Newgy’s Blog

Why is it that most people only floss their teeth 2x per month?

“People just don’t see the need!”

It isn’t hard. It isn’t painful. It isn’t expensive. It doesn’t take hours. Dentists see the results of not flossing daily. If everyone saw the need (in the same way the dentists saw the need) there would be a world of people flossing daily and having healthier mouths.

As a table tennis athlete and coach, I see major problems in players’ technique and strategy daily. However, until the player sees it for himself, he really doesn’t believe that his problem is THAT bad. It’s kind of like bad breath; it is easy to detect in others, but we can’t smell it on ourselves.

So here is what I do to show a student just how bad his (breath), aka table tennis game, is. During a practice session, I will record a student’s strokes, then let him watch the DVD. Shocked… he will often come back with a response like:

“That’s not what I imagined.”

“I have some major changes to make.”

“That’s not me!”

“I had no idea that I looked that bad.”

Visualizing your game is the fastest way to improve. Once you see your mistakes, you need a coach to help correct your problems and give advice. About 90% of the American players do not have access to a professional coach. This is why I started the website: www.samsondubina.com.

Here is how it works:

Record several videos of yourself playing table tennis: match play, drills, robot, serving, etc. Load the videos onto youtube. Paste the youtube link onto my website. Wait 24-48 hours. I will give you a thorough analysis of your game including instructional videos and match play to explain your problems and the solutions to fixing your errors. Practicing is good. But remember: Perfect practice makes perfect.

Samson Dubina

Improving Mental Attitude

Years ago, as a child, I vowed to myself that one day I would beat my oldest brother, Slawek, in ping-pong. Once in a while I would try, and I just kept failing. No wonder! He was five years older than me, much stronger, and he had that "I am unbeatable" kind of guy attitude. Even later, when I got better and faster, I still couldn’t beat him. I was "losing" before we even started playing.

Life took its course and I ended up in America, far away from home, which is Gdansk, Poland. Every few years I’d go back to Poland, try to play with him and I would lose. It was about two years ago that I heard of this incredible place, the Newgy Table Tennis Training Center, where some man had created a robot to train with. These robots (Robo-Pong) can train with you and make you a better player. You can imagine what I thought. I started going to the Newgy Center for training and to play with the Robo-Pong table tennis robot. Eventually I ended up buying one for myself and a year and a half later I was ready to try. I knew that Slawek was not practicing table tennis at all, and I was finally really learning how to play. During my summer vacation in Poland, I challenged my brother, and I finally won! It was a hard match but I won. Yet, as I played with him, I realized how he still wins with me mentally. As I kept beating myself up for every wrong shot, he would just not waste a second on any of his mistakes. They seem not to affect him at all.

So now I am focused on improving my mental attitude. I no longer want to waste time on telling myself how bad I am, or getting mad at myself, neither in ping-pong nor in life. In table tennis there is so little time between balls, and every time I get down on myself I waste the opportunity to prepare well for the next ball. The speed of table tennis and the frequency of the ball forces me to work on my attitude quickly. It’s like I am trying to re-wire the muscle memory of my brain. The outcome? I not only see the improvement in my table tennis game but also in life. Every time I make a mistake, or something goes wrong, I tell myself: ok, prepare for the next ball, prepare for the next opportunity, because it will come, and when it comes, I want to be ready!

Liliana Kohann

Table Tennis coaches need to be aware of how their students learn— some by watching, some learn by hearing, some learn by doing, and some learn by feeling. All are important, but the coach needs to focus on the way the student learns best. The coach can determine this by trying each method out or a combination. When you know which method works best, practice using it and then learning will become much easier for the student.

Keep records on your students’ fundamentals. Do not proceed on to the next assignment until your student can perform the current activity with 80% accuracy. For example, when training with a table tennis robot, set it to a faster level of speed and/or oscillation if the student can perform 50% accuracy without footwork or stroke break down. Then continue the drill until the student can reach the 80% accuracy level. Then overload the student again by increasing the drill difficulty until the student reaches the 80% level. If the footwork, stroke breaks down or if success is below 50%, then you need to lower the difficulty.

By keeping records you can your keep your students advancing according to their ability.

Carl Hardin

Everyone wants to improve; however, most table tennis players will plateau at a certain level – 1200, 1800, 2100, etc… Here are some of the strategies that I have used to advance my table tennis game far beyond my fellow club members.

1. Know your strengths and weaknesses

Once you clearly understand your strengths and weaknesses, you can strategize on how to play your strengths against your opponent’s weaknesses. Do you win points with a strong attack or by being consistent? Do you make more mistakes with forehand or backhand?

2. Get a coach

A table tennis coach will see and understand things that you won’t see – strokes, footwork, serves, mental game, or an endless list of other common problems. If there isn’t a coach in your area, record yourself and compare the video to the pros.

3. Improve every aspect of your game

Advancing one part of your game might help against one particular opponent, but you need to progress all aspects. For example, if you develop a great forehand flip – excellent! But what happens if your opponent only serves long and pushes long?

4. Place a priority on serve and serve return

Each point starts with serve and return. If you can serve effectively, you can possibly win 3-4 more points each game. This is valuable. If you can return serve well, you will force your opponent to rally and lose his serving advantage.

5. Serving practice 20%, Drills and/or Robot 40%, Matches 40%

Serving, as stated previously, is the fastest way to progress in the shortest amount of time. Drills and/or table tennis robot practice will improve your basics and give a solid foundation. Matches are vital; this is the time to implement what you have been practicing.

Samson Dubina

Attending the Millcreek Table Tennis Open is always a fun time for me as I get to see a lot of my old friends from all the clubs in the PA, NY and OH areas that I used to compete with and share this great sport of table tennis! While Newgy Robo-Pong was not a sponsor of the event, I did have a ping-pong table and court set up in the lunch area to do some demonstrations of the features of the Newgy Robo-Pong 2050!

Two of the Elite Training Groups that meets on Monday evenings at the Newgy Table Tennis Training Center decided to make the drive with me and they had a great weekend as well! Swavik was seeded number one in the U-2000’s and won in the final against the number two seed from Canada! Swavik also upset a higher seed to advance out of group in the U-2200 event. But he didn’t stop there, he just kept up the offense until the semi-finals, where he had to face training partner Yev. These guys put on a great show as the commitment to training allowed them to attack and counter attack consistently during the match. Yev won the match but lost the war- he faded in the final as it was his 13^th match of the day!

For the three of us, the Millcreek Open was our next to last warm up event before the biggest event of the year for us— the North American Teams in Baltimore, MD! At Millcreek, Swavik and Yev were able to meet and compete against their team mates: Keith & Seth Pech. Those four will be one of two Robo-Pong powered teams this year and there may be a third –an all female team!

For now it is back to the gym for Falkenburg and opening against underspin with the Newgy Robo-Pong 2050, serve and attack drills with Yev and Swavik to prepare for Baltimore. Hope to see you there!

Roger Dickson