​The other day I got into a match with a lawyer – a personal injury lawyah!  Lemme tell you somethin’, this guy was fast with his footwork and looked very trim and well-toned.  Oh, yeah, these personal injury lawyers are all in good shape, probably because they’re always chasing after ambulances.   (Most of them, as you know, are on Olympic sprint teams.)  This guy, with the juris doctor degree, may have been fast but he played like he had no brain, no courage and no heart.  If I had to bet on it, I was quite sure he must have just seen The Wizard Of Oz.

​​First, let me say this: If you’re not having fun, you’re not winning.  If winning at ping pong has become your sole purpose, your primary mission in life, then go see a shrink or something, because you’re barking up the wrong tree. Maybe you should find something to do which is less destructive (e.g., tiddlywinks … or barking up a tree).

​​Remember:  It’s a game, it’s only a game.  Now, having said that, I realize that everyone wants to win.  Some are serious about it – some very serious – while some seem to take delight, judging by their lasting smiles, in just playing “for the fun of it,” winning not being an end-all for them.

​​     Here is some wisdom that encapsulates a winning philosophy in tennis and ping pong:   Keep the ball in play against beginning and average (intermediate) players and you will win most of the time.  Consistency – not making mistakes – is the key here.  Try not to clobber or smash the ball impulsively. Slow down; just keep the ball in play  or  “Make haste slowly,” is another celebrated way to express this strategy.  One of the caesars said this – Caesar Romero or possibly Sid Caesar … or maybe it was Augustus.  Yeah, now that I think of it, I’m pretty sure it was Augie who said it a long time ago.  Good advice, too.  He probably had plenty of time to kill during one of his sieges as he played patient ping pong.