Newgy’s Blog

I have been to the Newgy Table Tennis Center several times but I would like to tell you about my first training there. The Training Center (which is also Newgy’s headquarters) is located in Gallatin, Tennessee just outside of Nashville.

When I went in the front door, I saw the pro shop on my right that sells various table tennis items and equipment, and their offices just past that. Next, I went past their lounge area and then on to the main playing arena. The next room is called their “Robot Room” where there were five Robo-Pong table tennis robots set up. The Center has the Olympic red mat flooring and was very nice.

Now on to my training. I was introduced to Coach Barney Reed, Sr., who was very nice and hands on with his teaching. We started off slow with just a warm-up drill while Coach watched. We then went into more detailed things. He saw one of my problems was with my footwork and where my feet were actually going on the ground. He got some tape and taped it on the ground where he wanted my feet to go. This was helpful seeing each time where he specifically wanted me.

As this part of the session was coming to an end, we moved towards the end of the room where there was a ping-pong® table set up that can be lowered for little kids. Part of the training at the Newgy Table Tennis Center includes filming different aspects of the training so the Coach can analyze it, point out certain things to the student later and then improve on them.

When we came back from lunch it was now time to actually hit with the Coach. We warmed up and did some drills. He corrected me throughout the drills and really helped me apply what I learned on the robot to the real game. We closed it out with a match. The area where you play matches is very spacious, closed and individual courts and also had the same Olympic red mat flooring. Overall I would give my experience an A+ at the Newgy Table Tennis Training Center.

Pierce Scott

I have traveled a lot for table tennis. I have been all over the U.S. and to a few different countries. I have found that the most beneficial training came from Montreal, Quebec in Canada. Even though it was only a short flight away from Cincinnati, it felt like another continent because the city of Montreal is the second largest French speaking city in the world.

I typically went there for two weeks at a time. Most people think training should be something that is long, intense and lasts the whole day. In Canada, training is intense but it is just enough so you can handle it. I trained at a former Olympic site that is now turned into a sports school. The head coach there (Dejan Papic) is a former Olympic coach along with the assistant coach (Christian) who is also a former Olympic coach.

I would start off my day with a training session from 8:30 – 10:00 am. There was a study done that an athlete can only focus for one and a half hours straight. This session is normally very intense and ended with physical training/conditioning. Usually we would run laps, lift weights or play basketball or soccer. Then we’d eat at the cafeteria in the school or go somewhere around the training center. The next session was from 1:00 – 3:00 and then 5:00 – 8:00 or just 4:00 – 7:00 depending on whether the kids are in school or not. That next session would typically start off with the same theme as the morning session and then play some sort of game towards the end.

After this session you have physical training. This was very intense. This was usually sprints and laps. Occasionally we would lift weights. Each week they would have one thing they would work on. That whole week was used to practice the skill in every situation.

After the training was done you have the night to go out into the city of Montreal.

Pierce Scott

Carl Hardin is one of the best table tennis coaches in the United States. He has a different coaching style than most coaches. He is very strict and pounds into your head the importance of great form.

I started receiving coaching from Carl when I was rated 543. We would start off by warming up my forehand on the Newgy Robo-Pong table tennis robot. Then I hit some backhands on the robot. He hadn’t said anything to me yet about anything I had done wrong. I thought my strokes were fine. I was extremely wrong! He said there was no use of hitting balls coming out of the robot if all of my strokes were wrong. So we grabbed a box of balls and I dropped the ball and then hit it. After each ball I hit, I was given criticism on what to fix. After about an hour of that we did the same thing on the backhand.

I had no idea so many things that went into one shot. Carl saw everything I did wrong, every single time. After we got that taken care of, we started to do drills on the robot. He would stand there and move the frequency up until my strokes broke down, then would immediately shut it off. He taught me correct footwork, forehand, backhand, push, flip, serve, loop, and serve return. I am glad I got to experience Carl’s coaching. I would not be where I am today without it.

Remember:

“Practice makes permanent, not perfect.” – Carl Hardin

Pierce Scott

The Newgy Robo-Pong 2050 table tennis robot (and 1050 model also) comes with 64 pre-programmed drills. I have also programmed some of my own customized drills into the Robo-Pong. With that said, 64 is a lot of drills. Many people wonder: which one is the best? The answer to that is: they are all unique and were all designed to help you improve different strokes and skills, at various levels of the game.

When I train on my Robo-Pong 2050, I like to make it a fast-paced training session because I know I will lose focus if I’m alone in my basement for more than an hour. So what I usually do is work on a specific part of my game for 35-45 minutes and serve for the rest of my training session.

Here are some of my favorite drills:

Warm Up: Drill #6: 2 backhands, 2 forehands. This drill lets you warm up your footwork a little, and lets you start warming up your loop.

Under-Spin: Drill #16: under-spin anywhere. This drill will give you an under-spin ball anywhere on the table with the spin varying. This lets you practice looping from different locations and looping different amounts of spin.

Top-Spin: Drill #28: one ball to the middle, then one ball to either corner. This drill lets you work on your looping, footwork, watching, and adjusting. You have to constantly move to the ball and watch the robot head so you know where the ball is going to be going. To get the full effect of the drill, only use a forehand on the ball in the middle.

Ending Drill: Drill #31: one high ball to the backhand, then one high ball to the forehand. This drill will give you a chance to smash high balls. I simply do this drill because it feels good at the end of the practice to smash some high balls. This can also be beneficial if you need to work on your smash.

Train hard!

Pierce Scott

If you have ever had any interest in becoming an umpire, this article is for you. Anyone can be a table tennis umpire if they would like. If you don’t play anymore but still want to stay connected to the game, this is a perfect opportunity. You also get benefits if you are an umpire. You get a great seat for the table tennis match, discount on hotels, discount on entry fee, flight money, and sometimes even get paid.

Here are the basic steps to becoming a Club Umpire:

1. Contact USATT and tell them you would like to take the Club Umpire test.

2. They will mail you the test or you can take it online.

3. Study!

4. Take the test and get at least a 75% to pass. The test is open book (so you can use anything). It has a section of true/false questions and also has situational questions.

5. If you pass, start umpiring at table tennis tournaments and begin to get your matches done to then become a Regional Umpire.

Pierce Scott