Stroke Considerations
-By Coach Samson Dubina
 
If you have played for many years with the incorrect stroke, should you change it OR should you keep it and improve other aspects of your game?  This is a tough question.  Personally, I feel that YOU need to be on the one to answer this question.  But as you think to answer it, there are some stroke considerations that you should make in evaluating your own stroke and evaluating how a change would help or hurt your progress both short term, mid range, and long term.

 
 
 
 
After a poor performance at a tournament, many players go back to the local club and justify their play by saying, “Well, it was a learnin’ experience.”  Often, when questioned what they learned, these players have no club and use very general terms like – my backhand needs work.
 
In order to truly turn a bad tournament into a good thing, you must learn to be specific.  I know that it is painful, but do the following 4 things:
 
#1

Ok With Losing?
New Coaching Article by Samson Dubina
 
Each week, I talk to many different coaches, players, and parents from across the US and around the world about different aspects of the sport.  One of the parents recently mentioned something that is often a mis-understood principle.
 
Losing
 

The Samson Dubina Educational Table Tennis Academy, Inc. 501(c)(3) would like to congratulate Mike Boyd on becoming the SDETTA Volunteer Coach of the Year!  We have dozens of excellent volunteers here in Akron, Ohio.  Mike Boyd stands out as one of the primary people who dedicates hundreds of hours to connecting with visitors, playing with beginners, housing coaches, offering free advice at tournaments, and making the Samson Dubina Educational TT Academy what it is becoming!
 

 
 
 
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Breathe Man, Breathe!
 
Breathing both BETWEEN points and DURING the point is a very important, and often neglected, aspect of the game!  Players who have learned to properly exhale at contact improve their timing, power, mental focus, and endurance.
 
So how do you test it?
 
Just warmup forehand to forehand.  Is it natural for you to exhale with each hit?  If it feels unnatural, you probably haven’t been doing it!  Now play some points, ask a spectator to stand close and listen for the exhale and watch your chest. 

Buy a Power Pong Robot
Get FREE Online Lessons from Samson Dubina (4x USATT Coach of the Year)
 
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On behalf of the Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy, we would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and just thank you for your support throughout 2020.  It has been a tough year, yet you have continued to send us encouraging e-mails, continued with regular donations, and continued attending our events!  Without you, we could not continue.  As a Christmas gift from us, we decided to share a portion of our new book with you.  Check it out below and consider purchasing your own copy (It would make a great stocking stuffer)!
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Twiddling
-By Samson Dubina
 
In table tennis, spinning the racket in the hand is called twiddling.  For certain playing styles, this skill is an absolute necessity.  In this article, I’m going to briefly describe who should twiddle, when to twiddle, technique for twiddling, twiddling equipment, twiddle training, and twiddle tricks.
 
Who Should Twiddle