Professional e-Coaching/Analysis of MyTT'ers

NextLevel



The man, the myth, the resident mastermind. What else can be said? NextLevel is one of my FAVORITE posters on this site, and I consider myself to be somewhat of his understudy. A great deal of my knowledge to this date has been derived from his postings so it is an honor for me to now reciprocate the exchange of ideas. To keep it brief (free-of-charge analysis must be truncated), NextLevel thrives in his recognition of Dewitt's pattern of backhand opening into an attempted exploitation of the wide forehand. Despite some apparently mobility issues, NL covers the wide forehand well, and makes Dewitt pay. However, I must suggest that NL increase the aggressiveness on his backhand returns and vary his returns in both placement and spin, allowing him to take the driver's seat on offense. 


pushblocker



Love him or hate him, pushblocker may be one of the most controversial players in USATT history. One thing is for sure. His 2300 ratings are real, and his spin reversal is real. While PB thrives on spin reversal, his offensive game is evidently weaker, and thus he can be exploited by more passive opponents. Furthermore, I see a tendency to prefer the backhand return, and quick powershots to his forehand often find him chasing the ball to the barrier. A more neutral stance to accommodate quicker reactions on the forehand is recommended. For deeper analysis of what I'd suggest to compensate here, I can't yet offer.

Shay2Be



Don't let the 2 in his name fool you. Shay2be has rapidly risen the ranks and won't be settling for "2nd" place any time soon. MyTT born and bred, this vicious forehand looping Pennsylvanian will make you pay if you bring the weaksauce to his forehand. To this end however, I've found his wind-up to be too large and stiff, allowing him to be punished in the re-looping game. In a word, the backhand seems a bit stiff as well. I would suggest a slower rate of uptake on the looping motion, as it is a bit forced and not smooth. A big mentor of mine suggests a 70% speed to 30% spin focus in addressing the backhand loop off underspin, and I would echo these sentiments.


schen


When I saw Schen's heavy chops and powerful forehand rips, I nearly fell out of my seat and I was laying on my bed! In a word, I love his forehand stroke but think it would be optimized with a more direct stroke, as he tends to end up to the side and actually decelerates at the point of contact.

***SChen approved advice***


Once again, please feel free to share your thoughts with me here, and I will make myself available to anybody seeking advice. I plan to establish myself as a premier internet coach and believe this will be a mutually beneficial venture for all parties involved.

Keep calm, forum on, and pong hard my friends. I'll be open to any questions.


Edited by Coach K - 09/15/2015 at 1:01am

heavyforehand wrote: Cool stuff, has push blocker lost some weight? I saw him play in person at a club years back and he was very impressive.  A complete wall basically.

I believe I read in a recent thread that he is very dedicated in weight loss efforts, but I do not want to comment on behalf of the man himself.

On a side note, I was PM'd by forum user Matt Pimple, who shared his detailed review of a Dr. Neubauer long pimples rubber. I would highly suggest reading this; long pip play is an aspect of the game that is very crucial but often overlooked. Many of us here are familiar with the playing characteristics of Tenergy and the latest alternatives, but would we know what to do if our opponent stepped up to the table wielding a sheet of Buffalo? Probably not, but if you read this thread, that could be a big game-changer. I particularly like the videos at the end of the post which feature a high level player and how he responds to and adjusts for the spin reversal in drill and matchplay.

Thread here: http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=72731&title=dr-neubauer-buffalo-test-report-with-videos

-Coach K approved.


Edited by Coach K - 09/14/2015 at 11:33pm

schen wrote: Thanks for the feedback!  I can definitely agree with your points, and I am still trying to get comfortable with my shakehand form.  Hopefully it will match my penhold forehand sometime soon :)

No problem! I'm sure the transition takes quite a while as your hand feeling and ball sense adjusts, but you'll be ripping those forehand putaways PH style in no time! Please do share any and all details of your adventure into shakehand as it progresses.

-Coach K

You seem pretty serious about this, maybe you should list some qualifications so people will have a reason to buy into your thoughts? You'd think that would be the first step....

vvk1 wrote: Maybe it is just me, but  my gut feeling is that "Coach K" is yet another "minja" incarnation. Just read the first post.

Doubt it, minja was far too concerned with subtle humblebrags to be concerned about helping anyone else on the forum.

idk wrote: vvk1 wrote: Maybe it is just me, but  my gut feeling is that "Coach K" is yet another "minja" incarnation. Just read the first post. Doubt it, minja was far too concerned with subtle humblebrags to be concerned about helping anyone else on the forum.

Chicobo wrote: Hi Coach K, I recently made a thread asking for advice with a practice video my friend made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vsJY3fUHMM. I noticed that the other matches ITT have been full matches. I recently got a video camera and will try to record a few matches at a local rec center tourney I'm playing in later this week.  If I could get your analysis on my play, that would be great. I should have the link up within a week-ish. [Placeholder for tourney full match] Thanks

Hey Chicobo! Thanks for consulting me.

Lost in translation must've been which player you are in the video! No worries, I will go ahead and share my thoughts with the games of both players, and I won't charge you double for this session, haha! From here on out I will refer to the players as Blue and White (shirt colors) as this is the only information to go off.

Blue:

I really like what I see in his rallying abilities, especially as far as the initial drills go. He has a relatively strong understanding of spin, spin reactivity, and the appropriate touch for his shots. The continuity of the rally at 00:40 seconds in despite some wacky spins shows a higher level of understanding. Mid-distance looping is clearly his strength, and his favorite part of the game, given his tendency to revert to this position/shot-selection throughout drills and point-play. Unfortunately, I am afraid that I see much breaking down once the serve-and-follow begins. One thing that troubles me is his racket positioning when receiving the 3rd ball, I would like to see a more neutral position so that he can quickly adjust to either a backhand or forehand, depending on the point that is unfolding. Perhaps he knew that you would be pushing back his serve, and he cheated towards such a response? I do not know.

I would like to estimate Blue firmly at 1800, but I would say that depending on his opponents and how adaptable his one-sided spin looping game is, he could pressure a player +150 points on him (1950) but I could also see him struggling to cleanly beat a player up to -150 points below him (1650). These are approximate ranges of course but this is what stood out to me. As mentioned earlier, he has a good sense of spin and how to compensate, so I would like to see a fuller stroke on his backhand openings against underspin, I will encourage more confidence, as his mild approach will actually result in him dumping the ball into the net more than he should be.

White:


This here is a promising player. I see someone who perhaps lacks competitive tournament and serious match experience but is comfortable in drills.  He is loose, relaxed, and maintains solid form throughout drills and even into the game. It is best to reserve judgment if and until I see further match video, but my guess is that under my tutelage and with continued practice, we will see someone rising the ranks rather quickly. I do not want to correct anything with the forehand stroke because I see no causes for concern, and I see someone who has a knack for looping and countering. Oftentimes, heavily trained players do not have the composure and smoothness of white so I really like what I see.

One thing I will comment on is the tendency to reach for balls. Remember: footwork comes before the shot. Without a doubt, if white would position himself better for some balls, he would make a more comfortable, reliable, and formidable shot. The sequence from 00:20-00:30 illustrates this well. Same goes for the backhand. In both cases, I see no need for correction of strokes, rather, it is time to take these to the next level with some series of drills I can recommend to translate these solid fundamentals into success in  matchplay.

I was recommended in private by Sir patrickhrdlicka that I should provide a more in depth analysis that can be of strategic value for the initial 4 (NextLevel, pushblocker, shay2be, schen). I will post such an analysis soon here but would like to hear the feedback of these 4. Thanks. Coach K.

@NextLevel @pushblocker @shay2be @schen

Coach K wrote: Ok I'm honestly a bit ANGRY at the apathetic response from those who I have helped, to not even do me the decency of a RESPONSE? Do you people on this forum want to learn or what????????????? -Coach K

Great tips Coach K. Great to have you on the forum. Thanks.

IlliaV wrote: Coach K wrote: Thanks for the advice. I regret showing my impatience, this is not behavior of a good coach. I look forward to their responses and thoughts. -Coach K it's understandable. you showed a lot of effort and kindness in your diagnosis.  I too am frequently checking this thread to see what those members think about your tips.

Thank you Illia. If you have anything to add please do so, I'd love for this to become an open forum of thought sharing. I will soon be releasing my more advanced series on NL, PB, S2B, and SC. These will feature advanced analysis of their strengths and weaknesses, how they should approach games to win, and what opponents can do to approach them to achieve victory.

Coach K

Just for the record: here is my response to coach K (from a PM conversation - only my responses are shown):

Edited by patrickhrdlicka - 09/16/2015 at 1:44am

Coach K, it doesn't work that way! The main job of a coach is to be a sparring partner, watching all the time what the "student" do and correct him. Also you probably know that after some level a player knows exactly what have to do and what are his errors, so obviously doesn't need advice but good practice. I'm shocked a little. 

Vlad0 - many of the best coaches in the world do not actually physically stand at the table and spar with their players. You clearly do not know much about advanced table tennis.

Zeio - maybe you are wrong maybe you are right. In that case, we should start making it against forum policy for anybody to post a video that is not theirs and commenting on it, right? I'd say the real reason that people have not thanked me yet is because they are struggling to accept that I could be the best alternative for their learning, and that they haven't ever realized the truth in what I am saying.

Coach K wrote: Vlad0 - many of the best coaches in the world do not actually physically stand at the table and spar with their players. You clearly do not know much about advanced table tennis. Zeio - maybe you are wrong maybe you are right. In that case, we should start making it against forum policy for anybody to post a video that is not theirs and commenting on it, right? I'd say the real reason that people have not thanked me yet is because they are struggling to accept that I could be the best alternative for their learning, and that they haven't ever realized the truth in what I am saying.