The Pace Chronicles

He's Back

2008-07-13T10:37:00.001-07:00

Sorry, I haven't posted in awhile. I have been busy up to my eyeballs. I had wisdome tooth surgery, and that set me back. I've working around the clock getting ready for the US Open, and setting up to have the wife relocate up to NC.

My youtube acct got disabled because I had a Mike Tyson fight (The one where he bites Holyfield's ear) to explain the "Fight or Flight" moment, and Don King Productions reported it to youtube, and they got me. So, I created another account.

If you are going to come back, it has to be harder than anyone expected. This time around the video's I put on youtube are done documentary style as I'm back into limelight of the sport, and it's the truest words I have ever spoke.

Pacer Out!

S. Florida Open

2008-04-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Table Tennis world, this is your favorite vicious Forehand Looper checking in after another tournament in the books. This one was the 1-star event in S. Florida. I was planning on coming back to see the wife that is still there until June (Man, that sucks) and decided to go get my loop on while I was there.
Now, I remember winning one of my first tournaments in South Florida in March of 1997 by beating Lily Hugh. You wanna know how much money I won back then? $600.00! is what I walked away with. Now, fast forward 11 years later and the prize money is $300.00. How did table tennis digress to that in South Florida? I can tell you how. From 1997 to 2004 I think I won all but 2 of the tournaments I entered. So the directors lowered the prize money from $600.00 to $300.00, then to a staggering $80.00 for 1st place. They lost me on the $80.00. But now I’m back and playing for something more than money, FUN.
I still have not set any goals for myself in my return to table tennis. Maybe that makes it easier, because I’m really not taking myself too serious this time around. I got in Friday and played some Friday night, then went back to play again on Saturday. I came into the tournament on Sunday morning to work with Uri, as he had Henry Forte to battle, again. The tournament directors should really take a look at who his playing who every tournament. This is the 3rd tournament I have seen Uri play Henry in the same event.
I look at the draw and see that I’m seeded number 3, and I look at the rest of the groups. When I see that Di is seeded no. 6 I know I will be playing him in the quarterfinals. Great! I get to dance with him again. If you are new to the blog, there is a quiet battle going on with Di and I. It’s respectful, but fierce. I can tell that I have always been one of the players he wanted to scalp, but it hasn’t happened. As a matter of fact, it has never even been close. The pre-retirement Brian Pace use to walk right through him.
Well, after about 2 practice session in my return back I went over to the Boys & Girls Club to see if I could get the daylights beat out of me to remember what it was to be sharp. Somehow, I had Di in my group. I have to say he ran through me quite nicely. I only put up a fight the second game in losing 13-11, but he was the sharper player that day. Losing was not what got me, it was the “Low Blow” statement he made afterwards. He said, “ I only played half of my game”. See, now if you really want me to go home and write up 8 exercises on how to dominate your game, then that is how you do it. If he is 2350, then he played 1675 to beat me. Man, I must really suck after a 4 year hiatus. But the stage was set, “I have a screaming, fighting , chew the table before he loses” Di in the quarterfinals.
I spent the early morning video-taping matches and grabbing some practice time on tables when I had the chance. At 4pm, no groups where called out for the Open Singles, and I had to remind myself that I’m at the 1-star tournament. My last real event that I was taking score on regarding professionalism was the playing the German, Denmark, and Swedish Open. Then for the last 4 years I have been racing bikes. When they say you race starts at 9:30, be on the line at 9:15 or you are going to be starting in such an awful position that you will never see the front group.

I get my group and it is a junior, Carlos Zeller and a Spanish guy that I have never met. I really wanted to lose a game to both players just to get accustom to the table, floor, lighting , room etc. But Carlos was unable to close the door on me in game 2. Plus, I got so many nets that it was just awful. The next guy was better and after being up 2-0, I tanked the 3rd just to get another game in, but I beat him 11-2 in the 4th as I found placement on all my shots. What I was uncomfortable with was going from a 2000 player to a 2300 player. I had a great performance in NC at the Cary Cup, but it was not indicative of my true level. I’m playing right around 2400 in tournament matches, so I still have some progress there. Nor, am I really ready to adjust to jumping to the quarterfinals against a guy that I know it would be a highlight to get a win under his belt if he beat me.
I can’t let that happen, not today. Plus, I made up some exercises for him and if I execute them the right way, I’ll be his daddy again like I was before. We warm up and I’m not feeling this at all. I just went from a rinky dink Stiga to a rinky dink Spintech table. Man, I have to stop being so critical. If it’s bad for me, then it’s bad for him, right. Wrong! This is his facility and his tables. OK, Pacer! Get your attitude together. Just before we start the match I get a disclaimer from Di and takes this time to let me know that he is going to be fighting hard. That means he read my post from Feb when I was just a little flustered that someone would fight so hard in a non-sanctioned practice tournament. I told him it was cool, and the reason it was if I play this the right way he wouldn’t get a chance to spread his lungs in jubilation. I’m gonna clip that real quick.
Game 1
In the first part of this game almost everything that goes wrong, does. The last match of this level that I played was against Joji Y. at the Cary Cup and it was a straight up and down match. He is a 2700 plyaer that I went 5 games with and the match was full throttle. And I came out like I was playing a 2700 player mentally, emotionally, and tactically. I miss 3 of my first 4 serves and was essentially giving him a 1 game lead. Outside of my missed serves I was still playing better than him, and at 6-9, the “Di Protocol” kicked in. I remembered back to the preset exercises I had did to expose his game. At win 2 point to get it to 7-9. I serve a sidespin serve and he flips it and hits the edge. Click! OK! I remember how I used to own him before. I’m down 10-7. Don’t serve sidespin, he flips. Serve underspin medium, and it works, as he loops the ball in the net. OK, on the serve return I need to actually push that ball in the box. Jam it in the box. He serves sidespin with almost no underspin, because he has a loop that built to drive, not lift. I jam push his serve in the wide FH, and he lunges for his and does get to attempt a loop. OK, that 1, get this one and we have a match. He goes for a underspin short to the forehand and I’m able to pick it up for a FH loop crosscourt and he misses. Duece! OK, I’m in my mode right now. I go for a serve short to the forehand, and he goes for a push deep to the FH, but dumps it into the net. OK, nail number 1 is in the coffin. He setting to serve, and all I’m thinking is “Don’t push soft”. When he serves, I know he is leaning to the FH, and I change it up and push the ball “White Line Deep” to the backhand. And he can only push it. I do a turn and burn FH Loop down the line to take my 5th point in a row, and the first game.
Game 2
At this point the anxiety has left me and I’m actually “Playing to Expose”. All the placement shots I had before started coming back to me and before long I had totally momentum over the match. Almost every attack he goes for is a half attempt and that has him in difficulty because I’m really going after the push. He only blocks from the middle of the table with confidence, so my attack shots go wide to the FH, or wide to the BH. And by the way, he had no answer to my fast serve to his BH. He protects that BH corner by doing the most powerful turn and burn FH loop that most players stay away from that corner. Not me, I’m a true player and what a true player can detect is insecurity. He is not comfortable with that BH hit, and I’m going to let him know I’m aware of that. And I do, by continuing to win point after point by serving and returning to his deep backhand. At the end of the game I discover something new. He CAN’T block a BH after doing a block from the middle. Wow! I never saw this before. He keeps looking at the Spanish guy that is coaching him. Man, that is dead giveaway. He has not answer for the “Protocol”. Never look at your coach in the match. I didn’t win the game easy but I was in control, but I was going to expose this “No BH Block Thing” in Game 3
Game 3
He has no momentum at this point because he gets it from winning points by executing multiple attack shots to get his rhythm. No rhythm here for him. I start out Game 3 inviting him to flip my serve and my plan is to attack into his strong point, let him block, and rip an attack shot to the backhand. I also discovered that he has no BH hit off underspin, so when he serves underspin I push deep to his BH and all he does is push. So that is an serve return/attack combo in my favor. I serve, do a BH loop and he misses a block. I want him to make that block so bad, because I need to test this “On the fly” theory that I have. I serve fast, he hit it and we get into play again, and just when I’m ready to lock him up, he misses. OK, another coaching tidbit to self Pacer, “Give away the ball, your opponent just may miss”. He make a BH hit off his serve and that is only because I have been over indulging in playing there. The next point I get the set up that I want by attacking to this strong point which is the “ Seemiller “ type block, only to have a brainfart and miss a loop crosscourt to his FH. I raise my hands in the air like, “Pacer, what the hell are you doing, play the right way”. I tighten my concept after that. I finally get the sequence I was looking for and executed it. He serves the ball medium and attack it to this wide FH, he blocks it, I play a BH to the middle, he play the “Seemiller “ block to my FH and loop it down the line. No answer! As a matter of fact, he didn’t even make an attempt at a stroke. He actually pulled back. He has not technique for this sequence. Ahh! It’s on now. At this point I’m getting more and more confident with where I need to place the ball and what will come back. The new additions to the “Protocol” have put me on cruise control. I still make some errors that confirm I’m still getting back into the sport again, but the screws are turning in my head better than ever. It’s a rewarding feeing to be able to “Out Play” & “Out Smart” your opponent, while systemically pulling their game apart. I expose his inability to stabilize the table even further and close out the match working the new angles. To all those people that thought I was just a muscle head that looped the ball as hard as I can ever chance I got, TAKE THAT. The video will be up on www.butterflyonline.com website, check for it.
Now, to the semi-finals, which would be a challenge for a couple of reasons. The first reason was I really didn’t bother to look at who I had to play, and I had just locked in the “Protocol” from Di. I knew I needed more time to detox strategically, but I’m at a tournament that is more like the UPN Network. Not even 5 minutes after my match I was being called up to play again. See, a UPN operation. I was playing a guy that is from Mexico I think, and he is a “Screamer” almost like a cheerleader. I’m not sure I can could put that on ice, because he screams at the most simple points that he wins. I knew he had nothing special, but his ability to play safe and consistent was his special skill.
I went into the first game feeling him out, and letting him take shots. He was reluctant to take any real risk, but instead gave me the ball every chance he would. I indulged him by getting down the first game, and could not put together a surge, so the first game was a wrap. The second game was a lot of the first, but I found somewhat of a “On the fly” Protocol. I was down 4-8, and I found something by feeling in the dark and got the score back to 8-8. I get the advantage in the rally and I make a counter loop to his FH, and he rolls the ball and I lose sight of the ball and by the time I see it I’m totally in bad position and lose the point. I then make a very simple mistake and he is up 10-8. I play a 2 strong backhands to win get the score to 10-9. I realize that he doesn’t really have much in the form of power, and I’m surprise with how easy it is to play him off the table. This guy is a conservative player, that will take advantage of the point if you make a mistake. He only picks up what you give him, so I’m going to have to make a huge error for him to take a chance. At 9-10, I have him that chance as I pop up a no-spin serve and he make a very soft loop, that actually drops short. Bravo! For him. He is not that good, but he is smart and crafty.
I lost the third game the quickest I have every lost any game I can remember since changing to the 11 point game. He started doing the most rinky dink serves, and I missed them ALL. I couldn’t pull myself back from trying to flip them, and my flip shot was “Out of Order” that day. So I proceed to play the right way even if it made me look like I was giving up. And boy was he screaming, at some point it became amusing to see him scream that loud when I push a ball in the net. The way he screamed really informed me that he is really an insecure player. In my career I only vocalized winning a point at a critical moment, or playing a really good point. This guy is screaming for everything under the sun. Why would anyone scream so loud if they haven’t taken one risk in the match. I’ll have to find out later, because this match is a wrap. At 8-4, I ask him the score and he makes a smart remark. Now, See! I’m going to put that one in the bank, and let it gain interest. He proceeds to bust my ear drums with every push or flip I missed, and I lost the match at 11-6. I got 6 points, and that is the worst game I have played in 5 years. The screaming bothered me, and that is why I’m going to do the same thing to him that I did to “Di”. I’m going to create a protocol, and catch up with him later. I watch the match 5 times, and I can’t believe I played that way. I predict I’m going to beat him worst than I beat Di. I’m looking for you buddy.
I walk off the court, and I’m not upset at all. I’m way beyond that. But what came next almost took me down that road. I sit down to change shirt and Mrs. P (My wife) ask me “What’s up with the lady in the wheelchair”. I said, “What’s up with her?” Before she could explain Terese rolls over and informed me that I was wearing a shirt that was in conflict with the ball. My shirt is yellow, and the ball is orange. And, I have just lost 3-0, and I’m packing up to leave and why would she say anything to me about the shirt I had on. One of my students informs her that my opponent said it was ok, but she says that she HAS to inform me. Actually, she doesn’t have to inform me, but she still enjoys sticking it to me every chance she gets. She most likely got her Umpires Certification from a crackerjack box. I was at the Cary Cup 3 weeks before and she is no where never the level of an umpire of Dick Evans and Larry Kessler. But you have to take what you get when you are at a UPN operation. But no cue card rhetoric from me. I just say “OK”, and pack up. Mrs. P says, “She doesn’t like you”, and I look over and say “Ya Think”. She wants to know why there is some tension there and only explain to her that it is insulting to ask a Doctor to clean the toilets, and she laughs but wants more. If someone looked at your Masters Degree in Mental Healthy Therapy only to say, “You are not a therapist”, you just talk to people would you be psst? He gave a quick, “Hell Yes”. And that is what happened to me. I had just came off a 1 year job coaching John Beaumont that went from number 25 in the country to number 4 and winning the Junior Olympics U-16 Boys, only for THEM so called coaches to tell me that I’m not a coach, “I am a hitting partner”. That attempt to downgrade who I was put me at odds with them, and that is where the tension is coming from. That set off a whole host of other events, but that is where it started for me. I have been coaching all over this country and world, only to come to South Florida and have someone tell me I’m not a coach, but a hitting partner. Wow! I didn’t know they were authorities. I found it to be insulting and I used that as my steam.
Since I moved to Florida in 1997 I have been the ONLY top player living here that has not been under their thumb. I know I was the best coach in South Florida and I was the “King” of running tournaments until I got bored with the exhausting process of moving table, finding gyms, and dealing with all those forms. They don’t even know that I coached over 15 of their kids. All those parents came to me and told me that they know that the techniques they are learning from them is outdated and wanted me to fix. it. I coached kids from Palm Beach Gardens, to Boca, to Parkland and Coral Springs. These people that want to describe me as a “Hitting Partner” to make themselves feel superior don’t even know their student are coming to me behind their back to pay me to be a “Hitting Partner”, LOL. I did that for years, and when I came back in 2004 and retired, I retired working with them as it was a road to nowhere. It was counterproductive and a waste of time for me and money for them. That’s the history. For me I didn’t take it person, I took it professional. I’m a top player and coach, and getting resistance from another coach or player is the name of the game. I know that McDonalds gets resistance from Burger King, just like Coke gets resistance from Pepsi. So getting this type of resistance from them only solidified that I’m good and a threat, and it only made me work harder. That “Responsive System” is over for me now, and being retired 4 years made it a lot easier. That was mouthful, and wife had more.
“What’s up with the dude from Trinidad, why doesn’t he like you?” What? Him? I thought! He was pacing around saying “ What the hell is wrong with Brian?” with regards to you and that shirt. Oh! He is one of those people that is under that umbrella of the “Green Foxes”. He is a “Hitting Partner”, and we both laughed. He’s harmless, I said. He’s just supportive of that side. I think it’s good to have “Haters”, because that hates lets you know that you are doing good enough to get their attention. I used to enjoy actually I used to sun bathe in it.
I’m always so good with people, that wife is surprised that I would have tension with anyone. I explain that if you have taken food out of the mouth of someone in such a small circle of specialist, then you can’t expect them to like you. If you had of list of people that didn’t like you, would they be at the top of the list?, she asked. I looked over at her and said, “They are the list”. We both laugh, and exit the building.
I know my blog has recently become a popular place for players to visit to read about what goes on with my training, my approach, my attitude, and my views. One that I know for sure is, I’m absolutely sure I have no idea how far or intense I’m going to pursue it. I’m happy to be back in the sport I love, and I hope that what you read about training helps you become a better player. I hope what you read about how I deal with conflict makes you a better person. I’m even more delighted that anyone would take the time out of their life, and read what I write. For that, I thank you for letting me borrow your time, and your eyes.
Pacer Out!

Serve It Up!

2008-04-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

What's up people. I'm happy to be back in the world of loopers, and I have enjoyed the last 2 weeks of actually working back in table tennis. I'm working back in table tennis in the form of www.butterflyonline.com baby. More to come on that for sure.

I'm actually back in South Florida for a tournament, and I completed a nice pre tournament final workout to get totally tuned up for the S. Florida Open in Davie, the city that is on the westside of Ft. Lauderdale.

I came in Friday and played with Uri and Lev, 2 of my favorite people and students. I was happy to working with them again, and they were just as happy to have someone that can talk and outplay them at the same time. Here is some highlight from our 2 hour training session.

Saturday got more serious when I activated Raf to come out and give me some master ball movement. I felt really good in the drills, but not so good when we played practice games, as I'm still knocking the cobwebs off that part of my game. I should have everything fully flushed out in the early matches on Sunday.

I think that Keith Alban should be the top rated player with a rating of 2506, and I think I'm number 2 at 2381. I had a rating slated to be over 2400 until I lost to John Mar at the Cary Cup. My goal is to really target beating everyone below me, and everyone 80 points above me. That way I am climbing my way back to the top instead of trying to jump back to my original level. By the time I climb my way back to 2500 hundred, my level and my style will have it's full integrity back.

Here are some highlights from my training session with my boy Raf.

Pacer Out!

Health Kick Friday - It's all about Water

2008-03-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

Put down that fancy looking bottle of exotic H20, because it's not any better than thecontaminated tap water coming out of your faucet. Water are you drinking, you ask? If you have prided yourself on drinking that very expensive water that is touted to have come off the special mountain top, do yourself a favor, go get some water out of your toilet, because it's just as good.

Dr. Otto Warburg won the Nobel Peace Prize for his research on cancer cells. He proved that cancer cells can't survive in a alkaline enviornment. He created these drops that you can put into your water that alkalizes it, but that was 60 years ago. It has virtually gone unnoticed. In this day and age where people are so concerned about how they look on the outside that they have not really looked at the best substance they should be drinking for their body on the inside

For that I turn to some good ole fashion, H20. Boy, is water underrated. What can you buy that is a true investment in your health that doesn't have you going back to your local health food store to buy more of that "Garbage Water".

It's simple, a Water Ionizer. This is a device that alkalizes your tap water up to a ph of 10.0. That is the key abbreviation, ph. ph stands for "Potential of Hydrogen". That is what your body needs to function on a optimal level. Even your doctor will tell you that consuming anything with a ph lower than 7.365 has a negative impression on your body.

Your blood is at a ph level of 7.365, and the body maintains that level at all times. When you eat food that is high in cholesterol the body does not let that waste stay in your blood, it dumps it into your arteries. When you consume water that is high in calcium and lime, the body dumps that into your joints that is how stift joints turns into Arthiritis. All other waste is dumped into every other vital organs, but not your blood. Because your blood is the main facilitator of nutrients, oxygen, and waste clean up, the body had made it priority one
not to trash the blood. In fact, the body will leave you with stiff joints, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, excess weight, diabetes, and every other debilitating disease before it lets your body go bad. Because if you blood goes bad, you simply DIE.

I said all of that to say that your cells are bathing in bad fluids. If your fish in the tank got sick, the only real solution would be to change the water. When your fish is back in good health, you would know that was because of putting in better water. See, it's all in the fluids. If your eating bad food and drinking bad water, then your are putting your health into decline even more rapidly. There was a great philosopher that said, "25% of your money goes towards food, and the other 75% goes to your doctor". It's time to be preventative with regards to health, and this has been my 10th year on the cutting edge of that movement. Now on to the star of this entry.

You wanna know if you are drinking good fluids? Take a look at this.

The device he used filters out all of the contaminates in your tap water to 99.9%, and it alkalizes it up to a ph of 10.0, with 9.5 being ideal for human consumption. So I bought the water ionizer from a company called Water for life USA. He had the best price for the est functions. He was one of the only companies that was not part of the (MLM) Multi-Level Marketing, so I was getting a realistic price.

Now, if anyone knows me, knows that I will look at anything from a 3 dimensional standpoint. So I did my research, and found a company out there that was selling Ionizer water. I bought a case of their water, and it came in the same day as the Ionizer. I told the guy I was going to open the box, and do the test against another company that sent me the water. If it did not turn blue, I would be putting it back in the box, and sending it back the same day. I said the same thing to the guy that I bought the case of Ionized 9.5 water from. I was given the same ph drops as that the guy in the youtube link and urged to test it with my tap water and water from other companies, and especially his device.

I was surprised to see that both of them tested dark blue/purple, so I called both of the companies back, to tell them that I would support their cause because the proof is there. Here I am, supporting preventative health. So I was sold! No more water for me from the stores.

Let me say that there is a way that you can get to drink fluids of a ph of 8.5. You can go to Wholefoods, buy $20.00 worth of oranges

Then you can squeeze them yourself using this

And you have made 64oz of 8.5 fluids.

The other way is to live in the topics, and climb your own personal coconut tree, crack it open and drink the water out of it.

Or you can get the Ionizer that looks something like this.

It has some very simple instructions.

You hook it to your faucet, which has a diverter.

And bang. Ionized, Alkalized water.

It makes water at different levels, that is good for all sorts of things like improving your skin, healing wounds faster, cleaning your counter tops of ALL bacteria.

The cost is $1200.00, and it pays for itself in a matter of months. The guy has a layaway plan for those of you that just does not want to shell out $1200.00 in one sitting. If you send him $500.00 he will send you the Ionizer with the ph drop to test your water. If you are not happy with it for any reason in the first 60 days, you can send it back to him for a FULL refund. Now, that is putting your money where your mouth is. If you are interested go to www.waterforlifeusa.com to see much more information that will 100% add more years to your existence on this earth

And those years will be in better health

Live long, loop strong

Pacer Out!

2008 Cary Cup - Tournament Report

2008-03-24T07:12:00.001-07:00

I went to Cary NC, to play in the Cary Cup, and I got a violent introduction back into high level table tennis. I gambled on playing the U-2400 event on Thursday night, and it brought out Didi, Loc, and myself as the top seeds. I lost to Didi 3-0, as I was just not sharp enough to get my game going that early. All the games lost were close and I won most of the points that went into extended rallies, so I was pleased that I could still compete after a 4 year layoff.

Friday night I went back and played doubles with Scott Butler, a old friend from my days at Augusta College. He hadn't play since the Cary Cup last year, and he played pretty good for a not having touch a racket at all. We had to play Didi and Loc, and we won the first game, and lost the next 3 all very close. Can't ask much from myself if me and my partner were not near the top of their games. But I was getting better though.

Saturday brought the realization that I would have a tough day on the table, after I won my group pretty easy. I saw loads and loads of top players, and I couldn't even count them all. At least 25 very good players, and I was shocked when I found out that I had a 10 man RR to play. The top 4 players advance out of the group of 10. The only thing that made me feel good is because I ride my bike 250 miles a week, I knew I would be fit enough to finish the RR in good condition. What was a grey area was how my arm would stand the day of blasting loops. And what was even more of a grey area was would I be able to keep my emotions that high for the entire day. I was seeded 4th in the group which meant I just had to hold my position. It was probably the first time in my life that really didn't want to put forth the effort to beat the higher seeds. I understood my objective, and that was to advance.

First match: Rocky Wang
Rocky and I grew up playing together and because we are such good friends, we never really want to play each other. But I knew it would be a pivotal match, so it was important to have a great start. Rocky has short pips on the BH, and that is really the place of interest for me. I was able to exploit his backhand to take the first game. The second game he adjusted and took a early lead, and I caught him at 6-all. We played point for point until 8-all, then I won 3 in a row. The third game I got a early lead, and my heavy spin BH loop got me in position to get behind a lot of really quality FH loops. I won the 3rd game at 6, and my first match was in the books.

Second Match: Left Canadian
Excuse me if I can't remember some players name, especially if they are Canadian. This is also a very important match, as it is very important to beat the next guy under me. In my career I have always been weak against lefty's because I step around a lot, but the with the vast improvement in my BH while training in Europe playing a lefty does not pose much of a threat. I hadn't done a short serve or serve return in 4 years, and it took the first game for me to find my position on the table. Somehow I squeezed that game out, but lost the next as I just served too many balls long. He ran away with the 3rd game, as he hit some pretty inspiring shots that would lift up just about anyone's moral. After that I knew I was in for 2 tough games so I settled in for a War. So in game 4 I buckled down emotionally, didn't make any unforced errors, and ran away with the game at 11-4. The fifth game I kept the momentum going, and his inexperience came out as he started to fold emotionally. His coach called a time-out, and that seemed to temporarily calm him down, but after a couple of well played points on my part I had the 5th game in the bag. That was a big match for me. I now have to beat everyone below me.

Third Match: Scott Butler.
This was another match like Rocky, as Scott and I know each other games very well from playing with each other for so long. He is one of the reason my BH improved when I was living in Augusta. I won the match by getting early leads and putting enough pressure to finish out the game without being challenged to intensely. Had Scott been in better form, it would have been a tougher match, but I'll take it.

Fourth Match Homayoun Kamar-Parsi
Actually I had never beaten him "Pre-retirement", and the only thing he had changed was he had short pips on the BH. I really didn't play too inspired as I was more concerned about the rest of the day. I did have flashes of the old "Brian", but lost way too many points on missing serves, and serving long. It's nice to have your first lost 4 matches in.

Fifth Match: Ling Yu
I was informed by Rocky that she was bonafide and had major world class skills. She was a lefty penhold player that had every skill in her arsenal except "Grown Man Power". Again, it was one of those matches that I needed to be sharper on the serve and serve return. I still had really good flashes of the old me, as I totally dominated her in extended rallies. I need more time on the table to handle a player as skilled has her.

Sixth Match: John Wetzler
This was the match that would make or break me. I have lost to him before, and he is a tough match for just about anyone under 2500. With me being off the scene for 4 years, I'm sure he got better which would make it completely an even match, or slightly in his favor. Game one saw both of us finding out which serves and shots worked and didn't work. I was in control of the first game, and he turned the screws on me, I made some errors, and he squeezed out game 1 at 11-8 courtesy of me missing some very high chop blocks.

The second game he played even more inspired, and he even started attacking my serves. I fought back from being down 5-7, and got myself to 10-8. John turned on the pressure cooker, dueced it, and pulled out game 2 at 13-11. Now, I know I have 3 tough games ahead of me, and it's not looking too good for me. 3 games gives him too many chance to stop my run, but I need to win the match to secure my position.

If I win this match it's going to be off of pure "Will Power" and "Experience". I'm just going to have to turn myself inside out to get the result that I need. I started out and didn't make one unforced error, and I'm up 5-1. I keep control over the serve returns, and it allows me to really exploit the rest of the point. I win that game quickly at 11-4. I take that momentum into game 4 and John immediately puts up some resistance. He traded points until 4-all, then I walk away with it by win 11-6. I have shifted back the flow of the match in my favor by really focusing on doing a really good serve return to prevent him from doing his loop kill. If he does a neutral attack shot, then I can put him into difficult thereafter. Game 5 is all mine as I start out really big, but getting a 5-1 lead. All my big shot are landing, and his big shots are just barely missing the table. At 8-3 he I can still feel he waiting for me to downshift, but I don't. He really makes a push and gets the score to 9-5. I made a great 3rd, and 5th attack to get to match point. He makes a serve, then moves to his FH to get ready to attack, and I push deep to his BH, and he missed the push. I got the match 3-2, and I'm still were I need to be.

Seventh Match: Wang Zhen
I basically saw him quietly dismantle every player that he had play so far without much resistance, and I'm sure I wouldn't do much to put a dent in him either. He is one of the most efficient players that I ever played. He does exactly what he needs to do, and not a bit more. I think we can all take a page out of that play book he has. I went into the match trying to figure out how much I need to put forth to see if I could wake him up. Scott told me that he could not even scratch the surface of him. I didn't do anything the first 2 game, but the 3rd game I brought him out of his Rapid Eye Movement sleep as I started to land some good shots. I lost that game 11-8, but I have an idea of how to play him if I ever get my complete game back.

Eighth Match: The other left Canadian
Rocky beat him 3-0, and said he was wet behind the ears and it shouldn't be much of match. I still feel like I'm this big grey area so I'm not going to take him lightly. I win the first game, and he is wet behind the ears, as I get a bunch of easy attacks. But I'm having a battle within as I have crossed my threshold of being "Emotional spent". I win the 2nd game, and barely. The 3rd game I'm starting to get tired of hustling and try to conserve my energy for my last match. It doesn't work, and lose that game. The 4th game I have to fight all the way to the end to win 11-9, and the real problem is I was officially on "Empty".

Nineth Match: John Mar
I have played John plenty of times, and I never have had any problem with him. But there was a tell-tale sign in my legs, that I had no more left in the tank. I get a nice lead in the first game, and I have a brain fart and lose the game 15-13 . The second game I realized I no longer have any cork in my glue, and I start missing all kinds of simple loops. I lose that game 11-9, and I missed at least 5 winning loops. In the 3rd game I'm now running on negative energy, but I'm still putting up a fight in the match hoping that I can get it to shift back in my favor. Nope, I lost that game 11-9 also. I wasn't too upset with considering how many bullets I slipped pass that day. It is only fair that I get hit sometimes. That hit cost me 40 rating points though. I can't remember the last time I had a 40 point lost in 1 match. I had worked myself up to gaining 32 points for the entire tournament, and in one match I put myself under by 8 points. So I should be in the 2380's, which isn't bad. But I did advance, so I get a chance to make to the money round on Sunday

I got back to the hotel, explain the rest of the day to Mrs. P., and I tell her since I finished 4th in my group, I'm going to be staring down the barrel of someone "Loop Kill" the next day. I wake up and I feel like I got thrown off the 2nd floor onto the concrete. I get to the gym and I have to jog for 10 minutes to get the stiffness out of the legs. I also had to play 35 minutes to get the stiffness out of the upper body and right arm. I'm able to get it out, and it was just in time. I had to play Joji Yamakazi of Canada, and as I was setting up the camera Didi whispered to me, " Pushing long to him does not work". Great! Now, I have an idea of what not to do.

Round of 16th: Joji Yamakazi
He comes out "Guns a blazing", and I'm still trying to figure out what sport I'm playing. I got hit with some many loops that he knocked me into another genre. I was in the Green Mile saying, " Hello Boss, my name is John Coffee". After game one, I had an idea of what I was in for. Game 2 was a lot of game one, with me taking more hits from all angles. Game 3, I completely turn the tide as all my serves went short. I landed everyone of my loops that game and did not make one unforced error, and took that game 11-4. Game 4th he came out like games 1 & 2, and he went up 5-1. I was not going to let him just walk away with the match. He was going to have to drag me along. I got the score back to 7-all, and we traded 1 point each. At 8-all I made a great counter-loop off his loop kill, and that was enough to shift it in my favor. I ran out the next 2 points in taking game 4 at 11-8.

For Game 5 I had my plan down pack. Short serves, and push his serves deep. (Contrary to Didi
's advice) My first serve was a fast topspin down the line, and he mishits the ball. My second serve is short and I follow with a BH loop that he misses. He serves and I push deep to his BH, and misses a BH loop. The next serve goes long and I loop it for a winner. I'm up 4-0 in game 5, and I'm in the driver's seat. Then, I have my own major "Brainfart" as I miss my own serves, then I serve deep and he attacks it, which brings him back to 4-2. I then miss 4 serve returns and it is 4-all. All the effort down the drain, but I'm going to fight right to the end. I make another simple error, and we change sides. This is when I would have called a time out if I were really thinking, but I totally forgot about a time out. Actually I should have called a timeout at 4-3. We have a really big counter looping point that I lose, and follow it back up with another unforced error. I had won the last 3 points of game 4, and the first 4 points of Game 5, and now I have just game all 7 points. Whew!!

I still fight, and I get him to make some errors that proves that he is still nervous about his lead, but it's too late as I lost game 5 at 11-7. So that is it for me, my first tournament back happens to be one of the most grueling events I have ever played. Now, I'm firing on all cylinders, though.

My next touranament is a 1-star down in South Florida next weekend, so I'll try to put in a block of training to keep this going.

Pacer Out!

Fine-tuning the System

2008-03-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

What's up ponger's? Another 2 weeks have gone by, and I'm in the final preparations for the Cary Cup. I honestly wish I could have about 6 more practice sessions to completely bring everything together, but I'll have to play this one not fully where I want to be.

I didn't play as much as I wanted to in the last 2 weeks, but I am playing better. The only aspect of my game that has not let me down is my footwork, serve and serve return, which is a surprise. The rest of my game is not really grey, but the fine-tuning will have to be a crash course. Plus, my fitness is incredible, so I do see myself being able to finish the tournament.

I suspect that I'll get much better as the tournament progresses. Until then, enjoy another session of quality table tennis training.

Pacer Out!

March 4th - Update

2008-03-04T16:19:00.000-08:00

What's up pongers? Sorry I missed the practice tournament this past Sunday, but I had a mtn bike race that got pushed back to the same day. 62 miles of racing in 80 degree weather is just enough to find out exactly what you are made of.

I'll keep you posted on the happenings on the table

Here are some highlights from the mtn bike race.

Pacer

Upgrading the System!

2008-02-29T11:40:00.000-08:00

What's up with you planet Earth, this is your boy Pacer checking in with you after another week of training in the sport I love.

When I do table tennis, I do it one way. ALL OUT! When I played before I was fanatical about what I ate, how I slept, what fluid I drank, what vitamins I took, how much mediation I did. It had taken years and years for me to add the proper building blocks that allowed me to run the program when it was time to prepare for competitions. That is what I’m going back to, because that is the only way that I know how to do it.

After walking away from an intense relationship like I had with table tennis, it’s inevitably that you need a detox from the regiment. When I transitioned into mountain and road bike racing, it was purely for fun. I wanted to be competitive without having to travel all around the country, or world. So I ate what I wanted, I went to sleep when I pleased, etc. I also put on 20lbs as result. The more improved on the bike, the more the table tennis athlete came out in the form of very specific training, long rides on the bike, more intense intervals that would make the normal cyclist vomit. I felt like I had an extra gear because I had been to a much higher level than the cyclist I was racing against. I quickly became an obsession.

Now, that I’m making a return back to table tennis, I’m coming back with the same “Take No Prisoners” attitude. I was pretty fanatical about how dedicated I was when I was a single guy playing the table tennis. For example, until I retired I always trained on Friday Night at 8pm. I trained on Friday because I had a pretty good idea that most of the top players were not. I created that concept living in Augusta. So, when they would go out, I would call Coach Peng to do some multi-ball. Another important thing is, I never, EVER, cut a multi-ball session short. If you don’t know, multi-ball is the most grueling exercise that you can do in table tennis. It improves your footwork, technique, timing, stroke integrity, aerobic profile, patience, etc. On top of that it just wears you down, but with future benefits. Most of all, you start to realized that it’s a really, really painful process to go through. I have seen many players cut out of this session early because they were just not up to it. Well, I accepted that I was going to finish this session for the same reason that many would cut it short after it got difficult.

If I was going to come back, then I was going to come back on the Cutting Edge, by implementing most of the concepts I learning in cycling.

The first one would be building a better aerobic engine. When I played before I can't think of anyone that was more fit than me, and I'm taking it to another level. I sleep at 9000ft every night.

This is a Colorado Altitude Training Unit. It filters out the Oxygen in the air, and this raised the Altitude like you are in the French Alps. This is the unit

This is the tube that goes into the unit at filters out the oxygen as you sleep.

The body responses by making more red blood cells becasue of the repeated nights of being oxygen deprived. If you have more red blood cells, you have more oxygen. If you have more oxygen, you have more energy. If you have more energy.........Well, you get the picture.

I also changed the type of water I put into my body, by using a Water Ionizer.

It filters out the impurities in basic tap water to 99.99%, and it raises the ph from 5.0 to 10.0. Ifyou are drinking water that is more pure and full of alkalinity, then you are hydrating your cells on the molecular level which makes your body more functional on every level. The concept here is "You are only as good as the fluids your cells bathe in".

You wanna know what that means for your body? Observe.

To drink anything that is close to this, you would have to juice this many oranges.

And the ph would only be 8.5. So running on better water has it's benefits, and it means no more money being spent on buying expensive water that has not hydrating benefits.

I also went 80% Alkaline food intake (I hate the word, DIET) with regards to what food I put in my body. If I'm not eating a salad like this,

I'm eating stir fry like this.

I thought truly eating this way was going to get boring, but when you put the best food in your body and you perform and feel better it easily becomes addictive.

Some other minor things that I have is the P90X.

It's 12 gut busting workouts that will leave you in the dirt, FOR SURE. I have to give my wife credit for this purchase as she saw the infomercial. I wasn't entirely sold, but after not being able to complete 15min Ab workout called "Ab Ripper X" the first 5 time I did it, I quickly became a fan. In fact, if you can finish this 15 min workout, I will take you and your spouse out to Bonefish. That is how convinced I am that this workout will kick you in the dirt.

I also have a device that improves the ability to breathe deeper, called the "Power Lung".

I would have not believed it would make me more fit, but I can't remember that last time I have done any labored breath in cycling, and it's practically unheard of for me when I play table tennis.

So, I have lined up all my ducks with regards to what I need to do off the court. I just need to get some time on the table. For that, I had to activate my old training partner, Rafael. When I walked away from table tennis I kind of felt like I had abandoned him, so he was the ONLY person I emailed when I decided I was still had some more to give.

We have put in some slamming training session equipped with a "All Out" multiball session, and I'm feeling better and better everytime I play. I feel like I'm coming back with a more well-round philosophy and a more balanced game. I haven't lost any hand or foot speed, and my over the table touch is coming back every session I play.

I have a 62 mile Mtn Bike race on Saturday in Weston. On Sunday I will go to play practice matches at the Boys & Girls Club to fine-tune my game more in preparation for the Cary Cup.

Until then, I'll keep you up to PACE!

Brian

Video Clip of the Week - No Gifts

2008-02-27T11:50:00.000-08:00

My "Return to the Table" campaign has been more successful than than expected regarding getting my form back. I wasn't sure if I could get the super competitive attitude back after racing bikes for 4 years. I instantly got the"Pong" bug back, and I went right back into deep mediation approaching any of my weaknesses.

After playing a mock tournament at the Boys Club and playing sloppy for most of the day, it left a really sour taste in my mouth. It made me go back and write out a extremely ambitious training program, and made my practice partner asked, "Are you trying to make the Olympics?" as it addresses all the errors I made through systemic functional training.

I'm going back there Sunday to exact revenge on the errors I made from 3 weeks before, and some players will get in the way of the freight train as it gets going. I apologize now for the whooping you are gonna get. I wish I could say that I wanted to beat a particular player, but my program is bigger than that. What is my program? You'll find out in due time, but it's going to knock the socks off anyone that never thought it could be done.

My objective now is to have another good practice session that addresses all the things that will prepare me for a solid day on the table on Sunday.

If you beat me a match, then you have truly beat me. I don't give gifts, even on Xmas. Well, Maybe Xmas, but you have to know my middle name for me to give you a gift.

I believe in training hard, and competing even harder. If you ever get a chance to do this, then do it.

Have a great week

Pacer Out!

Good week of Training

2008-02-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

What's up planet earth! Just checking in with you after another great week of training. It was a slow week for me on the bike since I did a 12-hr Race. I had to pull out of a race after I overdosed on the salt solution that goes into everyone of my bottles. Here are some highlights from the race.

Normally, after this type of race I need to need time to recover. Great! I can hit the table, and get more of my feeling back. So I was able to pick up the frequency and intensity of my training with the Cary Cup just on the horizon.

My club is in the YMCA in Weston, but I can't take credit for finding it.

The owner of the fitness club where I had my club for 6 years in Coral Springs was selling is building, and Lev knew about the YMCA opening, and he talked to the person in charge to get the table tennis in. So I moved the tables in on the first day it was opened. Uri and Lev normally play every time I play.

The objective this week, SERVES, SERVES, SERVES. I had to get my serves back, so I actually did about 3 and a half hours of serves this week. I actually had my timing, spin, placement, and height down in the first 1hr session. After that I just started to fine-tune the details of all my serves.

This week I still wanted to work on stroke integrity and stroke production by doing basic and advanced drills that focused on footwork and timing. I actually didn't feel like I was so sharp, but when I looked back at the video from this week of training, I felt like I was right on target. Actually, with how well I'm serving I'm actually ahead of target. One new aspect is I'm utilizing my backhand loop more often, which has added an entire new dimension to my game with it's effectiveness.

The next 2 weeks I'll focus more on game situation type drills. Every drill will start with me making a sereve, short return over the table, or pushing deep to let my partner loop. The main objective is to get more comfortable with playing the first 3 balls at a very high level. I'm very comfortable in extended rallies, so my focus is to start the point by putting myself in an ideal situation.

Here is some highlights from this week of training.

Pacer Out!

Video of the Week - Training with Andrei Filimon

2008-02-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

I was looking through my archive of videos, I found some footage of me when I was training in Romania. My coach was Viorel Filimon, it was always a treat when his son Andrei came to town. I knew I would get a call, and would a chance to train with a player that was truly gifted. Here is just a little video from out training session.

Pacer Out!

A TRUE return to the table

2008-02-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

After 4 years of enjoying my retirement in the sport of table tennis, and enjoying myself racing bike, I have been pulled back in. Or better yet, "I pulled myself back in".

It all started in December when I went to Las Vegas and I was seen shooting instructional videos for my sponsor on one of the outside courts. I was later seen given interviews, and videotaping the highlights of the tournament.

I'm now the featured coach for the small series that I did in Vegas. I did the shot the video, edited it, and the voiced it over. Man, I'm about to take my ass to Hollywood.

Here is the page that will show my clips, and they already has a couple of there.

http://www.butterflyonline.com/coaching/08BPVC_BL.asp

Then the rumors went around that I was making a comeback, which were untrue at the time. And at the tournament, with me in street clothes I got invited to go back and play a Invitational Tournament in Haiti that I had won 3 times. I looked at Mrs. P and said, "You wanna go back to your home country"?

Look, you wanna know how serious I was about retirement? I let my passport expire, and didn't even make an attempt to wipe the mold off it, look.

Mrs. P. chose Haiti, as it is her home country and she has not been there since she was a kid. So I told Mozart Francois, that I would like to play in the Haiti Masters Invitational Tournament.

I was asked to invite 2 other players to come along, so I chose my boys Rocky and Ragu from Maryland, as I'm good friends with them.

We worked out the deal by Jan 15th, and I got this in the mail soon after, so it's on for Sept 5th-7th

Rocky contacted me and suggest that we have a day that we play a friendship match, and when I told Herold he said it would be a great idea. So Herold went back and made more flyers, and here they are.

"Cot toe might know" (OK, the Dirty South way of saying "Oh, my God". These organizations work fast. It's a little bit scary to be the player that is given "Top Billing", because people will come to play based on my status. So I might have to hit the table pretty hard to keep up my undefeated record at this tournament in 3 years. We'll be going early, to spend 2 days at this resort in Cap-Haitian that is 5 Star to the max, even for International standards.

So the bike racing will have to take a little bit of a back set as I'm putting together a very ambitious table tennis schedule for 2008. All the details are "Top Secret", but I'm gonna knock your socks off.

My first actual event is in March in Cary NC(Suburb of Raleigh) in front of my home crowd since my hometown is 45 minutes away. I officially started my training program 3 weeks ago, and I only need about 6 weeks to work off 4 years of calcification. The great things is I stayed in mediocre form by giving private lessons, and would put down the "Real training Session" a couple of times a month to let the up and comers know that I'm really a "Sleeping Elephant", and to let me stay sleep.

I think the Elephant is up now, but I'm going to transition myself out of racing on the bike a little and see if I can "Pong it Up" once more to get some free trips over the world with the wife.

Of course, I'll keep you posted.

Pacer Out!

Winning is Winning

2008-02-15T09:07:00.000-08:00

This is really for the player that have won by a point, and the players that have won because the other person ran out of gas, or they just simply beat themselves.

Don't feel bad, take your win, remember, "Winning is Winning".

Have a great weekend playing or "Winning".

Pacer Out!

My first training session

2008-02-12T16:05:00.000-08:00

I contacted Mike B. in NC to let him know that I'd be coming to town for the Cary Cup about 2 weeks ago, and I hadn't had one training session yet. I had just been stealing a couple of minutes of practice from some of lessons here and there in the last month.

I had everything floating in my head, and it was time to put something down on paper.

Equipment
At the Nationals I decided it was time to put a real racket back in my hand. Before I retired I was using the Keyshot, but this time around I decided that I would go lightweight. The Keyshot Light seemed like a club to me, so I opted for the Kreanga Aeros blade as it was lightweight, fast, and had a big sweetspot. For my forehand I upgrade my Tackifire Special Soft to Tackifire-C Soft. It is a much softer sponge, and it gives more feel that really opens up how Kreanga blade. At least that was the theory. The fact that it has a very tacky topsheet still fits my looping style. On the backhand I decided to stay with the tried and true Catapult. It has never let me down, and is easily the rubber that fits the way that I play my backhand. I also decided to use the speed optimizer this time out. I'll give a product review on this equipment as soon as I get more data, especially with how serious the ittf are taking this glue ban.

Training Schedule
In the past I have only needed 6 weeks of training to prepare for any tournament, so I sat down in front of the computer and wrote my 6-week training plan. I was going to make sure that I did not leave out a technique, as it was really 4 years almost to the day that I stopped training. It is easy to overlook a certain skill, espcially when coming back. So I wrote a 6-week training plan to get me sharp for the Cary Cup. Playing in front of my home crowd won't be stressful at all. I'm simple coming back, "For Love of the Game", and I think I'm not able to think much past that.

I needed to play at least 3 times a week, and 2hrs would be the minimum that I would be on the table. I was going back to shadow training, yoga, and core training. I still ride my bike 200 miles a week, so I know that fitness won't be a problem. I have never had problems with getting injured, but I am 35 now, so I'll be mindful.

Activated the Partner
In the past my only practice partner I had while living in Florida was Rafael Flores. All the times that I was beating 2500 and 2600 players I was practicing with a guy that was 2100 at the time. I adopted that concept from Todd Sweeris. When I lived in Maryland, he constantly got on me for not doing the little things to get better. He always suggested that I should train with players 200 points under my rating, because that way I would learn just how much effort I need to do that would make me effective. I never truly understood that concept until I started training with Jay & Rafael. I could dramatically tone down the pace of my shots, and it automatically gave me more "Stroke Integrity". Once I competed against players my level, my shots were much more grounded, as was my anxiety.

I was unsure how Rafael would react because, I had kind of abandoned him when I retired. We played about 10 times in 4 years. In Vegas I let him know, I'd be reactivating him, and he said, "I'll believe it when you are on the table". So I sent him a text message to see if he wanted to play. He sent back a message, "Yes, I've been waiting".

I told him to check his email. I got back a "WOW" in about the 48 font size back from him. I had sent him the excel file of the 6 weeks traing program. There are 3 phases, the first phase is 2 weeks, and it just consist of skill building, footwork, and establishing fitness. The second phase moves into footwork drills, specific defense exercises, and serves. The 3rd phase consist of game situation drills, serve & serve return exercises, and games. I got a big, "Let's Do It" email from Rafael so it was on.

I had a mtn bike training session that almost conflicted with first table tennis session. I did 1 lap with the group, and as they chatted I went back in and did 2 laps back to back. I then rode around the park to cool down. I went home, unpacked all my mtn bike gear, jumped in the shower to get the dirt off, grabbed my pong gear and head for the YMCA. I ate a wrap on the way to the gym, as I needed to put some calories back in the body before I went to train for another 2 hours. I burned 1740 calories, and the wrap was only about 600, so I was still short so the last 30 minutes of my first session might hurt. Dang! That last 30 mins will be the multi-ball session.

Speaking of multi ball, let me get my Practice Balls. I decided I was not in the mood for the white dust on my racket, so I gave the balls a bath in the sink to knock off some it.

Back on the table
Before I even started I had a little chat with Raf about the concept about the first 2 weeks. It was this definition of tempo.

Tempo(tem'po)n.pl tem-pos or tempi (-pe) 1. A characteristic rate or rhythm of activity, a pace.

That was the key word, PACE.

This first phase was about reintroducing the muscles into moving at this pace. To stimulate "Muscle Memory", it is only neccessary to train again within 72 hours of your last session. So it is not necessary to bury yourself. Coming back at a nice tempo actually has a multitude of benefits.

1. It finesses the muscles back in what you did before
2. It allows you to establish your fitness zone.
3. You can easily find your timing at a medium tempo

There are more, but these are imperative for me for this phase.

This would be a 2-hr training session, and the theme was to let it hurt. So I would not play more than 75% of my effort. That would no doubt build stroke integrity, fitness, footwork, and reestablish my timing. All exercises were 5mins, and that way the drill would not get boring, and it would not wear us down too quickly.

The 2 hrs was broken down into 3 blocks.
Block 1
Consisted of just basic drills for 5 mins. I have to say it was exhausting, and the fact that I rode my mtn bike before didn't make it any easier. It was 4 different exercises regarding the FH Loop. Then the same 4 exercise for the BH.

Block 2
This session consisted of footwork drills, and that was the session that put Rafael under. I was starting to feel good as the lactic acid in my legs from the mtn bike ride started to dissipated. My arms did get heavy, and that is a result of just not playing any particular shot for that period of time.

Block 3
Here comes the pain. Multi-ball! That's right, a bonafide multi-ball session my first day back. I only did 3 exercises, but it was a gross and a half of balls for each exercise. Doing anything for 225 time is really exhausting. I actually felt really good after the third exercise, but we were out of time.

Thoughts on my first session
1. My fitness from cycling is the reason I was not tired
2. I still have my footwork
3. My forearm snap is a little slow
4. I need to train within 3 days to keep this benefit
5. I wish I had a warm-up competition or two

When I know more, you'll know more

Pacer Out!

Back on the table again

2008-02-11T16:06:00.000-08:00

I decided to play a local unsanctioned tournament this past Sunday, because I needed to knock the calcification off my game if I wanted to really find out where I stood.

First, let me start by saying I'm no longer a sponsored player. Don't look at me like I'm that same player before, because I'm not. I'm just a dude that is coming to play some table tennis. I'm going to be totally free spirited about what I say and what I do with no influence from anything or anyone. You are getting my take on how I see the world. This is just my "Lil Ole Experience" in playing table tennis.

OK, back to the story. I was playing to see if I could win some money to buy some headphones to used in my first 12-hr race in Ocala this weekend. Since I'm playing the Cary Cup, this is an ideal situation to get some homework in.

I only had one real practice session this year, and it was full one that included multi-ball and full footwork exercises. But I hadn't done any blocking, serve returning, deep pushing, or short over the table play. So this would be a crash course in getting everything up and running. Plus, I just don't like playing on the floor, as it is can be dangerous on the knees.

Man, how am I going to go in this place, get some good practice matches without attracting attention? How do you get some homework without the other person feeling all jacked up to beat me. I think that it will be impossible. I get there late due to not remembering where to turn, and my group is already in play. Since I glued already I just warmed up and played my first match. It was weird playing on another table, and I forgot how different the bounce is on other tables. I had basically secluded myself for 4 years just playing in really good conditions, and very good Butterfly tables. It was nice to have to troubleshoot how to get my game going. After 3 games I was good to go.

The next match was even easier as the player had a straight up and down style. There was a little dispute about whether or not I served a "Wet ball" to a 1900 player, and the conversation was almost comical. I stood my ground on this issue. I have not played seriously in 4 years, but I have not lost a bit of my fiery competitive spirit. After that, I went right back to pulling his game apart just like the petals off a rose. My next match is a penholder and I find a bit of a groove, but the points weren't long enough to help me find a comfort zone. So I won my group without any problems. I did have a 10-4 lead, and lost 6 points in a row due to a 4 year lay off "Brain fart".

The next group I was in dramatically went up in level. I played a guy from the Caribbean, and it was a easy 3-0 win for me as I was gaining my instinct back. The next match I had to play Di Maharaj. I have never lost to Di, and nor have I even came close to losing to him when I was playing. His game just has way too many holes in it. But I'm way out of practice, and have not played a serious match in such a long time that I total forgot and perferct formula I had created. So if there was a time that he was going to beat me, then it would be this day.

As I was on my way to losing 3-0 I started to remember bits and pieces of the formula. I would have string of 4 or 5 good points that I totally exposed his game. Then I would have a string of 4 or 5 points where I would serve long, miss a serve, or just complete go blank on my tactics. After I lost the 2nd game I decided to stick to the game plan and try to get in some practice matches without taking it too serious. He was yelling and screaming and pumping himself up to beat a guy that has been retired for 4 years. Man, that is some low expectations. I was down big in the 3rd, made a nice comback, but just made too many simple errors. This lets you know how serious he took it. He was freaking getting coaching in between games. How do you get advice on strategy when you are playing a unsanctioned practice tournament. What insulted me even more was as he went to shake the hand of the guy that was giving him advice, he said, " I played half of my game". And he went on to say it another 2 times. That was just low class to me, and I'm going to put that "Statement" in the bank and let is gain some interest. If I go back there to play, I'm going to make a deposit on that statement.

The next match I plan Yandi. Now, I actually never beat Yandi before. I lost to him twice in the last months before I retired. But the unorthodox match with Di actually tuned me up, and before I know it was up 10-3 in the first and had not really man any errors. I can't remember how I lost to him twice, but he was just not doing anything out there. The second game was more of the first, until I had a brainfart while up 6-2, and before I knew it the score was 9-all. I managed to win that game by just pressing the attack when I served and pushing the ball deep to his BH when he served. I then started having thoughts of winning the group if I was able to beat him 3-0. Then Di would be out, and I would advance to see if I can get my headphones.

I made mistake after mistake and it was almost comical at this point. The score was 6-all, and I had made like 5 rookie errors. "Man, I could be up 11-1 right now", is was what I was thinking. I make even more errors at critical moments, and I'm down 10-8 on his serve. If I lose this game I go home, so I won the two points courtesy of him serving 2 nice deep balls. We go back and forth, and I never get the advantage. He wins the game 14-12, so I'm out. But it's not over, I'm still practicing, so that is exactly what I do. I just practice every different serve and serve return I can think of and the score stays even in the 4th. I missed 6 loops that would have been outright winning in my hayday. At this point I decided it is just in my interest to keep gathering data, to make my practice session much more productive once I really get back in the lab. I win the game 13-11, again, courtesy of a deep serve. It is not even anything to celebrate about, so I just pack up and hit the road. I have 40 miles to ride when I get home.

So, I had to make the trip up to the Apple store in Boca to use my own money to by these.

I couldn't figure out which one I wanted, so I bought both of them. I have a 12-hr race this weekend in Ocala, so I plan to make sure that the ipod is loaded with tunes and the earphones wont' fail me.

I guess what I enjoy about racing bikes was not attracting any attention in the beginning. It was nice to be in a race and for noone to expect anything out of you. I could shock them with my performance, but that was over after I did this.

After that I gained a rep in South Florida for having impressive horsepower, which means no more hiding.

When I retired from table tennis, I still wanted to play, but I no longer wanted to be a target. I was no longer interested in being the gun slinger. I had done that long enough, and grew quite bored of it. The problem is if I come out to play, the person that is across the table is not playing for fun. He is trying to put a notch on his belt. See, I gave Di a free notch on his belt that he has been trying to get for over 10 years. Now, I hope that he feels secure with that notch, because that is the only one is getting for the next 10 years. Don't think I'm still not competitive! Remember, I had the longest "Undefeated" streak for any Florida player, (5 years). I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to totally awaken the sleeping elephant because I'm different now. I'm marry, I have a yorkie, I raced bikes, I just finished my degree and have a great job. I'm not sure if there is room in my life to be that same type of player from before.

When racing bikes you never get a chance to look the guy in the face to size him up, or to play mind games. I can't believe that Yandi and Di have gave me their best "Game Face" from an emotionally standpoint. I almost forgot what it was like for someone to actually go to the point of trying to rattle my cage while getting themselves where they needed to be. I was never like that before, and I have "No" intentions of getting close to that. I would rather save my oxygen and break the player's game down from a tactical standpoint. I told Rafael that the "CHO" in mne is totally gone. No more jumping around and getting all worked up over making a great counterloop. I'm a Godfather with regards to my level in the entire part of the country, and I just think it's tacky to do it now. It's better to just show come class from a competitive and ethical standpoint.

I'm simply back now for, "Love of the Game", and I just want to play because I love the artform. As a matter of fact I was out in Las Vegas shooting some instructional clips that are on the butterfly website, check out the clips they put up so far.

I have not put myself back on "Active" status publically. I'm just going to play because I just love to play. I have some big things planned, but right now they are all staying between my ears.

I'll keep you posted, though.

Pacer Out.