Player, Coach, Innovator and Blogger, Samson Dubina Hopes to Steal Top Honors at St. Louis Open

Wilson, NC, May 03, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Second seed in the “Elite Singles” event, Samson Dubina (2490) hopes to cause an upset to become the first ever “Elite Singles” Champion at the 2014 Butterfly St. Louis Open. From Akron, Ohio, Samson has been the top player in Ohio for many years, and has quite a few other titles to his name including 2009 US National Men Singles Finalist and 2013 US National Men Over 30 Champion. However, the road to becoming an elite player has not been easy for the father of three. As the top player in the state, Samson routinely must travel great distances to train and compete with other high level players. When at home, he spends the majority of his training perfecting his shots and movements with the Newgy Robot. Samson’s short term goals are to place well at the U.S. Open in July, and make the US National Men’s Team in 2015 and 2016.

Samson’s talents are not limited to his elite level playing abilities as he is also a prominent and innovative coach both in Ohio and across the US. Many of the top players in Ohio have come up under Samson’s guidance, and are now able to serve as his local training partners. Furthermore, Samson has jumped head first into the 21st century of coaching and offers Skype lessons to players throughout the United States who would not otherwise be able to get coaching. In addition to in person private lessons and virtual Skype lessons, Samson also has a frequently updated coaching blog (http://www.samsondubina.com/) and is working on an instructional DVD which will be available this fall.

Without his supportive sponsors Newgy, Paddle Palace and Nittaku, Samson would not be the elite player and innovative coach he is today. This weekend, Samson will need his intense focus and determination to take top honors at the St. Louis Open over the other elite entrants.

Continual coverage of the St. Louis Open and stories about the athletes will be available at http://butterflyonline.com, or via Butterfly North America’s Twitter at https://twitter.com/butterflyonline and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/butterflytabletennis.

Butterfly is the world leader in table tennis / ping pong equipment and gear. Butterfly will be the official table sponsor for the 2014 & 2016 World Table Tennis Championships as well as the official ball sponsor for the 2015 World Championships. Butterfly is also the official equipment sponsor of 2014 St. Louis Open and the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association 2013-2014 regular season as well as the 2014 College Table Tennis National Championships. Visit http://butterflyonline.com for more information.