Expert in a Year

 

Haha. I can see where he is coming from, but really, not so many players make 2000 level, so it really isn't as easy as that.

 

I concur that at USATT 2000 level, we can see players of many different styles and they all have some major holes in their game for sure. In vids or even up close in person, some of these players appear to have no major attacking capabilities that would threaten a weak fly. A point won is a point won as long as it was lawfully won, it all counts as one point... and they add up.

 

I now firmly believe that the more I improved, the more and MORE I discovered how terrible I was at something. I mean terrible lousey in a dimension I never saw before. Improving in level and having to use strokes, tactics and shots that I didn't before really opened my eyes a lot, but I keep discovering so much more to improve upon just to move up a half level.

 

I really wish making 2000 legit level was as easy as playing a game of keep-it-on-the-table at all costs.

 

I ran into such a junior in David C in two tourneys and we see that in USA, a hopeful indicator of our pipeline and increasing interest in TT, albeit still very small.

Most people don't improve because they don't want to do drills but rather only play games. I have heard that some even spend more time thinking about equipment than they do practicing but I find that very hard to believe. 

Quite a few people I know - if they can't hit a particular shot - instead of getting coaching or doing some drills - will go and change equipment to fix the shot! I used to argue with them - but now I say - hey talk to this guy - I believe he has that blade/rubber etc. 

I guess we all have to our own way to the mountain top!

Bh-Man,

I love your practice!   We can hang n practice together.

(I need to practice my loop faster. Better give me bigger mug. )

 

A beer or two actually helps some players not worry about mistakes and allows them to play a little less stress free and natural.

 

We prolly already discussed the daylights outta this over the years.

This is a sport that requires lots of training hours to perfect some basic shots.  2400 in one year.  If that were doable, then lots of world-class players would have been easily mass-produced after that.  Even RG III's family thought he would be able to make the Olympic team by playing table tennis.   This sport is still perceived by many as an easy sport to be good at.  :-)  

Good point. I feel like he will be able to hold his own against some decent inverted players by the end of the year (not now of course), but against lp's he would get destroyed. I think that in a year you can teach the basics and some more advanced material like Sam is doing, but what you can't teach that quickly is how to adapt and adjust your tactics to a certain style of play. Thus, if a person plays a specific kind of way, Sam may even be able to play at a level close to 2000 if he's lucky. However, the moment his opponent switches anything up, I don't think he will have enough experience to handle it. At this rate, 2300/2400 is basically a joke. 

Nevertheless, Sam is making great progress and should be proud of himself no matter what happens.