skill development

What should beginner table tennis players learn first?

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I recently started coaching two complete beginners, both adults. One had never played table tennis before, the other played a little bit for fun when a kid, but nothing for the next 30 years. Both have a similar goal – to be good enough at table tennis to join a club and possibly play competitively in a local league. This is a great goal to have, but it’s not easy. There is a lot to learn. And when there is so much to learn, what should you focus on first? Keep reading

Review: table tennis school at Werner Schlager Academy

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I had great pleasure in attending the Werner Schlager Academy between 14 – 17 May 2015. Based in Vienna, it is a training base for over 50 professional table tennis players. It’s one of the main table tennis centre’s in Europe, rivaled in size and facilities only by the German national table tennis centre in … Keep reading

How to get forehand topspin in to your match-play

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Many players at the beginner and improver level find it difficult to play forehand topspin strokes against backspin balls during match-play. They might be able to do it in training drills but when it comes to matches it doesn’t work. In this blog post I explain a simple idea for playing more forehand topspins. Keep reading

Can you master table tennis in one year?

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There’s been a huge surge in interest in table tennis this week, thanks to the ‘Expert in a Year’ challenge attempted by London coach Ben Larcombe and his friend Sam Priestley. The challenge has been getting plenty of attention in table tennis circles, but over the past week it has gone viral. It was featured … Keep reading