Dear League Players and Group Class Participants,
 
Thanks so much for joining us for 8 weeks of leagues and group classes.  As we draw close to the end of this session, we are delighted to announce our summer sessions will begin the week of May 31.
 
Early Bird Discount
If you register by May 20, then you will receive a discount on your registration fees:  normal cost is $15/night - early bird rate is $10/night.  You can register for the entire season or just register for the desired number of classes.

Copying the pros is a great way to improve, but you must keep in mind who you are and who they are!!!!!!!!

 
 
 
Before and After
 
When developing a specific skill in table tennis, it is very important to think about the shot before and the shot after.  Let me explain…
 
Scenario #1

 
 
 
 
In the US, most serious players take private lessons from a pro.  Throughout the world, private lessons are a rarity and many players participate in group sessions.  Regardless if you are 500 or 2500 level, I recommend that you take a mixture of both.  Private lessons for specific issues and group lessons for several reasons that I’ll be outlining in this article.  Here are the five reasons that I recommend that you take group lessons.
 
Teamwork

 
 
 
 
Developing a basic Tactical Plan for competitions
 
Every player devotes most of his/her time to technical training; but tactical training is essential to apply the technique in every match and competition. Tactical training’s objective is that the player learns how to carry out a plan during the game; and this varies from one player to another. So, this plan must be properly structured.
 

 
 
 
 
 
“If I could have won all the deuce games at the last tournament, I would be rated over 1400 now!”
 
“If my opponent hadn’t got 2 nets at deuce, I would have had the upset of my life.”
 
“If I could have won all the deuce games at the state championship, I would have won the title 4-0.”
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Future of Table Tennis
 
 
Today, many coaches in the US are teaching outdated table tennis techniques from the 80’s and 90’s.  The strokes and strategies that once were used to reach a world class level are now much less effective as the old has been replaced with better equipment, more efficient strokes, and more advanced playing styles.  So, I want to say that coaches in the US should do their best to keep up to date.
 
More importantly, coaches in the US should LOOK TO THE FUTURE.