In order to maximize your performance this year, I have laid out some guidelines. If you follow these steps, you will be able to full apply the information from the lessons, practice them regularly, and reap the benefits from your tournament results.
As before, here is what I recommend...
#1 Taking notes at the end of your lesson. Before leaving, pull out your notebook and jot down the main points that we discussed during your lesson.
Serve return is a major problem for most table tennis athletes. That is the reason that I decided to post this short video clip! Check out this brand new clip from my DVD, International Table Tennis Skills!
One of the most frequently asked questions is..
“Samson, why do you do drills? Wouldn’t it be better to exclusively play matches each day?
Good Question. In preparing for the Olympic trials, there are many aspects of my game that I need to continually sharpen – strokes, footwork, serve, serve return, short game, offense, defense, etc… For isolating one or two aspects of the game, I can select unique drills to work that aspect over and over again during a 10 minute drill. So for performing drills, you can work on the specifics.
IN ORDER TO SLOW DOWN YOUR OPPONENT, YOU MUST FORCE HIM TO MAKE A DECISION.
Let me explain...
During a match, most of the mental toughness comes between points. Being mentally tough means...
1. Evaluating the previous point for what you did right
2. Evaluating the previous point for what you did wrong
3. Encouraging yourself
4. Planning some general tactics if you are receiving
The Shaw JCC will be closed this week for Rosh Hashana. Please note that there will be no league or junior classes.
See you next week!
If you have questions, you can e-mail Coach Samson Dubina tt@samsondubina.com
The Newgy Ohio Open concluded with California's Dan Liu taking top honors and $1400 by winning both the u2600 and Open events with 20 consecutive wins! With groups of 8 players in every event and 4 advancing from each group, most players were able to play 15-25 matches over the course of the weekend. I would like to personally congratulate all the winners.
Here are the detailed match results: http://omnipong.com/T-tourney.asp?t=103&r=328
Most of your practice time in table tennis should consist of doing game-situation drills. Game-like drills consist of a serve, return, and rally. HOWEVER, there are times during practice that you should put yourself in a bad situation to push yourself to the limit, to push yourself HARDER than you actually would go in a match.
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