In The Valley Below

Welcome to Silicon Valley, California, USA.  It is here that the future of human behavior is shaped. Home to almost ten million people living their busy lives around the Bay – working – studying -spending -rushing and exploring this place comes up as GO – GO and GO most of the time  . However there is a natural beauty all around, beautiful hills perfect for hiking and other adventures . The only problem you may have is to find the time to enjoy it.

Not more than a stone throw from my hotel here in Fremont, California, you will find the TESLA factory producing the new wonders to the world; Electric cars, faster, better and more loaded than you can imagine.  Then you have the IT search technology looking to find you, me and everything. It also origins from here. Software giants like Oracle or Facebook has made it a mission to keep track of people’s habits.  Put something out there on the internet and screens will start too lit up all over North America to monitor bad wording about brands and products. Tracking opinions – mapping it all out, this is the new world of social media technology, quietly doing things very far from what we ever believed was possible to do.

I first came to the Bay Area in the year 2004 to meet up with Anne Cribbs and Dennis Davis. Dennis had at the first world junior championships in Chile 2003, mumbled something at the dinner table along the lines of “This is nothing. We can do this event in the Bay area”

Spurred I guess by the ever present  Go for it mentality  existing in this part of the world  , Dennis went ahead and in Shanghai 2005,  we had a USA bid for the world junior championships , to be held at one of the most decorated places in the world ; the   Stanford university presented and approved.

The rest is history. If you want to relive the days at Stanford, by all means go to the event website that still is very much alive. A very good read is actually the official program that you will find here http://www.ittf.com/juniors/2007/wjttc_Palo_Alto/WJTTC_WEB_small.pdf

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Hard to believe that eight years have passed since the 2007 World Juniors.  What is clear however is that seeds planted back then, now are not only growing but also developing into fine healthy plants? We thought that our sport could grow, strive in the Bay area. We believed that the demographics were right – huge blend of people with kids growing up to pick up not only traditional sports, but also non-American sporting habits.

Let me tell you that we – the drivers of those ideas also were bang on. Today you have Table Tennis clubs opening almost by the minute in the USA as a general reference and especially here in the Bay area that suddenly harbours more full time clubs than the market most likely can take. 

The positive part of all this is of course to have young kids attracted to the sport.  How rewarding is it not to interact with some of the twelve year old talents attending the CTTC training camp that I represent this time. They have an appetite for our sport and are looking for every opportunity to squeeze in extra hours of play. Parents are alive and present. Often eager to learn about the sport and its dynamics, steadily evaluating both progress and the cost of progress – the latter part often intimately connected with private coaching offered by the hour.  All over the USA – but specifically here, in the hot bed of table tennis, you will have to cough up anything from 35 to 85 dollars per hour for private coaching done by various types of individuals.

Some with a great track-record of coaching, even internationally decorated like the ICC Head coach Massimo Constantini and the WCTTA group lead by master coach  Li Zhenshi and the USA National coach  Stefan Feth.

Others ,let’s label them more players that works as coaches, mostly from China ,  may charge less in a more private sparring style  of setting  . Success right there will depend on motivation and the intensity provided from both sides. Player’s willingness to work hard is still the determining factor and the coaching mentality, if the focus is there can help of course. Best is if the coaches can understand the importance of international success and opportunities. Very often however this is not always the case and with that the model of work so present in the Bay area must be questioned from an athlete’s development point of view. Private coaching will take you thus far – but never all the way to international success.

Fourteen year old Kanak JHA fighting face.

Another interesting and like-able part of the whole development process is the ongoing step by step rise of US players internationally.  Suddenly the small ICC kids are training side by side with athletes that actually are starting to put US Table Tennis on the world map with real results – winning events and medals.  “Well you have to admit that we are actually developing players that can have success even at well attended international events these days.   said coach Massimo when we were in Sweden together to follow the action at the Safir International event.  Rightly so, and I think it can even get better than that should the system somehow refine itself.  Because in my mind icebreaking success always include  a different set of priorities – people searching and finding new ways as they go along with pursuing their mission and dreams.

In many ways our sport is so fitting for the mentality that most people have   in the Bay Area.  We are a sport best lived – best viewed – best experienced with INTENSITY, the very same attribute that quickly surrounds you in the Silicon Valley. Highly educated people – living and working in a competitive environment where opportunities better are taken before someone else snitches it away right in front of your nose. Most of the parents involved not only in Table Tennis, but any other sport as well will do whatever it takes to provide their children with a meaningful, healthy activity. At the same time they are looking for instant results – they want to see return of invested time and efforts and are not afraid of asking questions. What if the grass indeed is greener on the other side?

Overall this creates a high pressure environment for coaches who on a daily basis will have to deliver – especially leading up to the USATT trials happening nowadays two times per year with the US Open providing the opportunity to make up for any lack of success at the USA Nationals held in December each year .

Those competitive elements – the USA National team trials in particular drives the high performance part of USA Table Tennis. Not much creativity – nor developing work is invested into national team programs. No, it’s more like this is the planning and we stick with that. You could say that in a sense that things are improving for USA Table Tennis. Small steps, some success here and there with key players like Lily Zhang and Kanak JHA is kind of driving the hope for long term international success.

Lily, like many of her national team players will consider one year off from the taxing college studies to try for the Olympics. It will not be an easy ride for her – but supported by the many hours she logged as a very young player, Lily can swing herself into form and confident mood like very few others. Other players in the mix will most likely also make an effort to be in Rio.  So – if you want some drama to go along with the daily routines – by all means consider the USA Olympic trials as one of your calendar stops early 2016.

If Lily will face some tough opposition Kanak JHA is on the other hand, in my humble opinion the real deal.  Watching him practice is always a treat for any coach that instantly will commit time and advice for a player willing to work hard. There are plenty of things that the soon to be fifteen years old youngster from Milpitas should learn about this game to be successful with  his newly adopted  mission to become a “top 20 player in the world”  – and..Why not go all the way Kanak? Dreams cost nothing you know.

Game awareness is nr one.. What happens out there in tight situations is important to understand and learn. All great players do more than spectacular shot making.. They play smart – tight and serve if not always perfect, at least with a tactical purpose.  You have to make yourself hard to play against. Although I do love that relentless style of play that you represent when your head is right – you need to have a sharp service and the necessary toughness to succeed.  The combination of respect for the game and true solid self-confidence is another fine alley to explore. Talk about others and their skills – but put yourself into the mix as well.  To carry the flame for USA Table Tennis all alone will be tough. Expectations from a loyal underground style of fan base will be there – but better sail above the clouds for that one – USA Nationals is what it is.. A very unique playground much unlike anything in the world of table tennis. Important is – to lift yourself above that and enjoy the many opportunities that will come your way.

As we go along with the Zhang Yining branded training camp at the ICC  – people and players kind of come and go . Is it a great success for either party – the CTTC or the ICC ? – Perhaps not !? But still what we are achieving here is to create a solid opportunity for young players to log the necessary volume of play just some three weeks prior to the world championships.  I am sure that the top players will benefit. We have also shown that the outside world is kind of watching with interest to get involved. This should lift the standards and add pressure to a situation that by all means cannot only be by the $$$ made available for private coaches.

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When I take one free morning to enjoy the surrounding impressive hills,   I catch myself thinking overlooking the valley below – is all the talk of rapid growth of Table Tennis for real ? ?  The other day I did interact with some of the guys belonging to the core group of everyday adult open players as most people call them. In fact this is the group that for so many years fought for a decent place to play. These days you could say that they are in the driver’s seat with new clubs throwing good offers to come and play.

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For 160- to 200 dollars per year you will get them to sign a membership to come to your club. Incredible cheap if you ask me. If you are a deep pocket parent you will not get more than four private lessons for that price  …” You know – the really cost us money said Rajul Seth at the ICC. It’s very hard to move that group really – even asking five dollars of increase you will get a hard time.

I wish the ICC and Rajul good luck with that challenge .It seems however that the business can grow if more adult players takes a liking to our sport.  Improvements are needed also for the competition and league play part . It seems to me that the adult’s leagues – corporate events are somehow underdeveloped .The new ICC state of the art facility with more than twenty tables does provide some opportunities for growth. But the direction – the dynamics offered, present philosophy is another story.  As an organization, ICC also has to develop and find new ways to conduct business.  International programs with solid partners could be one way to go. Clearly the players need the outside world – the same goes for the coaches by the way. Isolation is not good – and if you do happen to live 11 hours flight from any decent powers of Table Tennis you are under scrutiny.

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Lots of stuff that goes around in the Table Tennis intense Tri city area starts and ends with the ICC. Anyone is of course entitled to their own opinion about the Indian Community Center and I do respect that.  What is to be understood is that the ICC is the root of mostly good stuff. They have opened the doors for seven straight years for young kids to get involved. 1800 kids pass by during the summer period. Many come back for private lessons when the fall comes – others may go to different clubs and the seeds are then spread.  The problem for the ICC is to avoid getting burned in both ends. It is a tough challenge to provide services for all types of players – young kids, progressing talents and elite level players.. This is the true cold fact – not only in the Bay area but also all over the world.

Moving Along

The ever truth-seeking, at times irritating, some said “controversial” Eleven Points Blog is moving on. Not that it is in the plans to slow down, write less,  stop nosing around. Instead you will find the production of news and posts with the edgeball consulting website http://edgeballmedia.se/

It’s easier that way – not only can we tell the international audience what we are doing,  or correction trying to do with our company, we can also be proactive with opinions, suggestions and promotional campaigns. The Power of Passion should still be strong enough to change a few things in the wonderful world of International Table Tennis – although it is, I can admit, harder to do it from the outside.  In fact we live and work in a much regulated Table Tennis world, whereas common sense, quick creative style of suggestions is not always welcome.

Perhaps it is the constant struggle of surviving that drains our sport of the opportunities to grow. The ITTF as the international governor does try to infuse ideas and programmes that in many cases create more of a dependency rather than the much needed offensive drive, the eagerness to develop the sport within the membership.

But all together that is another story.  Focus should from now on be on the growth of edgeball consulting – our clients and to have that form the perfect platform to influence the development of table tennis.  We started for real one year ago and have so far laid focus on the city of Halmstad and its exciting Ping Pong Power Project for which we have supplied the creative ideas to go along with the graphical design outline.

We were also heavily involved with the ITTF Legendstour 2015 adding operational drive and management to something that actually turned out to be a nice , entertaining event in Halmstad, Sweden – our city – our life.

 

Here We Go Again

Shame on you Mr Blogger for not posting anything for some months now. New Life -New Job – New horizon .. Many thing to write about if only the energy and drive of sharing thoughts and ideas was there.  Heal quickly my Sweet soul  for new challenges ahead !  Let the words come  and the passion live .

But tonight . In the middle of Sweden , from the Örebro Safirs International TT meet , comes an outcry of admiration . I have just seen the eleven year old phenom Tomokazu HARIMOTO from Japan almost pulverize three top one hundred players in the world on his route to a second place finish in the challenging Mens singles event  . Among the beaten you will find  established names like Omar ASSAR from Egypt and Jens LUNDQVIST from Sweden.

Standing ovations worthy he was – the little “Teddy bear” from Japan.  

The Nature of the Beast

One journey to the Land of the Free. Four working days visiting clubs, talking to stakeholders in the red hot Bay Area Table Tennis market, followed by five days at the US National championships in Las Vegas – a gathering of table tennis nuts like no other.

Mission? You may ask.

For a starter to understand more of the dynamics driving the growth of our  sport in one of the most challenging , intriguing markets in the world ;  United States of America .

 Extended mission; connect ideas with reality for professional initiatives down the road. The drummer should keep drumming also in the after ITTF life.

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The dominant part of this text is written above the clouds, crossing an ocean that for so many years separated land of origin and home. Must have travelled North America to Europe and back  at least one hundred times during my sixteen years of ITTF service with Ottawa, Canada at the time being my home city.   Somehow my ITTF career had to end here – in the sky thinking about North American Table Tennis – its development – or lack thereof? Many of the programmes that I did have the fortune to implement when working for the ITTF  , all under the Global Junior Programme umbrella , did come with the dynamics – the pathways to excellence clearly outlined for young talents from USA and Canada. 

Is there really a verdict to be had at this point?   – So let’s bring it on. In my eyes the ITTF Global Junior Programme brought life to table tennis in the North American market. It provided young and upcoming talents and their supporters with clear cut goals and the much needed international measuring stick. Sure – you would like to have a deeper cut of domestic activities following along, supporting players and coaches – but implementation of even the best initiative is a challenge in North America –let alone to run the national team programme on a shoestring budget.

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So there I was attending my second US National Championships – listening to the Star Spangled Banner – feeling proud when the USA Junior Girls team was recognized for their bronze medal achievement some three weeks ago at the World Juniors. Strange how deep my passion runs for junior development – and NA specifically. Perhaps it all relates to the life-long desire to change the world of Table Tennis. After all, few people working for the ITTF takes the time to engage in those kind imaginaries of the future. Something I always liked to do.

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Spent  a few days here in Las Vegas back in 2012 as well – and just like then – the same goes for now; what a fantastic event!!!  The Nationals has the tendency to draw in ALL kind of personalities, to one event under the same roof.  You will find unique styles -The Power of Passion – Good Takes on the World of Table Tennis – Lots of specific nut like knowledge… You can get it all here if arriving with an open mindset of course.   This is the everyman/women show as close to 800 players hit the concrete in the gigantic Vegas convention center for five long days each December.  Eighty-four official courts – Big playing small – old versus young – para-athletes going head to head with promising juniors – good matches – poor matches – you name it , its all here  – and even a little bit more, especially if you count the many side discussions that often have a tendency to consume considerable time without you knowing it. 

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The red floor is rolled out for the best players  who goes neck to neck mainly on the two centre-court tables. This time the blogger was talking and walking in Vegas for the complete duration of the 2014 National Championships.   Interesting times for sure. This is a bubble – a unique style of sport family gathering very much framed off from the outside world.

You could argue of course that the USATT could absorb to old cliché that “What happens in Vegas – stays in Vegas”, at least when it comes to the outcome of specific events.  To have good old Jimmy BUTLER squeaking out the national men’s singles title for the fourth time – his last title came twenty one years ago!!,  is one of those things that doesn’t fit into the future frenzy discussion dominating the USA TT talks right now?  But then again – the private coaching machine spitting out talents all over the country is not exactly fine-tuned on tactical sense and mental awareness. Jimmy fought the fight – brought the game down to his level and was brave / confident enough to take down his twenty five year?  younger opponent, fifteen year old Kunal CHODRI in the final despite trailing 1-5 at the seventh game turn.

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Lily ZHANG finally won the women’s singles title. Clearly not in her prime form the ICC , Milpitas poster girl , fresh from Youth Olympic Games success , fended off the twelve year old super-talent Crystal Wang from Maryland in a somehow exciting final  played over six games .  Good to see also that the US Women’s National team well is not dried up. Instead it is flowing steadily with plenty of young talents filling in when collage girls like Ariel HSING  – Erica WU and others decides to downgrade their international TT careers quiet dramatically due to the academic pressure. That’s all good I guess – but the fact is that school easily can be combined with training and competition – but only in a strict school – training only setting. Not too much room for other things in life. This is the cruel reality that so many female table tennis players not only in North America, but also world-wide struggles with. Can you blame them though? Professional opportunities are still slim and the competition out there from the many Asian players harder than a rock.     .

Back to that flowing well.  Besides Crystal WANG – clearly on of the best twelve year olds in the world we have Prachi JHA showing great improvement, almost by the minute. It is a pretty safe bet that Prachi will be a factor, also at international level, as soon as she gets a better understanding of the tactical aspects of the game itself. The motivational much needed hunger factor is World class!

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So – Did we find any answers – solved the riddle of USA Table Tennis – its future direction and general trends in Las Vegas?  . Probably not right off the bat – but shame us if we do not keep digging deeper with clear ambition and purpose. The backyard will not change unless the gardener goes to work. The new USATT CEO Gordon Kaye, having spent only six weeks on the job, will need all the support the world of Table Tennis can muster in order to improve the situation and to continue to grow the sport.

As the good reader of this blog may know – the ever truth-seeking Eleven Point Blog is not giving up – far from. So here they come my Christmas presents to the USA TT community   – the findings from the 2014 US Nationals if you may say so – nicely packaged with the best Christmas present wrapping made in Sweden I could find.

A sizeable doze of PATIENCE – SUPPORT and CONFIDENCE to the new USATT CEO Gordon KAYE.

What an intriguing job he has. But having skated as a Hockey pro in Hungary and Sweden you would imagine that Gordon can both take a hit and give one back which most certainly is a quality he may need to steer the USATT ship out of the isolated harbour and on to the open sea.

One good talk show to Tim Boggan and his USATT Hall of Fame friends.

Attended the USATT Hall of Fame dinner as an invitee of Paddle Palace. It was not the biggest gathering – but what an amazing chance to learn from history it became  . The story on screen for the introduction of Dick BUTLER – the father of Jimmy and Scott Butler was an excellent piece of USATT history.  Listening to Tim Boggans introduction style of stories was another form of pleasurable entertainment.  “I am writing one book a year on the history of Table Tennis in the USA the eighty-four year old Tim Boggan said when I met him in the venue the morning after. I guess you can question the real value of the work itself – but I often catch myself covering many international happenings connected to our players as well – that makes it kind of interesting Tim explained.

Here is a link showing some of the amazing work by Tim; Check out the players profiles!

http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Table-Tennis/USATT/Hall-of-Fame/Profiles

COURAGE to be DIFFERENT to members of the 2014 USA Junior Boys National Team

Fourteen year old Kanak JHA fighting face.

In the last few years I have seen young very skillful table tennis playing kids – step by step become group depending teenage boys.  Important learning now awaits for those wanting international success… Preparation – Tactical sense – Style awareness – Leadership are all attributes that must stick with the best more ambitious players.  Keep trying boys!

 

 

Solid INTERNATIONAL AMBITIONS to the ICC Table Tennis center in Milpitas

They do many things right – Rajul Sheth and his group of TT soldiers. Kudos for arranging the lounge at the Nationals and for trying to service the members. Close to fifty ICC players participated in Las Vegas and the medals trickled in as well.   This is a good club that hopefully would like to become even better. A new venue is planned for March next year. Future plans may include also an international event which no doubt will help to raise the level of the activities another step. I would like to see the ICC not only offer international level training programs – but also to compete internationally.  Good for players – good for coaches = Good for everybody.

The new USATT COACHING LICENCE model to the USATT board

Perhaps time has come to demand some kind of official USATT coaching licence to coach at the Nationals..? Clearly it would be good to try to raise the standards of the coaching made available and also to create a communicative educational style of platform. Think about it for a moment. Is it really good for the profession of TT coaching that most of the work in an event of this nature is carried out by sparring partners/players – working as private coaches in homes and in clubs.  What I am trying to say here is that there is much more to the picture than blocking and top spinning for a couple of hours per day. For the development of the game itself – and the players – we should at least try to connect to the outside world a little bit more.   I can even see more advantages – protection and recognition for those clubs or programmes that are ready to invest in the future by absorbing such a model.

NATTPL – North American Table Tennis Pro League to all 

The time has come to make a move. Discussions and meetings should be replaced by firm hands on action. If there is a will – there is a way! Plenty of hard-nosed footwork is needed and we should start by scanning all potential key markets as well as the ITTF calendar for opportunities. Will it happen without an outside force getting involved? I doubt it.

Vote for Larry! Signs to the membership

I am frequent reader of Tabletenniscoaching.com.  Larry is running for a board position and we should by all means vote for him. The five campaign points starting with regional leagues are all well thought out and right on.  And… there is more.  Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers is one of Larrys many books on TT.  Not a bad read for some of the young talents ( and their parents) fighting for competitive advantages .

A smoke on the Peace Pipe to JOOLA and BUTTERFLY

Funny how the two leading TT companies in the USA are engaged in a competitive battle by pounding each other point for point. Both companies have launched their own low level pro tournament model – and are also running a major team championship on the very same weekend.  It might be better to perhaps cooperate and to support a more comprehensive – better structured USATT calendar.

One solid BOX for outside thinking – goes to all – including myself.

This is after all the Land of the Free Thinkers. Perhaps that’s why I am drawn to it.

Merry Christmas !

Nothing Beats Excellence

The Talk of the Town ; Quadi ARUNA from NIgeria connecting with fans at the ISS Dome

Black dress and shiny shoes. It’s party time in Dusseldorf with one of the finest events we have on the international calendar – the Men’s World Cup providing the entertainment.  We are by now into day three of an event that over the last few years changed the format countless times.  Competing this year we have twenty players; six continental cup champions and then a mixture of players basically picked up from the world ranking with the green light selection related to having participated in the continental cups.

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Playing system can always be discussed and from the feel and talk of it – the blogger himself is getting old and clearly carrying the stamp on the forehead; it was better in the past!  My argument to expose the top players over three days with the traditional sixteen players’ four groups’ format was quickly dismissed by the ITTF Marketing guru Matt Pound as not very interesting. He wanted drama – knock out system and didn’t care for a minute having basically one day of qualification in a world event of this nature.

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All credit to him for holding fort and perhaps he is right. People of today seem to want a quick fix with high drama and immediate results. Anyhow – this doesn’t really matter. The world cup is still a presentation event taken seriously by the players. The best want to be here and they want to win .This is a rare situation in our sport. Often we have too many participation based events on the calendar – hard – or I would say impossible to digest for the few hard core fans we have.

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Can we review – rethink and perhaps launch some kind of new professional system?   Well, let’s ask those in charge and by all means put pressure on them to actually do it. The Pro Tour – World Tour or whatever you name it has been the same open to all concepts since it all started in the late nineties. National Association knowing or not knowing their own DNA? – enters players into a system, a concept   providing very little payback to the development of our sport    .Because – as I always said the future pulls the other way towards an individually based performance oriented system – driven by the passion for excellence.

Here in Dusseldorf we have seen good – entertaining table tennis. Ma LONG looks incredible good – strong –more technically innovative than I have seen him before – Timo BOLL is the hungry German this time and Jun MIZUTANI just dominated his quarterfinal match against Chuan CHI YUAN winning in five games. Last but not least we have the champion of all champions Zhang JIKE entering the Sunday action following a four to two win against the crowd favorite  ; The Nigerian twenty six years old fighter Quadi ARUNA.

And what a show he put on ARUNA. Not only did he win his qualification group – he also took out – like a sign from the Table Tennis God, Tang PENG from Hong Kong in the last sixteen stage early Saturday.

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It’s funny how good we all felt that something new was happening in front of our very eyes. The playing style is from the past – but the temper and personality belonged to something called the future. He showed fight and passion – two forgotten attributes that never fails because it brings out the best of you – the very true ideals – the honest you.

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Fourteen year old Kanak JHA fighting face.

What we watched this weekend, starting with a positive appearance from the fourteen year old blue blooded American Kanak JHA finishing with the ARUNA show was true development and nothing else. Players entering a field of world class players – not only to be there –to participate but instead to try their very best – to pursue excellence is more important than we may believe. These two guys separated by much – but still connected by passion and dreams each became not only noticed, but also celebrated by a knowledgeable – passionate group of German fans. It was nice to watch – we enjoyed it and so did others I am sure, following the action on some of the media platforms that we offer. After all we are talking two countries or markets as the ITTF Marketing Director Steve DAINTON says home to a considerable number of people. Last time I check the USA had more than 250 million people living in the country and for all what it matter – Nigeria is not too bad either entering the top ten most populated countries in the world with ease.

Lesson to be learned from the reasoning you may ask?  Well, my point is this.. We need to stay on track and have programs and for a sure an improved competition system driving excellence. Money invested into development can easy cover the basic needs of education – but there must be room for talented players to grow as well. Over the last few years I have the feeling that we somehow  lost track and drove right into the ever dangerous sport political mine-field.

Good, functional programs or key events on the junior side are therefore at risk. They may be slaughtered tomorrow for reasons that nobody really understand.  Just stop that. Rise up – stand up against pull-backs that limits the opportunities for young players in our sport. Instead it is time to invest – to review and to restart.

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One of the finest creations, an event that always been the centerpiece in the ITTF Global Junior Program is underway in Barbados. Of course I am talking about the World Cadet Challenge – designed for learning excellence more than anything else.  I will have to dig out the original vision for this event ;why it was put there and why we overtime came to connect around this event.

In a moment like this – I would say that nothing really changed. We are what we are – passionate workers – living of the gracious sport called  Table Tennis.  Somehow the ITTF  lost a positive identity –kind of the  the understanding of how things  will happen in our sport. I believe in excellence as one of the main drivers of development – this night 100 million Nigerians talking table tennis again or Table Tennis companies running hard to sign a young talented American understands what we all once collectively understood;  Nothing beats excellence !

Its Sunday night turning Monday morning in Dusseldorf . Life goes on .

To Good to be Hidden in the Dark

Pretty Good read ; The article about Mr Big Power and the Good Persson

With the ITTF Presidential countdown coming to an end ( very impressive work done by Sheri !)  – maybe it is time to start the ElevenPoint Blog countdown next. In fact as a kind of voice of the ever lively  inner dialogue within the ITTF,   we have less than four month to go before we need to shut up or somehow cut the blog  loose and set sail for the open sea.

Plenty to write about – much talk going around . The wonderful world of International Table Tennis is full of pretty much everything . It will of course be extra interesting to see the new ITTF President Mr Tomas Weikert laze up his skates and take a few strides on the more than often thin ice of sport politics..

But -More about that later. In fact just went here to post my tribute article to two great players of my time ; Wang Liqin and Jorgen Persson .  Two great guys that helped the blogger with Youth Olympic Games work throughout the summer..

So…Here it is the article about Mr Big Power and the Good Persson  ; WLJP

 

Korean Training Camp “completes” Busy summer for “The Futures” of USA Table Tennis

Could it be that we in the year 2014 are seeing the Table Tennis version of the “Summer of Sam ” developing right under our noses?

Believers in a better future for USA Table Tennis are at least lining up in appreciation of a true , hard-nosed , excellence driven table tennis summer set up for the leading US juniors, fuelled by a combination of individual desire and investments to top up the USATT financial input made available for the junior national teams and the YOG candidates specifically.

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If you happen to have the finger on the pulse of USA Table Tennis , you know that it is beating with increased intensity and eagerness these days. Lots of young promising players are on the rise and sustainable success might very well be around the corner, especially could the USATT somehow  shift gears, build on the collective interest for the sport and drive forward in a more organized fashion the coming years. Frequent readers of this blog also know my opinion that the ITTF or for that matter the TMS also should add some fuel to the fire by getting involved – but that is perhaps more wishful thinking..? Or – perhaps not Mr. Weikert?

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Anyway, leading individual efforts and huge private investments set aside for a moment, the more interesting part in this story  actually involves the increasing interest from many of the US top prospects to compete and train internationally during the school break – JUNE to AUGUST.

So far we have strong US juniors and leading cadet players performing  sensationally well in the CTTA/ ITTF Road to Nanjing training camp held in Shanghai in the month of June ,   had organized training activities set up in cooperation with Tamasu/Butterfly for selected athletes at the JTTA national training center in Tokyo , observed strong US presence (and success ..) in  the Korean Junior Open, followed this week by a much appreciated training camp  together with a fine KJTTA selection of athletes in Daejeon Korea.

Korean and USA players lining up for instruction in Daejon.

Initiated reports from the now ongoing  camp, planned for eight days, are at least so far extremely positive with full praise going to the always friendly and supportive Korean Junior Table Tennis Associations for logistics and sparring.

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For the best and most ambitious athletes, those brave enough to spell out some kind of professional future in Table Tennis , with access to all the planned activities , US Open and North American events included , we are talking roughly two full month of international training and competition – in ASIA , mind you ! . Hard to beat as such and the potential outcome can be HUGE, should the mental and the physical side of the athlete-s hold fort.

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In fact the rising interest from US hopefuls and some of the more active training centers in the country , to explore the wonderful world of international TT,  has in itself caused some havoc in and around the much regulated NIKON Hong Kong Junior Open , coming up in one weeks’ time. No less than thirteen young US players are currently among the 160 athletes granted access to the prestigious event and from the rumor mill we can pick up that more US players indeed are eager to compete – but for the moment put on the waiting list by the organizers.

Prachi JHA making a move this summer – fresh off a podium finish in the Korean Junior Open

Headache for the USATT and in extended form also for the ITTF system? Yes, perhaps from a pure administration point of view, but the overall dynamics are of course overwhelmingly positive. It is true that all of this might be tied to internal (fierce) competition in the US with in many cases parents being as much involved as the athletes themselves , which comes up as completely natural in a sport system built , first and foremost, on self-made success. .

Yet – the trick for the future and much needed improvements for the sport itself in the United States is to be found exactly by solving and riding these dynamics.

Right now we have an open road to improving the national competition model – and yes some of the old foxes of US Table Tennis are all on the right track claiming sharper and much more competitive series of national events ( USA Pro Tour ?) as one important piece of the puzzle . The dream scenario of course involves an individual tour to be tied up with a North American Pro League open for clubs and training centers. Other improvements should also involve a step by step re-shaping of the current High performance model to rise above mediocrity and short term solution to also incorporate new ideas to drive what very well could be a fine future for Table Tennis in the USA.

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Lily ZHANG the leading US player bound to compete in Nanjing – Youth Olympics

So far much of the self-drummed USATT media  reports  this summer have   centered around the USA representatives for the YOG 2014 ; Lily ZHANG the nr one US Hope in Nanjing and the still young, but increasingly interesting qualifier Kris AVVARI  and their whereabouts ( stormy coaching conflict included in that statement ..) . Lily, will no doubt be one of the players to watch in Nanjing. Her overall game is probably good enough to challenge for a medal in the singles competition , still hard work needs to prevail for the physical and mental parts also to fit perfectly come games time. To curb and control the rising expectations from back home is probably going to be the key to success for the US leading female player.

For Kris, on the other side,  the goals are of much more modest character. The experience from a long and draining training camp in China – from the hard learning in Korea and Hong Kong should hopefully help this young talent to embark on the road to becoming a more complete athlete, if so happens,  in fact not a bad victory for a player that for sure can play a huge role for the USA Junior Boys team destined for success at the world junior level.. That is if good old “Uncle Sam “ somehow get his wishes right – like he did in the summer of 2014 !

The Sky is Crying

Did you notice that the sun seems to have lost its light and the sky is not as blue anymore?! . For sure it did not happen overnight; it is just that today you could clearly notice.  Day three of the 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo and we went from bright spring-like sunshine to a rainy morning.

Could it be that the mighty Table Tennis god himself wanted to send a message to the international body of our sport on what should be its finest time, the day of the 2014  Annual General Meeting ?

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Actually this post comes to you from the meeting itself. I am in the back of the room listening to the only ITTF president I have ever served as a professional staff; Mr. Adham Sharara. This will be the last stop for him on a magnificent Presidential journey that lasted for fifteen years.

Many times I have wondered, like all of my colleagues, where he got the fuel from, the energy and the passion to lead us the way he did.  We have been treated with the best of   what he could offer; flexibility, trust and patience. We all made mistake along the way – but it was never met with the hammer, instead Adham gave you the chance to succeed with other projects.

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Certain things did however slow down the process  lately  . Maybe motivation – maybe political infighting finally took its toll on him?  Silence came into the picture as  a sign that something was not right  . Clearly an indication as good as anything that something would come up eventually. There was a time when everything was responded to, every single email loaded with arguments, explanation and at times new directions .

To meet up one on one with Adham, a very busy person, was always a rare treat. Many times the discussion could take several hours touching on things that really had no importance or relevance for the issues on hand.  Often it took the directions of sport politics and the whereabouts of colleagues and friends – before without you knowing it sliding into more important problem solving. I will miss those talks, the meetings with Adham. We will ,  all of us.  miss his intelligence – stubbornness, and his ability to close down the worrying path of anxiety. Some of us, like him triggered by a good solid disagreement will also miss his long world champion emails (to quote a good friend).

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It is true, in fact very true, that I clashed with Adham in some areas –general philosophy, tournament systems, ranking or what have you. In the end freedom of speech, perhaps my honest way of arguing did cost me in terms of loss of influence and the opportunity to hands on lead some of programmes that many believe are perfectly designed for developing our sport.   Of course 159 Eleven points posts over five years   did not help either – although I have to say that many of my articles in fact very much reflects all the good things initiated and approved by Adham .  I danced with the devil in that sense. It is seldom an advantage to be outspoken – engaged and quality minded in an organization like the ITTF. Sometimes better say nada and to swallow the pride.

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I have taken time to do this blog on my free time, evenings, nights and mornings. It has come from all corners of the world from  hotels, venues, airport and you name it.  The simple reasons for doing it relates back to my professional role driving ITTF Education and Training .  Not too much the formal way – waiving with certificates , approving this and that – but rather by working the minds of people to understand what the true opportunities are and what has to be done to explore them  .  I have taken the time to motivate the fans of the sport by giving them a few inside takes from the ITTF meeting rooms and I have tried hard to push coaches and supporters to take deep interest in ITTF programmes on offer .  That’s pretty much it –just an honest – straight shooting way to communicate that may have ruffled some feathers – but not more than that.  The Elevenpoints blog has been me with all my good and perhaps lesser good sides exposed.

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But, back to the rainy day in Tokyo and the announcement from Adham; “That this will be the last time I will lead this meeting as the president of the ITTF”. Of course  we know that Adham will continue to be present – not only in our memories but also as resource, mentor for the new ITTF President Mr Thomas Weikert once he takes office 1 September this year. This is the timeline presented for the transition – Adham will retire and hand over duties to Thomas , who then will get two +  years under his belt before the 2017 Presidential election. At the very same time, there is no doubt that the new President very quickly must come with a strong strategic plan bearing his signature  for this to work.  The ITTF, like any other organization , should allow for ideas to flow, in depth discussions to happen, for staff to be empowered and for implementation to happen.

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Good luck to Thomas – whom I met this morning at 0630, am in the streets of Tokyo. I was taking a slow morning run – Thomas a must faster one, but in the in the end we joined together for the homerun. What I always liked about Thomas is that he is not afraid of embracing the rule of engagement that used to be so present in our sport.   He has always carried the German team shirt with pride and passion. That may not happen anymore – political correctness rule over his new position.. Having said that – please remain the way you are – a true passionate fan of our sport and a competitor by heart.  

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Perhaps the most emotional moment from today’s AGM action came when Adham formally “placed”  Mr. Koji Kimura – one of the best ITTF officials we ever had in the PAC – Presidents Advisory Council. Koji has always been Koji – fighting hard and honest for the things he believed was right from a development point of view. His presentations, often involving some sort of practical examples, were both funny and right to the point.    The short thank you speech he delivered from the podium today did not have any kind of bitterness either. We could all learn from Koiji’s outlook on life; It has been wonderful – a happy time to serve you all and to work for the development of table tennis he gracefully said

From all of us – Thank You Koji . To reach the 53 years of service that you have given to the sport I need another twenty – which will be difficult. We all owe you another one as well –Thank You  for letting us come to Tokyo and experience the 2014 ZEN-NOH World Table Tennis Championships. Without your passion and Adham’s vision we would never have been here.

Personally – and this is just a wild guess , I have a feeling that the departure of Koji Kimura from the ITTF Executive committee last year is one of the personal reasons that Adham mentioned in a short speech to close the meeting today . There are others of course – but I know that this was one of the many small arrows shot at one great ITTF Presidents heart.

No wonder that the light rain we experienced in the early Tokyo morning, suddenly, right at the very moment that Koji stepped down from the podium turned into more of a downpour than anything else. The sky was crying and so did I.

It is funny how you sometimes hit the same wave-length regardless if you are a fearless,  truth-seeking table tennis blogger or the mighty god of Table Tennis himself.  

We Are Family

Much of the discussion raging in the political corridors here in Tokyo will this time be about the format of the future world championships. It is a true clash between performance and participation. Marketing –commercial values on one side screaming for better conditions and presentations,  and on the other side  the solidarity development aspects pushing for what perhaps is true spirit of our sport  ; solidarity and participation .

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It is of course a numbers game.  Free hospitality for more than 1000 people over  eight days is a bit of a toughie and then to add all the other requirements ,  the playing facilities needed , volunteers .stricter ITTF  directives  , we are putting any organizer through a tremendous test of patience and financial sustainability  .

Solutions are not easy to find. The much improved ITTF development work is doing what it is supposed to do – grow the sport from a participation point of view with the true meeting point being the world championships.  Arguments thrown from the marketing / media side are of course related to how to make the elephant dance and how to sell the world championships concept to sponsors and commercial partners.

Let’s see what happens . The latest news is that we will have some sort of cap for the future; Maybe 84 ?! , but more likely 96 teams, allowed to enter the team championships in 2016, with some adjustments of the hospitality rule connected.

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But here we are – action did start this morning and I am right now sitting in the Tokyo Gymnasium trying to overlook things.  In a moment of true passion I did offer to help out with the challenge to make the action in this hall also count for the media and our fans. The truth is that we have many teams here in the second, third division with tremendous potential for future growth.  I am also interested in those associations looking to make a comeback into the big stage – to play once again in the limelight, like India – like England – Italy or you name it.  My North American heritage (14 years of living) also triggers the interest to see what Canada and the USA can do this time.  Expectations are still low –but we need to add some spark for  something to happen on that continent .

The many young players that we have seen pass through some of our athletes development programmes are also a point of huge interest. Many of them still pushing for attention – but we know them well and must allow ourselves to enjoy their progress as a true passionate fan of our sport.  We are after all family – the ITTF family.

Time for Another Splash in the Pool

What a treat to visit Tokyo again.  This will be my fourth time  since 2009 .  The 2014 WTTC will be my eighteenth World championships since my first stumbling steps in the international courts of Table Tennis 1989 in Dortmund, Germany. The only two festivities that I missed since then were in Manchester 1997 and Doha 2004.

As the coach for the Danish National Team I worked the floor between Dortmund and Tianjin 1995 and then made a comeback as a young – but eager ITTF employee in Eindhoven 1998. My first assignment I remember very well. It was not really an easy one – I had to push the new 40 mm ball both internally (hosted a famous dinner with the ITTF Equipment committee  …;-) and externally with National Associations. I even have a vague memory of reaching all the way to the AGM podium with a speech of some sort promoting change and the need of thinking out of the box.

Well folks – here I am attending what very well could be my last World Table Tennis championship as an ITTF professional staff.  The thinking out of the box and the drive and motivation to see change is still with me. Over the years I hope I have stayed true to my qualities and vision to work for the development of our sport. I had my chances and also my moments – it has been a good time – a privileged time to do all this –to experience the wonderful world of international table tennis.   The wheels never stop turning – challenges come and challenges go – everything created from what I call the nature of the beast; The world political will.

Our jobs – as staff is to pump the tires as much as we can, always important to promote your own area of expertise as the most important thing there is – because if you happen to lose your portfolio – your role comes into question. We should also try to add doses of reality to mix of the better half of the politically generated ideas that always will and must appear to move our sport forward.  It is also here at the world championships when we meet our membership that we need to pin our ears to the ground and listen – not always talk.  That’s the trick not to be forgotten actually.  We need to stay in touch with the reality and make sure that our programmes do make sense.

Lately – I have feeling that we somehow have hit the one way road a little bit too often. We say and you do kind of thing.  Lots of good things are happening – don’t get me wrong and we are also lucky to have a group of staff in the ITTF working for the rights reasons.. But then again when the political waters get murky – it is not easy to find the right directions.  It just takes small things and we are swimming in circles , instead of making the healthy laps count .

The truth is that the reality is in front of our eyes – right here at the world championships. This is us – the players the coaches performing doing their very best to showcase the depth of our sport .  As a sport we can only grow stronger and better if players can play and coaches can coach.  So colleagues – friends and foes; Study and Learn . As far as I know  , 1+1 still equals  two .