About.com

Thanks and Goodbye

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:00:13 +0000

So long and thanks for all the fish...
Photo Â 2009 Greg Letts, licensed to About.com, Inc.

This is just a quick post to everybody to say goodbye and thank you for reading my rambles over the years.

It's been fun writing about table tennis for About.com, but I'm finding myself with not enough hours to do the site justice, so it's time to hand over the reins to somebody with a fresh perspective.

I'll still be writing now and then about table tennis on my personal website, http://www.gregsttpages.com, so feel free to drop in and catch up anytime!

Thanks again,
Greg Letts

Doing Things Differently in Table Tennis

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:57:21 +0000

Was my previous grip change an innovation or idiocy? The jury is still out on that one...
Photo Â 2010 Greg Letts, licensed to About.com, Inc.

"Dare to be different" is a saying that gets thrown around a lot in conversations these days, as well as "Think outside the box". But is it really a good idea to try to do things differently in table tennis? How can you be sure whether you are an innovator or an idiot? Is it confidence or arrogance to think that you know better than professional ping-pong players? Or a bit of both?

Should Children Play with Combination Rackets?

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 12:35:53 +0000

Who is going to teach the next generation of combination bat users?
Photo Â 2007 Greg Letts, licensed to About.com, Inc.

One of the common questions which pops up from time to time in table tennis circles is the debate on whether juniors should use combination rackets, and if so, what is the appropriate time to start?

I take a look at both sides of the debate before offering my own opinion on the matter.

Advice for Table Tennis Advisors and Coaches

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:19:46 +0000

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Newgy Pong-Pal - Review

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 04:12:37 +0000

Piers Carter knows it's all about the player (William Henzell), not him.
Photo Â 2007 Greg Letts, licensed to About.com, Inc.

Most table tennis players will be called on to give coaching advice to a fellow player (be it a friend or a team mate) during their career. With the breaks between games and during time-outs limited to a maxium of one minute only, it can be tough to know exactly what to focus on when attempting to send your player back out onto the court optimally prepared to resume battle.

Fortunately, I've got a bit more than a minute to work with, so here's some of my advice for coaching players during table tennis matches.

Feeling like a pick me up?
Photo Â 2012 Greg Letts, licensed to About.com, Inc.

Newgy was kind enough to include a Pong-Pal ball pickup tool when they sent me a number of robots to review. I'd kind of forgotten about it, but I found it buried underneath a heap of packing boxes when I started to repack the Newgy robots in preparation for donating them to worthy local causes (which was very classy of Newgy, in my opinion - I know they'll be put to good use!)

Anyway, now that I've finished patting Newgy on the back, I'll take a look at one last piece of Newgy equipment - here's my review of the Pong-Pal.

Learn from Weaker Ping-Pong Players

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 02:48:58 +0000

Even ping-pong beginners have something to teach others!
Photo by Stockbyte / Getty Images

"Copy the pros" is a fairly common saying in table tennis circles, but what about the flip side - can you improve your ping-pong game by watching weaker players?

Defenders - Deceive or Die - Two Minute Table Tennis Tip

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 02:22:17 +0000

Matthew Syed - one of the truly deceptive defensive players.
Photo by courtesy of www.ittf.com

Adapt or die is a common saying that has more than a grain of truth in it. But for all you fellow defenders out there, I have a similar saying to keep in mind - Deceive or Die!

Answer to Table Tennis Quiz Question - Wheelchair Play

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 04:26:57 +0000

Poland's Natalia Partyka - who competes at both the Olympics and Paralympics!
Photo: An Sung Ho, by courtesy www.ittf.com

While just over half of the respondents to this quiz question picked the right answer, I have to admit that I would have been likely to choose one of the wrong ones until just recently, when I discovered that the ITTF had included a number of rules regarding wheelchair play directly into the main ITTF Laws of Table Tennis. You can find my explanation of the correct answer regarding serving to wheelchair table tennis players here.

While I think the ITTF might have publicized the changes a little more, the addition of these new rules is a good thing overall, I think. Not only do they make it clear that wheelchair players are welcome in open tournaments, they lay down some fairly simple and easy to follow rules regarding how the service must be conducted, which has often been a bone of contention in the past when able bodied players competed against wheelchair players at clubs and local tournaments.

2012 London Olympics - China all the way

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 23:08:50 +0000

Liu Guoliang celebrating yet another Chinese win
Photo: An Sung Ho, by courtesy www.ittf.com

In what was one of the least surprising results of the 2012 London Olympics, China took the gold medals in the Men's and Women's Team events, giving up only 2 games in both finals, against the South Korean team (Men's) and the Japanese team (Women's).

And while the usual arguments about whether Chinese dominance is hurting the sport are going on, I will just make the one comment - in what other sport can it be said that having a country take the sport to new levels is a bad thing?

China have been on top of the world scene for much of the last 20 years, apart from a blip or two here and there. Is in really China's fault that the rest of the world haven't been able to produce a team that can compete with the Chinese machine?

After all, a country only needs three players that can beat the Chinese players - just three! (Actually, just two if the two players can win all their matches.) It doesn't matter that China have another thousand players that are all of a similar standard to their national team - if one country can come up with just three players that are better, they'll beat China with all the Chinese hordes of high level players. Yet after all this time, there doesn't seem to be one country that can produce even one player that can beat the Chinese consistently.

Does the fault lie with China, or with the rest of us?

Table Tennis Quiz Question - Wheelchair Play

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:45:01 +0000

Poland's Natalia Partyka - who competes at both the Olympics and Paralympics!
Photo: An Sung Ho, by courtesy www.ittf.com

With table tennis leaving the court at the London 2012 Olympics, it won't be long before the Paralympians take to the tables instead. Here's wishing all the best to every Paralympian - especially the Australian table tennis competitors! And while I'm on the subject of Paralympians, here's a table tennis quiz question related to wheelchair play.

As usual, I'll give my thoughts on the correct answer later in the week.