OOAK Table Tennis Forum

A generous offer, but shipping a book is not cheap, so it might be wise to check out the actual cost first, to make sure it's still worth your while

PS Although we have a lot of Aussies here, it's really only a fraction of our overall audience.

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Yes, you're absolutely correct. Shipping around the world is not cheap, but I think I can do it. After all, I did not write the book for the money. But I guess if someone wants to read it, eBook is an easier acquisition.

Oh, by the way, Amazon sent me a notification that the book is now listed online at Amazon. You can find it using the same link to the eBook. There are two options under the description for eBook and Paperback.

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Author of Breaking 2000 and The Next Step

Hi Leshxa,

Great book! I especially liked how you were very analytical in your approach.

While working towards your goal of reaching 2000, approximately how many hours per week did you receive coaching. How much money do you estimate you spent on lessons till reaching that goal?

The reason for my asking is to gauge how much money to set aside for a similar goal.

BTW: Is the Rakza7 good for opening loops against backspin? I'm looking for cheaper options to T05

Thank you for your feedback.

I trained about 4 hours a week with the coach, and spent more time practicing at work where we have a table. I practiced serves, built a return board, bounced the ball on the table and tried various spins and hits. Basically whenever I found a bit of time, I worked on something.

Expense wise, it is very difficult to estimate what I have spent, but it must have been a small fortune not regarding coaching, but tournament fees and travel. That was my biggest expense, although I could see coaching being another. Some coaches charge a lot of money and their incentive becomes very financially focused, which I think is the biggest issue in the US. I also feel that some coaches simply "milk" their students for cash and only show them material that will improve their game, when they get truly frustrated in not advancing. I dedicated a whole chapter in the book regarding maintaining relationship with a coach. Players need to demand certain results and set proper expectations from their coaching, otherwise, its like throwing money away.

Regarding Rakza. I really liked it at one time. I think I switched to it after Baracuda. But over time, I started to dislike one very interesting detail in this rubber. It does everything great, but if you get a long rally going - making 3-4 loops in the row from various places, I found the the ball would slide off the blade somehow. It would just not be able to spin the ball. I can't quite explain it, but it is something that was reported elsewhere and I did not really pay attention, until I began to experience the same feeling. I have no clue what may be the case, but basically eventually after several loops, I would roll the ball into the net - like all of a sudden that arc that the rubber is supposed to produce disappears and I have not altered the stroke!

Also, I found Acuda S1 and S2 being more suitable for my game. That's what I play with now ( actually I am a little low on cash, so I do have Rakza off my spare blade on the backhand, which I used to play this past weekend - beating two 2100s, bunch of 1700,1800, and 1900s and ... drumroll.... loosing to a 1600

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Author of Breaking 2000 and The Next Step

Thanks for the details on expenses on coaching / travel / tournaments. Also, thanks for your Rakza 7 review.

I play at NJTTC (Westfield). I'll inform everyone I know there about your book as well.

I asked there on coaching fees. The couple of them who replied charge $70 per hour. Small fortune indeed!

If only I could take such a methodical, analytical approach to analyzing / fixing my weaknesses in life in general as you do on improving your TT game, I'd be much better off!!

I played at Westfield yesterday!

If you want to get coaching for less, come to Trolley Car TTC. The coaching is a lot less expensive.

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Author of Breaking 2000 and The Next Step

Wow $70 per hour... that sounds way over the top!!! How do they justify that?

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Yes haggisv, $70 USD per hour sounds like a lot of cash, and it sure is. This is a pretty normal rate to receive coaching from a top 50 USA player. Some charge even a little more per hour.

As said before in the thread, many of these expensive coaches take on lower-rated players who have a pile of cash to give away. Many of thee lower-rated players do not improve much of their game, maybe only a few of the strokes and do not raise their match play much. The high paid coach is often a highly paid blocking partner who gives some advice and encouragement in producing a FH loop or drive. These kind of coaches are not interested in devolping the player to an advanced standard, only develop them enough to give them a sense of progress and achievement with something noticeable, like a FH topspin. A lot of these coaches string along these rich suckers and milk them for thousands of dollars. If you look at a typical student who showed up around USATT 1000 or 1200, after a couple years the student is often not even USATT 1500, which is the average USA club player who has not ever been coached. I see people here reach 2000 USATT level with 2 years of light training starting out at that level.

Yeah, I agree a lot of coaches suck a lot of cash from a lot of USA players.

There are coaches who charge much less and actually go a good job of making and executing a plan to develop players.

Another thing is there are a number of rich adults who have TT as a hobby and want to improve a flashy stroke to "Show Off" either at their workplace, company, or TT club and have zero interest in actually becoming a competent match player. This type of cash heavy rich boy simply wants to show up at the club and show everyone they can rip or spin the daylights out of the ball, or show off a newly learned BH shot or serve. The coaches who are taking these rich boys' cash catch on to this very quickly and as Round Robin said before, heap praise on these rich boys to retain their business.

I feel a good coach show show a plan of how to acheive what in TT at which stage and how. A good coach should include coaching at tourneys and with enough time, significantly raise the student's playing level. Some people, no matter how they try, never make it past 1500 or 1600 USATT. A lot of the 1000-1200 USATT crowd (a very weak club player in anyone's nation) have the potential to make USATT 2000 in a few years, or even less if they train and practice more. A good coach should be able to communicate what to expect and generally how to get there. There is certainly a LOT more than improving a FH topspin to get to USATT 2000 level.

Many have discussed exactly what a USATT 2000 level is. In USA, it is considered advanced level and maybe 10-15% reach this level in their life. In Korea, this is also pretty much true, maybe 10-15% of all club players reach this level, which would be a top div 3 player or or bottom/middle div 2 player in my city of nearly 1/2 million. Sound crazy coming from a strong TT nation like Korea? No. It is just that they have a lot more elite training going on and a lot more players than USA playing TT. The "athletes" that are identified as early as grade school concentrate on the sport at school, although they do have school classes, they are an athlete and it is not hidden, like it is in USA, where we fake the part of them actually doing well in class, in most cases, although some are good students as well.

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Goof-off chopping bat
Gambler All Rosewood
Aurus Soft / Gambler GXL .6 sponge

Status - Out of Business Janitor/Babysitter

As a comparison, I pay USD $130 for a full month's club membership with 3x per week 20 minute lessons and unlimited club play. At the rate of $70 an hour, I would probably pay $400 a month to do the same thing I do here.

One must also understand the structure and facilities of the average USA TT club. Very few actually have their own TT building. Many rent out or have an agreement with a YMCA, a church, a community center, or some school gym. Unless there are 50-100 members, it is difficult to make and run a full time club in its own facility, although there are more today than 10 years ago. Many coaches do not own the club and have to cough up a lot of their coaching pay to the owner of club. Our USA problem is it is very difficult to get a lot of TT players to make a club full time viable.

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Goof-off chopping bat
Gambler All Rosewood
Aurus Soft / Gambler GXL .6 sponge

Status - Out of Business Janitor/Babysitter

Thanks for the detailed explanation! yes perfectly understandable, and I guess that's also the reason not many players bother to get coaching, and never advance to the higher levels.

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

I enjoyed reading the ebook but don't think the derogatory term "junk rubber" should have been included in such a published work.

Alex, you seem to be similarly minded to myself; but I am at the beginning stages, tonight I will download a Kindle app on my Android and get your ebook. I love your little return board and will make one soon.

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Blade: Andro Kinetic Supreme Zylon/Kiso Hinoki OFF-
FH: Hexer HD 1.7 mm sponge
BH: CTT National Pogo OX
Style: FH counterhitter, BH disruptor

I am sorry, but I am a little bit puzzled. Why is the term "junk" derogitory? It is in quotes, which is used exactly same way in many publications. I do not mean to offend any player choosing to play that style, that is just a common naming.

Would you like me to call it something else? I can always try to alter the book's contents and push the next edition. Obviously I would need more changes than just the term.

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Author of Breaking 2000 and The Next Step

I completely agree with you. All of your comments are very true.

My coach only charges $20 an hour and he never asked to be paid for his trips to tournaments. He WANTED to come out and see me play in order to help me improve. He ALWAYS was willing to go and made sure I got the necessary attention. Even when he got other students, he told me that since I was his student first, I had priority, so we coordinated, but he gave me a lot of time off the court as well, which was very beneficial to my progress.

Regarding training space, we've trained all over. I went from dragging a beat up, scratched up table from rear of YMCA and using ripped nets on it that nobody wanted to play on - to be set up in some cramped space so we could have a practice session instead of being forced to play other people to buying a table, storing it at my job, then moving it to another YMCA, then practicing in a rear of tennis facility near garbage cans on asphalt to finally a good club that accepts training as part of its environment and does not force people to play games.

Table tennis in US needs funds in order to grow and unfortunately it seems that these funds will never come from USATT.

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Author of Breaking 2000 and The Next Step

I hope you enjoy the book.

I have a close up picture of the return board if you need help designing it. Actually here is a link to my post on that.


http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=28907

<Edit Moderator: Pics embedded here for convenience:>

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Author of Breaking 2000 and The Next Step