Newgy’s Blog

Top Spin, a feature length table tennis documentary, will screen at the Nashville Film Festival at Regal Green Hills Stadium 16 this Saturday, April 18 at 4:00 pm and Sunday, April 19 at 12:30 pm.

Newgy and some of our top local table tennis athletes will be putting on a table tennis exhibition on the Red Carpet for the media and audience on Saturday, April 18 from 2:30-3:30 pm before the 4:00 pm screening of Top Spin.

Top Spin explores what is at stake for three teen table tennis athletes striving for the Olympics and the families who support and sacrifice for them. But with no foreseen professional future for the sport in the U.S., in addition to the pressures of rigorous training, international tournaments, schoolwork and SAT’s — is it all worth it in the end?

Created in 2011.

Starring: Ariel Hsing and Lily Zhang of Northern California, and Michael Landers of Long Island, New York

Directed by: Sara Newens & Mina T. Son

Produced by: Jonathan Bricklin & Frank Raharinosy (Executive Producers), Yen Le (Co-Producer)

For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

I’m happy to report that I earned my spot on the United States Olympic Team by finishing in first place out of a twelve-man round robin this past weekend! This qualifies me for the next and final stage of the Olympic Trials, which will be against Canada in April.

On top of that, I’ll be going to the World Team Championships in Dortmund, Germany. Even though I feel like I’m so close to achieving my goal of becoming an Olympian, I know that there is still a long way to go and I can’t look back now. My schedule for the next two months is pretty packed in order to prepare for the upcoming tournaments. In 11 days, I’m headed back to the TopSpin Club in California for a few weeks to prepare for the World Championships. Then, I’ll fly to Frankfurt and meet up with the rest of the Men’s team to have some pre-worlds training in Grenzau, Germany.

After finishing the World Championships, I’ll fly back to San Jose for another few weeks of training there. Finally, after a few weeks, I’ll fly back to New York and pack my bags for the final stage of the Olympic Trials in Cary, North Carolina. The next few months are going to be difficult, but I’m sure that I’ll get through them and perform my best at both tournaments.

Wish me luck!

Michael Landers

The Olympic Trials are just a couple days away. This is what I’ve been training for since I began playing table tennis and can honestly say that I don’t have any regrets up to this day about the lifestyle that I’ve chosen to live for the past few years.

While I was in California for a month training, I stuck to a strict schedule. All I did during the day was go to the gym, eat, play table tennis and sleep. Being away from my family and friends helped me focus on what I went there to do and that helped me enormously. I’m happy to say that I will be going in to the trials knowing that I’ve prepared as much as possible and will be at my best. I’m heading down to North Carolina today to warm up. I will begin playing the trials on Friday. Hopefully, I’ll make the team. But If I don’t, I am glad that I will be able to say that I gave it my best.

Wish me luck!

Michael Landers

One of the main things that I’ve been working on during my training in California is my opening loop off of a half-long ball. In table tennis, there are three main types of balls that can be served or received (in terms of depth). The ball can either come short (the ball will bounce twice on your side if you don’t touch it), long (the ball will only bounce once on your side and will come off the end of the table), and half-long (the ball’s second bounce is very close to the edge of the table).

Many times when a match is tight the opposing player cannot control how short they serve the ball and the ball ends up coming half-long, giving you the opportunity to attack the ball. However, these types of balls take much practice to master. They require a much shorter stroke and much greater use of the wrist.

Here are a few things that you should keep in mind when attacking a half-long ball:

1. Make sure that you keep your stroke compact

2. Use a lot of wrist to spin the ball and make up for your short stroke

3. Stay as low as possible

By doing these three things, you could easily control the match and dictate each point.

Michael Landers

2011 has officially come to an end, and what a year it has been!  Lately I’ve been asking everyone at the gym that I go to what their resolutions are for the New Year.  I wasn’t surprised at all that the majority told me either that they want to lose some weight or just improve their overall health by exercising more. 

I then brought them down into the room where I practice with my Newgy Robo-Pong 2050 table tennis robot and challenged them to see if they could keep up with the robot for a full minute without losing their breath.  Needless to say, all of them began to sweat profusely and were amazed at just how physical playing table tennis can be.

Let’s face it, gym memberships are expensive and tons of dedication. Robo-Pong provides a great workout while having fun at the same time. Also, setting up your Robo-Pong is effortless, and practicing with it will help you lose weight, improve your endurance, and help you to become a ping-pong® master!  So, if one of your resolutions for the New Year is to get in shape, Robo-Pong is definitely for you!

Michael Landers