In this blog posting, I’ll be detailing drills 11-15 on the Robo-Pong 2050/1050 and giving some tips on how to perfect your table tennis game using these drills.

Drill #11

This drill simulates the most common pattern used by Olympic Table Tennis Medalists Zhang Jike and Wang Hao. With the new development of the backhand banana flip, most of the world’s best table tennis athlete’s choose to serve short to the forehand. After the receiver is drawn from the backhand corner, then the next ball is quickly attacked to the deep backhand. This is the pattern of this drill. It first gives a short serve to the forehand followed by a quick ball to the backhand. After the backhand, the robot gives you a short rest to prepare for the next rally. Instead of continuing with a marathon rally, this drill stops after two balls to give you time to recover. If you are a right-handed player, make sure to step forward with your right foot, let the ball reach the top of the bounce, make a quick flip down-the-line, get back quickly in position and perform a backhand loop. When backhand looping, be sure to stay on your toes, lean forward, and brush the ball primarily using your wrist and forearm. If this drill seems to be too difficult, start at +40% wait adjust and gradually decrease your wait as you improve. If this drill seems too easy, try to use forehand on both balls, which requires you to move a longer distance in the same amount of time.

Drill #12

This is the first footwork drill that starts with a serve. The robot serves a short topspin ball to the short forehand, followed by a quick ball deep to the middle, followed by a medium speed ball to the backhand, and ends with another quick ball to the middle. The critical element to remember is to make small adjustments with your feet between middle and backhand. When hitting the middle ball, use your forehand and shift your feet slightly from your back foot (right foot for righties) to your front foot as you rotate your waist. When hitting your backhand, keep your feet more parallel to the table. If you are close to the table while hitting the middle ball, you probably won’t need to move forward for the backhand. However, if you are far from the table while hitting your middle ball, you will need to move forward to hit the slower ball thrown to the backhand. Also, you should try to keep score. Play games to five points. If you can make all four balls on the table, then your score one point. If you miss any of your four hits, the robot scores one point. After a game to five, pick up the balls and take a short rest to regain your focus.

Drill #13

This is another great drill that combines the serve with a short rally, similar to a game. After the four balls, the robot gives a short break so that you can recover for the next rally. First, the robot will give you a short ball to the middle, followed by a deep topspin to the forehand, a slower ball to the middle, then another fast topspin ball to the wide backhand. If this drill seems to be too difficult, try shortening your stroke on the fast balls (to give you more time) and keep your normal stroke on the slow balls. Usually, you should play the middle and forehand balls with your forehand and the backhand ball with your backhand. However, by being more creative, you can add more variation and depth to your game. Sometimes, try using your backhand from the middle ball or your forehand from the backhand ball. I like to try to finish the last ball with a killer backhand loop. See if you can make seven out of the ten. If you are making fewer than seven, then slow down and add more spin.

Drill #14

This drill gives you one ball to the short forehand, followed by a deep ball to the forehand, followed by a deep ball to the backhand, followed by a medium-soft ball to the middle. After the ball comes, you will get about three seconds to rest between every series. Try to perform this drill for five minutes continuously. During the entire five minutes try hitting different locations. Flip the first ball to the middle, loop the second ball to the wide backhand, loop the third ball with your backhand to your opponent’s middle, then step forward to finish the last ball wide to your opponent’s forehand for a winner. After you have become familiar with this drill, try to vary the speed and spins on your attack. Try to loop the first ball at 60% speed, the next ball at 30% speed, then the last ball at 90% speed. Being consistent while varying your shots is the key to improvement in table tennis. More variables in your game will make it difficult for your opponent to adjust to your attacks.

Drill #15

This is one of my favorite drills on the Robo-Pong 2050! There is a table tennis training center in Faulkenberg, Sweden that often uses this drill – that’s where it got its name. This drill starts with short serve to the forehand, followed by a deep topspin ball to the backhand, followed by another deep ball to the backhand (use your forehand for this ball), and concludes by a difficult topspin ball out wide to your forehand. If your feet are fast enough, use the side-to-side shuffle movement while moving to the wide forehand. If you aren’t quick enough, I would recommend using the cross-over step. For righties doing the crossover step, start by taking a mini-step with your right foot, take a big step with your left crossing over your right, and contact the ball as your left foot contacts the floor. After completing the last stroke, get back in position. Although this drill stops after the fourth ball, it is critical to develop a good habit of getting back in position. I would highly recommend using this drill in your daily table tennis training routine!

Samson Dubina

As the fifth version started to take place, there was a noticeable change in the event. Teams that had come in the past and were finishing 3^rd and 4^th place in the First Division, were now battling just to get in to there. With the growth of private table tennis clubs, the players are getting better and many former international level players are finding coaching jobs in the U.S. with several coming from both Atlanta and California.

The 2^nd seeded “Powered By Robo-Pong” team of Sameh Awadallah, Mark Hazinski and Dan Seemiller had a real scare versus the #3 seeded team as Sameh Awadallah loses to Guo Hao -10, 11, 10, 6 in the first match and Mark Hazinski loses to Qi Wei in the second 10, 4, -8, 7 to go 0-2 down. The 2012/13 U.S. Collegiate Women’s Champion JiaQi Zheng looks to put the “Robo-Pong team” down 0-3, but Dan Seemiller is ever the fighter and pulls out the upset 13-11 in the fifth. This was the critical match as the momentum changed and with a 5-3 win earns at least 2^nd place.

“Atlanta Table Tennis Academy” seeded #1, proved they were deserving of the top spot as they went undefeated through the group. Kewei Li (former top 100 in the world) earned the MVP honors by going undefeated in the First Division and may have gained some new followers of his style of play. Steady on defense from both sides Kewei was never hesitant to counter attack with a laser like forehand and would even attack weak balls with the backhand long pips side of his racket.

Many thanks go out to all the volunteers, the Rockford Visitors Bureau, the staff at the Best Western Clock Tower Resort, Tilted Kilt (hosts for the players’ party) and especially the Forest City Tennis Center for letting table tennis take over their facility for the weekend! Believe it or not they are excited to see us back in 2014 for the 6^th Americas’ Team Championship.

Roger Dickson

Drills 6-10, on the Newgy Robo-Pong 2050 and 1050 table tennis robots, are much more advanced in ball speed and timing compared with the first five drills. When doing these systematic drills, continue to focus on getting in position then stroking the ball to a good location.

Drill #6

This drill gives you two balls to the backhand followed by two balls to the forehand. When hitting the backhands, keep your feet parallel to the table, start your racket near your belly-button, and stroke the ball forward. When hitting your forehands, shift your weight slightly back onto your right leg (for right-handed table tennis players) keeping your right foot slightly back, take your swing back and let your body and arm swing forward through the ball. If this drill seems too difficult, start by setting the wait adjust to +50%. This will give your 50% more time between balls to recover for the next hit. After you can successfully play 90% of the balls on the table, try experimenting with various hitting speeds. Start playing one backhand slow, then one backhand fast followed by one forehand slow, then one forehand fast.

Drill #7

This is one of my favorite drills because it requires me to make small footwork movements for every ball. One ball is thrown to the wide forehand, one ball to the middle, one ball to the backhand, then one ball again to the middle. Stay on the balls of your feet so that you can make small, quick movements. Once your feet are in position, focus on rotating the waist and shoulders so that you can easily play down-the-line or crosscourt. If you don’t properly turn your body, most of your forehands will be going crosscourt to your opponent’s strong forehand. For more of a cardio workout, use your forehand on all of these balls. By setting the timer, see if you can do five minutes without a break while still maintaining the correct footwork and strokes. As you can see, footwork is such an important part of table tennis that many of the robot drills are designed to improve your footwork.

Drill #8

Moving in-and-out is the most neglected part of footwork in table tennis. This drill will give you one slow ball to your forehand, one medium ball to your forehand, then one fast ball to your forehand. For this drill, focus on moving in and out while changing the length of your swing – short stroke for closer to the table and longer stroke for further from the table. Start close to the table with your right foot slightly behind the left. After hitting your first forehand, quickly move back about 12 inches by pushing off with the left foot and shuffling backward with both feet. Remember, the left foot initiates the movement, but both feet move together. Next, hit your second forehand with a slightly longer stroke while still keeping the ball low and deep. Again, move back quickly to prepare for the next hit. The third hit will be your longest swing. After completing this stroke, push off with the right foot to move forward back to the table. Continue this process of moving and hitting while remembering to keep your weight forward and varying your swing based on your positioning. This in-and-out footwork is especially helpful when playing against pips players who often vary the depth of the blocks.

Drill #9

This unique drill will make you jump further than any of the previous drills. Starting with a ball to your backhand, you then have to move very wide to your forehand, back to the table for another forehand, back to you wide forehand, then another long movement back to your wide backhand. The cycle continues as you make big movements from the backhand/forehand transition and small movements while playing the forehands. In order to make the bigger jumps, I would recommend bending your knees more so that you can keep your body low throughout the movement. If the long jump is too difficult, I would recommend turning your robot off, and doing shadow strokes to speed-up your footwork. Some of the best table tennis players in the world tell of times that they did 2-3 hours of shadow strokes per day. Within the first six months of playing, it is vitally important that you develop solid footwork and strokes.

Drill #10

This drill will give you one ball to your backhand and one ball to your forehand. However, the forehand balls will be alternating one to the middle and one to the backhand.

First ball to backhand, second ball to middle (use your forehand), third ball to backhand and fourth ball to wide forehand.

For the ball to your middle, make sure that your shift your weight with both feet and push your weight slightly more on your right foot. When hitting your forehand, your feet should be parallel to the table with your right foot slightly further from the table. Shift your weight to your right foot and turn your shoulders back with your stroke. As you begin your forward swing, rotate your shoulders forward and shift your weight to your left foot. Next, return to the backhand. When the following ball is thrown to the forehand, move into position, then shift your weight and rotate your shoulders. If you are really daring, try performing this drill using all forehand. This will require fast footwork and excellent conditioning. Set the timer for one minute and practice your serves for one minute while resting.

Samson Dubina

Cheng Li marched into the Akron, Ohio arena on Saturday, March 16, 2013 as top seed rated 2615 in the pool of 81 table tennis players competing for $2000 in cash and prizes. Closely following behind were Sameh Awadallah rated 2570, Samson Dubina rated 2499, and 12-year old chopper Seyed Hesam Hamrahian rated 2274.

Each of the four events were giant round robin format with the top four players advancing from each group to the next round. There were 24 players per event divided into three groups of eight players. The morning kicked off with the Open and u1600. The afternoon concluded with the u2000, and u1200. Players could enter just one event and play 7-10 matches or be very ambitious like Sidd Khandelwal (who possibly set a U.S. record last year with 23 matches in one day) and enter both the morning and afternoon events. Sparks were flying early in the morning as Sam Gacki in group 1 attempted to upset lobbing and counterlooping Don Hamilton. Somehow Don managed to return one too many smashes and Sam wasn’t able to close out the fourth game -3,10,-7,13,7. In group 2, Harsh Khandelwal had two 300-point upsets over Paul Wandrei and Richard Vessel to advance as 3rd in the group. In group 3, pen-hold player Jeff Xiao arriving from China twiddling with pips and inverted was able to beat Danny Dulkin and Hesam Hamrahian to advance. In all three of the Open groups the top seeds Cheng Li, Sameh Awadallah, and Samson Dubina cruised through the round robin groups without dropping a single game.

Open table tennis matches through the quarterfinals went as planned without any huge upsets – Cheng Li over Po Hsu Chen, Sameh Awadallah over Scott Endicott, Samson Dubina over Paul Wandrei, and Jeff Xiao over Don Hamilton. On the top half of the draw, Cheng Li controlled the entire match with a quick 8,4,6,8 win over Jeff Xiao. The second semi was a different story. Trailing the entire first game, Samson somehow found a way to come back and win 11-9 in the first game. Controlling the match with a 3-2 lead the crowd thought that Samson would get his revenge on Sameh Awadallah, who had previously beaten Samson in the Arnold Classic final. However, Sameh found new energy. Backhand and forehand counterlooping from the barriers, Sameh was able to pull off the marathon match -9,7,8,-3,-7,7,8. Sameh contributed his win to his improved physical condition. He has been running regularly and training hard with the Newgy Robo-Pong 2050 table tennis robot.

Until the open finals, Cheng Li had dominated the competition with tight serve and return, followed by a massive forehand that none of his opponents could even blink at. The final against Sameh was a much different battle. Not only could the former Egyptian National Table Tennis Team Member return most of them, but he was often able to counterloop them for winners from both sides. The crowd pleasing match lasted an hour with Cheng Li coming out on top: -9, -10, 10, 6, 8, -9, 8.

The other morning event was the u1600 starring Canton’s Jianbiao “James” Tu who looped through the group, quarters, semis, and finals without dropping a single game. James recently began playing reverse penhold, which gives him more options for attacking with the backhand and allows him to play more central to the ping-pong® table. His nasty serves, heavy pushes, and strong loops were just too much for the other competitors. Finishing second was Columbus’ Eric Maskey who had upset Mario Letic in the quarterfinals. Doyle Harbaugh and Jeff Strawn, the semifinalist, were rewarded with a Paddle Palace gift pack for their efforts.

The u2000 event featured 24 players competing for $400 in cash. Locals David Bussey and Lincoln Stover each had three major upsets in the round robin groups to surprisingly advance. With four players progressing from each group, there were 12 players left in the single elimination draw. The top four got byes to the quarterfinals, while the remaining eight played the first round. Twelve-year-old Roger Liu made a run for the final, but was stopped short by smashing, blocking, and lobbing Harsh Khandelwal. In the end, Ali Khatami made an end to all the local Indian players by beating Shreyans Bafna in the quarters, Sidd Khandelwal in the semis, and Harsh Khandelwal in the final. Congrats to Ali!

The tournament wrapped up with the u1200 event featuring many new players who were delighted to play in their first table tennis tournament. Anwen Harris, seeded #6 in her group, has been rapidly improving while being coached by her Dad, Scott Harris, advanced as 2^nd in her group. Enrico Stengert started off strong in the event by sweeping his group easily. His momentum continued throughout the event by beating Nathan Fousek 3-0 in the quarterfinals, Richard Beer 3-0 in the semis, and William Gao 3-0 in the final. Enrico was very satisfied with his playing and plans to move up to the next event in our June tournament.

I want to send out a special thanks to our sponsors – Newgy, Paddle Palace, and Nittaku. I would also like to thank The House of the Lord for use of their beautiful triple gymnasium and the large tournament committee that allowed the tournament to run in a timely fashion: Greg Thompson, Perry Wilson, Pierce Scott, Pastor Taylor, Sam Dubina, Nancy Dubina, Heather Dubina, Joe Ciarrochi and the many scorekeepers who made it interesting for the many excited spectators. The tournament committee is now planning to host three tournaments per year in Akron, Ohio featuring free meals, free snacks, and free drinks to all the players. Our next table tennis tournament is scheduled for June 8, 2013. Entry form now available at: www.samsondubina.com

Open

1st Cheng Li

2nd Sameh Awadallah

3rd-4th Jeff Xiao and Samson Dubina

u2000

1st Ali Khatami

2nd Harsh Khandewal

3rd-4th Alex Averin and Sidd Khandewal

u1600

1st James Tu

2nd Eric Maseky

3rd-4th Jeff Strawn and Doyle Harbaugh

u1200

1st Enrico Stengert

2nd William Gao

3rd-4th Richard Beer and Michael Rostankowski

Samson Dubina

I was selected to attend the first ITTF/IPTTC Level 1 Coaching Certification & Course Conductors Seminar by the USATT Coaches Committee in 2010 and because of that selection I was chosen to take part in the first ITTF Level 2 course held in the U.S. This was not just great U.S. table tennis coaches, but several came from ITTF high growth areas. Spain, Brazil and Turkey all got represented here by top coaches and former great table tennis players.

Level 2 is a whole different skill set than Level 1, but some serious thought went into keeping core principles the same, while challenging and teaching fellow coaches. The course conductor could not have been more dynamic than the one chosen to do the first U.S. course. Philippe Molodzoff of France not only was our course conductor but wrote the Advanced Training Manual. While very technical, the material is presented in sections that really make sense to those without a post doctorial degree.

I really improved on many fronts and wish to thank three of the best teammates possible: Dennis Davis from California, who as my roommate kept me focused; Federico Bassetti from Illinois (via Sicily), our mad scientist and overall physical training guru and Richard McAfee – the U.S. based ITTF trainer extraordinaire and the guy who leads by example and pushes all U.S. table tennis coaches to raise the bar!

Special thanks to USA National Junior Boys Coach Shigang “Alex” Yang who supervised my coaching and entrusted me not to mess up some of his great young table tennis players in Atlanta, Georgia.

Roger Dickson