Recent content by benlarcombe

Hi guys, It's been over six months now since the Expert in a Year challenge came to an end and I thought it would be good to provide you all with a brief update... 1. The book On Wednesday, we released the 'Expert in a Year' book on Amazon. It is Sam's story of a year of playing table tennis...

2 out of 5 rating for 3 star 40+ Plastic These balls are identical to the DHS and Double Fish plastic balls. They tend to split along the seam very very easily. Durability is terrible. They also feel pretty soft. I personally prefer the seamless balls and haven't tried the Nittaku Premium balls...

We are shooting a Q&A video in approximately 3 hours time. If you have a question you would like to ask either me or Sam about the Expert in a Year challenge then please email it to me at [email protected] Thank you very much. The video will be shot, edited and upload to YouTube this...

That sounds like a great idea Dan. Are you going to be at any of the tournaments over the next couple of months? You could always come out of retirement and enter the Cippenham Teams in January! :)

Thanks for the comments! Sam's forehand is a little too arm-y at the moment. Too much shoulder and a bit too big. We are working on it. Your analysis of his backhand sounds exactly like what I say to him over and over. We are still working on it but it takes time. The right leg thing is a big...

You are right about his pushing. It must be improved. He gives away too many points from stray pushes. We were in the gym today, away from the table, just focusing on Sam's footwork. It gave him blisters but it was a big step in the right direction. I want to do this with him once a week for...

An update on the Expert in a Year challenge... Sam played his first ranking tournament last Saturday, the Bristol Grand Prix. He entered Bands 5 and 6. In Band 6 his first group game was against an unranked player called David O'Connell from Somerset. Sam said he was surprised by how nervous...

Pitch should have a good shout but he seemed pretty knackered after last week. Hopefully he's feeling fit again

Can't wait to watch WLQ on ittv :)

I'm really enjoying the videos. Especially interesting seeing how they do warms up and physical training ect. I'm just wondering how do these places work financially/as a business? Who runs them/pays for them? Do the players have to pay to train there? Clearly we need a couple of these in the UK...

That's ridiculous

Yeah I did mate. More of this! That is definitely what our sport needs. Let's find a way to get to know the pro's a bit better. Interviews are great but nothing beats a video. It'll make people more inclined to follow the sport and support their favourite players, go to the english open ect.

Sounds like a good idea. Any other tips? Are you still playing much?

My long term goal is to make it into the top 100 senior men in england. I'm ranked about 240th at the moment so i think this is achievable as long as i keep playing over the next few years.