We recently heard back from ITTF that, YES, Bluetooth Coaching is now legal under the USATT and ITTF rules.  The Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy will be moving forward with the idea using it in leagues and tournaments to best prepare our players for the US Nationals in July!  One important point to remember is that communication is only allowed between points and it is NOT allowed during the point.
Video examples and tips about bluetooth coaching will be available soon.
Check back within the next few weeks!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Middle-Aged TT Training
By Joe Ciarrochi
 
We all know TT is widely played by a variety of people both young and old at many different levels. Most use the game as a fun activity while hanging with friends and family.
Many who've played consistently have most likely visited a club near them at one time or another where they found friendly competition as well as challenging matches.
 

 
 
 
Dear Players,
Starting on October 1st, the ITTF rules of table tennis will be changed to permit advice between points. This rule has been tested for several years in the German professional league, and will now apply to almost all competition worldwide.
However, upon advice from various committees, the USATT Board of Directors has voted not to apply the new rule to domestic tournaments. For normal USATT sanctioned tournaments, the old coaching rule will apply; advice between points will not be permitted.

 
 
 
 
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.
 

We are now taking sign-up for our brand new classes. The cost is $80 for 8 weeks of classes and that price includes a free dvd ($59 value), free book, or free racket. Sign up now by clicking the link below
Junior Registration Form http://omnipong.com/EntryForms/1016-29.pdf
Adult Registration Form http://omnipong.com/EntryForms/1016-30.pdf

Here are a few short sections from the DVD.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Dear Students,
 
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.
 

 
 
 
After reading hundreds of coaching articles, taking lessons, practicing at home, playing at the club, and competing in tournament, you are probably wondering…  “When will I improve?”  You will improve your game when you begin making the right decisions and are consistently able to execute your shots.  So what kind of right decisions are necessary for improvement?  This is the exact topic that I will be talking about in this article - Decisions.  I will be talking about two game styles to illustrate my point – the looper and the chopper.
 

 
 
 
Here is an e-mail that I recently wrote to one of my students.  I hope that maybe you too can learn from this lesson...
 
 
 
Dear Student,
You made a comment during our lesson last week, and I just wanted to make a short clarification.  If I remember correctly, you said, “Samson, you coach like you play.” Referring to being strict with precisely which balls must be played short, which balls must be looped, which balls must be powered, which balls must be placed to certain locations…   in a ridged framework.