Sunday Adult Training, normally from 7:00-8:30PM, but temporarily on break until Jan. 7. No pre-registration is required, but if you have any questions, email Coach Larry. Complete beginners should take several private coaching sessions first so they can hit basic forehands, backhands, and push. Be prepared to improve!!!
North American Teams
A huge number of MDTTC players took part! The junior players especially had a junior feast – but because most of their teams ended up in higher divisions than they were seeded (due to upsets on day one), they were in very strong divisions and so didn’t win as many medals as they would have if they’d been in their seeded divisions. Here are complete results, and here’s a team listing. MDTTC teams that won medals include:
- MDTTC Star (Roy Ke, Tiffany Ke, Sabrina Zhu) finished second in Division 2.
- HW Global Foundation/MDTTC 3 (Hanfei Hu, Michelle Kang, Lance Wei) finished second in Division 12
MDTTC Leagues
- Tuesday and Friday Night Leagues. All ages and levels. Please arrive prior to 7:25 pm to sign up. If you know you’ll be a few minutes late, please call the club at 301-519-8580 BEFORE 7:20 pm, otherwise YOU WILL BE TURNED AWAY
- Saturday Elite League. This is primarily for players over 2000, and is on Saturdays at 1PM.
- Saturday Junior League. For ages 6-18, from 5:30-7:30PM, about twice a month. Run by Coach Wang Qingliang, it includes warm-up, match play, game analysis, and physical training (time permitting). Players must be pre-approved by Coach Wang.
Bowen Chen Interview at Badger Open
Here’s the video interview (2 min) with the MDTTC coach and star player, by former MDTTC junior star Barbara Wei.
Birthday Parties & Rental Space for Corporate and Private Events
MDTTC offers birthday parties ran by our popular Coach Larry. We also regularly host community events and team-building activities for local businesses. Space rental for special corporate and private events are available. Here is Facility Rental Information, and here is info on Birthday Party Packages.
MDTTC offers birthday parties ran by our popular Coach Larry. We also regularly host community events and team-building activities for local businesses. Space rental for special corporate and private events are available. Here is Facility Rental Information, and here is info on Birthday Party Packages.
MDTTC Web and Facebook Pages
Don’t forget to see the regularly updated MDTTC Facebook page, and make sure to “like” it! Stop by and see all the photos, read the latest news, or post your own comments. Also see the MDTTC web page for regularly updated info.
Tip of the Month: Top Sixteen Reasons Players Don’t Improve
By Larry Hodges
I really tried narrowing this down, but this could just as easily have been a Top 50 list. As with past lists, these are not necessarily in order of importance.
1. Bad technique.
2. Deep down they don’t believe they can play at a higher level and so continue to only play shots at their current level.
3. They keep practicing the same things rather than work on what’s keeping them from improving.
4. They don’t use Saturation Training to fix weaknesses.
5. They don’t know The Book on Your Game.
6. They don’t develop good third-ball attack serves to improve their attack.
7. They don’t make it a habit to serve and attack.
8. They don’t work with a coach and practice partner regularly.
9. They focus on power instead of consistency and placement.
10. They don’t develop their game tactically (what to do in a given match) and strategically (developing your game for the future).
11. They don’t develop an overpowering strength that opponents will fear.
12. They don’t make moving their feet a habit.
13. They don’t analyze their wins and losses to see what works and what doesn’t.
14. They don’t follow the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Table Tennis Players.
15. They aren’t perfectionists.
16. They don’t know How to Move Up a Level.
Bonus Tip of the Month: Three Simple Side-to-Side Drills
By Larry Hodges
Most table tennis movement is side-to-side, and so you need to practice this a lot. Here are three drills you should be doing – but only do the second when you are proficient with the first, and only do the third when you are proficient with the second. At all levels you should do all three, even the more basic first one – just do it faster and quicker. All three drills can be done either with a partner, where you return each shot to the same spot (partner’s forehand or backhand – most often it’s the backhand), or with a partner or coach feeding multiball.
- Drill One: Side to Side Forehand and Backhand. Your partner hits the ball side to side, alternating. Your focus is on consistency and strong shots. As you advance, take the ball quicker.
- Drill Two: Side to Side Random Forehand and Backhand, Two Spots. Your partner hits the ball randomly either to your forehand or backhand. Your focus is on reacting, not anticipating. Make sure your first move is the right move. Don’t rush – you have more time then you think.
- Drill Three: Side to Side Random Whole Table. Your partner hits the ball randomly anywhere, focusing on going to the corners and middle (your playing elbow, roughly midway between forehand and backhand). Your focus is on reacting, not anticipating, while also covering shots to the middle. Make sure your first move is the right move. On shots to the middle favor your strongest shot, whether it’s forehand or backhand, but make sure to move into position to do so.
