Thursday, January 26, 2006
The transition
In dec 1994, ty spotted a new bat on the shelves of a bookshop. it looked vastly different from the one he already had. out of curiosity he bought the bat and took it down on the next training.
the first few impression the bat has gave him was not good. it has low grip, it doens't suit offensive style of play. but it does give great control and low speed. he didn't know that was actually a new rubber out in the market known as anti spin. but the bat is most effective against spinners. he realise with a slight tweak in playing style. he can overcome most of the difficulty he face in the game against heavy spinners. ty examines himself, he's small, nimble and fast. he has a reflex. all he need now is to control the game, and react fast enough to place himself in a position to control the game.
within weeks, ty is up again with a new playing style. an all out defensive player who emphasize on correct positioning. his training trained from smashing balls repeatedly to being smashed and blocking them. the coach realise he uses anti spin. this is the point of time that the coach decide that ty was ready for more. tactic awareness of table tennis. subsequently, ty did very little of basic training but more of tactical awareness, the rubbers/wood and the technical side of the game. training wise, he get to dictates what he wants for himself and the coach will do his best to suit him.
it was of no surprise that after half a year of alternative training, when it comes for another round of school team selection. tianyu became the first pick for the junior division. and he looks ahead as he was handed the jersey... his first competitive tournament.
posted @ 11:23 PM ||
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
The first year
In 1994, as part of the primary schools attempt to diversify beyond academic acheivement, the school engaged a coach to train up its table tennis squad. ty has only attended 2 training sesson in 1993 prior to this but because this is the first sport cca he took up, he intend to stick with it all the way.
things were not as easy it seen. when he went for the first training session, he realised he was both the youngest and weakest player. due to the hype from the school, table tennis become a fad in his primary and the squad dramatically increase in size. the school has 6 tables, but due to the size of the squad, the coach divided the squad into 2 tables of 3. the 3 indoor table gets all the attention from the coach. there are 3 outdoor table, where players merely have fun with one another. the 3 outdoor tables were often overcrowded and players have to take turn to play. out of a 2 hour session, ty usually get to play only about 15-20 minute each time.
ty trains hard for table tennis, each week, he look forward to be able to play in the indoor tables. he started the sport with poor skills, and poor psychomotor. he worked hard, played against the wall. by february, ty has gotten a good standard in backhand. by july, ty, was an offensive player.
back in primary school, table tennis season was in august. there was a qualifying competition in july to select school team member. ty was classified in the junior division, with 7 places up for grab, ty finished a surprising 9 and ended up just outside the team. still, his potential has caught the eye of the coach back then. and sure enough, when the tournament season end, he was shifted in the indoor table as he still qualify for the junior division the next year. and ty has finally attained his wish.
from sept onwards, ty trains hard to fine tune his offensive play by observing better players. but somehow, he lacked the physical strength to fully command, and his near spinless serve has proved weak for him. he tried to improve but he seem to be making no headway. against spinners he is helpless... just as ty thought his days has come, he has more problems.
posted @ 11:47 PM ||
Saturday, January 14, 2006
A fairy tale story.
our lives are all comprises of many stories running stimultaneously, with each stories, different characters are involved. mine is definitely of no exceptions. in the first post in a long time, in my first post, of the year, i will have a story to go with it. a real life story of my table tennis playing stint.
some brief update... lost my music book, somehow misplaced it, so all my 3/4 songs are on hold.
lost a ring... is it time to really forget?
A paddler's table tennis tale:
INTRODUCTION (for the sake of the story, i will be called ty throughout the story)
TY was a mildly autistic child when he was born. He wasn't accustomed to have people around him from the moment he was born. As an infant, he will wail whenever anyone touches him (including his parents). It wasn't until he was 12 mth old that doctors realised that he is mildly autistic. (in fact, ty only found out his illness in 2005, somewhere nearing his 21st birthday, when his parents truly felt he was ready to accept the truth to his childhood). As a kid, ty was hard to managed. he had a foul temper and wanted his way all the time. Psychiatrist recommend to his parents to let him pick up sports and uses his instinct to slowly interact with people, but that idea almost backfired. no doubt, like all other kids, ty is restless, and moves around alot. but he has inherited acute childhood asthma and is prone to asthmatic attacks. nonetheless, ty's condition improved gradually over time, with minimal medication (mild autism only, what do you expect?)
in 1993, when ty was in primary 3, the school started a table tennis club. when the club was started, ty wasn't part of it (much to popular story beliefs...). it wasn't until the end of year, that his form teacher appealed to his class students to join the club which he runs. ty took up the offer (he has kinda like that teacher, and ty has a great academic year under the teacher) and in nov 1993, ty receives his first lesson in table tennis.
ok, i added the autistic part as filler. haha... but like i had just said, its filler, to delay space... a part 2 will come really soon... its called...
THE FIRST YEAR.
posted @ 11:04 PM ||
