Talkin' Smash powered by JOOLA Ep15: Are Players Focusing on the Wrong Areas to Improve in Table Tennis with Thiago Monteiro

Talkin' Smash powered by JOOLA Ep17: Evolving Your Training Regime with Liam Pitchford

In our first ever podcast with Team JOOLA's newest addition, we talked table tennis with 4-time Team GB Olympian Liam Pitchford. We had the chance to speak about the different stages of his table tennis career, and how his priorities, needs and training habits changed as he passed through different levels of development and professional competition. This was very insightful to see, not only how the types of training changes, but also how he became significantly more focused on the mental aspects of sport as he got to the higher levels and was chasing the 1% which would ultimately make the difference between better and best. You can also catch the video podcast on our youtube channel: www.youtube.com/JOOLAGlobal [http://www.youtube.com/JOOLAGlobal]

Talkin' Smash powered by JOOLA Ep16: Thoughts About Developing Your Own Playing Style and Strengths with Vitor Ishiy

In this episode of Talkin' Smash we sat down with JOOLA's Vitor Ishiy to talk more about the process of developing your own playing style and identifying what your potential strengths are. One interesting area of conversation was about the impacts of trying too much to mimic a favourite player or style and how this can have an impact on player development. As always a pleasure to sit and chat with Vitor and to get some of his experience, particularly with regard to how he developed his own playing style more. Be sure to check out the video podcast version at: http://youtube.com/joolaglobal [http://youtube.com/joolaglobal]

Talkin' Smash powered by JOOLA Ep15: Are Players Focusing on the Wrong Areas to Improve in Table Tennis with Thiago Monteiro

This was another great podcast with someone that has a lifetime worth of experience in the game as a player, but also a lot of knowledge as a coach. We enjoyed sitting down and chatting with Thiago Monteiro about whether table tennis players fixate on the wrong things when they are trying to improve their table tennis game. Key areas we spoke about were things like how much players focus on the latest equipment, how obsessed players get over rating systems, and other areas of the game. It was great to speak about these topics and hopefully it will give listeners more insights into where they should really be focusing in order to better their game! You can check out the video podcast at: www.youtube.com/joolaglobal [http://www.youtube.com/joolaglobal]

Talkin' Smash powered by JOOLA Ep14: Building the Major League Table Tennis Dream with Flint Lane

Major League Table Tennis has taken the US by storm, and it was a great opportunity as the second season kicks off to sit down and catch up with the MLTT Founder and Commissioner, Flint Lane. Flint is aiming to bring the dream of having a full time professional table tennis league in the USA alive. Season 1 saw an exciting new format for the sport, a number of high level foreign players, and numerous team matches across the country. Flint speaks about the conception to delivery of MLTT, and what his vision is - not just for MLTT, but for the growth of table tennis in America in general, as part of his efforts. New changes are afoot in Season 2 and the journey for Flint and his dedicated team continues! Learn more about Major League Table Tennis at: www.mltt.com [http://www.mltt.com] See the video podcast at www.youtube.com/joolaglobal [http://www.youtube.com/joolaglobal]

Talkin' Smash powered by JOOLA Ep13: A Career of Perseverance in Table Tennis with Matilda Ekholm

Matilda Ekholm is a player well known for her passion, her scrappy left handed battles in rallies, and her exceptional feeling for the ball. While many know her as a multiple-time European Championships medalist, and now the Director of Coaching at PingPod in the USA, not everyone knows the hurdles she overcame in her impressive career. In this podcast we take a trip down memory lane to talk about one of the most controversial topics in table tennis - rejection to perform at the highest pinnacle of all sports. Twice in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, Ekholm qualified to represent her country, but on both occasions her LOC denied her the right to participate due to their secondary criteria. This podcast certainly hosts some common ground between Ekholm and host Matt Hetherington, who hails from New Zealand where the same standards are enforced and nobody has represented the nation since 2004 in Athens. Be sure to check out the video podcast at: http://youtube.com/joolaglobal [http://youtube.com/joolaglobal]