Giving useful advice to a team-mate during a match is a difficult skill to master. I don’t profess to be an expert in this area, but I have been doing it long enough to have a decent idea about what definitely doesn’t work and what type of advice is more likely to lead to an improved outcome for the player. Keep reading
Most table tennis rallies are very short. The point is often over in the first few shots. Serve, return, attack, done. The point is won. Table tennis is high-paced and frantic. Therefore you need to assert yourself on your opponent as quickly as possible in each point. How do you do this? Let’s look at how you can dominate your opponent in the first five shots of each rally. Keep reading
There is a feeling among some in the table tennis community that switching to a pimples rubber is somehow cheating. I don’t believe this is the case at all. Playing effectively with a pimples rubber takes a lot of skill, adds variety to the sport and gives opponents a different type of challenge to overcome. In this article I explore when you should join the ‘dark side’ and use short or long pimples. Keep reading
If your opponent does a short backspin serve, how do you return it? Do you push the ball or try to flick it? From my experience of local league table tennis, especially in the lower divisions, most players return a short backspin serve with a push. But is this the best option? Could you gain a bigger advantage by attempting a backhand or forehand flick? Keep reading
Speed is important. Playing fast is going to help you win more points. But sometimes we may obsess about the speed of our shots too much and forget about the benefits of slowing down. In this article, I look at some examples when slow play can be useful. Keep reading
Some players I coach like to drift back from the table. They may start closer but after one or two shots, they will start moving further and further away from the table. Whilst this approach does give you more time to play your shots, it also has significant drawbacks. In this article I challenge you to hold your ground and dominate playing closer to the table Keep reading
Getting older, doesn’t mean we have to be any less competitive. And it certainly doesn’t mean we can’t keep on improving. But we may have to adapt the way we play table tennis, so we can reduce the physical stress on our bodies, and still kick some butt! In this article, I share three ways you can adapt your game as you get older – to be less physical, but still very competitive – and possibly get a lot better. Keep reading
Disruptive shots unexpectedly change the speed, spin, length or direction of the ball. Examples of these shots are the chop block, forehand fade, around the net, snake / wiggly, a push with sidespin, a smash with backspin, taking the ball off the bounce, strawberry flick or even a slow and spinny topspin – all sorts of weird and wonderful shots. Are disruptive shots effective? Will they win you points? Should you use them? Keep reading
In local league table tennis, you’ll often have to play against pushers. These are players who like to push again and again and again. The pusher’s aim is to frustrate you. They want to draw you into a pushing match or force you to attempt a risky attack. The outcome is often an unforced attacking error, frustration, more attacking errors and more frustration. How do you beat these annoying players? Here’s some tactics you can try… Keep reading
A key focus of the training camp I organised in the summer was for players to make a two point improvement. Think about all the games you have lost 11-9. With a two point improvement, you win these games 11-9. Think about all the games you have lost 11-7. With a two point improvement, the score is 9-9 and you have a good chance of winning. A two point improvement may seem small, but it can make a big difference to how many matches you win or lose. Here are a few obvious ways you can make a two point improvement… Keep reading