Newgy’s Blog

By Samson Dubina

You were the top seed in the under 2300 event at the table tennis tournament. Based on the draw, you knew that you didn’t have a strong opponent on your opening 9:00 am match; in fact, he was only rated 1600. You woke up at 8:25 am and drove to the venue at 8:55 am. You figured that after your opening table tennis match, that you would grab some breakfast and then begin your full warm-up for your 11:00 am match. After dropping the first game, you decided that it was just your opening match and you would snap out of it. You thought that it would still be an easy 3-1 win. At the close of the second game, your opponent did the unthinkable. He scored 4 consecutive points with 3 net balls and an edge ball. Now, you were down 2-0 in games and your nerves got the best of you. Your morning wake-up call? Well, it was more than a wakeup call, it was the worst table tennis loss of your life!

So how could you have prevented it?

#1 Serious

You needed to take that table tennis match seriously, even when your opponent was rated below you. By waking up early enough to eat a good breakfast, by jogging and stretching, by playing a few practice matches, by doing a bit of research on your opponent, and by mentally gearing up prior to the match, you should have given your best from the very first hit! For future tournaments, you need to learn to be serious and give your opponent the proper respect.

#2 Fear

After losing the first table tennis game, you should have had some fear. Instead of taking the match seriously, you just dismissed it as an early morning match that would turn out fine in the end. Instead, you should fear losing. This fear of losing would have driven you to give 100% focus and to evaluate your opponent and possibly change your tactics. Some types of fear are good.

#3 Learn

Walking off the court after losing the match 3-0, you should have learned how to deal with your loss. So what did you do next… Quit? Mope around the tournament complaining? Following your opponent around hoping that his rating gets adjusted? What did you do? I suggest that you should have learned from that match and move forward. Think back to the match in regards to a tactics change for the next match but DON’T think back to the match in a depressing way. Use that match as fuel to energize your performance in future table tennis matches.

The Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy is dedicated to bringing the Olympic sport of table tennis to a new level in Ohio through professional coaching, elite tournaments, world class equipment, and promoting sportsmanship on and off the court.

Samson Dubina offers private and group table tennis lessons, as well as Skype coaching.

Samson also coordinates and runs some of the top table tennis tournaments and clinics in Ohio.

About Samson Dubina

Samson started playing table tennis at age 12 in Canton, Ohio. Four years later, his game saw huge improvements under the instruction of Coach Carl Hardin. In recent years, Samson has achieved many titles while traveling the world for table tennis. Currently Samson is training, competing in tournaments, and coaching the top players in the state of Ohio.

• Ohio’s #1 Table Tennis Player for 14 Consecutive Years
• Highest USATT rating: 2564
• World Ranked
• USATT Junior Advisory Committee Member
• Sponsored by Newgy, Nittaku, and Paddle Palace

For more information, visit www.samsondubina.com.

137 table tennis players competed in 11 divisions at the Newgy Ohio Open Table Tennis Tournament this past weekend, March 20 & 21, 2015 in Uniontown, Ohio. This USATT Sanctioned 3-Star event featured over $4000 in cash and prizes!

Congrats to all the winners!

Open Giant Round Robin – 1st Place: Samson David Dubina, 2nd Place: Alex Legaria

Under 2600 Giant Round Robin – 1st Place: Samson David Dubina, 2nd Place: Youssef Chalhoub

Under 2400 Giant Round Robin – 1st Place: Alex Legaria, 2nd Place: Ahmed Hendawi

Under 2200 Giant Round Robin – 1st Place: Don R. Hamilton, 2nd Place: Chandru Krishnan

Under 2000 Giant Round Robin – 1st Place: Aydin Aykanat, 2nd Place: Richard W. Akers

Under 1800 Giant Round Robin – 1st Place: Tadao (Tom) Inui, 2nd Place: Edward A Zadrozny

Under 1600 Giant Round Robin – 1st Place: Bojan Stojmilovic, 2nd Place: Igor Botkin

Under 1400 Giant Round Robin – 1st Place: Carlos Morantes, 2nd Place: Kristopher Williams

Under 1200 Giant Round Robin – 1st Place: Logan Herman, 2nd Place: Mike Burchfield

Under 1000 Giant Round Robin – 1st Place: Jordan DePoy, 2nd Place: Matthew Seeds

Under 800 Giant Round Robin – 1st Place: Sarah Jalli, 2nd Place: Andrew Schneider

The Newgy Ohio Open Table Tennis Tournament is scheduled for March 20 & 21, 2015 in Uniontown, Ohio. This USATT Sanctioned 3-Star event features over $4000 in cash and prizes!

This tournament is set to be one of the largest Ohio events in table tennis history and will include:

• 40 ping pong tables
• Large playing courts
• A player lounge
• Scorekeepers and umpires
• Free lunch and dinner
• Free spectator admission
• Discounted hotels and flights
• Excellent playing condition – 900 Lux bright white lighting and rubberized Matiflex flooring

The format is Round Robin, groups of 8, with the Top 4 advancing from every group, including doubles.

Sign up to compete or stop by to watch some of the best table tennis action in the country from the #1 table tennis player from Lebanon, the #4 table tennis player from Egypt and the entire Lindenwood University Table Tennis Team!

Entry Form

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By Samson Dubina

Pips (pimpled rubbers on table tennis rackets) Scenario:

1. Table Tennis Player A and Table Tennis Player B are both using grippy inverted on their rackets. Player A gives good topspin and Player B blocks. Player B’s rubber grabbed the ball and it returned with topspin. The spin changed and therefore stayed topspin.
2. Player A is using grippy inverted and Player B is using long pips or anti without any friction at all. Player A gives good topspin and Player B blocks. Player B’s rubber did not grab the ball and the same rotation continued back to Player A, which is now backspin.
3. Player A is using grippy inverted and Player B is using short, medium or long pips with a slight amount of grip. Player A gives good topspin and Player B blocks. Player B’s rubber slightly grabbed the ball, enough to kill the spin, but not enough to give his own spin back. The spin on the block is now “no spin.”

Questions from a Table Tennis Player:
-How do you know if the long pips your opponent uses is grippy or not? For example, you take a look at their ping pong paddle before you play. Can you tell that way?
-If the short, medium or long pips that an opponent uses all have the same amount of grip, what is the difference in performance for those rubbers regarding the kind of ball that you receive from it?

Answer:
Before playing table tennis against an opponent, you have the right to hold their racket and examine it. In order to examine it, hold it with your right hand. Hold the ball in your left hand and gently push on the pips using the ball. If the pips wiggle, then they are long pips. Slight wiggle = med. No wiggle = short. The amount of spin they produce also is factored by the sponge. Thicker sponge gives more spin and thinner sponge gives less spin. As the table tennis match progresses, you need to adjust and re-adjust based on how your ball reacts from your opponent’s racket. If they all produce the same amount of spin, then your must treat them similarly. However, realize that most short pips rubbers are much faster and will produce good smashes and speed blocks. Most long pips rubbers are very slow and are good for dead-blocks. After looping against short pips, sometimes you need to back-up slightly to give yourself more space. After looping against long pips, sometimes you need to move forward because the block is usually very slow and dead.