Advanced Coaching Elements of the Table Tennis Loop

Coaching Technical
The Loop: Advanced Coaching Elements
Rowden Fullen (1970’s)
Long-arm Loop
Long pre-swing usually knee high or higher and beginning a couple of feet behind the right leg (for
a right-handed player). The right shoulder is dropped prior to contact and there is strong body
rotation and knee lift, the weight being brought forward from the back to the front foot for speed
and power. The wrist may be adducted (dropped) throughout the stroke but remains constant and
is not used in the stroke. The left elbow can begin the shot to bring in good rotation and to use both
sides of the body and thus guard against injury to the back. This loop is often played from a little
deeper position.
Use area – In the fast modern game counter to just about any shot, another loop, topspin drive,
long push or chop, any ball that comes off the end of the table and especially one which carries a
little deeper or which has more power to it. A good way of turning defence into attack or slowing
down attackers when used as a counter from the mid-area, due to the excess spin and power
either forcing the opponent back or reducing him to a more passive blocking game. A useful
weapon for getting the defender well away from the table and often wide, because of the ease of
applying sidespin. The wrist is not used in the stroke as the prime force is exerted through body
rotation and from the shoulder. The long, trailing bat arm is accelerated through the shot and the
free arm is utilized as a counter-lever and balance-assist to aid rotational speed. However the shot
is often played with a dropped wrist (adducted) as sidespin can easily be initiated when the racket
is brought round the outside of the ball instead of over the top. In the case of sidespin the racket
will normally start behind the body and is best played against a ball that is a little wide of the
outside knee.
Slow Loop
Knee high or lower pre-swing, with the racket starting close to the right knee (for a right-hander).
Short arm and use of the wrist, the dropped wrist (adducted) is abducted at impact, the dropping
ball (taken late) is played from the top shoulder of the racket down the full length of the blade. The
body should be shifted forward under the ball and the prime racket angle will be upwards
emphasizing spin rather than speed. There will be pronounced knee lift, limited rotation and
transfer of weight and a rocking action of the shoulders.
Use area — Against choppers, blockers or short to the penholder’s backhand. Primarily used
against the slower ball to open up attacking possibilities or as a weapon to pry open the defensive
or mid-field game. It is more difficult than the fast loop to block or to counter-loop (Magnus effect)
and is particularly effective against the heavy spin choppers. The slower ball will be taken at a later
timing point as it drops and closer to the body, with the body weight being shifted under the ball.
Beware trying to use too much in every situation in the faster modern game as good attackers
have time to move across and kill the loop with their forehand wing. It is rather more important with
this loop that players work much on achieving good length, either very short just over the net or
very long (up to the base line) and also that they are able to drive or kill at the earliest opportunity.
This will obviously mean that after each loop that the racket is kept up ready for the smash in the
standard recovery position and does not drop back below table level.
Short-arm Loop
Short pre-swing with the racket starting close to the right knee or higher (right handed players).
Good body rotation and knee lift, with dropped right shoulder and weight coming forward from right
to left foot. Power and spin are primarily achieved by rotation and the speed of forearm fold. The
elbow of the short free arm should be used as a counter-lever to accelerate angular velocity.
Use area — Against block, drive or loop or even push or chop. Can be fast or slow depending on
which timing points are used and is particularly useful against the shorter ball which does not come
through too deep. It is important to use the freearm elbow to initiate the stroke as short-arm
rotation from a standing position puts much stress on the lower back muscles. Many women use
this loop and are not as strong in the back as men — it is therefore even more crucial that they
have good technique from the start. The shot can be played with a dropped wrist, straightened and
abducted at the moment of contact, though the prime spin will be achieved by the speed at which
the bat-arm elbow is folded over. This loop is particularly useful for close to the table players as it
enables quick recovery.
Coaches — When coaching loop pay especial attention to the free-arm side of the body — very
few players use it effectively. Also watch where the racket starts. Many players don’t get effective
topspin because they commence the stroke too far behind the body. To achieve topspin then
requires two distinctly separate movements!
Backhand Loop
In the modern game this is usually initiated from the left hip (right-handed player), with the right
shoulder forward. There will be a little knee lift, a little body rotation and fast forearm extension. It is
this forearm extension and use of the wrist which give maximum spin. The wrist often commences
in an adducted position (dropped) and is straightened and abducted at contact. The balance of
pressure between the thumb and forefinger on the racket is important. There will be more body
rotation and knee lift if the shot is played from a deeper position.
Use area — Virtually against any ball, topspin, drive, block or backspin. Particularly effective when
used at an early timing point or if the player can mix this in from a drive or block situation, perhaps
even changing direction at the same time.
Backhand Slow Loop
Still best initiated as they did back in the 1970’s from between the legs as per Klampar. In this case
the ball is taken at a later timing point with the racket head dropped. There will be pronounced
knee lift and the right shoulder will start in a forward position. Rotation is very limited as the main
emphasis is upwards. Spin will be achieved primarily by strong abduction of the wrist and fast
extension of the forearm and the pressure of the thumb on the racket is important.
Use area — Mainly against the backspin ball and often this loop is thrown up high into the
backhand corner where it is more difficult for the opponent to control. Many players have difficulty
in reading just how much spin there is from the backhand side and have problems in controlling the
backhand loop.
Looping: History and Theory
A drive or even a topspin drive becomes a loop when the spin content is intended to have more
effect than the forward speed content. This concept of intention is useful when analysing many
strokes in the game. Without the loop ‘intention’ players would proceed to strive after faster and
flatter drives which at one time they indeed did. A fair proportion of players would still in fact be well
advised to do just that and should not pursue the loop intention too far. (For example older, stiffer
players, good flat-hit players, those who prefer thinner or less spinny rubbers and loop-happy
juniors who have not yet mastered the basic skills.)
As well as intention one must remember purpose. Many players continue spinning long after they
have achieved the goal of getting the ball up high enough to kill. Surely the idea when playing table
tennis is to win the point – the loop should not necessarily be regarded as a point-winner, but
rather as another weapon in your arsenal, another tool to create openings.
Intention is also a useful criterion for another reason. Five players starting off with the same
intention will probably end up with five different types of performance. The effort to impart extra
spin may well result in an important element of sidespin or an increased degree of forward speed
or even equalizing the proportions so that we end up with merely a very strong and sure drive. If
these accidental effects can be made intentional, then the loop practice has indeed been
worthwhile.
We should also however bear in mind that for many players looping skills can only be acquired at
such high cost in effort, time for practice and loss of other skills, that there are better ways of
creating openings and winning points.
THE DEVELOPMENT AND THEORY OF LOOP — 20 THINKING POINTS.
1. Why is topspin needed at all in attack? Because it gives the ball a downward curving flight
path while maintaining directional control.
2. What is good about a downward curving flight path? It is much more certain that the ball will
hit the table because its final approach is nearer to the vertical instead of almost horizontal as in
the flat drive.
3. The gyroscopic effect of the spin gives strong directional control, thus more and more
power can be fed into the stroke without greatly reducing accuracy.
4. It cannot be avoided that maximum power means loss of accuracy. The effort involved in
producing the maximum is so involved that attention to accuracy suffers. Skilled or semi-skilled,
every player in the world has his or her accuracy barrier.
5. Due to the nature of the execution of the stroke in comparison with the drive (more lift) it is
easy to use many more timing points and thus much more variation.
6. Because human nature is careless, the coach tries at all times to raise the accuracy factor,
by emphasizing smooth muscle movements to reduce effort and topspin control to reduce error as
more power is fed in.
7. A beginner’s drive may be taught as a slow roll with absence of effort. An intermediate level
drive calls for definite forward effort through the ball and correspondingly more topspin to restore
the degree of control. However an advanced drive needs crisp forward speed on each ball with no
loss of accuracy even when fast footwork is required between each stroke.
8. The next stage is the point-winning drive in which the effect is usually achieved by forward
effort with topspin as an accessory. Other effective winners are produced by unpredictability, by
irregular changes of direction. On the whole the more pronounced the directional change, the more
careful the player must be with the power input.
9. In tournaments and matches the player faces a host of variations which are even more
immediately effective than his carefully coached, controlled drives — the flat hits, punch strokes,
forcing blocks and sidespin drives. However under 4. each of these has its accuracy barrier – they
are safe if used with good judgement but all have their limits.
10. At this stage coaching becomes sensitive. In the three-horned dilemma, power, accuracy,
variation, each limits the other. Who knows what resources the player has in him to raise his
barriers and to increase his boundaries? Perhaps the player does, perhaps his trainer, perhaps
another coach.
11. In the search to raise the limits, a pioneer found that by applying maximum effort to the
topspin department and letting the forward effort look after itself the effect was very profitable.
12. How does this first generation loop respond to 4.? Maximum effort tends to less accuracy,
but increased topspin tends to more accuracy. Since the effect is great the equation cannot be
faulted! This means the loop has less directional accuracy and less length accuracy but more ‘hit
the table’ accuracy (due to the violent down-curve).
13. Many players trying to copy the great loop players did not produce a true topspin when
applying maximum effort – the result became a strong topspin plus sidespin loop or an aggressive
loop-drive. Once again control was lessened, but effect was increased — the second generation
loop had arrived!
14. The first stage loop scored mainly on its unfamiliarity as regards length and bounce (the
coaches and players of the 60’s could see what was happening but no-one thought to investigate
why - it was of course a perfect example of the Magnus effect in action), but had relatively little
forward penetration. Could the maximum spin effect be linked with near maximum forward effect?
It could — by really skilled players. Accurate control suffered once again but the penetration effect
was increased and the third generation loop was born. An unpredictable battery of power loops,
sidespin loops, dummy loops and short-bounce loops is now the common currency of top-class
players worldwide.
15. These third level loops by their domination need no longer be used only against the
backspin ball — they can in skilled hands be used in response to any ball that comes over the net.
16. The only criterion basically is that the player’s racket angle should correspond to the
trajectory of the incoming ball.
17. The drastic degree of effort and the fineness of touch needed in producing the good loops
exact their own penalty — bad loops are just terrible and so many players persist in using them
when they should be counting the lost points. Others get so carried away with looping that they
cannot finish an easy point with a normal drive or smash.
18. So how should you play matches against loop players? If you are fast enough you can keep
them under such pressure that they have little time to play good spin, especially if you keep
changing length and direction. Or alternatively you can go the other way and give them very little
pace, with continuous light and angled attack mixed with very short balls. If they are not really top-
class performers even let them loop — you will win on their mistakes.
19. One of the most successful answers is the block, which can be executed in a variety of
forms, topspin or forcing block, chop, stop or sidespin block, soft touch block. Do not neglect
training to hit through the loop at an early timing point (especially in the women’s game) — this is a
technique which can pay big dividends.
20. Finally of course there are the various material combinations which often cause loop
players problems. The long pimple defender who chops with such aggression and length that it’s
next to impossible to loop two or three balls in succession. Or the skilful short pimple blocker who
uses the looper’s own spin on the return ball.
Thinking Points on the Forehand (Drive and Topspin)
1. Eyes follow ball on to the racket (unless ball is contacted in front of the body).
2. Head still throughout the stroke.
3. Aim to contact the ball on the correct part of the racket for the type of drive or topspin you
intend to use.
4. Contact the ball at the correct timing point on the stroke’s arc.
5. Rotation of the shoulders and/or slight rocking action.
6. Both elbows equidistant from sides.
7. Shot played in part from the elbow through and up (not all shoulder).
8. Fast arm action (forearm fold).
9. Punch shoulder through the stroke.
10. Good pre-swing (shoulder back quickly).
11. Pre-swing long enough and quick enough to gain the benefits of elastic energy.
12. Limited follow-through.
13. Central recovery (both body and racket).
14. Recovery path standard.
15. Trailing wrist (extended) closed a little on contact.
16. Marginal abduction of the racket hand (depending on the topspin element and which type of
topspin).
17. Counter action of free arm elbow – ensure whole body action, not a one-sided stroke.
18. Bat and free hand equal tension – reasonably loose.
19. Free hand level or slightly lower than the racket and following bat arm wrist (not higher).
20. Rotation from the waist.
21. Head, bat and ball all close together on contact.( More important with drive than when
playing topspin).
22. Back bent, humped, shoulders forward.
23. Legs bent prior to contact.
24. Weight on the right foot prior to contact.
25. Left knee lower than the right prior to contact.
26. Push off the right foot.
27. Right foot at a right angle to where the ball is going.
28. Corkscrew action up and forwards.
29. Straightening of the right leg as the left twists.
30. The heel raise identical from the left foot to the right.
31. Left toes pointing to where the ball is going.
32. Transfer of weight from the right to left foot.
33. Equalize the weight after the stroke.
34. Aim at smooth, relaxed power input at all times.
Coaching and Playing Points
Rowden Fullen (1970s)
COACHING POINTS.
 Directed training and directed development will always achieve better results.
 Always have style development in mind.
 Together with technical skills develop tactical awareness – while carrying out exercises
bring in tactics by varying table placement, length, angles, ball speed and spin and timing.
 Look at grips – does the player have a forehand or backhand bias?
 Does your player know the secret of elastic energy?
 Movement is the key to the future.
 Evaluate balance and recovery.
 The essence of all stroke-play is the instant of impact between the ball and the racket.
Does your player feel the ball?
 Consciousness – what is the degree of awareness of oneself, one’s own feelings and what
is happening around? Assess your player.
 Total concentration — table tennis is a switch on/switch off game, 100% focus when the
ball is in play, relax and switch off when out of play. How does your player cope?
 There is no room for feelings, especially anger. A relaxed calmness will pave the way to
being in control, clear headed and able to think at all times. This does not mean that there is no
place for controlled aggression – there is always a time to fight and many of the great players have
total unshakeable determination. Evaluate your player.
 Feel one’s strokes, feel the ball at impact — flat and brush strokes are the essence of table
tennis. Assess your player.
 The ability to keep track of the game, to know where you are winning and losing points,
aware of serve/receive ratios, where opponents are weak or strong and the capability to take the
initiative and adapt to changing circumstances are the mark of a champion. How does your player
measure up?
PLAYING POINTS.
 ‘Stare’ at the ball — focus 100% all the time.
 Be aware that the time to assess the spin on the ball is about 5 –15 cms. before the bounce
on your side.
 Be conscious of balance and the movement of the feet.
 Be aware of recovery, the end of one stroke is the start of the next.
 Be aware of contact points and differing timing, what happens and how to use these
aspects.
 Be conscious of placement of the ball.
 Be ready to take the initiative in attack.
 Be aware of the use of spin and no spin.
 Be aware of adjustments in playing the stroke, less or more force or back-swing, timing,
angle of the racket and where on the racket you contact the ball.
 Be aware of the method of applying force, use of the wrist, movement of the fingers etc.
 Have the desire to vary pace, spin and placement and know the different ways to do this.
 Use your own strengths to the best advantage. Be aware of how you win points. Play to
your strengths.
 Block out all thoughts that are not relevant to your training/match/tournament.
 Think of every training session in a positive manner and do not allow anything to interrupt
your training focus.
 Visualize success.
 Cultivate a desire to achieve, to put up a good show and behave well at all times. Be
competitive but a good sportsman.
 Cultivate a positive approach to your sport, industrious but always ready to listen and to try
new things.
Stroke Correction Techniques
Technique is important. If your player has stepped outside the bounds of good technique then it is
most unlikely that he or she will reach the highest levels. It is a cruel fact that weakness is always
exposed once you arrive at the top levels.
When working with a young player it is important that you look at stroke production from a scientific
viewpoint. Only in this way can you pinpoint exactly where the problem lies. It is also useful to have
guidelines which are applicable at all levels of stroke-play and to each individual stroke.
STANCE
Feet should be shoulder width or a little wider, knees bent, back arched, shoulders slightly forward
(all important for balance and efficient movement). Always relate stance to the line of play (where
the ball is coming from), not to the table or the opponent. Always face the line of play, with both the
body and the feet.
Stance should be the best position of advantage with reference to the opponent — start to build in
tactics early in the player’s career. The majority of modern players will use a square stance, (facing
where the ball is coming from), it saves time, especially close to the table. Once players drop back
from the table side-to-square is used a little more as it aids power production particularly on the
forehand side.
BODY ACTION
Here we are talking about use of leg power, rotation of the waist and shoulders (sometimes a little
rocking action of the shoulders), fast arm movement, especially forearm and forearm fold. Bear in
mind that the crouch with head forward extends the range of the stroke and economizes on
movement.
LENGTH
This is the distance the bat travels. With beginners a short stroke is the priority and particularly
close to the table. (Less to go wrong if short). Try to have a longer pre-swing and limit movement
after contact with the ball. Longer strokes with very young players can also lead to injuries.
TIMING
‘Peak’ or 1/2 centimetres before is the most efficient for control. (Peak is the highest point after the
bounce on your side of the table). Many coaches in Europe see peak as being relatively late, later
than in fact it is — Asians see peak as being earlier than we do.
Peak gives the biggest target area and allows the player the best chance of hitting the ball down on
the other side of the table. If players let the ball drop when small (a natural tendency with the ball
coming at the face) this can easily become a habit leading to running away from the table
whenever under pressure. This of course gives the opponent a better chance to use the angles. By
adopting peak when young the player’s natural tendencies have the opportunity to emerge and
he/she will have more options when older. It will be of prime importance later on, particularly with
drive players (this includes the majority of girl players), to be fully aware that with this type of play
there is an extremely narrow ‘window’ from the point of view of timing.
TABLE POSITION
What we are talking about here is the exact contact of the ball in relationship to the table. Is it over
the table, at the end of the table or back from the table? For the beginner we must again look at
this in terms of control — usually this is best over the table but with the ball coming through (not
too short).
FREE ARM
This is particularly valuable as an aid to rotation (especially on the forehand side). Lack of use of
the free arm limits movement and often leads to a forehand stroke where only one half of the body
is used with the risk of subsequent injury. Also the free arm aids balance and orientation. For the
beginner this latter is often useful in helping him or her to have some idea of where the ball is in
relation to the body.
BAT ARM
The optimum for control is the 90 degree angle at the elbow, with no wrist at first and only a slightly
open or closed blade. The elbows should be about a hand’s width from the sides and both hands
equally relaxed. The stroke is to be initiated from the elbow as well as the shoulder (but with no
wrist in the initial stages). Bear in mind at a more advanced level the arm consists of the three
joints, shoulder, elbow and wrist — the last two move much faster than the shoulder and will be
used much more at top level (e.g. flick, fast forearm fold). Also the 90 degree angle of the elbow
can be extended to 120 degrees or even straight to give a longer lever and more power.
FIRST 7 REFERENCE POINTS
These first seven reference points form the machinery by which the player hits the ball and will give
the best control. As early as possible the beginner should learn to control the rally as a whole and
not just the individual shots. This of course involves movement while retaining good balance which
is indeed the cornerstone of our sport.
Be particularly aware of the theory of conservation of angular momentum. The centre of gravity of
the arm (elbow area) will cover a certain distance in a given time period. Because the distance is a
constant, if the arm is shortened, it must move at a higher speed to cover the same length. This
principle is of vital importance in the short arm loop.
RECOVERY POSITIONS
Play the ball and recover always is one of the most important principles in table tennis. Every time
you and your opponent strike the ball, the angles of play will alter. After you have played your
stroke there must be a continuing, on-going assessment from you of the total angle available to the
opponent — you must then move into the most advantageous position to cover this angle. Do not
forget also recovery of the racket after each shot.
Recovery fastens the first seven reference points together and gives control of the table.
ANTICIPATION
This gives control of your opponent. After you have played the ball focus on the opponent. Watch
him or her moving into position, look at the body, the stance, above all watch the racket at that
point in time when the player is committed, 4/5 centimetres before contact with the ball. This
should give you enough edge that you are already moving before the ball even crosses the net.
The ability to read what your opponent is going to do will give you a big advantage. If you train your
young players from the very start to play their own stroke and then to watch what the opponent is
doing they will soon learn to anticipate without thinking.
China Training
China-training or multi-ball came originally from Asia, where it has long been used as a natural part
of the training method. Not only is it used by Asian coaches but also by the players themselves and
is in fact often utilized as an alternative in the place of normal training.
Multi-ball is an excellent training method for both new beginners and elite players and can be
employed over a large number of areas, to improve technique and tactics, to develop footwork or
to help solve problems in weaker parts of the player’s game. It is of especial value in that the
method can be used in an infinite number of different ways and it is very easy to think up and
evolve new exercises to suit the needs of your particular player.
STABILIZATION
Where the player trains one stroke, for example opening against backspin on the backhand. Here
the coach can examine the technique and its effectiveness quickly as the player executes a large
number of strokes in a short time period.
COORDINATION
Where the player switches between backhand or forehand or topspin and backspin and must
adjust to different placement, spin or speed. Such exercises can be regular or irregular.
FOOTWORK
Exercises can be aimed at short or long movement, in and out or side to side. The coach can
determine just how long the movement should be and whether regular, part regular or completely
random.
TEMPO
Where the player operates at a rather higher speed than in a normal game and is compelled to
adapt his or her techniques, movement and balance under constant pressure. (A pressure which
can be adjusted, increased or decreased at will by the trainer).
TACTICS
Where the player is called upon to change the game from control to attack or from spin to hit and to
adapt to differing situations.
MATCH-PLAY
Where the multi-ball is put into a match play situation — for example short push to the player’s
forehand, which he pushes or flicks long, return looped to the corners.
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF EXERCISES
 Regular switch play — One ball to each corner with topspin, even tempo, low bounce. The
same with backspin.
 Irregular switch play — One ball to the backhand corner, one to the middle or to any part of
the forehand side. One or two balls to each corner.
 Tempo training — The ‘Falkenberg’ with a fourth ball to the middle. Feed at a little higher
tempo than the player would encounter in a game so that he or she must adjust the technique to
the higher pace. Study the movement and balance, the aim being to increase the strength and
movement abilities of your player. Ensure that the technique doesn’t suffer under the increased
stress. Take up and feed the four balls then allow your player the time to return to the ready
position before re-commencing the next group of four balls.
 Technique training — Backhand loop against backspin – pay particular attention to the
player’s technique and give him or her time to re-assume the ready position before continuing. It is
important that this type of exercise is not operated at too high a speed.
 With two players — the coach feeds a backspin ball to player 1 who loops. Player 2 drives
through the loop.
 Match training — Short backspin to forehand, long backspin to backhand, long topspin to
forehand. Ensure that the player returns to the ready position between strokes and take care that
the feeder does not feed too fast, especially between balls of different tempo. As a general guide
the player’s ball should bounce on your side as you feed the next one. After regular exercises build
in random movements as the player improves.
 Defence training — Feed from a distance, perhaps 2 – 2½ metres back and it may be
necessary to feed from a lower position to achieve the correct trajectory. Give the player time and
vary the spin from heavy backspin to float.
 Smash training — Feeder stands well back and lobs up high balls with varied topspin to
different table areas. Train player to smash from differing areas but especially at an earlier timing
point.
 Control training — Feeder drives hard or topspins and player controls with various blocks
and occasionally counters. Player should try to control to different table areas and return to the
ready position after each stroke. Always also be prepared to ‘force’ or counter-hit hard and early on
the suitable ball.
 Footwork patterns — 1 – 5 balls to the crossover and one to the forehand or backhand.
Important that the player has good balance at all times. It is physically hard to be played into the
crossover all the time but the player must try to move the feet first, then play the ball.
THOUGHTS FOR THE FEEDER
 Take the ball quite early, not too high or the trajectory can be flat and unnatural.
 Drop the ball down or throw it slightly backwards.
 For a higher tempo you can hit the ball directly out of the hand.
 Take 4/6 balls in the hand at a time so you can have an even rhythm.
 Be relaxed.
 Try to work calmly and methodically. The priority is that the balls come over the net in a
natural way, at whatever speed you work.
 Let the player know the time interval if you are feeding series of say five balls then a short
pause. It is often good to work in series for example in footwork exercises. In a technical learning
situation however the player often learns better if you feed continuously for a given period.
 Stand closer to the net to play short balls.
 During speed or movement exercises if you miss one point proceed to the next, then the
player doesn’t lose the rhythm.
 Use China-training to improve your player’s placement, ability to play straight balls or to the
crossover or out to the angles. Many players have too much diagonal play.
 Bear in mind that China-training takes much more concentration than a normal session and
should not be operated for the same time period. The player strikes many more balls in a much
shorter time.
 One-to-one training of this kind gives excellent opportunities to talk ‘table tennis’ to your
player.
 Feeders can use both forehand and backhand. It’s also particularly useful to use different
rubbers from time to time to train your player against defence or pimples.
 One big advantage for the trainer is that he has an excellent opportunity to study his
player’s technique and to see any problems first-hand.
 Have an extra racket for China-training as the rubbers will wear very quickly!
Requirements for Table Tennis
Rowden Fullen (2002)
 Condition
 Speed
 Control of speed
 Flexibility
 Strength
 Feeling
 Technique
 Mental toughness
 Adaptability
 Willpower
Evolution of the Player
Rowden 2011
Technical development
– The 9 Stages
STAGE 1
1. Athlete will be able to produce and explain a proper grip, including pressure points (‘a’ grip, as
different grips will lead to differing styles).
2. Athlete will be able to demonstrate an appropriate ready position (different ready positions will
also lead to differing styles of play).
3. Athlete will be able to execute the following basic strokes with correct form, directional control,
and with an 80% success rate when fed by coach:
• Backhand push and forehand push against backspin
• Backhand and forehand blocks against topspin
• Backhand and forehand drives against topspin
• Backhand and forehand topspins against backspin
4. Athlete will demonstrate an understanding of the basic elements of all strokes:
• How to strike the ball - Friction versus force type of ball contact
• When to strike the ball - The proper timing for each of the basic strokes
• Where to strike the ball – The correct contact point on the ball for each of
the basic strokes
5. Athlete will learn basic backspin and topspin theory. This includes:
• How spin affects the flight of the ball
• Where to strike the ball to produce each spin
• The concept of going with or against the spin
6. Athlete will understand the following basic theories:
• The role that racket acceleration plays in all strokes
• The role of the back-swing in helping with stroke/timing/power and when
this is less necessary.
7. Athlete will learn basic serves as he/she learns each stroke.
a. Example: Backhand push = learn a backhand backspin serve
STAGE 2
8. Athlete will be able to produce correct 1 and 2-step footwork in both directions while executing
correct strokes.
9. Athlete will be able to produce mixed stroke combinations against both backspin and topspin,
using all of the basic strokes with a success rate of 80%.
10. Athlete will be able to successfully complete simple consistency drills with a partner.
11. Athlete will be introduced to the concept of inside and outside ball contact to control the
direction of the ball.
12. Athlete will be able to change his/her point of contact on the ball to correct for the change
between topspin and backspin ball feeds.
13. Athlete will be introduced to the concept of using the lower body to produce power and spin,
where this is appropriate.
STAGE 3
14. Athlete will be introduced to the concept of producing topspin at different speeds (gearing) by
controlling the amount of body use and the speed of arm.
15. Athlete will learn and be able to produce the modified service grips.
16. Athlete will focus on developing the necessary hand skills to produce heavy spin services.
17. Athlete will be introduced to the concept of stopping, using or returning the spin on the
opponent’s serve when returning serves.
18. Athlete will learn the relationship between racket acceleration and going with or against the
spin on the opponent’s strokes.
19. Athlete will be able to produce both forehand and backhand drop shots, flicks, and pushes
against short serves.
20. Athlete will be able to produce and explain the effect of sidespin on the ball.
21. Athlete will be introduced to the concept of applying and redirecting power against an
opponent.
22. Athlete will be introduced to the concept of relaxation and use of the stomach in generating
maximum power.
23. Athlete will be able to produce both backhand and forehand loops against both topspin and
backspin ball feeds.
24. Athlete will be able to practise (with a partner) using the five ball sequencing system. This
consists of practice focusing on one of the first five strokes of the game:
• 1st. – Serve
• 2nd. – Serve Return
• 3rd. – 3rd. Ball Attack
• 4th. – 4th. Ball Defence or Counter Attack
• 5th. – 5th. Ball Attack
STAGE 4
25. Athlete, working with the coach, will begin developing his or her own personal style of play.
This will be accomplished by examining:
• The characteristics of the styles of play currently used at World Level.
• His/her own strengths and weaknesses and which style of play he/she best matches up with.
• What style of play would he/she most enjoy playing?
26. Athlete will learn basic strategy consisting of the four ways to win a point. These include:
• Power
• Deceiving the opponent, varying speed, spin, height, and placement to force
errors
• Special Techniques – combination rackets, special serves, or unique shots
• Time Pressure – playing faster than your opponent is comfortable playing
27. Practice will focus on developing patterns of play which best suit the style of play of the athlete.
28. Athlete will develop effective techniques from close, mid, and far distance from the table with
the bulk of the practice focusing on the ideal distance from the table for the athlete’s style.
29. Crossover footwork will be introduced and practised during this stage if the style requires.
STAGE 5
30. Athlete will develop the advance stroke techniques necessary to complete his/her own style of
play.
31. Athlete will be able to make the necessary grip adjustments during play to enhance specialised
strokes.
32. Drills will focus on consistency and learning the new skills.
33. Athlete will focus on improving his/her serve and receive game focusing on the correct serve
placements and patterns for his/her style.
34. Athlete will focus on improving his/her footwork focusing on the movements necessary for
his/her style.
35. Athlete’s training will continue to focus on the development of his/her strongest strokes (main
weapons)
STAGE 6
36. Practice during this stage focuses on adding the advanced techniques into the Athlete’s style of
play using the 5-Point System of training.
37. The athlete should now have the technical skills necessary to implement any of the four basic
ways to win a point against any opponent’s style of play.
38. The Athlete’s main technical development should now be complete.
STAGE 7
39. Practice during this stage focuses on specific tactics against different styles of play and at
various stages of the match.
40. Drills during this stage become more and more random, forcing the Athlete to begin to
concentrate more on what the opponent is doing.
STAGE 8
41. Practice during this stage focuses on making small technical changes that have been proven
necessary through intensive match play.
STAGE 9
42. Practice during this stage focuses on preparing the Athlete to 'Peak' for major competitions.
Physical Training
Athletes should:
STAGE 1
1. Be introduced to a program of basic exercises that become part of their warm-up program.
These exercises need to be age appropriate and are designed to prepare the athlete for future
training.
STAGE 2
2. Be introduced to simple movement exercises that help develop the needed foot skills necessary
for the sport.
STAGE 3
3. Begin a program of general physical training that consists of age appropriate exercises without
added weights.
4. Begin a program of aerobic training through on-the-table movement drills.
STAGE 4
5. Understand the need for and begin a program of regular physical testing.
6. Incorporate a program of circuit training (without added weights) designed to improve anaerobic
fitness.
STAGE 5
7. Begin a program of supervised age appropriate weight training to develop the needed strength
base required for the sport.
8. Understand the role of strength training, aerobic training, and anaerobic training within their
planned training cycles.
STAGE 6
9. Understand the need for and incorporate a regular program of flexibility training in their overall
training program.
10. Incorporate Power Training (Plyometrics) into their training cycles.
STAGE 7
11. Be able to help the coach in designing their own fitness program that incorporates the
principles of periodisation.
STAGE 8
12. Be able to design their own year-round fitness program that fits into their overall long and short-
term goals for the sport.
Injury Prevention
Athletes should:
STAGE 1
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the role that proper warm-ups, stretching, and cooling down
play in injury prevention.
STAGE 2
2. Understand the concept of R.I.C.E. when treating injuries.
• R – Rest
• I – Ice
• C – Compression
• E – Elevation
STAGE 3
3. Understand the 5 levels of pain, what treatment to seek and how much play is safe at each level.
• Level One - Discomfort or mild pain that goes away with warm-up.
• Level Two - Mild pain during play which goes away within 24 hours.
• Level Three - Mild to moderate pain during play that continues after 48 hours.
• Level Four - Moderate pain that continues during play and is not helped by warm-ups.
• Level Five - Moderate to severe pain that alters table tennis technique.
STAGE 4
4. Understand that strength training is important in both injury prevention and improving
performance
Goal Setting
Athletes should:
STAGE 1
1. Establish written technical performance-based goals and share them with coaches and parents.
These goals should be reviewed regularly. The purpose of these goals is to have the Athlete
concentrate on technical/tactical development not competitive development. Example: To execute
8 out of 10 forehand drives, against topspin placed alternately from the middle of the table to the
wide forehand of the player.
STAGE 2
2. Set realistic but challenging competitive goals and separate them into:
• Long-term 5 years
• Intermediate 2-4 years
• Short-term 1 year
These goals should include ranking levels and specific tournament results.
STAGE 3
3. Be able to develop specific objectives necessary to achieve the short-term goals. These include:
• Technique
• Strategy and tactics
• Physical training and fitness levels
• Sports psychology
4. Be able to demonstrate that he/she is developing intrinsic motivation during training and
matches. This includes:
• Showing consistent intensity during practice
• Showing dedication to physical and psychological training
• Moving towards independence as a player
• Becoming more involved in the planning of his/her own training
Periodisation
Athletes should:
STAGE 1
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the training cycle principle
2. Work with their coaches to develop the yearly competition schedule and to establish which
events they wish to 'peak' for.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the different phases of the training cycle. These include:
• Preparation
• Pre-competitive
• Competitive
• Active Rest
STAGE 2
4. Work with their coaches to develop specific training cycle plans for these 'peak' events. These
plans should include:
• Goal Setting
• Initial Evaluation
• Technical Training
• Development of an aerobic base
• General and specific table tennis anaerobic training
• Strength training
• Power training
• Psychological skills training
STAGE 3
5. Be able to shorten their training cycles, which will allow for more 'peak' tournaments during the
year.
Sports Psychology
Athletes should:
STAGE 1
1. Be introduced to the importance of keeping competition in the proper perspective.
2. Be able to use imagery to rehearse or to change technique before or during play.
STAGE 2
3. Develop a ritual before every serve or serve return that will enhance relaxation and
concentration.
4. Be able to use imagery to correct incorrect strokes during practice or competition.
STAGE 3
5. Develop a confident physical appearance during practice and competition.
6. Understand the body/mind relationship and how one can affect the other.
7. Understand how important the role that positive self-talk plays in reducing stress, enhancing
self-image, and allowing the body to perform at its highest level.
STAGE 4
8. Understand how damaging negative self-talk can be to performance and the enjoyment of the
game.
STAGE 5
9. Be able to concentrate on court and develop mental techniques to help develop the skill
10. Understand that they must concentrate only on the things that they have control over.
STAGE 6
11. Understand the level of arousal that they need to train or compete at to reach their highest level
and develop techniques to deal with under or over arousal issues.
12. Understand how to recognize negative mental scripts and actively change these into positive
scripts through active rehearsal.
Nutrition
Athletes should:
STAGE 1
1. Understand the importance as well as practise proper hydration at all times during and after
practice and competition.
STAGE 2
2. Understand how to make healthy food choices from all the nutrient groups in the food pyramid.
STAGE 3
3. Understand the importance of maintaining the optimal body weight
STAGE 4
4. Understand how to eat properly before, during, and after competition
5. Understand the negative consequences of drug use in life and sport.
STAGE 5
6. Understand how to make good nutritional choices when travelling both domestically and
internationally
Media Skills
Athletes should:
STAGE 1
1. Always be friendly and cooperative with reporters.
2. Always speak positively about opponents.
3. Always make sure that sponsors’ logos and products are visible.
STAGE 2
4. Always dress appropriately for all interview or public situations
5. Maintain good posture and make eye contact with fans or press.
STAGE 3
6. Be able to speak clearly and slowly when speaking in public.
7. Make an effort to show their personality when giving interviews or speaking in public.
8. Be aware that they do not need to answer any personal questions that they feel uncomfortable
in answering.
Sportsmanship
Athletes should:
STAGE 1
1. Understand that honesty and integrity on the court are more important to one’s life than winning.
STAGE 4
2. Demonstrate proper on court etiquette before, during and at the conclusion of the match.
3. Always take responsibility for their actions.
STAGE 5
4. Know the rules of the sport and how to properly deal with difficult on court situations.
STAGE 9
5. Appreciate the benefits that you receive from table tennis and be willing to give back to the
sport.
Multi-ball: High level training
Rowden 2011
Purpose
The main aim of the following sample exercises is the improvement of adaptive intelligence by
reading the play in an intense ‘short burst’ situation where the player puts in maximum input
working in short exercise sequences of 6 to 8 balls. The short exercise sequences are repeated
between 8 to 10 times, with a 10 second gap between each sequence, then the player will have a
break of several minutes. This ‘short exercise’ intense system has been used in Asia for many
years and also for the last 7 to 8 years in Germany. (If it is difficult to remember 6 to 8 balls in a
row, run the sequence first with 3 or 4 then build in the second half).
Table tennis is all about controlling the play (which means being consistent) until you can win the
point by some form of change (more power or spin, better placement or angles, softer, shorter ball
etc). These combinations of change whether in speed, spin or placement are the way our game is
going to develop. This aspect of change must be executed by you first before the opponent can do
it
As coaches will see the exercises incorporate movement in and out and side to side, also changes
in placement on the table, spin, speed and length. The idea of course is to simulate the game
situation as much as possible. It is also of course possible and indeed necessary for
coaches/trainers to devise their own exercises so that they cater more accurately for the needs of
the individual players they are involved with.
Multi-ball training has been proven to be a functional practice instrument, which enables the player
to work on his/her strokes in a manner which is closest to the requirements he/she faces in
competition later on. Speed training by using multi-ball is theoretically and experimentally backed
up by Weigelt´s studies in Germany. (See ‘Speed equals coordination’ in ‘Coaching – Technical’ on
this website)
A)
1. Long backspin to the FH
2. Short backspin to the FH
3. Long backspin to the BH
4. Short topspin to the BH
5. Long topspin to the BH
6. Long topspin to the FH
7. High ball to smash
B)
1. Long backspin to the BH (Player uses BH)
2. Long backspin to the BH (Player uses FH)
3. Long topspin to the middle
7. Short float to the middle
C)
4. Long backspin to the middle
6. Short float to the middle
D)
4. Short backspin to the middle
7. Short backspin to the FH
8. High ball to kill
One Leg or Two:
Kenneth Riggberger (2006)
Kenneth Riggberger has coached many top athletes, including Henrik Dagård, European decathlon
Silver Medallist in 1994. In his archives he has data in respect of physical tests on men’s and
women’s teams over 24 different sports. However more recently for the last few years he has taken
on two young female athletes, Malin Andersson (17 years old) and Elinor Widh (20). The results he
has achieved have astounded top coaches in Sweden and turned traditional methods on their
heads. After only two training sessions per week both girls took medals in the Senior Swedish
Athletics Championships in javelin, Elinor gold and Malin bronze and a measure of their
performance is that Carolina Klűft could only manage 5th place!
He advocates less training, as little as twice per week and that strength exercises for the legs be
done only on one leg. It’s interesting to say the least that these two young girls after several short
years training in the Riggberger method have been proved to have a much higher leg strength
level (and by a large margin) than any of the top women athletes in Sweden. In fact only Johann
Wissman, the runner and one of the country’s most highly trained athletes compares favourably
with them.
Riggberger believes in the vital importance of building base strength first and in less training with
higher intensity. Many athletes in his opinion train too hard without the core of real strength and as
a result spend too much time injured. In stamina events one can train more when the recovery
phase is shorter and it is possible to be much stronger without going up a great deal in weight.
He believes too that in the case of many racket sports that the power from one leg in movement is
vital together with balance. Both movement and stroke-play are often executed from a position
where the loading is on one leg or the other, not both. As a matter of interest Elinor is also in the
National Squad for badminton in Sweden.
His method is the quick vertical jump on one leg with gradually increasing weight on the shoulders.
How fast and explosively his girls can jump up and down with the weight (up to 50 kilos) doesn’t
only look easy, it produces unbelievable results. He advocates increasing the loading gradually,
using high intensity and not using more than 5 repetitions. There appears to be very little difference
in leg strength between men and women, taking into account body weight. This type of training
leads to extreme loading on the muscles in a short time. In a comparison with Elinor and Johann
results were achieved as follows (Johann weighs 15 kilos more):
• Elinor – 20.4 watt/kilo
• Johann – 20.3 watt/kilo
Player - Focus Points
Rowden August 2017
● Read the play. Play your shot, watch the opponent’s body action and preparation for his/her
return and you should know 6 to 8 inches before he/she hits the ball where it is coming and with
what speed and spin. Make this a habit till it’s automatic.
● Have two/three alternatives (in stroke play, service return etc.) to each situation you face on the
table. You will meet many differing opponents with many differing strategies. One solution will not
always work. Many players neglect using the opponent’s speed/power.
● Make sure you especially have alternatives in short receive, drop short, flick and push long with
heavy spin and no spin.
● Have alternatives in receive of long serve too; control, block, speed, spin, timing, placement, and
slower returns.
● To achieve full potential be alert to the dangers of stagnation. Never be satisfied with your level,
always look forward, never be afraid to try new things.
● Never look inwards when you compete, never doubt, instead look outwards and study the
opponent’s face. You will know when you’re going to win.
● Every player, however highly ranked has weaknesses, it’s just a matter of finding where they are.
● Our sport is all about CHANGE in all its forms and knowing when and how to apply this. Absorb
the following:
1. If you fall behind – think change.
2. If there is a stalemate – think change.
3. If you’re well ahead and the opponent starts coming back – think change.
4. If the game is close and on a knife-edge – think change.
5. In the critical final points – think change.
● Also study the phases of the game, change may be required at the beginning, in the middle or at
the end of a game.
● Think of change in all its FORMS – power, speed, spin, timing, angles, rhythm, placement,
straight and body balls, trajectory, control, slow balls and consider that often change may consist of
not just one aspect but in fact a combination of two or more.
● Each player is different, with differing strengths and qualities. So don’t copy, be you and develop
you. Listen to your body and be creative.
● With the plastic ball the following assume greater importance:
o Symmetrical play, equally strong on BH and FH
o Precision in placement, length and angles
o Unpredictability and diverse patterns
o Use of length and the whole table
o Use of sidespin
Player Evaluation
Rowden Fullen (1970's)
In any evaluation of how effectively a player performs it is necessary to conduct an in-depth
examination of a number of factors.
• Attacking and control strokes, what are percentage and type?
• FH and BH strokes, percentage and type, plus table area and coverage.
• Looking at over-the-table, at the end of the table and back from the table strokes, what are the
percentage and type in each area?
• What are percentage and type of strokes taken at early, ’peak’ and late timing?
• Use of pace, slow, medium or fast: percentage and type of stroke at each speed.
• Use of long, short and angled strokes, percentage and type of stroke in each area.
• Spin, use of topspin, backspin, sidespin and float: percentage and type of stroke with each spin.
Effect of technical execution on strokes and further development
GRIP -- Does this change from one stroke to another and does it affect performance?
LIMITATIONS -- are strokes executed in such a manner that the player is limited either in what he
or she can do now or in how he or she will be able to develop in the future? Is footwork being
developed in such a way that it does not limit present or future performance?
TACTICAL LEVELS
• SERVE/RECEIVE -- Is the player in control in these areas and able to keep the play ‘tight’ when
necessary?
• ‘MIDFIELD’ -- Is the player proficient in this area and does he or she control and exploit the play?
• SWITCH-PLAY -- Is the player able to break out from a control play situation and get on to the
attack? Is he or she capable of switching from drive play to topspin or vice versa and of doing this
fluently and at different stages in the game?
• ERROR RATE -- Is the player safe in his or her game or are there unforced errors? What
percentage are we talking about?
• RECOVERY ABILITY AND TIME SCALE -- Does the player have good recovery in all aspects
and under pressure and is he or she looking for the next ‘angle of play’ after each stroke?
• FORTÉS -- Just how does the player win points? Does he or she have one or two strong fortés
which opponents have problems coping with?
• SET PIECES -- How does the player use set pieces, serve and 3rd ball, receive and 4th ball?
• ADAPTABILITY -- Can the player change his or her game to cope with different opponents and
playing styles? Can he or she handle differing materials and rubber combinations?
• RECOVERY -- What are the player’s recovery rates, physical, mental and tactical, when put
under pressure?
POINTERS TOWARDS STYLE
Proportion of --
• Through and chop strokes to topspin.
• Spin to drive strokes.
• Push to other strokes.
• Switch-play strokes.
• Forehand to backhand.
• Neutral strokes, just keeping the ball in play.
• Attack to control or defence.
• Short, over the table strokes to those from a deeper position.
• And classification of strokes (attacking, ‘brush’, through, neutral, forehand and backhand), played
over the table.
TECHNICAL BREAKDOWN
• Points won and lost as per table areas.
• Points won and lost as per stroke-play.
• Points won and lost in serve and receive areas.
• Points won and lost with set pieces.
• Points won and lost with power.
• Points won and lost with control play.
• Points won and lost with spin.
• Points won and lost with deception.
• Points won and lost in short play.
• Points won and lost in the middle game.
• Points won and lost against material combinations.
• Points won and lost with tactics.
• Points won and lost in relation to the length of the rally (early or late in the rally).
• Points won and lost when the player changes direction, spin or speed.
• Points won or lost when the opponent changes direction, spin or speed.
• When, where and how the player is outmanoeuvred.
PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT CARD
It is a simple matter to draw up an assessment card where you can plot the number of points won
or lost on both the BH and FH side and see as a result the patterns that emerge from this exercise.
ATTACK
• Loop
• Topspin
• Drive
CONTROL
• Push
• Block
DEFENCE
• Chop
• Float
SERVE/REC
• Serve
• 3rd Ball
• Receive
• 2nd Ball
UNFORCED ERRORS
• Over the table
• Back from the table
• Others
SERVE/RECEIVE ASSESSMENT
In the same way you can assess how effective your player’s serve and receive are functioning in
match-play and where points are won or lost and on which wing.
SERVE
• Short
• Half-long
• Long
RECEIVE
• FH Push
• FH Drop
• FH Flick
• BH Push
• BH Drop
• BH Flick
COMMENTS
Speed equals coordination. Author / Translator: Gunter Straub
Stefan Weigelt
Stefan Weigelt wrote his Doctoral thesis on ‘Motor speed in Sport’.
His main proposition is bold: He states that basically speed is coordination. Some coaches might
be shocked by this statement because – at least in Germany – speed and co-ordination are
conceptualized as two different animals. Speed usually is seen as a component of physical fitness
and very often theoretically separated from coordination which is assigned to motor fitness.
Metaphorically speaking Stefan Weigelt wants to loosen the link between speed and strength on
the one hand. And on the other hand speed is moved closer to the idea of a well-timed movement
sequence. In fact Weigelt shows that the inner structure of speed is significantly different from
other components of physical fitness such as strength or endurance. He confirms this hypothesis
by measuring arm velocity within the field of table tennis. Young table tennis players, who took
their sport very seriously, were observed under two different conditions: They were told to produce
a forehand topspin as quickly as possible in shadow practice (i.e. just by imitating this stroke
without hitting a ball) and at another time in multi-ball training.
One could suppose that in shadow practice there’s no need to care about ball flight and the right
contact point. Therefore one could guess that arm velocity is much higher while doing shadow
practice than in doing multi-ball training. But for almost all subjects the opposite is true: when
playing multi-ball acceleration was much higher than when just imitating a stroke. It seems that the
athlete needs the “feeding” of an incoming ball and the arm movement of the coach feeding it. For
the player both these stimuli can function as points of orientation. In addition strokes were video
taped and later on the technique was analysed. Weigelt found out that the shadow version of a
forehand topspin was performed quite differently compared to the multi-ball version of this type of
stroke.
This speaks for itself. Multi-ball training has been proven to be a functional practice instrument
because it´s rather difficult for technical mistakes to slip in. Multi-ball training enables the player to
work on his strokes in a manner which is close to the requirement which faces him in competition
later on. Thus, speed training by using multi-ball is theoretically and experimentally backed up by
Weigelt´s study. In German table tennis it is said that the rapidness of a shot can be trained by
hitting 6 to 8 balls explosively in a row with a rest after the sequence has been done.
Shadow practice is on the other hand the ‘poor relation’ of this study so to speak. The usefulness
of shadow practice as a means of increasing one´s velocity or improving one´s technique has to be
questioned – at least in regard to high-performance sport (Weigelt 1995). Weigelt´s finding
encourages me to think further. A shadow movement might be also ‘affected’ when an elastic
rubber band or a light dumbbell is used for imitating topspin. So these classic methods of training
motor speed seem to be somewhat less than perfect – methods based on resistance training in
order to enhance motor speed by increasing explosive strength. In conclusion imitating strokes by
the use of dumbbells and rubber bands has to be blacklisted too.
Let’s transfer this fundamental idea to leg velocity. The best instrument to practise rapid leg
movement seems to be quick footwork drills with multi-ball. Sprinting on its own or leg movement
without a ball (e.g. sidesteps or agility runs) are not bad in principle. But when we follow the logic
so far explained these training forms are a number-two choice. They cannot function as an
appropriate alternative to footwork practice with multi-ball. I even would be quite cautious in using
weighted rackets and weight vests in order to practise speed in spite of the fact that both tools
could be used in multi-ball training. Indeed a player might feel inspired by Weigelt´s work to make
contrasting experiences by using their ordinary bat and a weighted racket in an alternating mode.
The scientist from Germany tested this special method of alternative training by means of
elementary wrist movements. He found positive results but the improvement observed wasn´t very
lasting and the amount of enhancement was not higher than the advance arising from conventional
speed training (without additional loads).
Although Stefan Weigelt concentrates on the coordinative aspects of speed, this does not mean
that muscular strength has no impact on motor speed. In 1980 a man named Dietmar
Schmidtbleicher wrote his dissertation about the relationship of maximum power and motor speed.
By doing this he was taking up a cudgel for the fight against the common myth that strength
training makes you slow. Schmidtbleicher´s study includes two more interesting results: Power
does even make sense for an athlete who only has to quickly overcome small amounts of
resistance. And: Power training (with heavy weights) does improve one´s velocity more efficiently
than explosive strength training (with smaller loads). Thus, people who work on their maximum
power seem to be right on their way to enhance motor speed. But after all we mustn’t forget that
we have to incorporate this strength enhancement accurately into the dynamics of arm and leg
movement while training at the table.
Considering this close connection of power and speed another question comes to my mind:
Wouldn´t it be better to work with higher intensity while reducing the number of repetitions when we
think of speed training in our clubs? Klaus Wirth and his colleagues recommend sets of 10 to 12
reps for those table tennis players who want to work on their power (2006). I guess creativity is in
demand when we look at our training facilities. Uncommon exercises are needed, for example pull-
ups, dips at the parallel bars or donkey calf raises (with a partner at the back). And exercises which
are somewhat old-fashioned must be revised or made more difficult (e.g. push-ups with legs higher
than the upper body or one-legged squats). So what is left in my basket at the end of this article?
Well, it remains the idea that motor speed in our sport should not be trained by just imitating table
tennis-specific arm or leg movements (with or without elastic or dumbbells) but ought to be trained
by methods which have been proven as scientifically valid – that is multi-ball practice + power
training.
The Way the Chinese use Multi-ball
Rowden 2011
There are a number of ways in which Chinese coaches use multi-ball which in fact highlight some
of the common principles inherent in their coaching tradition. Below are a number of the more
common and frequently used exercises.
One
The coach feeds a short, backspin ball to the player's forehand. The player moves in and pushes
the ball directly back to the coach; the coach then pushes deep anywhere on the table, with the
expectation of a forehand attack from the player.
Objective: One of the most common elements in the Chinese approach is found here, requiring the
player to first move in, play over the table, then recover to his/her standard position in relation to
the table to respond to the opponent's shot. This in and out movement is seen more often than any
other footwork pattern so two aspects are stressed here: initiating the attack and using the FH
more.
Two
The coach feeds medium speed topspin shots all over the table, placed in a precise manner to
promote quick movement and to execute forehand attacking shots on every occasion whenever
this is possible.
Objective: Sustaining offensive play throughout the point is one of the distinguishing qualities of the
Chinese offensive player. This multi-ball drill simulates a topspin rally of many shots. The ball feed
is at exactly the right quality to test the player's movement and to create a forehand offensive shot
repeatedly whenever possible. The coach is very attentive to the quality of the player's movement
and shot quality; anything not up to the required standard is immediately commented upon.
Three
The coach feeds short balls with various spins short and near the net, expecting the player to move
in quickly and to attack strongly.
Objective: Always looking for opportunities to play aggressively is the hallmark of much Chinese
play. This drill builds both skill and confidence in initiating offensive play in a short play situation,
even in circumstances where most other players would not assess the opportunities as being
possibly advantageous. Again we see the importance of moving quickly into the table.
Four
An interesting variation is used here. The coach is assisted by another player playing on the
coach's side of the table. The coach feeds a ball short to the player's forehand, the player pushes
back to the coach, the coach pushes deep and fast to the player’s BH court.
The player is expected to recover back from the table after the initial short receive and to play a
forehand attacking shot down the line. The coach’s assistant returns this shot strongly to the
player's forehand court and the two players play strong forehands cross court until a miss occurs.
Objective: This is a very demanding drill, requiring exceptionally quick footwork coupled with
producing quality offensive shots against both backspin and topspin. Again the exercise focuses on
the power of the FH>
This three person context is the most frequently used option by the Chinese coaches in multi-ball
training. A large number of variations are used with it, including many backhand-oriented patterns
that require the player to respond to the coach's assistant player's strong forehand shots. Despite
the presence of two players, the coach keeps his focus on the training player, with no regard for
the assisting player.
Five
With this approach, multiple balls (2 to 5) are used per “point,” to simulate a specific pattern of play
during one point. The coach will take the required number of balls in his hand and create the
desired shot sequence for the player to respond to, feeding one after the other until completed.
Because the coach is feeding balls from his hand, the coach's feeding level for creating the specific
shot to respond to, in terms of ball speed, spin, and placement, is very high.
Objective: It is clear from closely observing this exercise performed by expert coaches that there
are numerous patterns they drill repeatedly with players.
Many table tennis observers have noted that top Chinese players seem prepared for every
situation they encounter. The source of this preparation can be found in the correct application of
multi-ball. One of the prime aims of this type of training in modern times is the development and
improvement of adaptive intelligence and the ability to assess the quality of the incoming ball and
therefore what the player can do with it.
Technical 2
Movement Patterns
Rowden Fullen (Late 1990’s)
The ultimate style of the player will dictate which type of movement patterns he or she should use.
Close to the table blockers will use many one-step movements or small jump steps. Strong loop
players will inevitably use the cross-step to reach the wide ball and defenders should train at
moving in and out. However with the modern game both close and deep, movements which retain
squareness are preferable. Movement is one of the most critical parts of any young player’s
development and yet very few countries in Europe work constructively with footwork patterns at an
early age. It is particularly important that you establish a pattern with a young player that can grow
with the player, (can a sidestep pattern be easily developed into a cross-step?). It is also a priority
in the ‘modern’ game, where we have limited time that footwork is economical, one big step is
preferable to many small ones.
ONE-STEP IN OR OUT
The one-step in or out is important for depth play close to the table, especially to the short balls
and to make room to use the forehand from the middle. For the right-hander note that the prime
mobility function is on the right foot (the left may be sometimes be pulled in after). This gives better
coverage of the table with the forehand for the next stroke and is why you see many top players
using forehand push from the backhand court. Care not to put the foot too far under the table, you
must retain upper body mobility. If you watch young players especially girls, many often change
feet, sometimes right, sometimes left under the table.
ONE-STEP SIDEWAYS
This can be either short or long and is important for balls on the forehand wing. It’s also important
that you think body turn as you move, so that you are in a position to feed power into the forehand
stroke. If you just reach you have very limited capacity for power or spin. In the case of wider
movement to the forehand side, the left foot will be dragged after — the pattern can therefore be
easily developed into a cross-step.
TWO (THREE) STEPS SIDEWAYS
Especially in the girls’ game you will often have a two or three step pattern to the forehand side,
either left/right or a small movement of the right then left/right. Again it is important that you turn the
body as you move. Girls often play closer to the table and like to face the play. Also consider two
additional aspects. Extra steps are not to be encouraged in modern table tennis (economy first).
When establishing patterns with a young player try to avoid sometimes commencing sequences
with the left foot and sometimes the right. This pattern is not suitable for girls who play a strong
loop game.
JUMP STEP (SHORT OR LONG)
The small jump step, where you adjust position with a little hop and where both feet are in the air at
the same time, is one of the most frequently used steps in table tennis. A long jump step is used
mostly by Asian men players. They turn the right foot and bring it back at the same time pulling the
left over and jumping to the forehand side. The body will turn prior to contact with the ball, which
can occur with both feet still in the air.
CROSS-STEP
Many trainers in Europe still don’t seem to be aware of the necessity of crossing the legs to reach
the wide ball. Coaches from as diverse cultures as France, Poland, England and Sweden all tell
me the same - ‘Face the play, never cross the legs.’ The Chinese coaches however say — ‘If you
know a way to reach the wide ball quickly, without crossing the legs, please share the secret, we
would like to know.’ It should be quite obvious in the case of the really wide ball that players have
very little choice — if you have just played a forehand from the backhand corner and the opponent
blocks you wide out to the forehand how else can you move? The mechanics of the cross-step are
that the right foot will turn first, so that the left can be brought quickly over and across. Quite often
in match play, a one-step short or long is converted to a cross-step as necessary. If you study film
of players at world level as diverse as Gatien and Deng Yaping you will see that they all use the
cross-step.
PIVOT STEP
This occurs when you wish to play a forehand stroke from the backhand corner. There are two
different ways to accomplish this. Some players bring the right foot round behind the left and then
adjust the left. Others move the left first a little out and then bring the right round after.
POSTURAL
Movement of the trunk, the upper body. Although not strictly a movement pattern we must also
consider such movements, where the player with limited time and sometimes not much other
alternative, bends the body sideways or backwards to play a forehand stroke (sometimes
combined with a one-step short).
MANIPULATIVE
Movement of the arm, hand or fingers. Particularly useful when changing direction and disguising
where you intend to play.
Critical Features of the Forehand Topspin
MOVEMENT OF THE ARM -- SKILL BREAKDOWN
The amount of backswing 1
The speed of the backswing 1
The length and plane of the arm 1
The power and impetus from the shoulder 2
The speed of the forearm fold 2
The angle and use of the wrist 2
The contact point in terms of time and place 3
The angle of the racket at contact 3
The optimum area of contact on the racket 3
The follow through of the arm 4
MOVEMENT OF THE LEGS -- SKILL BREAKDOWN
Flexion of both legs but especially left knee (for a right-hander) 1
Strong extension of the right knee 1
ROTATION OF THE BODY -- SKILL BREAKDOWN
Rotate right side of body backwards (for right-hander) in preparation 1
Start rotation with left elbow (for right-hander) 2
Strong rotation of the body, both hips and shoulders (Use hip area more, centre of gravity) 2
Stomach muscles, tensed at the start of the movement, relax 5 - 10 contimetres before ball
2
contact
SYNTHESIS OF THE WHOLE MOVEMENT
 Begin and end with balance.
 Begin and end with recovery.
PARTS OF THE SKILL -- BREAKDOWN
1.Backswing or recovery
2.Force producing
movements
3.Critical impact instant
4.Follow through
Table Tennis without Glue or Boosters

2008 — 2009
Coaches
R. Prause
Players will try to use the whole table more and tactical placement of the ball will be used more
often in the rallies and will become more important. With less speed and spin on the ball the player
will compensate with placement.
N. Cegnar
Men play on average 40% of balls from a distance, women only about 15%. As it is more difficult to
play from a distance without glue this will be a bigger handicap for the men. Without glue there will
be better control in return of serve and in active and passive play near the table, which women
mostly do. Against defenders it is now more difficult for attackers to win points by smashing. It is
necessary to prepare special fitness programmes to help the players meet the new demands.
A. Petkevich
Without glue players like Samsonov have better control in passive play and in return of serve and
can create very good counter-attacks. It’s only with topspin that some problems are present.
Players
M. Freitas
We have to work much more on fitness. I had especially big problems playing topspin from a
distance. Now I have to be in a perfect position if I want to hit the ball properly. This is why I have
to improve my footwork significantly.
S. Paovic
For me it is now easier to control the ball when returning the service, I have better short play and
can create heavy backspin on the long push. However I still find it difficult to find the right angle of
the racket when blocking.
J. Hadacova
I have had heavy muscle inflammation due to changes in my stroke technique. Now I have to go to
the gym more often as I will need more power to perform as I did before. I see that girls playing
with pimples now have some advantage as the ball is slower and with less rotation. When they
stay close they have more time and better control in the block strokes.
S. Grujic
Players with better technical abilities will find solutions for their game more easily. There is now
less speed and rotation in the game, all my colleagues share this opinion.
L. Pistej
Without gluing I have a problem with my topspin; I have to execute my swing in a more upwards
direction.
L. Blasczyk
I immediately had muscle inflammation as I was using techniques, which I wasn’t used to. I saw
that the ball trajectory is quite different than with the speed glue and is much more even. The
player has to start the topspin stroke much lower and execute it more upwards and less forwards.
When the ball has a different trajectory or bounces unexpectedly, then you try often to change your
stroke in a very short time and try to change direction abruptly this brings the danger of injury.
When a player has a good first, slow topspin attack it is now extremely difficult to do much with this
ball.
P. Korbel
We need to be much more athletic. You have to be perfectly positioned when hitting each ball and
use much more power in the strokes. There is not so big a difference when you play up to the table
but this increases as you get further away. Without glue there is no difference when playing short,
but when you try to force the block the ball ends up in the net. It’s much safer to give the ball some
rotation than just to hit it.
Y. Zmudenko
I have to focus much more on precise technique in stroke-play.
T. Apolonia
The technique of the strokes will change and as the game is already slower we have to play closer
to the table. It is more difficult to play topspin from a distance but I have less difficulty in controlling
the ball when the opponent attacks first.
V. Samsonov
The game is slower and with less rotation on the ball. It is more difficult to hit the ball hard and you
always have to be in a perfect position. If you are just a bit late the ball is in the net. Footwork is
even more important than before.
Z. Primorac
Most players complain they have to change their habits and technique and that the risk of injury is
much greater.
Ver. Pavlovich
I have to change many details in my stroke technique and footwork. The biggest problem is to
perform a good topspin attack.
Summary of Main Points
Almost all the men and some of the women emphasise the difficulty of playing topspin and
especially back from the table. It would appear that to play several successive topspin balls in a
row is now more difficult as this requires a different position (closer to the table), a different stroke
(more upwards and less forwards) and a bigger power input. Hitting the ball with full power results
in more errors while at 80% input it would appear that the ball is on the table all the time. Safer play
would seem to be better. Players also emphasise the importance of better technique and better
footwork, the days of reaching for the ball and letting the bat do the work are over. These factors
obviously have a much bigger impact on the men’s game and the women’s game will in most
cases (because of styles of play and distance from the table) be less affected. However even the
women complain of the lack of quality in their first attacking stroke.
Some coaches feel that players will try to use the whole table to more effect and tactical placement
of the ball will be used more often in the rallies and will become more important. With less speed
and spin on the ball the player will compensate with placement. Placement, use of angles and long
and short balls have always been part of the women’s game at top level but perhaps these will now
be used to a greater extent in the men’s game too.
There is also the feeling that without glue there is rather better control in return of serve, in short
play, and in active and passive play near the table, which women mostly do. Some players feel
they can create more backspin in the pushing situation over the table. Players also mention the
ease of counter-attacking and of controlling the opponent’s attack (as opposed to counter-topspin
from a deeper position) except in the case of the much slower loop ball (this is probably coming
through with much less pace and dropping sharply). The point is made that girls playing with
pimples now have some advantage as the ball is slower and with less rotation. When they stay
close they have more time and better control in the block strokes. The only problem appears to be
when players try to play the ‘forcing’ blocks which because of less racket speed often end up in the
net. But this is largely a matter of finding the right racket angle.
We also hear the view that it is now more difficult for attackers to win points by smashing against
defenders. In fact Dirk Schimmelpfennig, the German Table Tennis Sports Director, considers that
one of the most important training priorities in 2009 for the top German National players at all
levels is to improve smash techniques. He explains that it is now necessary to learn to play using
the whole body and that the FH technique depends now not only on the hitting arm but also on
body rotation and if playing from back on the player’s weight being shifted forwards in the direction
of the shot.
The lesser power in smashes may well also have a knock-on effect with block techniques. In the
past a straightforward normal block would result in a smash from the opponent. Therefore the
normal block was replaced by a variety of spin-blocks, ‘stop’ blocks or forcing blocks. Now however
the normal, controlled block can be used again more often, especially in response to an opponent’s
opening shot with topspin.
One area however in which everyone is in agreement, both the coaches and the players, is that the
game without glue demands much higher fitness levels and that specific programmes must be
developed to prepare players to cope with these new demands.
Beginner/ Intermediate Points to Remember
Rowden Fullen 2009
 Rotate the body on the FH.
 Take the playing-arm shoulder back prior to executing the FH.
 Drop the racket arm to topspin.
 Generally play the ball in front of the body on both FH and BH.
 Have bat, ball and head close together in the drive situation.
 When it is necessary to smash get the bat up first.
 Always end up square to the opponent.
 Keep the free and bat hand at approximately the same level.
 Start and finish the stroke with the racket in a central recovery position.
 Keep the bat arm elbow down between shots.
 Don’t cramp either elbow.
 Don’t move the hand/fingers too much on the racket. If you have to move something move
the thumb rather than the forefinger.
 Don’t run away from the table.
 Relax the free hand.
 Relax the forearm.
 Relax the face.
 Use the legs in the spin strokes.
 Don’t reach, move.
 Limit the stroke length, especially close to the table.
 See the ball earlier, play your stroke, watch the opponent.
 Habits are difficult to change form good ones rather than bad.
 Take the ball in front of yourself when pushing.
 Take the ball earlier when pushing.
 Use the forearm when pushing, not the wrist.
 On the FH push the pressure of the forefinger is important in achieving the correct action.
 Achieve different spins with differing bat angles.
 Use differing areas of the racket to achieve different spins.
 Achieve different lengths with differing touch.
Modern Table Tennis
Biggest difference over the last 2/3 years is that the minimal speed in table tennis has increased
noticeably.
Ready position square
Many still have left foot forward on FH or right on BH. Balls to the middle then cause problems. It is
same if you keep the shoulder forward you then create a weakness. If you move in (say to the
short ball) it’s important that you move back in the same movement.
Finish all strokes square
It is vital that players stay more square and are ready for the next stroke. Distance from the table is
now nearer, it's harder to win points from back with the big ball (due to lesser spin and no glue
assist). Even defenders chop and move forward to be ready for the shorter ball.
Movement
Now one big step not several small, speed of the essence. Most players are standing wider so that
less movement is needed.
Backhand from Middle
BH from middle is now common, many top men are following the women and using their tactics,
using the BH much more from the middle, both against the serve and in the rallies. (Maze,
Bentsen, Schlager, Cioti, Crisnan, Kreanga, Chuan, Chen Qi, Boll)
Table Manufacture
Nearly all tables now have a composite surface and are not made fully of wood. As a result the ball
doesn’t bounce and tends to slide it is therefore very difficult to judge the ‘peak’ of the bounce and
this particularly affects the women’s game as they drive more than spin and in consequence need
to take the ball at the top of the bounce latest, or preferably 2/3 centimetres before.
The big ball and glue (or boosters)
or in future pre-glued rubbers It’s much more difficult to play float or no spin balls with a glued up
racket. Spin tends to give some measure of control to the shot. The fast loop glue players tend to
have problems against defenders who can float well and servers who use long, fast float serves or
serve or play short with topspin. The float ball tends to just spring off the racket.
Stroke Analysis
In trying to learn a new skill we must endeavour to be as systematic as possible. Try to break down
and isolate the different areas of the stroke — in this way it’s much easier to single out which
aspects are causing problems.
1. Preparation — the stance, the position of the feet and the body, the back-swing. Look at the
preparation particularly in terms of results and economy. Are we achieving the required effect, but
are there extra, unnecessary movements in the build-up? Is there enough movement so that we
utilize elastic energy to the full? Modern table tennis is such a fast sport both in terms of reaction
time and movement that there is just no time for superfluous components and balance at all times
is a priority. The content and method of training of players assume rather more importance than we
may have initially thought, especially in the formative years. It is vital that the ‘automatic’ reflexes,
the conditioned responses, that the player has to work so hard to build up, cover as large a series
of actions as possible. In this way it is easier for the player to establish a valid pattern and to have
the capability to adapt to new situations as they arise.
2. The instant of contact – the use of the body and legs, length and position of the bat arm,
the timing and the angle of the racket. Are we achieving maximum effect from the contact and are
we combining the movements of the legs, body and arms and in the right way? Are we applying
the force in the right way and in the right direction?
3. Follow-through – the length, trajectory, use of body, transfer of weight. Do we retain
balance at all times, is there enough follow-through to achieve good effect with the stroke or does
the manner of follow-through limit stroke effect and development or even recovery to the next ball?
4. Recovery – to the ready position, position of playing arm, balance, coordination. Does the
player react to the next angle of play? Is he or she always ready to play the next shot? Are the feet
and racket well placed for the next ball? Recovery is what links one stroke to the next and gives
control of the table.
Prime Themes
 Short play and midfield, the objective should be variation not safety, to create openings so
that you can win the point.
 Fast recovery and balance at all times, always ready to play the next ball.
 No easy balls to the opponent — be unpredictable.
 Each player should have a forté, a way to win points.
 Good movement is the key to the future.
 Spin can unlock many doors, but how you use it is important.
 Even at the highest level change of speed will create many openings.
 Power, be ready to use it when you have the chance.
 Always calm and in control.
Line of Play
Just what is ‘the line of play’? We have been talking about this in our coaching courses right back
to the 1960s or even earlier. It’s not a phrase that many coaches in Europe or the Asian countries
use for example (more often than not it’s ‘the opponent’ or ‘the incoming/outgoing ball’). How many
aspiring coaches or players in England can explain just what ‘the line of play’ is? Certainly in my
experience there are not many players who understand just what the phrase means.
Early in the 1970s I was taking a coaching course and one of the older trainees happened to be a
professor of physics working with the Ministry of Defence in the area of ballistics and the trajectory
of naval projectiles. He immediately took me up on this magic expression ‘the line of play’. As he
said, you can’t really use this phrase, it’s not precise or specific enough and will only confuse
players. The immediate problem is that there exist at any one moment many ‘lines of play’. Your
outgoing line of play becomes your opponent’s incoming one.
Which ‘line of play’ are we talking about? Should we be square to the opponent’s outgoing one,
(i.e. our incoming one) or square to our outgoing line of play? Differing lines of play will in fact
apply in different circumstances. You the coach may understand, but does the player? Even
square to the opponent is not really precise enough, you can face the opponent’s body but he can
contact the ball with his racket some distance away from the torso. The most precise description
would be square to ‘the incoming/outgoing ball’ or even better, square to the ‘point of contact
between the opponent’s racket and the ball’.
What we must of course bear in mind is that ‘lines of play’ can refer to totally different things. ‘To
take the serve stand square to the line of play’ would mean stand square to the incoming ball.
‘Finish your stroke square to the line of play’ would of course mean finish square to the outgoing
ball!
This is the reason why for many years I have used the phrase ‘square to the incoming ball’ or
‘square to the outgoing ball’ which I feel is rather simpler for any young player to understand, when
we are talking about close to the table play.
It is interesting to note however in all of this that (after the serve or receive) quite a few of the top
women actually stand ‘square to the table’ when in a close position. If you watch European women
such as Pota (former junior champion) or Steff, European number 2 this fact is patently obvious;
the same even applies to Asian top 10 world players such as Guo Yan. So are their coaches doing
a terrible job and don’t know what they are doing? Extremely unlikely as these players have over
the years been very successful.
The answer is quite simple. In most cases women play more down the middle of the table and
don’t use extreme angles. If you play like this then ‘square to the table’ and ‘square to the
incoming/outgoing ball’ are in actual fact very much the same. Even playing strokes on the
diagonals will often entail being square to the table.
This perhaps underlines the fact that we cannot just coach in ‘theory’ and that what we are
involved in always has practical applications. These practical aspects are often best observed by
watching the world’s best players in action, which is something we don’t usually have the chance to
do in many European countries.
One final observation - many of the world’s top men, especially the juniors and those at the
younger end of the scale are adopting a squarer stance!
Technique and Improvisation
If you watch top performers in the major events, Worlds, Olympics, Europeans etc. how often do
you see players almost falling over, hitting the ball at full stretch or bending backwards at
impossible angles to make the return. Our sport of table tennis is now faster than it ever was and
the bigger ball has brought even the men closer to the table than ever before. There is just no time
to go through the full gamut of preparatory movements to play each shot. More and more, players
are having to improvise, to try not just to get the ball back (because at top level this is not enough),
but to make a ‘winner’ from a difficult if not impossible position.
Often in fact it is only in the ‘set pieces’, the serve and receive for example, that you have the time
to stay with your technique, for these are the few situations where you have a measure of control.
Even here however risk-taking is prevalent with players coming round ‘blind’ to use the forehand
from the backhand corner to try to win the point direct or to gain an advantage. In fact many
national coaches worldwide are realizing the need to revise the risk-taking policy of their National
Teams. This is moving up the scale from a medium risk approach to the higher risk areas. It is no
longer an option to play safe however good your game may be.
It is often no longer possible now to play in measured fashion, to set the feet and begin the stroke
through the hips and torso rotation. Many top players, even the men, stand closer to the table and
quite square. As a result a response to the increased speed of the game is more often than not, an
attempt to get the torso out of the way and at the same time commence the return stroke from what
is usually the wrong end of the sequence. This occurs particularly with the power strokes and many
such shots are initiated from the hand/wrist rather than the hips and body.
One of the reasons why it is possible to do this is that players are facing increased speed. Our
game of table tennis is faster than ever before, much faster than 10 years ago, faster than 5 years
ago. Most players even in the men’s game are standing closer to the table and taking the ball
earlier. To retreat is more often than not a recipe for disaster. But all of this means that players are
facing increased pace from a closer-to-table position. They often don’t need to initiate, rather they
need to respond — reaction not action. Instead of feeding in spin and power they are using the
speed already on the ball.
So many top performers are playing like this that we must really train in the same way and
encourage our players to work at increased speeds and to bring more improvisation to the training
hall. Virtually all movement patterns are now reduced to one big step rather than for example a
number of smaller steps purely because of the speed of the modern game and the lack of time. We
may well find over the next few years that extemporization will take over from a stable technical
base in many coaching areas.
One final point that we must emphasize in all our training sessions is the importance of the initial
strong attack in today’s game. It is the first player who gets in with a good ball who forces the
opponent to react and who puts them under real pressure. Action is always preferable to reaction.
High Level Performance (Summary)
Rowden 2011
The 7 essential aspects of top-level table tennis:
• Receive of Serve
• First 3 Balls
• Opening
• Effective Pushing over the Table
• Control of the Rally
• Ball Placement, the Special Areas
• The Specialty
THE FUNDAMENTAL QUALITY OF A PLAYER IS REVEALED BY THE WAY HE/SHE HANDLES
THE SAFE PLAY PRIOR TO MAKING THE ‘OPENING’.
High Level Performance
Rowden 2011
High-performance athletes are able to assess the quality of a shot much more effectively than
lesser players and also can more easily predict the advantage or disadvantage arising from a ball
which just has been hit by an opponent. This major difference between players of different skill-
levels is applicable significantly to the first three strokes of a rally.
• The return of serve is the most important shot in table tennis. Statistics confirm the assumption
that the quality of the return is significant in influencing whether a top player will advance to the
final stages of the world championships or will fail in the earlier rounds ie. whether the player is
exceptional or just good.
Be aware of the implications. Consider the up-and-coming young player who might be set the task
by his coach of practising hundreds of serves. This player would almost certainly be better off
asking his coach to halve the practise time on serve in order to have more time to practise the
more important receive of serve. Serve-return-drills are the single most important training area
targeted by the top players in the world.
• Another aspect we should stress is the great significance of the first three shots in any rally.
There is hard data which confirms that about 54 percent of all faults occur while serving, returning
or playing the third ball or have their ‘source’ in this stage at the very beginning of a rally.
• Topspin against push is also an area which requires attention. Studies of top players show that
the efficiency of attacking a push ball is poor compared to ‘open’ techniques against block, counter
and topspin. Many players perhaps get into certain habits and think as follows: ‘The main thing is
that I am the one who attacks first (even if it´s not the right ball and of poor quality). Action first
must be my priority!’ What of course they should be thinking is: ‘Effective action and only effective
action must be my priority!’
• Likewise, it´s quite interesting that (not flicking but) pushing is quantitatively seen more often in
the first three shots of the rally. There is perhaps a strong argument for training the backspin
aspect more frequently and systematically so as to stop the opponent getting in.
• Let us now look at the next skill: top players select effective/different techniques when they are
not able to win the point quickly and early in the rally. They are able to keep control of the rally until
they see an opportunity to change something which will give them an advantage.
But getting the advantage should not entail a risky return. Quite the opposite. Athletes participating
in the final levels of a world championship often rather tend to play risk-free. Playing safe is
accomplished by ball placement until the player can manoeuvre some advantage. The player
keeps his adversary on the backhand or reacts in a ‘non-forceful’ manner, i.e., he/she returns the
ball with enough pace or good enough placement so the opponent has no chance to play power.
The real quality of a player is in the way he/she handles the safe play prior to creating
openings.
• Studying ball placement gives further interesting results. More than half of all immediate shot
connections (back and forth) are played either repeatedly backhand to backhand or cross-court
backhand to backhand followed by an ‘opening’ down the line. Moreover high-quality shots from
the opponent (which give him/her an advantage) are mainly returned by using quite risky
placement. In many cases a good shot by the opponent is returned to his/her forehand – and not to
the backhand.
• Furthermore, analysis shows that strokes which are non-textbook as well as special placements
are highly efficient. By the term ‘non-textbook strokes’ we mean shots like a backhand stop- or
sidespin-block, a forehand soft block or fade. The notion of ‘special placement’ means playing the
ball long into the opponent’s forehand or deep backhand, placing the ball at the crossover point
between forehand and backhand (the ‘area of indecision’) or playing against the direction of the
opponent’s movement (where the player is moving from).
One thing is clear that observing how the opponent prepares for the stroke and the change of
position during a rally has to be integrated into the player’s training sooner rather than later.
Long-term Athlete Development
Rowden August 2012
LTAD is basically a model which looks at an in-depth and long-term approach to maximising the
potential of an individual and helping him/her to tailor the developmental program to suit the stages
of physical and mental growth. It is also intended to encourage and motivate the athlete to be
involved lifelong in his/her sport. The model is split into a number of stages taking the child from
simple, generic movements to more complex, sport specific skills and building a pathway.
So LTAD is a sports framework that is based on human growth and development. It is about
adopting an athlete-centred approach to development. There are critical periods in the life of a
young person at which time the effects of training can be maximised. Young people should in fact
be exposed to specific types of training during periods of rapid growth and the type of training
should change with the pattern of growth.
For most sports a five stage framework can be utilised:
• FUNdamental – basic movement literacy, boys 6 – 9, girls 5 -- 8
• Skills – building technique, boys 9 – 12, girls 8 -- 11
• Training to train – building the engine, boys 12 – 16, girls 11 -- 15
• Training to compete – optimising the engine, boys 16 – 18, girls 15 -- 17
• Training to win – maximising the engine, boys 18+, girls 17+
In the final stage of athletic preparation the emphasis will be on specialisation and performance
enhancement. All the basics will be fully established and the focus shifts totally to the optimisation
of performance. Athletes will be trained to peak for specific competitions and major events.
Therefore all aspects of training will be individualised and tailored not only to the athlete but to the
specific event. There will be either double, triple or multiple periodisation, depending on the events
being trained for. Training even at this advanced stage will continue to develop strength, core body
strength and maintain suppleness.
At all times it should be appreciated that LTAD is an approach to athlete development that puts the
athlete, rather than the system, at its centre. It can provide a means of developing an integrated,
systematic methodology which will ensure that all athletes are able to achieve their full potential
and help foster long-term involvement. The principle need in sport is to identify and address the
inconsistencies in how young players are developed and to encourage the widespread adoption of
agreed good practices. There is also a clear need to address the lack of training culture in sport in
many countries in Europe. Unfortunately at the moment many players who achieve international
recognition do so in spite of the system rather than because of it – this has to change. Other
talented players are unable to access the support and coaching required to enable them reach
their full potential and are lost to the sport at the higher levels.
Currently many young sports persons undertake a large amount of training and competition but is
this always in the right direction? Often there is rarely a single plan for their sporting development
and conflicts and overplaying can easily arise without the appropriate guidance. For this reason
efforts should be made to manage the individual player’s sporting, academic and social
commitments in order to achieve balance. This is particularly important for talented players who
may be accessing coaching via a number of differing sources. There must be one overall
controlling and directing figure in whom the athlete has complete trust and to whom the athlete can
refer at any time.
National Coaches often seem to forget that most of the player’s development is in his/her own club
and not on a few training camps. Any National Coach, who does not control the player’s
development, does not have control over all the aspects that go into creating success and doesn’t
have the input time with the players, cannot hope to produce world-class performers. Winning
against other countries and in major events will therefore be, not because of the system, but in
spite of the system. Also however if groups work against the system can they succeed? As
Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Templars stated around 700 years ago: ‘Success will only
be achieved if everyone works together. Small groups without uniformity of purpose or the
agreement of a clearly defined target will fail’.
It is necessary too that the controlling and directing figure, whoever this may be, has the
appropriate in-depth experience in the development of a variety of styles and also the ability and
knowledge to set the right standards during the early stages of development. If the critical periods
in the life of a young person, at which time the effects of training can be maximised, are not utilised
to the full, then this can significantly reduce the performer’s chances of ever reaching full potential.
We must talent-spot and select a small number of players in the expectation that almost all will
succeed: find the talent, polish it and turn it into gold. The old methods of mass participation and
mass failure must be consigned to the scrapheap. If the overall system does not allow or cater for
the athlete-centred approach then the likelihood of producing high-level performers, who will
achieve their maximum, will be severely limited or will rarely if ever happen.
Modern Cross-step
Obviously there are times when most players have to use a cross-step to reach extreme balls, for
example when they have played a forehand from the backhand corner and the opponent angles
them out to their forehand side.
There are however a number of different approaches and possibilities which players can adopt. A
number of top women players (Ni Xialan for example) feel that they never need to use the cross-
step, as they stand close to the table at all times and have good enough tactical play that
opponents have difficulty in catching them out with extreme angles. Most women do in fact stand
closer to the table and prefer to face the play at all times — many even continue to play square
when they back away from the table.
Other players use the older two step crossing movement as in diagram A, where they bring the left
foot across the right then extend the right to ensure a stable position with good balance to both
play the wide ball and recover well for the next shot. The only problem with this is that our sport is
so fast in these modern times that many players will just not have the time to do this.
Diagram A
Is there another alternative? There is and it’s one used by many Asian and especially pen-hold
players as in diagram B. Cross over with the left foot in a one-step movement and then use the left
foot as a pivot, striking the ball as you rotate the upper torso and bringing the right leg round at the
same time.
This may lead to a slightly worse recovery position on the next shot, but it’s relatively easy to play
one backhand if the opponent plays back into the body and this in fact is what many top players
do. This whole action is in line with modern table tennis strategy, where the thinking is to
economize on movement and strike the ball first, rather than paying too much attention to getting
the feet in the right position.
Diagram B
Modern Techniques -- Tips

Rowden October 2017
Playing Systems and Tactics
Playing Systems
● A playing system can be active or passive, or a blend of both
● At the top level individual active systems are clearly dominant
● Offensive players can still be very different in their individual playing systems
● The current tendency towards more speed will continue
● The playing system of a player demonstrates both his/her understanding of the game and of the
way in which he/she individually performs to best effect
Tactics
● Tactical understanding is often visible early in a player’s career
● In table tennis tactics are essential
● With the speed of today’s game and the small margins at top level tactical intuition becomes
more important
● Tactical ability is determined by the technical ability and mental strength of the player
● It is vital that the player has enough alternatives to apply and execute the necessary tactics
Technique and Science
Technique
● The more efficient my stroke and footwork technique, the more physical energy I can save.
● The more techniques I can master, the better I am prepared to meet new and different
challenges from the opposition
● Table tennis is developing from long movements away from the table, to short movements closer
to the table
● Having the perfect technique doesn’t make you the best player. The technique must be effective
and work for you
● Technique is even more important with the plastic ball
Science
● To improve technically, you must understand and acknowledge the problem, identify it and find a
solution
● The most time-consuming aspect is the adaptation of the solution to you and your personal
game. We are all individuals
● You need alternatives, probably at least three to deal with every situation you face in the game
● Not only do you need to look at techniques in serve/receive, strokes and movement, you need to
examine distance
● Every top player reaches the higher levels not through technique but by his/her individuality
Serve and Receive
Serve
● The serve is a formidable weapon; use it in this way
● Have total focus with each serve action
● Think in this manner. Which serve gives me an advantage –
o against my current opponent?
o for my next stroke?
● If you miss a serve, breathe deeply and think:
o Don’t lose your nerve now
o What do I need to do differently?
● When it’s 15 – 15, serve as if it’s 3 – 3. Adopt this mindset
Receive
● Be totally ready and prepared for any serve
● If you don’t return 2 serves in a row, stop, think and change something
● Before assuming your receive position breathe deeply
● If you can’t receive short serves effectively and with differing alternatives you can’t play at any
level
● Long, fast serves are dangerous!
Flick and Block
Flick
● If you flick well over the whole width of the table, you have a clear tactical advantage
● With the plastic ball the flick is more important than ever
● To flick at the right moment often means a direct point
● To use the BH flick over three quarters of the table width is a modern tactic which works
● Train to flick at differing speeds and different timing points, from early to very late
Block
● Blocking is an important part of the modern game with the plastic ball
● The block enables you to throw back the opponent’s speed, spin and power
● There are many different blocking actions; soft, forcing, sidespin, stop and chop-blocks.
● You should experiment to discover which types of block suit your game tactically
● Good blocking opens up many attacking opportunities
Push and Chop
Push
● The push is a vital stroke in table tennis, both in a receive situation and as a link shot in rallies
● It is vital to be able to use all variations of push: short, dead drop ball, long, fast early timed float
push and heavy backspin from early to even late timing
● The push is underestimated in top table tennis
● It is most important to be able to push consistently
● If you don’t push well you must have a very good flick and be able to use this all over the table
Chop
● Many attacking players cannot assess backspin defence correctly
● Choppers prefer to meet the hard, fast loop
● The flat drive or slow spin will often create problems for defenders
● Slow roll shots or sidespin win points against even good choppers
● Beware defenders who topspin or hit, especially on both wings
Topspin
Forehand
● You won’t get far at top level without being able to play topspin
● You need fast legs for FH topspin, footwork is everything in preparing for this stroke
● At higher levels you need to be able to vary topspin from slow roll to heavy spin and also
incorporate sidespin into the equation
● Modern players take the FH topspin ball in front of themselves
● Good FH topspin creates many openings to win points
Backhand
● Backhand topspin is a point winner
● BH topspin down the line or into the body creates openings
● Because of the use of wrist and forearm in the BH topspin and the ease of playing ‘round’ the
ball, it is often very difficult to read the direction and spin of this stroke
● BH topspin is a potent weapon v long backspin serves/shots to this wing
● You also have the option on this wing of playing the ‘inside out’ and ‘hooked’ BH topspins
Smash and Drive
Smash
● If you don’t enjoy smashing, you don’t enjoy anything
● If you can smash well you will have a clear advantage
● If you can smash at early timing or kill the rising ball you will win points much more easily
● Should you ever miss a smash, this should be a complete surprise
● If you can smash with your backhand, this will immediately take your game to a different level
Drive
● The drive stroke is now more important with the plastic ball
● The drive is a crucial and staple element in women’s play
● The timing of the modern drive should be early, or on the rise but before ‘peak’
● The drive can also be used off-the table with power in the women’s game (even as a substitute
for the spin ball)
● The backhand drive can be very effective as it’s much more difficult to read
Alternatives
Serve/Receive
● The ability to serve short and wide using side-spin
● The ability in short receive to drop short, push long and fast with float and backspin and flick hard
and soft with early and late timing
● The ability to serve deep and fast with varied spins, float, side-spin with chop or topspin to both
wings and to the crossover
● The ability to vary long receives, block (including chop and side-spin options) and drive, topspin
or even chop
● The ability to constantly vary serves, no two the same and to use all the opponent’s half of the
table
Rallies
● The ability to change placement and use the opponent’s half of the table to the full
● The ability the change speed, long and short, hard and soft
● The ability to change spin with both timing and varying power input
● The ability to play the angles and to play straight down the lines
● The ability to play slower balls
Mental Strength/Nerves and Concentration/Willpower
Mental Strength/Nerves
● Nerves before any match are normal
● Down 0 – 4? Nothing is decided, think, change something and focus harder
● 10 – 10 in the final set? This should be 5 – 5 in your head
● You miss the serve at 15 – 15, look ahead and focus
● 5 – 0 up and opponent gets back to 5 – 5! Change something and relish the contest. There’s an
exciting end-game ahead!
Concentration/Willpower
● Thinking about past and future, what has happened or will happen is of little help and can
demotivate
● Think only about the here and now and focus one point at a time
● Talk and think to yourself. Immediate mental analysis after a rally is of value
● Do not allow things you cannot control (luck, bad umpiring decisions, poor playing conditions etc)
upset your concentration. Only focus on what you can control
● During a time of absolute concentration you perform ‘in the zone’, more like an observer rather
than a player in action
Physical Elements
Endurance
● If you don’t train endurance, running, swimming, cycling, you don’t understand anything about
modern table tennis
● General endurance is a prerequisite for high-level performance
● You must improve either general endurance or your efficiency of movement
● The future of table tennis is more speed. This demands improvement in physical aspects
● Shorter training sessions but more often and with more intensity are the way forward. This is also
in keeping with the shorter more intense games in our sport
Power
● Training in strength aspects when young will avoid pain and setbacks when older
● Nothing works without strength and this is more important with the plastic ball
● Balance is crucial in the development of strength and the stability of the spine vital. There should
be equal development of the non-playing side
● Powerful legs are the basis for any top athlete
● Non-specific strength development is not needed for the playing arm as this impacts negatively
on touch and fine control
Speed
● Use resistance bands for quick twitch muscle development
● Multi-ball increases overall speed and reactions
● Work at relaxed, interconnecting stroke play. When one stroke flows into the next this saves
energy and makes the whole event faster.
● In order to lead into the next shot the path and finishing position of the racket after the previous
stroke is crucial
● Anticipate better, watch the opponent, not only the contact on the ball, but the preparation of the
body and the movement prior to the shot
Flexibility (Agility)
● Be precise even in the service throw and learn to use the whole body in the action of service
● Serve training is a prime example of optimizing body movement and utilizing many variations
with the same basic action
● Use of the free arm is more important than most players think
● Rotation is vital in shot production and maximizing power
● The legs are a crucial part in the overall agility program
Coordination
● You have to find the balance between automatic responses and controlled reactions. This
balance will often determine whether you play well or poorly
● Too much conscious thinking reduces the flow of the game and the quality of the balls played
● Find time for consistency and tactical decisions
● Every irregular exercise improves anticipation and well- coordinated responses
● Always search after the optimal relationship between conscious and unconscious actions
Training
● If you don’t warm up you’ll almost always play below par
● Too much training is as bad as too little
● Much training = good performance? Not true
● Meaningful training is only possible with full concentration
● All training should be geared to your individual development. Not only is the quality of training
vital but the direction. Is it leading you to where you want to go?
Economy of Movement: the Key to Speed
Explosive speed is an inherited characteristic and players who don’t have it are rather limited in
what they can do to train up this aspect. However there is nothing to stop any player only using
those patterns which give most economy of movement. It’s elementary for example to understand
that quick play requires short strokes so that you can recover for the next ball (not so short
however that you fail to play ‘through’ the ball). If in our modern fast game however you are
attacked hard and have no time, then you must often be satisfied with the block return. Bear in
mind however that there are a considerable number of differing ways of blocking, from taking the
pace off the ball, to dramatically changing the spin, to increasing the speed and also a large variety
of timing points which can be used.
Racket recovery is particularly crucial and it’s vital that the racket returns to the neutral position
after each stroke so that you are ready to play FH or BH on the next ball. It is equally vital that the
elbow drops down after the stroke (especially the BH counter) so that the forearm is in the best
possible position to move in either direction.
players will inevitably use the cross-step to reach the wide ball (pivoting on the left foot for a RH
player) and defenders should train at moving in and out. However with the modern game both
close and deep, movements which retain a square position are preferable. Movement is one of the
most critical parts of any young player’s development and yet very few countries in Europe work
constructively with footwork patterns at an early age. It is particularly important that you establish a
pattern with a young player that can grow with the player, (can a sidestep pattern be easily
developed into a cross-step?). It is also a priority in the ‘modern’ game, where we have limited time
that footwork is economical, one big step is preferable to many small ones.
Among the world’s elite (especially the Asian players) the FH is still the dominant stroke and many
men players will still move more in order to bring this wing into play. (Among the top European men
because of the increase in the basic minimal speed many now use the BH from the middle or even
from the FH side against the serve. It will be interesting to see if this tactic, which has been
common amongst the women for many years, will become the norm in the men’s game).
Perhaps here a warning should be issued to women trying to use the FH over the whole table as
some top men do. The women’s game is rather faster as they stand closer to the table, hit the ball
earlier and flatter. Often they have less time to move and to react between shots. Also overall their
physical capabilities can be reckoned as between 15 – 30% lower than the male. These factors
can make the difference between success and failure at top level when women try to emulate the
men.
For a top player to execute strong topspin from FH and BH corners with FH and BH consecutively
takes around 0.6 of a second. However to do the same with just the FH wing will take almost 1.0
second. This is quite a big time difference at top level. FH play over the whole table is also
asymmetrical (by this we mean one-sided and unbalanced movement). Symmetrical play is clearly
superior from the point of view of economy of movement, the only downside being that the BH
topspin is generally less powerful than the FH.
A change to more symmetrical play requires that the BH topspin be of the same quality as the FH.
This can be achieved by use of what we call the tennis BH. Here with a quarter rotation backwards,
taking the ball off the left hip, leading with the right elbow and using good rotation and very fast
forearm action, the stroke can be upgraded to a similar power and speed as the FH. Certainly in
the future it is becoming obvious that in the light of the speed of the modern game, play will
become more and more ‘symmetrical’ and that this will be the way forward.
Coaches
Coaching Development Course 1
1. Introduction.
2. Table Tennis Association — structure.
3. The grip.
4. The four basic strokes.
5. Stroke correction techniques — the nine reference points.
6. The demonstration.
7. Basic strokes — chart.
8. Practical.
1. INTRODUCTION.
Table tennis coaching is very like climbing a high mountain. On the lower slopes there are grasses,
streams, bushes and trees — the start of sound basic training, you must get things right here or
you will encounter problems or even fall off higher up! On the mid-slopes you meet other difficulties
and different terrain, rock faces, chimneys, use of ropes, pitons just as with table tennis you must
look to better technique, better movement and more physical work and to develop your own
personal style of play. At the very top level you meet other challenges, ice, snow, crevasses,
avalanches and must utilize other equipment, crampons, ice axes, breathing equipment — with
table tennis you must look more into psychology, tactics, advanced techniques, you must indeed
know yourself and what you are capable of to reach the highest peaks.
Coaches face different problems at various levels. Success at the top goes back to self-sufficiency
development en route but primarily to sound basic training. We see players in many countries in
Europe even well on their way to the top who will have difficulty in making the grade, due to
weaknesses carried over from early training. You can compensate for a weak stroke or bad
movement patterns at a lower level but at the highest levels there is no hiding place. Top players
will find a weakness extraordinarily quickly!
Basics are vital — this is the only time you have a clean sheet situation. The responsibility is
enormous, how and what you write on this sheet can have very far reaching effects. In fact many
national trainers think that only the very best coaches should handle beginners, as only coaches
with great experience are able to understand the implications of what they see. Coaches and
leaders at even the lowest levels should appreciate the importance of their work. If our sport does
not have a stream of good beginners flowing into the base of the mountain, correctly taught and
prepared, then coaches at the top will wait in vain! Not only is the introduction of basics vital but
many leaders are talent scouts, in the position to be the first to encounter a unique talent, the next
Waldner or Deng Yaping. Even if they are not capable of developing that potential, they should be
able to recognize it and pass on the player to someone who can.
Compared to other ball sports table tennis is a multi-skills game. It has not only fast speed over a
short distance but also the type of spin involvement you don’t find in other ball sports. Bear in mind
with the young player that table tennis is not an easy sport to learn and to be highly proficient takes
years rather than months. With the young beginner reactions and coordination may still be
underdeveloped, but often you get some indication of a rare talent when you see early natural use
of advanced strokes or early spatial awareness.
Above all when coaching players you must understand that there is not and never can be a
‘national style’ of play, which we should all aim towards. Each player is an individual and different
and should be directed towards his or her own individual style of play. And even when we have
stressed the importance of basics, we should perhaps emphasize even more that none of us can
ever be dogmatic about technique. It is not how the player plays the stroke that is vital but whether
he or she observes the underlying principles and whether it is effective! There is absolutely no use
in having a stroke that looks nice, is technically perfect, but has no effect.
Take for example three of the world’s best players, Gatien, Waldner and Saive. They all play their
topspin differently. Gatien has fast rotation with the elbow close to the body, Waldner has slow
rotation but with a fast wrist and Saive uses his legs much more than the other two. But the
underlying principles still apply — they all use the arm, legs and rotate the bodies, even if in a
different way and at different speeds.
The concept of individual flair, the idea that players can have different techniques within the
underlying principle is one of crucial importance in allowing them to arrive at and to create their
own personal style. You cannot force a player into a style of your choosing — if you insist that your
player is going to be another Waldner it is unlikely he will develop as well as he could have done. It
is important that you allow each player’s own natural idiosyncrasies and abilities to have a proper
place in his or her development.
It is vital also that all coaches look to maintain the interest of players at all levels. We are in
competition with many other sports and activities in this modern world and we must all develop the
skills and coaching techniques both to develop players and to keep their interest. Make sure they
are enjoying themselves, use fun games and competition, players love to compete, try to harness
the competitive instinct, which is so important if you are going to be a successful player.
2. THE TABLE TENNIS ASSOCIATION — STRUCTURE.
How is the Association managed, who are the officers, who does what and what are their areas of
responsibility?
Coaching and selection, who is in charge?
Developing coaches and trainer education, who is in charge? Where, when and how often are
courses and follow up seminars or work-shops? How does one progress?
Training camps — National, Regional, District. Who organizes and who is in charge of liaison
between the various levels?
National Centre — How does one get in? Are the players compelled to attend perhaps under threat
of being left out of the National squad? Once in are the players restricted in activities (which
tournaments they can attend etc)? Are players still catered for if they have good coaching and
development outside of the centre?
Player training — what is the pyramidal system up to the National centre? Do we have regional
training, county training groups? Do we have specialized squads, 11 and 13 years or all girls so we
can concentrate on specific areas of development? Do we have bigger clubs which act as a focal
point for a large area and run camps for that area?
Tournaments/Leagues — Do we have competition at differing levels? Tournaments and even
leagues for non-ranked players, regular events for very young players, 7, 8 and 9 years old?
3. THE GRIP.
Almost all players are biased however slightly in favour of one wing or the other because of the
grip and are correspondingly weaker in certain table areas.
Basically there are 4 grips but there can be a number of variations in each category, high or low on
the handle for example.
1. Western or ‘shakehands’ grip.
2. Hammer.
3. Chinese pen-hold fingers curled.
4. Japanese pen-hold fingers spread.
The grip should be ideal in terms of efficiency. Is it functional, does it work?
* Do not be dogmatic.
* If possible the same grip B.H. and F.H. (explain thumb and forefinger movement and the action
on the tendons in the hand and wrist).
* Relaxed (too tight can cause problems with the stall angle and can inhibit use of the wrist).
* Racket should be an extension of the arm (a slightly raised angle is an aid to control on the
forehand).
* Fingers not in the way (grip efficient for the individual).
4. THE FOUR BASIC STROKES.
If coaching a player from beginner level it is most important to lay sound foundations from the first.
The basic strokes are best taught in the following order.
1. Forehand drive.
2. Backhand drive.
3. Backhand push.
4. Forehand push.
With this order we follow the psychological principle that whatever the player learns first, he or she
will fall back on automatically in times of greatest stress. If you learn to drive first for example when
the match is close you are much more liable to be positive and to attack.
In each stroke there should be a progression, from long line, to short line, to consistency, to length
variation (long and short), to accuracy and target practice. Remember there is a need to achieve
control first, it is hard to be satisfied and to enjoy play without some measure of control. If some of
your beginners have played a little go back to basics and start again correctly. It is also wise to
eliminate advanced techniques which may be natural to the player but which get in the way of
learning the basics (late timed topspin for example). These will not be lost but will be much more
easily developed once a sound foundation is laid.
Stroke production –
* Uniformity — identical repetition.
* Accuracy — repeat to defined spot or direction.
* Length — to be able to play consistently long.
* Dexterity — to adapt to varied balls, nets, edges.
* Coordination — use of body, legs, arm, wrist, fingers.
* Pace variation — change speed with the same action.
5. STROKE CORRECTION TECHNIQUES (The nine reference points).
Technique is important. If your player has stepped outside the bounds of good technique then it is
most unlikely that he or she will reach the highest levels. It is a cruel fact that weakness is always
exposed once you arrive at the top.
When working with a young player it is important that you look at stroke production from a scientific
viewpoint — only in this way can you pinpoint exactly where the problem lies. It is also useful to
have guidelines which are applicable at all levels of stroke play and to each individual stroke.
Stance — Feet should be shoulder width or a little wider, knees bent, back arched, shoulders
slightly forward (all important for balance and efficient movement). Always relate stance to the line
of play (where the ball is coming from), not to the table or the opponent. Always face the line of
play, with both the body and the feet.
Stance should be the best position of advantage with reference to the opponent — start to build in
tactics early in the player’s career. The majority of modern players will use a square stance, (facing
where the ball is coming from), it saves time, especially close to the table. Once players drop back
from the table side-to-square is used a little more as it aids power production particularly on the
forehand side.
Body Action — Here we are talking about use of leg power, rotation of the waist and shoulders
(sometimes a little rocking action of the shoulders), fast arm movement, especially forearm and
forearm fold. Bear in mind the crouch with the head forward extends the range of the stroke and
economizes on movement.
Length — This is the distance the bat travels. With beginners a short stroke is the priority and
particularly close to the table. (Less to go wrong if the stroke is short). Try to have a little longer
pre-swing and limit movement after contact with the ball. Longer strokes with very young players
can also lead to injuries.
Timing — ‘Peak’ or 1/2 centimetres before is the most efficient for control. (‘Peak’ is the highest
point after the bounce on your side of the table). Many coaches in Europe see peak as being
relatively late, later than it in fact is — Asians see peak as being earlier than we do.
Peak gives the biggest target area and allows the player the best chance of hitting the ball down on
the other side of the table. If players let the ball drop when small (a natural tendency with the ball
coming at the face) this can easily become a habit leading to running away from the table
whenever under pressure. This of course gives the opponent a better chance to use the angles. By
adopting peak when young the player’s natural tendencies have the opportunity to emerge and
he/she will have more options when older.
Table Position — What we are talking about here is the exact contact of the ball in relationship to
the table. Is it over the table, at the end of the table or back from the table? For the beginner we
must again look at this in terms of control — usually this is best over the table but with the ball
coming through (not too short).
Free Arm — This is particularly valuable as an aid to rotation (especially on the forehand side).
Lack of use of the free arm limits movement and often leads to a forehand stroke where only one
half of the body is used with the risk of subsequent injury. Also the free arm aids balance and
orientation. For the beginner this latter is often useful in helping him or her to have some idea of
where the ball is in relation to the body.
Bat Arm — The optimum for control is the 90 degree angle at the elbow, with no wrist at first and
only a slightly open or closed blade. The elbows should be about a hand’s width from the sides and
both hands equally relaxed. The stroke to be initiated from the elbow as well as the shoulder (but
with no wrist in the initial stages). Bear in mind at a more advanced level the arm consists of the
three joints, shoulder, elbow and wrist — the last two move much faster than the shoulder and will
be used much more at top level (e.g. flick, fast forearm fold). Also the 90 degree angle of the elbow
can be extended to 120 degrees or even straight to give a longer lever and more power.
These first seven reference points form the machinery by which the player hits the ball and will give
the best control. As early as possible the beginner should learn to control the rally as a whole and
not just individual shots. This of course involves movement while retaining good balance which is
indeed the cornerstone of our sport.
Be particularly aware of the theory of conservation of angular momentum . The centre of gravity of
the arm (elbow area) will cover a certain distance in a given time period. Because the distance is a
constant, if the arm is shortened, it must move at a higher speed to cover the same length. This
principle is of vital importance in the short arm loop.
Recovery Positions — Play the ball and recover always is one of the most important principles in
table tennis. Every time you and your opponent strike the ball, the angles of play will alter. After
you have played your stroke there must be a continuing, on-going assessment from you of the total
angle available to the opponent — you must then move into the most advantageous position to
cover this angle. Do not forget also recovery of the racket after each shot. Recovery fastens the
first seven reference points together and gives control of the table.
Anticipation — This gives control of your opponent. After you have played the ball focus on the
opponent. Watch him or her moving into position, look at the body, the stance, above all watch the
racket at the point in time when the other player is committed, 4/5 centimetres before contact with
the ball. This should give you enough edge that you are already moving before the ball even
crosses the net. The ability to read what your opponent is going to do will give you a big
advantage. If you train your young players from the very start to play their own stroke and then to
watch what the opponent is doing they will soon learn to anticipate without thinking.
6. THE DEMONSTRATION.
Demonstration (showing the stroke) is part of the coach’s everyday work and something you
should make every effort to get right. Look at yourself sometimes (mirror or video), what do you
look like when you show a stroke? Is your technique satisfactory? Also consider the pitfalls of
showing a stroke to a group of youngsters.
* Are the players on the correct side of the demonstration — can they see all the action?
* Are they on the correct side in terms of distractions? (There may be other activities going on in
the hall).
* Shadow the stroke first. (So the group watches the action and not the ball).
* Be professional yourself (image).
* Be enthusiastic (manner).
* Emphasize at the most three points — too much will only confuse, you can always stop the group
and stress other aspects in 5/10 minutes. Not too much at one time.
* Make the exercise clear (line, diagonal etc.) Cater for left-handers, pen-hold players etc.
* Have some progression in the exercise (short, long, target, alternatives).
* Care with language. (Do they understand technical words?)
* Introduce competition regularly.
* Give the same time to each player in the group, sort out problems of incompatibility (between
players, or between self and players).
* Consider different types of guidance a) verbal b) visual c) mechanical (hold and do it).
7. BASIC STROKES CHART
FH Driv BH Driv BH Pus FH Pus FHTopspi FHBloc BHBloc BHTopspi

e e h h n k k n
Stance Side Square Square Side Side Square Square Side

toSquar toSquar toSquare toSquare
e e
BodyAction Rotatio None None Rotatio Rotation Rotatio None Rotation

n n Slight Lift n Slight Lift
Length Short Short Short Short Medium Short Short Medium

Long Long
Timing Peak Peak Peak Peak Peak or Early Early Peak or

bit after bit after
TablePositi Over Over Over Over End Over Over End

on
FreeArm Rotatio Balance Balance Rotatio Rotation Rotatio Balance Rotation

n n n Slight Balance
BatArm Closed Closed Open Open Closed Closed Closed Closed

Up 90° Up 90° Down90 Down9 Up90/120 90° 90° Up90/120°
° 0° °
LINE OF PLAY = Where the ball is coming from

8. PRACTICAL.
1. Demonstrate the ‘shakehands’ grip. Start
with off the table exercises.
2. Bouncing the ball on the racket — F.H.,
B.H., and alternating.
3) Same as 2) but walking around the table.
4) Hitting a ball against a wall (about one
metre high) and allowing one bounce
before the next hit. Use F.H., B.H. and
then alternating.
5) Introduce a stroke. (No serving, drop the ball on the table to start).
* Start long line diagonal (more time).
* introduce consistency (how many).
* introduce accuracy (hit a target).
* introduce variation with control ( differing length).
* introduce competition (round the table, cricket).
* introduce multi-ball.
* introduce simple serving.
* introduce match play and scoring. (winning table).
OBJECTIVES 2/3 Familiarisation with the bat and ball. Acquiring feel.
OBJECTIVE 4 Positioning, sense of movement, ball sense.
OBJECTIVE 5 Correct stroke, control, consistency, accuracy, concept of mobility, competition.
BEGINNERS
Basic Strokes Chart
— Look back to the chart. Certain factors are common to all strokes. Feet shoulder-width or a little
wider, knees slightly bent, shoulders down and level and head a little forward and the whole body
facing the line of play. Strokes should be played with a 90 degree elbow angle and partially
initiated from the elbow, both elbows a hand’s span from the sides, with the bat-arm wrist and
elbow around the same height or the elbow a little lower, (not higher). There should be no wrist
action initially and the ball should be played with little speed and spin.
The objective
— should be optimum ball control, while maintaining good balance and a readiness to move.
Topspin and Block
— Note the bent knees in blocking and use of the legs, the rotation with topspin and the way the
legs are used to bring up the centre of gravity as you contact the ball. A 90 degree angle at the
elbow for blocking control (and a little movement, if you block with a completely ‘dead’ racket the
ball tends to kick up for the opponent to hit). This angle will increase for topspinning as the player
drops the racket lower to play the stroke. Work in initial stages on technique and control, not spin
or speed. As players get better emphasize good ball control while retaining balance and the ability
to move quickly in any direction. Good movement is the key to the future.
1. Warm-ups: stretching.
2. Movement: introduction.
3. Training requirements.
4. Training of players.
5. Development: beginners, intermediates, advanced.
6. Power and levers.
7. Communication.
8. Be professional.
9. Topspin and backspin.
10. Bats and rubbers.
1. WARM—UPS: STRETCHING.
 Prevention of injury.
 Preparation — physically and mentally.
 To increase flexibility.
Players should have the attitude that warm-ups and stretching are a natural part of their sport and
should feel absolutely no embarrassment over doing these. Warm-ups are an important part of
preparing to play and stretching equally important in winding down after play.
Coaches should beware of excessive physical work, weight training etc., especially with young
players. The bones and joints are still growing and most of the major epiphyses do not close before
around 17 – 20 years (1 – 3 years earlier in the female). Before closure the strength of the fibrous
capsule and the ligaments surrounding a joint are two to five times greater than the strength of the
metaphyseal – epiphyseal junction (the fresh growing area at the end of the long bone).
Any exercise programme must be structured to cater for different fitness areas.
 Cardio-vascular — the heart and lungs.
 Flexibility — twisting and stretching.
 Strength — legs and (bat) arms.
 Specific areas for table tennis — back and stomach, especially in the case of female
players.
 Loosening up and relaxation.
In any exercise programme also remember the differences between girls and boys — strength,
speed, lung capacity, inclination of the arm, bone growth, age of bone closure, joint stress limits.
Also bear in mind the social aspects — it does nothing to help girls’ confidence if they have to
compete with boys in physical areas, especially if they are in a big minority, only one or two in the
group.
2. MOVEMENT — INTRODUCTION.
First you achieve a level of control from a static position, then in a moving situation. (Recovery
should be built into all movement patterns, both in the case of recovery of body and racket and the
players should above all aim to move with good balance at all times). In the early stages aim at
about 75% width (side to side) and only 25% depth (in and out).
A) Movement
 Can be footwork of one type or another.
 Postural, body action, pivoting or twisting of the trunk.
 Manipulative, bat arm, the three joints, shoulder, elbow, wrist or even fingers.
B) Types of footwork
 Close to the table (nearest foot to the ball?) Stepping or jumping.
 Away from the table (crossing legs at times). Running or jumping.
C) More than one reason for not reaching a ball.
 Physical fitness.
 Poor footwork patterns.
 Recovery.
 Anticipation.
Always bear in mind that the more you retreat from the table, the bigger the angle you have to
cover and the more you will have to move.
Footwork exercises.
 Regular, set pattern, conditioned response.
 Irregular (no pattern), ball not expected.
3. Training Requirements
Technical.
Basic skills
 control
 consistency
 accuracy
 touch
Advanced skills
 kill through loop
 loop to loop
 stop block
 short play
 early ball play
Tactical.
Experience
 league play
 camps
 tournaments
 positive play
Strategy
 variation
 angles
 timing
Movement
Style development
PHYSICAL
 speed
 stamina
 strength
 flexibility
 feeling
 relaxation
PSYCHOLOGICAL
 work-rate
 will/motivation
 self control
 confidence
 concentration
 mental toughness
 clarity of mind
 competitiveness
 innovation
Glue — When to use and why.
How it affects technique and tactics.
OPTIMAL MENTAL STIMULUS
The basic principle of table tennis training.
TRAINING IS ONLY
 REPETITION IN THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT!
 WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE!
4. TRAINING OF PLAYERS.
A) Basic phase One 8 - 11 years.
1. All strokes even up to topspin and backspin (but without excessive spin or power). Good
basic control, consistency and accuracy. Work as much as possible from drive to spin.
2. Footwork — Not too wide at first and no forehand from the backhand corner. Work at
establishing a base from which you can move forward with the player and on to more advanced
footwork at a later date. Try to evaluate the end style so that you can judge which type of
movement the player needs to develop.
3. Some tactical (but keep low profile).
4. Always bear in mind the vital importance of good technique with balance. Technique can be
very difficult to change later on in a player’s career.
Depending on how early the player starts, the critical stages for development are usually around
the following ages — Girls 8 - 12 Boys 8 - 14
FACTORS TO CONSIDER
The coordination of the player, the development of the body, the reactions, the speed of the hands
and feet, the level and duration of concentration, the ability to comprehend and understand, the
natural strengths and gifts (speed, movement, talent).
The facilities available, organization of time, parents’ involvement, the player’s own time,
commitment and mental approach.
At this age try to keep competition at a low level and geared to the training situation. There is
always the danger of ‘burning out’ players at a young age. (This happened with a number of young
girls at the top in tennis some years ago).
B) Basic phase Two 11 - 17 years.
1. Consider in detail the individual style of players. Where are they strong, what is their best
playing position relative to the table, how much of the table should they cover with forehand,
backhand, should they spin or drive, block or chop, is their movement right for their way of playing
and above all are they mentally in tune with the direction they are going towards? Look also at
which materials may help your players.
2. Refine the movement patterns so they will suit the players’ end style and tactics.
3. Keep the technical base moving forward, gradually introducing more advanced techniques.
4. Develop tactical awareness and the ability to play against all different styles and materials.
5. Upgrade physical levels.
6. Strengthen mental areas.
7. Above all teach players that development means change and if they don’t keep changing
they stop moving forward and remain as they were!
8. Look to the individual needs of the player.
FACTORS TO CONSIDER
Bear in mind that the growth of the player will affect technique (if they suddenly shoot up 12 - 15
centimetres perhaps they are no longer getting down enough.) Make sure there are no inhibiting
factors in technique or movement or tactics, which will have a limiting effect on the player’s ultimate
level of play. Keep the player moving forward, teach him or her to handle the stress of competition,
to think positively at all times and above all to be flexible in the mind. Try not to take short cuts —
aim to release the full potential of the player at senior level.
Consider too that many players may come to you partially developed or with major faults. The
longer a player has played, the harder it is to make big changes and often you will only be able to
make small adjustments here and there to make him or her more effective. However often players
have never really been taught how to use their own strengths and even what works best for them.
Here you can help them.
5. DEVELOPMENT.
Beginners
Control and Accuracy
 correct techniques.
 understanding of grip and stance.
 most economical body movement.
 appreciate what each part of the body does.
 arm movement alone not enough.
 no excessive movement of feet (economy of movement).
 speed and spin negligible.
 diagonal first, then straight, diagonal from the middle,lastly forehand from the backhand
corner.
 same timing point ( 1 - 2 centimetres before peak),except block — early.
 learn one stroke, do not combine in same rally with others.
 slightly better, alternate same stroke, forehand and backhand but regular.
 slightly better, use earlier/later timing, shorter or longer stroke.
 slightly better, use more change of pace, slower/faster speed.
N.B. The ability to play the basic strokes (drive, block, push) with good control from a static
position, characterizes the well-taught beginner.
Intermediates
Consistency at Varied Speeds
Style Development
 train regular movement, side to side, in and out, on the diagonal.
 train serve and receive.
 differing timing points.
 vary speed, slow medium, fast.
 vary spin, light, medium, heavy and also float.
 train spin/stroke alteration within the rally, push/drive, block/chop.
 train in and out movement with variation in speed and timing.
 slightly better more irregular movement.
 slightly better, more work on power/spin.
 technical advancement, looping and chopping and
different techniques.
 introduction to serve and 3rd ball techniques and to
set pieces.
 introduction to 2nd/4th ball techniques.
 introduction to mental development.
N.B. A good intermediate has the ability to play all the strokes normal to his or her style within a
game situation (moving) and with absolute consistency.
Advanced
mental strength development.
Irregular Movement
Refining of Style
 irregularity the theme in all exercises.
 vary stroke, timing, direction, length, speed, spin and tactics.
 concentration on serve and receive.
 2nd, 3rd, 4th ball training to be positive and attack.
 set pieces, sequence play to suit the style of the player,
 build up strengths and minimize weaknesses.
 power and pressure play.
 use of professional tools, multi-ball, robots, professional physical or mental instructors.
 physical, stamina development in accordance with the style of the player.
 teach player to assess own game and to be able to think tactics as he or she plays.
 involve player in periodization.
 train against all types of opponents.
 innovation, above all make sure the player is flexible in the mind and understands the
necessity of keeping his or her game fresh and alive.
 never forget that top players are above all unpredictable in the way they play, this is one of
the keys to success at top level.
N.B. The advanced player can vary his own play to cope with the demands of the game situation.
He or she reads the situation and adapts.
Thinking points
 Consider the importance of the basics, accuracy, consistency and control. Top players use
immense spin and speed but within a framework of control. Many young players want to play too
hard and too fast.
 Think of variation within the basics, speed, spin, timing and contact points, length, angles
and table areas.
 Always look at balance — with the modern game the weight is going forward all the time,
there must be more emphasis on good balance and good recovery, good footwork patterns and the
use of the body and the various levers.
 Control the ball, the table, the opponent but most of all yourself.
6. POWER AND LEVERS.
Power
 Travel faster.
 Spin more.
 Any combination.
Power is generated by three components –
 Acceleration such as bat speed, use of shoulder, elbow, wrist. (Rather like a motor-cycle).
 The use of elastic energy (explain how to play the strokes to make maximum use of this).
 Body weight travelling along the line of play (rather like a large truck) or uncoiling (like a
spring).
Racket Swing.
 Pre-contact longer (but not too long, too long gives no room for manoeuvre, you are
committed from the outset).
 Follow through short and along the line of play.
 120 degree elbow for spin, 90 degrees for drive.
 Elbow not tucked in or too far forward (inhibits spin development).
 Peak of bounce timing (or 1 - 2 centimetres before/after). Below the table, more spin but
less speed.
Mass.
 From a little back use side to square stance, with the weight coming from back to front and
a little up using the legs.
 Rotation of hips and shoulders
 Rocking of the shoulders
o These last two depend on the incoming ball and the type of loop.
 Leading foot pivots pointing to where the ball is going.
Levers.
Examine the principles of rotation.
Angular velocity
 The centre of gravity of the arm (the elbow area) covers a certain distance in a given time
period, this distance is constant, the Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum. If the arm is
shortened it must therefore move faster to cover the same distance. This is a valuable principle to
remember when coaching girls or younger, weaker players, especially when considering the value
of shorter arm strokes (looping for example).
 Lever length — If a player has the strength the longer the lever, the more power it is
possible to achieve (Jonyer, Hungary 1975) (also example of wheel nuts on a car and the length of
the lever, much more pressure). Assess the player, age and physique and beware of too much
loading on the shoulder.
 Body use in play – It is quite normal in Asia to use tensioning and relaxing of the stomach in
stroke play to increase striking power. (Explain).
7. COMMUNICATION
Clarity
 get the message across, you say something, but just what do people actually see and
hear?
 the pupil learns aurally, visually and physically (by feeling and doing.)
Communicate
 ask relevant questions.
 listen to answers.
 treat pupils as people.
 get tuned in (on the same wavelength).
 speak the same language.
Priorities
 nice to know.
 should know.
 must know.
Enthusiasm sells.
 it is contagious.
 gets others going (you energize others).
 is a reflection of your inner self, if you are not inspired how can you ‘sell’ to others?
Speak Show Keep it simple
You cannot motivate, you can only affect the motivation of others!
8. BE A PROFESSIONAL.
Table tennis is a multi-skilled game, different from other ball sports. It is important to cultivate the
right attitudes and as soon as the player is past the beginner stage and secure in basic strokes, to
handle him or her as professionally as possible.
Do not train by competition (many young players compete too much and train too little, the training
hall is very important). Development sessions should be without pressure and the player should
have confidence that his or her development is based on a sound training programme.
Every training session should have a purpose, working on strengths, weaknesses, movement,
consistency, change of speed, angles, opening, topspin etc. Of course within every session you
can have a progression, a development, introducing serve and receive, 2nd and 3rd ball or some
competition. Players should have both group and individual coaching as these serve different
purposes in their development. It is hard to work on mental aspects, style development, serve
techniques etc. in a large group, but the player does need the variety and the inter-action of
training against other players (the variation in serve for example even when every player is trying
to serve the same, the small differences develop your player’s receive talents much more than
receiving from even the same good player all the time).
Plan also the player’s week, year, competitions and match play levels and always remember that
the player needs rest and relaxation.
Example of a week.
Mon. Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun
Rest 2.5 Phys. 2.5 Rest 3 Comp
9. TOPSPIN AND BACKSPIN.

With the many varying rubbers on the market it is not always possible to rely on the stroke action.
(e.g. a push against backspin may be backspin, float or topspin!).
Try to read the spin by the sound (as the ball strikes the opponent’s racket), by the flight through
the air (watch for the trademark on the ball 3 — 8 centimetres before it hits the table on your side)
and by the bounce (what the ball does after hitting the table).
Topspin
— Explain with diagrams, the turbulence and high pressure -on the top side of the ball, the low
pressure on the bottom side. Air pressure forces the ball downwards. The topspin ball is faster
through the air and dips and shoots forward after bouncing. The incoming angle is greater than the
outgoing angle.
Backspin
–The backspin ball has low pressure on the top side, turbulence and high pressure below. Air
pressure forces the ball upwards. The backspin ball is slower through the air, carries a little longer
in flight and kicks up after bouncing. The incoming angle is less than the outgoing.
Points to consider
— Your opponent’s topspin spins towards you, his backspin away from you. When your opponent
plays with your topspin the ball is returned with backspin, when he plays against your topspin he
returns the ball with his topspin, (the opponent reverses the spin). However this may not apply if he
or she is using long pimple or antiloop where he or she cannot or can only partially reverse the
spin.
Let us look a little at spin, what it is and how it affects the ball, because we need to know a little
about the basics before we can cope with playing against different rubber combinations. Most
players and coaches will be aware of what is known in physics as the Magnus effect. In many
countries in Europe it is taught in the first coaching stage on trainers’ courses. The important point
is that both backspin and topspin cause the ball to deviate in flight. Test this for yourself. In your
own training hall loop the ball hard and long with much topspin — it will dip quickly to the floor
during flight then after bouncing will spin forward and run on to the end of the hall. The backspin
ball will veer upwards before dropping down, will run forward only a little, then will spin back
towards you and can end up spinning back past you. Not only does the type of spin affect the ball
in the air but it also affects the way the ball behaves after the bounce.
1. No spin — same angle in and out. (physics, angle of incidence = angle of reflection.) This
rarely happens in table tennis, test for yourself by throwing a no-spin ball forward, the ball acquires
topspin after bouncing because the bottom of the ball is held momentarily by the floor and the top
moves forward. (If a topspin ball hits the net, the bottom of the ball is held and even more topspin
is created.)
2. Topspin has a smaller angle after the bounce and the ball shoots forward low and fast.
However if you have a high, very slow loop with much spin, because the main impetus is down the
ball will often kick up a little, then drop down very quickly. This is why this type of loop is very
useful against defence players.
3. Backspin has the bigger angle after the bounce, the ball slows and kicks up sometimes
quite sharply. Why many players have problems against backspin is that they don’t understand this
slowing-down effect, that the ball doesn’t come to them. They must move forward, lower the centre
of gravity and get under the ball.
Topspin is of vital importance in modern table tennis. Without topspin it would be quite impossible
to hit the ball as hard as we would like to. When we for example hit a ball which is below net
height, gravity is not enough to bring the ball down on the other side of the table, especially if it is
travelling fast. Another force is required and this is provided by topspin which causes the ball to dip
sharply downwards. Thus the harder we hit, the more topspin we need to bring the ball down on
the other side of the table. Our modern reverse rubbers give us great help in hitting the ball very
hard from below net height, because they are capable of imparting very much topspin. This has an
additional advantage in that the ball shoots off the table very fast after the bounce.
But why does spin cause the ball to deviate in flight and why do we sometimes have unusual,
unpredictable effects after the bounce? This is in fact to do with the interaction of the spinning ball
as it moves through the air against the flow of air molecules. (We have all felt air, when we stick
our hand out of a car window moving at speed we can feel that air is rather more solid than we
thought). As the ball moves through the air different areas of the surface are subject to lesser or
greater resistance, the Magnus effect. Topspin forces the ball down, backspin conversely forces it
up. If we take a topspin ball for example, the fast moving area at the top of the ball opposes the air
flow and we get resistance or high pressure. However at the bottom, the fast moving area of the
surface moves with the air flow, the air molecules speed up and you get low pressure. As a result
the ball is forced downwards. At the bounce the bottom of the heavily spinning ball is held, topspin
increases and the ball shoots forwards very quickly.
Sometimes the ball behaves in a different way and not as the laws tell us it should. In fact at times
it can behave exactly the opposite to what we are led to believe — a topspin can jump up and a
chop can skid low under certain circumstances. This is because of what occurs in the last 20 - 25
centimetres of flight, just before the ball actually strikes the table, (this is also a time when few if
any players watch the ball.) A skidding chop occurs when a ball comes through low with very much
backspin, (often for example when a defender takes the ball early when it is still rising) — the spin
tries to make the ball rise during the last few centimetres of its travel and hit the table with a
shallower angle than usual, but also the faster speed gives a lower trajectory. What ends up
happening is that the ball skids through quite fast and low after bouncing. Equally a slow loop with
a great deal of topspin and a high arc, will dip sharply at the end of its flight and hit the table at a
steeper angle than normal. Its downward velocity is increased and it has a higher impact speed so
often the ball will kick steeply upwards after bouncing before dropping sharply.
10. BATS AND RUBBERS.
Much of the advertising material which is written in the various brochures on materials is of very
little use to the ordinary player and often misleading. The hardness of the wood and the make-up
of the ply, how it is bonded and whether you have carbon fibre or titanium mesh layers will all affect
the speed and control. Generally one ply will be more rigid and the ball will kick off the blade
quicker, multi-ply will be more flexible with more control and stability. The choosing of a blade is a
rather more personal matter than the rest of the equipment and it should feel right to the player.
Tests in one or two countries appear to indicate that there is an ideal racket weight for the player at
differing stages in his or her development and variation by even a few grams can cause a drastic
loss of form.
Most rubber manufacturers use speed, spin and control ratings which are at best misleading —
many of the tests they use are very simplistic and bear little or no relation to how a rubber is used
in a match. Players also use the same rubber in different ways and with different feeling.
Let us examine the characteristics of the rubber as it is this which contacts the ball.
Dwell time
— This is how long the ball stays on the racket during the contact phase of a stroke, (bear in mind
this is a mere fraction of a second, if you have ever chalked a ball and thrown it to a player who
slow loops and tries to maintain a long contact you find that the mark on the ball is never more than
one centimetre). Rubbers have different dwell times for different strokes. The ball will be held
longer for a slow loop as opposed to a kill. Some players also ‘carry the ball’ longer than others
even for the same stroke. A long dwell time will often benefit spinners and blockers while a short
dwell time will suit defenders and hitters. The dwell time is also affected by the blade you use and
how the ball comes off the racket depends much on the rubber and sponge and how quickly it
penetrates through these to reach the wood layer underneath.
Resilience
— The energy stored in the rubber during the contact phase of the stroke. Some rubber and
sponge combinations are much more elastic than others and will hold the ball longer on the surface
at a closed racket angle. This stored energy is converted to produce spin. While elasticity levels
will certainly increase we must bear in mind that the sponge cannot create energy, but only
minimize energy loss. Compared to a hard bat a ‘sponge’ bat can be swung in a much flatter plane
so giving the ball more forward speed and spin. The sponge helps to lift the ball over the net.
Impact behaviour
— A rubber and sponge can have differing performances at different impact speeds. At a slow
speed there may be very little elasticity but you may get very good spin and speed when the ball
comes into the racket with more pace. When you achieve maximum impact speed you can swing
the racket harder but you will get little or no more effect. Some rubbers are said to have good
gearing for spin and speed, which means they produce and maintain good effect over a wide range
of impact speeds.
Throw-angle
— The angle of the flight of the ball as it comes off the racket surface in the direction the bat is
travelling. Differing blades and rubbers affect the throw-angle considerably as will different strokes
(the angles would be very different if you were looping for example with very tacky rubber or with
antiloop). The throw-angle will also vary depending on whether the contact is on the outside of the
racket or in the middle, or whether low, in the middle or high on the ball (or whether the racket is
more closed or open). High throw-angle rubber generally has a higher ratio of spin than speed,
compared to low throw-angle rubber. (Flexible, slower blades typically increase the angle).
Stall-angle
— The contact angle at which speed/spin of a rubber is dramatically reduced — at certain angles
all rubbers will stall and not store energy (the ball will just drop off the racket, as it sometimes does
when it contacts the outside edge). The stall-angle can be used effectively for dummy loops or
short serves. A rubber with a wide range of stall-angles (or used with a badly matching blade) will
have little or no control. A stall can also occur when the racket contact speed is too fast at a
particular contact angle.
Friction
— The grip of the rubber. Under certain conditions and with certain techniques some super high
friction rubbers can give less spin/speed than ones with much lower friction characteristics.
Sometimes super-grippy rubbers have less spin at high speed — there is a critical level above
which little or nothing is gained. Some very tacky rubbers have the characteristic of slowing the ball
dramatically at low impact speeds, a function which is very useful in certain strokes. A low friction
rubber has difficulty generating speed at closed racket angles. Remember always the friction of
many rubbers is impact-dependent, they are more effective when the ball is coming at speed.
Sponge
— Sponge can vary from soft to hard and from about 0.4 mm to 2.5 mm and the density of the
sponge contributes to the weight of the racket. The amount of spin generated by a rubber is closely
related to the elasticity of the sponge (irrespective of the top sheet of rubber), below a certain
critical level for a given sponge, the spin of the rubber will be considerably reduced. This can be
improved through the correct use of speed glues or optimisers which will increase the resilience by
up to 30%. Players who glue usually prefer soft or medium sponges.
Glue
— Adhesives and glue sheets are used to put the rubbers on the blade. Speed-glues or optimisers
are used to increase the performance of the rubber in respect of spin, speed, control, throw and
stall-angles. It is always recommended that you allow each coat of glue/optimiser to thoroughly dry
before applying the next coat — otherwise you can get a ‘mushy’ effect which seriously affects
performance when the glue is a little wet.
Properly applied speed-glues/optimisers can increase the spin and speed capabilities of the rubber
by up to 30% (remember however that some additives do not work well with certain sponges,
especially most hard and more dense sponges). Also the glue must be regularly ‘removed’ from
the rubber sheet and the build-up must not be allowed to become too thick. All rubbers (where
speed-glue is used) should be taken off the blade as soon as possible after play so that the tension
is released.
One interesting characteristic of speed-glued/optimised rubber is that it has a very predictable
effect over a wide range of strokes. Its ability to store energy is nearly constant over a large range
of impact speeds, (in normal rubber the storage of energy bottoms out at higher speeds).
1. Modern ready position.
2. Movement patterns.
3. Service.
4. Receive.
5. Women’s play.
6. Innovation and style.
1. MODERN READY POSITION.
One of the most important aspects of modern table tennis is balance, to retain good balance at all
times. The game has changed much from the hard bat days of the 1950’s when the main path of
the stroke was upwards — now we play forward with more rotation and it’s harder to retain balance
after the stroke. The table tennis player is very like the boxer, he must be ready to move in any
direction at any time. Also now the game is much faster, the modern player has much less time
and as much as possible he must face the play at all times.
The majority of players will adopt a ready position facing the line of play with the left foot a little
forward. (Explain with diagrams, videos, discuss and demonstrate). This enables the forehand to
be played over most of the table with a minimum of movement. There will be exceptions — many
defence players will stand with the right foot a little forward as they often wish to play the backhand
from the middle. Some players also stand further back and jump in to take the serve, which can
sometimes place them at a disadvantage!
Consider the following aspects –
 Width — A little wider stance gives economy of movement and stability. (No problem with
the wider stance in moving sideways only backwards).
 Right foot position — Closeness gives better table coverage.
 Bat position — Should be ready to play backhand or forehand, not too high and not too low.
 Legs bent — It is not possible to have an effective ‘springboard’ to move quickly from the
ready position unless the legs are bent. (Girls please note).
 Free arm — Is an aid to angular velocity.
 Proficiency — Try to adopt a position which does not require 2/3 movements to take the
serve. Think economy of movement with absolute readiness.
2. MOVEMENT PATTERNS.
players will inevitably use the cross-step to reach the wide ball and defenders should train on
moving in and out. However with the modern game both close and deep, movements which retain
squareness are preferable. Movement is one of the most critical parts of any young player’s
development and yet very few countries in Europe work constructively with footwork patterns at an
early age. It is particularly important that you establish a pattern with a young player that can grow
with the player, (can a sidestep pattern be easily developed into a cross-step?). It is also a priority
in the ‘modern’ game, where we have limited time that footwork is economical, one big step is
preferable to many small ones.
 One-step in or out — The one-step in or out is important for depth play close to the table,
especially to the short balls and to make room to use the forehand from the middle. For the right-
hander note that the prime mobility function is on the right foot (the left may be sometimes be
pulled in after). This gives better coverage of the table with the forehand for the next stroke and is
why you see many top players using forehand push from the backhand court. Care not to put the
foot too far under the table, you must retain upper body mobility. If you watch young players
especially girls, many often change feet, sometimes right, sometimes left under the table.
 One-step sideways — This can be either short or long and is important for balls on the
forehand wing. It’s also important that you think body turn as you move, so that you are in a
position to feed power into the forehand stroke. If you just reach you have very limited capacity for
power or spin. In the case of wider movement to the forehand side, the left foot will be dragged
after — the pattern can therefore be easily developed into a cross-step.
 Two (three) step sideways — Especially in the girls’ game you will often have a two or three
step pattern to the forehand side, either left/right or a small movement of the right then left/right.
Again it is important that you turn the body as you move. Girls often play closer to the table and like
to face the play. Also consider two additional aspects. Extra steps are not to be encouraged in
modern table tennis (economy first). When establishing patterns with a young player try to avoid
sometimes commencing sequences with the left foot and sometimes with the right. This pattern is
not suitable for girls who play a strong loop game.
 Jump step (short or long) — The small jump step, where you adjust position with a little hop
and where both feet are in the air at the same time, is one of the most frequently used steps in
table tennis. A long jump step is used mostly by Asian men players. They turn the right foot and
bring it back at the same time pulling the left over and jumping to the forehand side. The body will
turn prior to contact with the ball, which can occur with both feet still in the air.
 Cross-step — Many trainers in Europe still don’t seem to be aware of the necessity of
crossing the legs to reach the wide ball. Coaches from as diverse cultures as France, Poland,
England and Sweden all tell me the same – ‘Face the play, never cross the legs.’ The Chinese
coaches however say — ‘ If you know a way to reach the wide ball quickly, without crossing the
legs, please share the secret, we would like to know.’ It should be quite obvious in the case of the
really wide ball that players have very little choice — if you have just played a forehand from the
backhand corner and the opponent blocks you wide out to the forehand how else can you move?
The mechanics of the cross-step are that the right foot will turn first, so that the left can be brought
quickly over and across. Quite often in match play a one-step short or long is converted to a cross-
step as necessary. If you study film of players at world level as diverse as Gatien and Deng Yaping
you will see that they all use cross-step.
 Pivot step — This occurs when you wish to play a forehand stroke from the backhand
corner. There are two different ways to accomplish this. Some players bring the right round behind
the left and then adjust the left. Others move the left first a little out and then bring the right round
after.
 Postural — Movement of the trunk, the upper body. Although not strictly a movement
pattern we must also consider such movements, where the player with limited time and sometimes
not much other alternative, bends the body sideways or backwards to play a forehand stroke
(sometimes combined with a one-step short).
 Manipulative — Movement of the arm, hand or fingers. Particularly useful when changing
direction and disguising where you intend to play.
3. SERVICE
Serve and the strategy of service have changed very much over the years. In the days of the old
hard bat there was very little spin, now there is spin, speed and deception. Short serves are usually
short or half long (with the second bounce on the white line) to tempt the opponent to push or to
open with a less strong shot, whereupon the server can counter hard or open strongly. Long
serves are usually very fast to the corners or the crossover point.
Examine and discuss the main serves and grips and which part of the ball to contact, where on the
racket and where the ball should bounce on the table (where on the player’s own side first).
 Forehand serve from the backhand corner, backspin, sidespin, topspin, reverse, float and a
mixture.
 Reverse spin, backspin, sidespin, topspin, mixed. (Discuss the different arcs used by
western grip and pen-hold players.)
 Backhand serve, backspin, sidespin, topspin, float, mixed. (Reverse).
 Axe — back and side or top and sidespin or float. (Reverse).
 Others or other possibilities.
 Look also into the value and strategy of the high throw service.
Discuss 3rd ball strategy and return spin and how to use this. If you serve short, be ready for the
short return, if long, expect a hard return.
Remember the serve is the one time you control what is happening, you are in the driving seat.
Consider 6 aspects.
 A sound recovery position (after your serve).
 A quick recovery serve.
 A ‘short’ contact to bounce serve.
 A fast, short service action which gives less time to ‘read’ spin.
 Try to play third ball attack or gain an advantage.
 Try to play to the opponent’s weakness.
The first four are under your control, the last two partially under your opponent’s control.
A point to consider.
The acrobat can attain pinpoint accuracy through hard training, why not the table tennis player?
The answer lies in the fact that table tennis is an antagonistic competition, acrobatic performance
isn’t. Every stroke you make is based on correct and split-second judgement of the incoming ball,
which varies in a thousand and one ways. Service however is the one exception. Much remains to
be exploited in the service area in terms of spin, speed and placement of the ball.
4. RECEIVE.
This is probably one of the most under-practised of all aspects of our sport. If a serve is long for
example we should always be prepared to be positive, loop drive and think placement at the same
time. Also however we should think tactics too, some players especially in the women’s game want
speed back so that they can smash the next ball. Sometimes you must be ready to change the
speed, stop-block, slow roll. Equally if a player serves long chop you should always (girls too!) be
looking to open. There is little point in pushing only to see the next ball looped past you. Quite
often to return power with lack of power, or spin with lack of spin, or even just to return the server’s
own spin to him or her, can be a very good tactic.
Short serves can always be dropped back very short to take the advantage away from the server.
Most top players however are good in short play and in gaining advantage in this area. Try to take
the ball at as early a timing point as possible, just after the bounce to give the other player little
time to react. This is also a good tactic if you have to push back long, again early timing, fast
return, sometimes with spin, sometimes without, (try to use the wrist as little as possible).
At top level, especially in the men’s game it is necessary to flick some balls — bear in mind you
can do this at differing timing points, as the ball bounces up (very early) or drops down (quite late).
This late-timed flick can often be effective as many players think you are going to push.
Above all work at the strategy of receive, training against good servers, training at returning with
and against the spin and playing the opponents’ spin back to them, varying placement and length
and angles. Work at doing different things with the 2nd ball so that the server cannot have an easy
3rd ball situation. Train to do enough with the 2nd ball so that you can perhaps create an
advantage on the 4th ball.
5. WOMEN’S PLAY.
Let us take a close look into the training of the female player and which areas of technique, tactics
and development are of vital importance in producing players who can make a real impact.
Particularly let us always bear in mind the value of early programming which is so significant in a
fast reaction sport such as ours.
MOVEMENT
The establishing of sound movement patterns is one of the single most important factors in
determining just how far a young girl can go in her career. Generally the top women move in four
different ways (depending on how you categorize these), the men often have additional patterns.
What you must appreciate however is that in a match situation there is often a combination of one
or more patterns at the same time. That is why it is so important to train movement in a multi-
choice manner and at advanced level in a random fashion. But what is most vital of all is that you
the coach are aware that you are laying the right ground patterns — that you establish the patterns
that are appropriate to the player’s end style and which can grow with the player.
Diagonal play for instance wide to the backhand followed by switches to middle or forehand result
in one-step short or one-step long in the case of a block/drive player or one-step and cross step in
the case of a looper (or a very small player). Variation between the short and long Falkenberg will
involve the pivot step followed by one-step long or the cross step (preceded perhaps by the jump-
step small, the most common of all movements). Strong attacking play especially if combined with
spin is usually characterized by the cross step, jump-step and the pivot step, while control/block
players more commonly use the one-step short, long or back.
One other aspect well worth looking at for young girls is the knee angle of top women in play —
ready position 110 degrees, one-step long to forehand 104 degrees, left leg braking after long
cross step 91 degrees. Playing with straight legs and being a top player are just not compatible!
CONTROL OF SPEED
— Many women play fast and flat — it is not essential that girls play fast, what is essential is that
they are able to control speed, without this it’s hard to progress in a women’s table tennis world.
Each girl must find her own method and work in areas most suited to her own individual style —
drive play, blocking of one sort or another, topspin, defence, rolling ‘nothing’ balls, using different
rubbers , variation in placement, speed or angles.
But above all it’s important to look at the psychology of speed and power. Women who play ultra
fast like to have speed back right from their own long serve. Often their effectiveness is greatly
reduced if they are faced with a return of little pace. Also often they are less comfortable against
short play or slow spin.
OPENING
— It is of particular importance that girls learn to open from a pushing situation as early as possible
in their development. It is all too easy to win at a young age by being negative but the long-term
development is slowed down. Focusing on winning in the 9 – 11 age groups should not really be
an over-riding priority. The earlier the young player becomes confident in opening the quicker the
next stages in development can proceed.
Coaches will be aware that there are a varying number of ways to open — drive, punch, sidespin,
fast topspin or slow loop or even the roll ball. However they and their players should be alert to the
fact that with women power is rarely the answer. Female opponents usually respond more easily to
the fast ball, it is the slower one that more often than not causes problems. It is vital that girls learn
to open with a slower ball, slow loop or roll, the main thing being that this first opening ball be to a
good length, either very short or very long (and of course girls should be able to open on both
wings).
CONVERTING
— Just as important as opening is the ability to do something with the next ball. After the first
opening spin it is vital that girls can be positive and if at all possible put the next ball away and win
the point. Not spin and spin again till the rally degenerates into a control situation, but spin and
drive or kill. Regard spin as a means to create openings, not as an end in itself. In this way the
opponent receives two very different balls in quick succession and is unable to find a rhythm.
SHORT PLAY
— At a higher level girls must be able to cope with short play, both the serve and the next ball. It is
therefore important that they become comfortable in this area at an early age, and explore
methods of being positive and creating advantage from this situation. We are not only talking about
flicking or top-spinning over the table, but pushing also in a positive manner so as to make
openings to create attacking opportunities, using very early timing and playing back a short, dead
ball, or even long and fast to the corners or body with heavy backspin or no spin. This early-timed,
deep ball especially with spin gives the opponent very little time to act positively. (To open with
spin or power the centre of gravity starts from a lower position, so this entails moving, turning and
lowering the body all at the same time, before playing the return ball.)
However it is not enough just to be able to deal with short play, the next stage is to cope with the
opponent’s first opening ball. Again at high level it is not sufficient only to control the first drive or
topspin — against the top players just being safe is inadequate. Girls should train to force the
return with either power or spin or even to kill through the topspin from a close position, a
technique not worked on enough in Europe. Other alternatives would be to return a different ball,
stop block or slow roll.
SERVICE
— Girls with good serves invariably go far and the time to work on the different grips and actions is
at a young age. Usually they have a little more difficulty than boys in achieving spin, especially
good back and sidespin so it is important that they persevere. Girls also often need more help and
individual training time before they fully understand the techniques involved, the stance, body
action, grips, where they hit the ball on the racket, where the racket starts and stops, the contact
angle, which part of the ball they hit and at what height they should make contact. It is important
that they achieve a variety of different spins and speeds with the same or very similar actions. Also
the young player should fully understand the differing ways in which her service may be returned
and should always look to be positive on the third ball.
RECEIVE
— Return of the short serve has largely been covered under ‘short play’ but of course variation in
all aspects is vital, in spin, speed, placement and angles. The long serve often causes problems in
the girls’ game usually because they return with too much power. It is well worthwhile looking at a
variety of receives — drives, blocks, (soft, forcing, sidespin, stop and chop), spin, punch, slow roll
and even chop and float. A different method of return may well prove effective against differing
players.
VARIATION
— Too many girls are predictable in the way they play. To be effective at top level requires much
more thought to variation — change of spin and speed, length and placement, not just to hit harder
and harder. Girls should be encouraged to be unpredictable in the way they play, often straight or
to the body instead of diagonal, with regular change of pace and use of the slower ball.
USE OF THE TABLE
— There are a number of things we can combine under this heading — better length, (too many
girls play mid-table balls instead of up to the white line), more short and long play, more angled
balls off the side of the table, more straight shots and balls directed at the body or between 15 – 20
centimetres either side of the racket. Force the opponent to move to play the return.
USE OF EQUIPMENT
— Girls should seek advice on and explore the possibilities of the many differing rubbers on the
market. It is not a coincidence that around 60% or more of top women players use something
different on one side of the racket or the other. They are successful because they are different and
unusual — nothing wrong in that!
STRONGER/ DIFFERENT BACKHAND
— With many girls the backhand is used in a supporting role to the forehand and as a control
stroke rather than a point-winner. At top level it must be remembered that any weakness will be
very quickly exploited. It is important that even from an early age girls work at strengthening this
wing, so they have the capability to accelerate from mere blocking into drive play or spin. The other
path is to use a different rubber to achieve a different effect, making it difficult for the opponent to
win points here.
POSITIVE ATTITUDE
— Girls are always much more negative than their male counterparts. Throughout early
development strong support should be given by parents and coaches and every effort made to
strengthen positive aspects. Indeed girl players should be urged to attack at the earliest
opportunity, to be alert for that first opening, to try to develop a sense of aggression, to cultivate the
attitude that to let an attacking opportunity go by is failure.
A WINNING WEAPON
— Every player must have a strength, a way to win points. It is up to the coach and player to find
this strength and to build on it. Sometimes it may be a combination, loop and kill, serve and third
ball. Whatever it may be the player should be aware of her strength and how to use it to best
effect.
BE DIFFERENT
— Above all girls should look to be different in style. Throughout Europe there are thousands who
play the fast, flat, ‘typical women’s game’ – only the very best one or two will get anywhere. Even
these are unlikely to succeed against the Asian players who play this type of game even better and
put much more practice time in at it!
Not only should girls be encouraged to develop their own personal strengths and characteristics so
that a unique individual style emerges, but also they should be prepared to be flexible in thinking.
The effects of mass media and the many cultural and sporting interactions in Europe tend if
anything to standardize training methods and style and to inhibit forward thinking.
HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARDS CHANGE
— Progress and development entails change. If your game remains the same or your mind refuses
to accept change then you don’t go forward, you remain as you are. This is the one great lesson
that every player must absorb at as early an age as possible. Be receptive to new ideas, prepared
to test new theories and methods, alert to new techniques and tactics, ready to keep your game
fresh and alive and moving forward.
6. INNOVATION AND STYLE.
The table tennis player who refuses to change or who is happy or satisfied with his or her way of
play, will remain at the same level and will stop developing. How many players train in the same
way, with the same exercises, the same serves and tactics and do not even understand the
significance of the fact that nothing new is happening in their game? How many more are sadly
frozen in the mind and not even prepared to consider new or different ideas?
Each player is a unique individual, with differing strengths, reactions and skills — you cannot force
him or her into a style of your own choosing. Rather you must help him or her to develop and
flower in his or her own way. In the areas of technique, tactics and physical exercises the coach
can lead, in the mental areas and in the choosing of a style, with which he or she feels
comfortable, the player should have a large say. Only the player knows what risks he wants to
take, whether he is more at ease playing close or back, fast or slow, spin or drive. A player’s style
should always be based on and directed towards his or her greatest strengths and always he or
she should bear in mind that style is a living, growing organism, developing all the time however
slowly. When it stops progressing you stop also and stagnate!
At whatever level you play each and every one of you will only progress, if you are prepared to
accept in your own mind that change is necessary to develop. Each of you must monitor your own
progress and question what is happening with your game. Ask yourself — ‘How has my game
changed over the last 6 months or one year? Are my strokes changing, different timing, sidespin,
slower balls, change of speed? Am I considering the possibility of different equipment, faster,
slower blades or rubbers or pimples? Am I happy with the way I play, my own style? Have I
problems with certain types of players? What am I doing about these?’
In the final analysis, although others may point the way, you should bear the responsibility for your
own fate. Always have an open mind, ready to listen and to question. Perhaps it is true to say —
the greatest danger is in absolute certainty. Certainty is the enemy of progress, we stop thinking
and further progress is not possible because our mind is closed to other possibilities.
INNOVATION IN TABLE TENNIS EMBRACES THE FOLLOWING SEVEN ASPECTS
1. TECHNIQUE
2. TACTICS
3. STYLE
4. TRAINING
5. EQUIPMENT
6. THEORY
7. ADMINISTRATION
Because table tennis is a very technical sport the basic law is adaptation and counter-adaptation.
Each player tries to adapt to the technique, tactics and playing style of the opponent and to avoid
being 'controlled' by the way the opponent plays. Table tennis is largely a sport of conditioned
reflex patterns where players train to react automatically. This is why new techniques, tactics and
unusual styles of play are difficult to cope with. The 'automatic' pilot doesn't work so well any more
and the player's reactions are unstable, inaccurate, lacking smoothness and coordination. In fact
the player who can keep ahead of the competitors in the innovation of technique, tactics or playing
style, will have a big advantage (especially now we are playing to eleven up) because the
opponent is unable to adapt in time. Remember the prime skill of table tennis is to read the game
and to adapt in an ever changing situation.
1. Elastic energy in stroke-play.
2. Stroke analysis.
3. Analyse technique.
4. Critical features of the forehand topspin.
5. The 4 elements.
6. Multi-ball and women.
7. Ready position, serve and receive tactics are these changing?
8. Diversity in technique and tactics – men’s and women’s game.
9. Women – the simple facts.
10. Win over Asian women.
11. Long pimples simplified.
1. ELASTIC ENERGY IN STROKE PLAY
Many sporting activities involve a stretch-shorten cycle where the muscles involved in the exercise
are first stretched then shortened. This is generally observed in racket sports as a counter-
movement during the back-swing or preparation stage of the activity (the stretching phase) that
precedes the actual forward or upward movement (the shortening phase). One of the reasons for
the use of the stretch-shorten cycle is that it enhances the quality and efficiency of the movement
through the utilization of elastic energy.
The mechanical principle underlying the use of elastic energy in stretch-shorten cycle activities is a
relatively simple process. During the stretching phase the muscles and tendons are actually
stretched and store elastic energy in the same way as an elastic band stores energy when
stretched. On movement reversal, during the shortening phase, the stretched muscles and tendons
recoil back to their original shape and in so doing a portion of the stored energy is recovered and
assists in the movement.
Biomechanical research has shown that, in running for example, the use of elastic energy has
been estimated to account for approximately 50% of the total energy requirement. In other similar
stretch-shorten cycle activities such as racket sports, (movement and stroke play for example), the
use of elastic energy also contributes a significant proportion to the total energy requirement.
Elastic energy is stored in tendons and in muscle itself. The storage of elastic energy within muscle
is dependent upon the level of muscular activity present during the stretching phase. The greater
the tension in the muscle being stretched, the more elastic energy will be stored. Therefore, to
maximize the storage of elastic energy, the stretching phase should be resisted by muscular effort.
In a stretching movement of very short duration, such as the foot contact phase in sprinting, the
energy can be stored during the entire stretching motion. However, in a movement of longer
duration, such as in a forehand topspin, the energy is best stored just prior to the shortening
phase. This is achieved by producing a high level of force, (large muscular resistance), towards the
end of the stretching phase.
Research indicates also that increasing the speed of the stretching phase from a slow speed to a
relatively high speed enhances the storage of elastic energy. This occurs as an increased speed or
force of stretch extends the muscles and tendons to a greater extent thus storing even more
energy. Therefore the final portion of the back-swing should be performed quickly as the faster the
back-swing, the greater the elastic energy recoil will be during the forward swing. In the case of our
attacking (or defensive) strokes in table tennis it is important that these stretch-shorten cycle
movements be performed with a minimal delay between the stretch and shorten phases.
It has been demonstrated that 93% of stored elastic energy can be recovered. This recovery is
largely dependent on the time period between the stretching and shortening movement phases.
Elastic energy is reduced if a delay period occurs during the stretch-shorten cycle because during
the delay period the stored energy is released as heat. The longer the delay the greater the loss of
elastic energy. Research indicates that after a delay period of around one second, 55% of the
stored energy is lost — after 2 seconds, 80% and after 4 seconds there is total loss.
Some training practices encourage players to prepare very early for stroke production and this
often inadvertently produces a delay period between the back-swing and forward swing of the
stroke. As a result stored energy is lost and an inefficient movement strategy results. For maximum
efficiency players must practise allowing the back-swing and forward swing to flow naturally from
one phase of the movement to the other. This is particularly important when playing defensive
players, where there can be some seconds time-lag in returning the ball. Try more to move into a
good position, but only to pull back the arm in the stretch phase of the topspin or drive movement
at the time the ball bounces on your side of the table or even after. In this way you save a higher
ratio of elastic energy and utilize it in the stroke.
The recovery of stored elastic energy tends to occur relatively quickly during the shortening phase
of the movement. Tests show that all stored energy is released 0.25 seconds into the shortening
phase. Thus in drive and topspin strokes the stored energy is used primarily to assist in the early
forward swing stage of the movement.
The implications from this research are that the stretching or counter-movement phase should be
performed quickly with large muscular resistance exerted over the final 0.2 seconds and that all
stretch-shorten cycle movements should be performed with a minimal delay between the stretch
and shorten phases.
Other research indicates that plyometric training (depth jumping, bounding etc.) may also enhance
an athlete’s ability to utilize elastic energy and may even alter the elasticity of the tendons and
muscles enabling them to store greater quantities of energy. Also in such training, the delay time
between the stretch-shorten cycle is minimized ensuring maximal recovery of all stored energy. It
would appear that plyometric training, as compared to conventional weight training, involves the
implementation of those movement strategies which maximize the contribution of elastic energy to
stretch-shorten cycle movements.
However although plyometric exercises may represent a more specific form of overload for many
athletes, the performance of high impact stretching movements often results in muscle soreness in
the days following training. It may therefore be necessary that the implementation of plyometrics in
a training routine allows for recovery days between exercise sessions.
2. STROKE ANALYSIS
In trying to learn a new skill we must endeavour to be as systematic as possible. Try to break down
and isolate the different areas of the stroke — in this way it’s much easier to single out which
aspects are causing problems.
1. Preparation — the stance, the position of the feet and the body, the back-swing. Look at the
preparation particularly in terms of results and economy. Are we achieving the required effect, but
are there extra, unnecessary movements in the build-up? Is there enough movement so that we
utilize elastic energy to the full? Modern table tennis is such a fast sport both in terms of reaction
time and movements that there is just no time for superfluous components and balance at all times
is a priority. The content and method of training of players assume rather more importance than we
may have initially thought, especially in the formative years. It is vital that the ‘automatic’ reflexes,
the conditioned responses, that the player has to work so hard to build up, cover as large a series
of actions as possible. In this way it is easier for the player to establish a valid pattern and to have
the capability to adapt to new situations as they arise.
2. The instant of contact – the use of the body and legs, length and position of the bat arm,
the timing and the angle of the racket. Are we achieving maximum effect from the contact and are
we combining the movements of the legs, body and arms and in the right way? Are we applying
the force in the right way and in the right direction?
3. Follow-through – the length, trajectory, the use of body, transfer of weight. Do we retain
balance at all times, is there enough follow-through to achieve good effect with the stroke or does
the manner of follow-through limit stroke efficiency and development or even recovery to the next
ball?
4. Recovery – to the ready position, position of playing arm, balance, coordination. Does the
player react to the next angle of play? Is he or she always ready to play the next shot? Are the feet
and racket well placed for the next ball? Recovery is what links one stroke to the next and gives
control of the table.
3. ANALYSE TECHNIQUE
If you are to be a successful coach then it is vital that you have some system of studying what is
happening. Even more important is that you know what you are looking for and are able to identify
it when you see it. Unfortunately in this modern computerized world we more often than not have
too many fitters and too few engineers. The specialists are disappearing and we replace the whole
rather than finding out what part was defective. After a while we lose the understanding of how the
whole was constructed. This applies too to our great sport. The professional coaches are
disappearing – the guys who know how things work are being lost. More often than not they are
replaced by players, who at the close of their career or after injury, take up the occupation of
trainer. The expertise is in most cases not the same and they look at coaching from a different
standpoint.
The first step even before we start to analyse technique, whether it be a stroke, a movement or a
serve, is to know what we are looking for. Do we know the critical features of the skill – the back-
swing or recovery phases, the force producing movements, the critical impact instant, the follow-
through? The movements performed during the approach and ball contact stages are examples of
critical features. They must be performed correctly in order to achieve the best results. Coaches
must determine too whether or not the skill was performed to best advantage.
Do we have a picture in our mind of what perfect execution looks like? Because without this we
have no model, no standard against which to measure! We must also consider any other relevant
factors, especially those which may affect our observation of the ability. Bear in mind too that
although critical features are inflexible parts of a movement they are often modified by individual
differences. These unique and individual adaptations are what make up style. Do we know the
difference?
We must visually and mentally break down the skill before actually attempting to observe it. Many
advanced coaches already have in their mind a sound concept of the basic components of a
particular skill, built up over years of experience of coaching players, lecturing to coaches or
preparing and writing coaching material. However the ability to analyse and provide effective
feedback is dependent upon the accuracy and relevance of the coaches’ observations. Coaches
cannot possibly examine technique if for example they are unaware of exactly which components
determine effective performance and unaware of how best to observe these.
Finally we are in a position to plan how we are going to observe our skill, what aids we are going to
use and even from which position we are going to carry out our observation. The critical features
are the components of the movement which are essential to the performance of a skill and when
we talk about optimal technique we refer to the most efficient performance of a movement pattern
within the constraints and requirements of the skill or activity. The identification of the critical
features is a far from simple task. It requires a broad knowledge of basic mechanical and motor
concepts and an ability to apply this information to different types of movement. The first step in the
development of a model is to clearly identify the performance criterion — the exact purpose or goal
of the skill and exactly what constitutes successful execution.
The second stage is to simplify analysis by breaking the movement down into parts or phases.
Frequently technique may be divided into 4 phases and this break-down process allows the coach
to examine the mechanics which affect specific components or parts of the skill.
 Back-swing or recovery.
 Force producing movements.
 The critical impact instant.
 The follow-through.
It is only after the purpose of the skill has been identified and the skill sequence simplified into
parts that the coach is ready to determine the mechanical factors affecting each component or
phase of the skill. Technique is largely determined by mechanical factors. This stage of the
process is the most difficult as it requires an overview of all the fundamental mechanical principles.
This movement analysis stage should be considered as the homework phase of the whole analysis
process — take time over it. Systematically determine the mechanical factors for each part of the
skill. These mechanics do not change, so once you have them figured out, your work on this step
is complete. Many experienced coaches have for instance a mental check-list of exactly what to
look for at this stage in the analysis.
Once the mechanical factors have been examined and determined, then the critical features can
be identified and compared with our model of perfection.
Observers who try to see everything, often end up perceiving nothing. Movement observation must
be systematic in order to be effective. The development of an observation plan answers how, when
and where to observe. Coaches who approach observation haphazardly will be unable to
selectively attend to and record performance of the critical features. They must be able to
methodically search for the relevant features of a performance. Each observation plan is designed
to relate to a specific task such as a coaching session, which may focus specifically on actions
involved during the force production phase or the follow-through phase of a stroke. What is most
important is not how you plan but that you do plan.
There are 4 steps involved in the design of an observation plan.
1. Identify the observation task and select the relevant critical features.
2. Determine the appropriate observation strategies.
3. Determine the number of observations required.
4. Select the positioning strategies to gather the identified information.
Coaches need first to identify the goal of the observation session. It may be to improve the
movements in a particular part of the skill, or it may be to refine the skill as a whole. Critical
features previously identified in the movement analysis phase are re-examined and those features
relevant to the observation session are selected.
Consider for example the critical features which we may identify in the case of the forehand
topspin. If the focus of the particular coaching session is to improve the actions which occur solely
with the racket arm, then we only need to select for observation the critical features which are
relevant. These are the amount of back-swing, the speed of back-swing, the length and plane of
the arm, the speeds and application of the various parts of the arm, the force producing movement,
the contact point in terms of time and place, the angle of the racket at contact, the optimum area of
contact on the racket and the follow-through of the arm. We need not concern ourselves with the
critical features relevant to leg movement or rotation of the body. The selection in this way of a
sub-routine of relevant critical features will greatly simplify the observation process.
Observation strategies are formulated after consideration of the following questions.
 What is the best way to observe the critical features — focusing or scanning?
 On which parts of the body or the environment should the coach focus or scan?
 Are there some critical features which need to be observed simultaneously?
The number of observations needed to obtain all the necessary information is dependent on the
skill. Each repeated observation should be used to view some particular aspect of the movement,
so that by the final observation there is a clear record of exactly what has happened. Throughout
coaches must look for consistent characteristics of the player’s performance. The
absence/presence of one critical feature in one repetition is fine, but what’s important is if this
characteristic is consistent.
If the vantage point is not considered, other observation techniques may be useless. The optimum
position to view varies from skill to skill and from feature to feature. The position of both the
performer and the observer determines what can and what cannot be seen. Many inexperienced
coaches have no recollection of their positions or remain in one spot all the time. Determining how
to observe from the right place and at the right time to be sure to collate all the relevant
information, requires serious thought and practice.
The purpose of the diagnostic stage is to identify primary errors, as this is a pre-requisite to making
corrections and improving performance. A primary error is one which is the main problem and must
be corrected before improvement in performance can take place. Secondary errors are important
too, as they may provide important information concerning the primary errors.
For example to spend time trying to speed up the racket arm when there is inadequate back-swing,
is a waste of time. Too short or too slow a back-swing inhibits the quality and efficiency of
movement and inhibits the full utilization of elastic energy — either is a primary error. An accurate
identification of the primary errors must occur before making corrections to improve performance.
The starting point to identifying primary errors is to note the differences between the observed and
desired performance of a critical feature. Next the coach needs to make informed decisions as to
the causes of these differences. These decisions are based on a knowledge and understanding of
the basic mechanical principles.
The actions which cause the differences between the observed and the desired performances are
the primary errors and are what the coach needs to address. Once the primary error or errors have
been identified a prescription for remedial action is decided upon — a method of correction. It may
be necessary to design appropriate exercises, at appropriate speeds to improve the technique.
The diagnosis of primary errors.
 Aspects involving movement, jumping or balance – examine the take-off phase for primary
errors, most discrepancies afterwards are secondary errors. Similarly most problems observed at
the instant of landing or ‘arriving’ in a position to play a stroke find their roots in the initial take-off.
 Problems in the direction of movements — examine the direction of force applied for the
primary error. If a stroke results in the ball going to the wrong place perhaps the contact was at the
wrong timing and as a result the force was incorrectly applied.
 Problems in developing power – examine the preparation for the particular stroke,
insufficient flexion and extension of the leg joints are primary errors. Often the sequence of joint
rotations or of flexion and extension are not in the right order. With rotational power be aware of
the principles of Angular Momentum and of the value of ‘whole body’ movement (use of free arm
etc) both from the view of increased efficiency and preventing injury. The effective use of elastic
energy is also important as are the use of the hips and stomach in influencing power.
4. CRITICAL FEATURES OF THE FH TOPSPIN
MOVEMENT OF THE ARM -- SKILL BREAKDOWN
The amount of backswing 1
The speed of the backswing 1

The length and plane of the arm 1
The power and impetus from the shoulder 2
The speed of the forearm fold 2
The angle and use of the wrist 2
The contact point in terms of time and place 3
The angle of the racket at contact 3
The optimum area of contact on the racket 3
The follow through of the arm 4
MOVEMENT OF THE LEGS -- SKILL BREAKDOWN
Flexion of both legs but especially left knee (for a right-

1
hander)
Strong extension of the right knee 2
ROTATION OF THE BODY -- SKILL BREAKDOWN

Rotate right side of body backwards (for right-hander) in preparation 1
Start rotation with left elbow (for right-hander) 2
Strong rotation of the body, both hips and shoulders (Use hip area more, centre of gravity) 2
Stomach muscles, tensed at the start of the movement, relax 5 - 10 centimetres before ball contact
2
SYNTHESIS OF THE WHOLE MOVEMENT
Begin and end with balance.
Begin and end with recovery.
PARTS OF THE SKILL Breakdown
Backswing or recovery 1
Force producing movements 2
Critical impact instant 3
Follow through 4
5. THE 4 ELEMENTS
 Speed
 Placement
 Spin
 Power
To reach the highest levels players must master these four aspects, be able to utilize them in play
and have the capability to switch from one to the other. They must have the ability to combine
these elements in their game when competing. If players are weak in one or more of these areas,
they are unlikely to achieve real success in our sport. Often in the case of older established stars it
is when one or more of the 4 elements weaken or when they are no longer able to combine them
effectively, that their playing level starts to decline.
Of the four elements, power and spin assume more importance in the men’s game and speed and
placement more in the women’s. Men use topspin more than women and it is necessary in order to
create strong spin on a fast shot to hit the ball hard. The harder you can hit the ball with a closed
racket, the more topspin you will produce. Women don’t hit the ball as hard as men do, so they
achieve less spin and have less on-the-table control. It is speed and control of speed which is
rather more important with women’s play. The ability to loop several balls in a row is not a prime
requirement. Instead timing is vital as women drive much more - the timing window in drive play is
extremely narrow, between ‘peak’ and 1 - 2 centimetres before.
Length also assumes much more importance with women’s play, as does placement. In the men’s
game power with strong topspin means that the ball accelerates after bouncing and leaves the
opponent’s side of the table with a much flatter trajectory. The vast majority of men counter from a
deeper position and give themselves time. From this deeper position it is of course much more
difficult to vary placement. Men more often than not look to place the first opening ball and once
the rally deteriorates into control and counter-control back from the table then power and spin are
the main elements. In the women’s game almost all players assume a much closer-to-table
position and it is rather easier to vary placement, long and short or to the angles and to vary speed.
Because women have a closer position it is inevitable too that a bad length ball is easily smashed.
It is crucial that women can spin short or long and not to mid-table.
As a result women really need to open in a different way to men. The ability for example to open
hard against the first backspin ball and not spin all the time is a vital asset. Even the way that
women loop, if they open with spin, is critical. This should not be hard and fast as in the men’s
game for without the extreme spin that the men are capable of creating, the fast loop executed by
women is more predictable and easier to counter, particularly when the opponent is much closer to
the table.
Women should be looking rather more to open with a slower ball, with finer touch, good spin and
good length. More often than not this will create openings to drive or smash the next ball. Indeed
rather than regarding topspin as an end in itself as the men do, women should look upon it as a
weapon, a means to create openings from which they can win the point.
As we indicated at the start of this article the ability to combine these 4 elements, power and spin
and speed and placement, into your game when competing, will have a direct significance on your
ultimate level of play. Against the top players a weakness in any one aspect will be exploited
instantly and will be a limiting factor in your own development.
6. MULTI-BALL AND WOMEN’S TRAINING.
When working with girls/women in a multi-ball situation it is vital that the exercises are relevant to
the women’s game. There is little value in feeding primarily heavy topspin when your player will
more often than not face a faster, flatter ball in competition. Even when women do face spin there
is usually a higher level of speed than rotation. The difference is quite evident when some of the
top women play against the men in competition - they have great difficulty in controlling the topspin
element.
Women must be able to cope with speed even if they don’t use it themselves, so a fair amount of
multi-ball time should be spent on fast play. It is also wise to structure exercises so that they aid
development in other areas, especially movement, as girls are often weak in this aspect. For
instance if you work in series of five balls, backhand corner, middle, backhand corner, forehand
corner, backhand corner, you develop a number of different areas -
 You improve and develop the handling of balls to the crossover area (one-step short or
trunk movement), movement long to the forehand (one-step long, two step or cross step) and long
back to the backhand (again one-step long, two step or cross step).
 You help to eliminate future problems in the crossover, the body area.
 By encouraging your player to use the forehand from the middle, you develop better overall
control of the table and a better position for the next stroke (in most styles of play).
Whether the player moves with attacking or control footwork and also the type of stroke she plays,
will give some indications as to how her style should develop.
Once the player has progressed beyond and mastered the basics some topspin multi-ball can be
introduced. At a more advanced level she will have to deal with topspin, and this is a good time to
start girls on another important aspect of the women’s game, variation. If they are to reach a high
level girls must look at different ways to handle spin -
 Hitting through topspin at an early timing point, or forcing the ball on the block, the object
being to return the ball with more speed than it came and a flatter trajectory.
 Returning with a later timed topspin or roll, the intention being to pressure the opponent
with a long, low, kicking and often slower ball.
 Using the full range of blocking strokes, sidespin, soft block, chop block, the aim being to
return the opponent’s spin or change it, often incorporating also a change of pace and length.
Of course it is also vital that girls learn to be positive and to open up early in their table tennis
career — to this end backspin multi-ball should be introduced even in the early stages. One
difficulty here is that girls especially at a younger age seem to have more problems than boys do in
assessing length. Backspin multi-ball will usually work much better initially if you play to one spot,
rather than changing length. It is also best to start with relatively light spin to allow your pupil to feel
the ball.
As your player’s competence level grows you can vary spin and length much more, introducing
more advanced balls, the short drop-shot or the half-long ball with the second bounce on the end
line or just off the table. The player will of course be looking to use different options —
 Dropping the ball back short (using early timing), flicking or pushing long and fast.
 Looping slow or fast depending on the incoming length or spin.
 Driving back hard.
 Rolling back a ‘nothing’ ball, long and low.
 Pushing back fast and long, early-timed with or without spin.
 Pushing late with extreme spin.
This type of varied response multi-ball will help to develop girls’ tactical play to deal with defence
players, hit hard, drop short and loop slow, especially if you make it more difficult by using a racket
with different rubbers such as long pimple and a tacky surface so that you can play with much spin
and completely without spin.
It is also of value to women players that you work with mixed speed/spin multi-ball — two or three
backspin balls, one or two flat or topspin. This then becomes very like a game situation where the
opponent counters sometimes hard and sometimes with spin.
A logical step forward from the basic multi-ball is to extend the exercise to the next one or two balls
played. An obvious example would be for the coach to feed backspin — the girl opens, the coach
blocks or counters, the player then drives or spins. This puts the multi-ball into an exact game
scenario — the girl opens up, ball driven or blocked back, girl counter-hits. This type of multi-ball
has a number of important advantages-
 It helps the player to understand the differing stance and technique requirements to be
used against alternating backspin or drive/block strokes - lower centre of gravity, use legs, drop
racket, play up and forward: come in, keep racket up, play through the ball.
 It helps the player to understand the difference between the drive return, faster but more
predictable and not so spinny, and the block, often slower with at times much return spin and an
unpredictable bounce.
The next stage is to return your pupil’s opening ball to different table areas - she opens with the
backhand, you counter to body or forehand or even back to backhand, she opens with the
forehand, you counter to body, backhand or even back to the forehand. This sort of exercise has
the value of opening up other areas to assess your player. If she opens with the backhand, where
is she weakest/strongest against the fast return, backhand, forehand or body? Equally you must
look at the same when she opens with the forehand.
When working with opening at a more advanced level, the trainer should be concentrating more on
change of spin and length — push with heavy spin, float, drop short in a variety of sequences. In
this way your player will learn to watch the racket and the ball and to recognize spin and lack of
spin. She will also come to an understanding of when it is best to roll, spin slow or fast and when to
flat hit or drive and to develop an appreciation of the importance of a lower centre of gravity in spin
play, especially when she opens against chop.
Equally there should be exercises involving quick changes of length and speed/spin at higher
levels — short push to forehand, player drops back short or flicks, long push to backhand with
heavy spin, player opens, fast drive to forehand, player counters or loops. As you work more
individually with your player you should look to devise your own exercises, based on her needs
and her personal style.
Another area where it is of value to use many balls is in serve and receive training and the
development of third and fourth ball. For example your player serves short, or half-long backspin,
you push fast and long to the corners (early timed), sometimes backspin, sometimes float, she
opens. Variations in your return can be short drop back, early timed or late timed heavy spin push
short or long. Another example could involve you serving short and the player pushing long — you
loop, she kills through the spin on an early timing point (a technique we could work more on in
Europe), or soft blocks taking the pace off the ball.
Working one to one in this manner is ideal for teaching and understanding which spin remains on
the third and fourth ball, why this is so and how you can take advantage of it. From the start of
course you should be aware when your opponent serves which way the ball is spinning, without
knowing this it’s hard to be positive! A number of alternatives are open to you, play with the spin or
against it, add to it, take away from it, use it (let the ball just kick back from your racket) or play to
the axis, the dead spot on the ball and return the spin to the server. The end result and how many
strokes the spin remains on the ball can be very different if one or both players use pimples or anti-
loop rubbers.
If you work in a scientific manner with multi-ball it can be a very potent weapon in the development
of your player. It will indeed have an impact in many diverse areas - footwork, easier recognition of
spin and float, development of touch and better assessment of which stroke is appropriate in a
particular situation.
7. READY POSITION, SERVE AND RECEIVE. ARE THESE CHANGING?
If we look at the top men, women and juniors in the world do we notice any changes in the ready
position and in the serve and receive tactics? Obviously there are individual style factors which
affect the issue — some top stars such as Kreanga and Steff use the backhand side to open much
more from the middle of the table and especially against the serve or on the third ball. What we are
looking for however are more general trends either in the men’s, women’s or the junior game.
It would appear that the ready position in the men’s game is changing. Many of the top junior boys
and the younger top men now adopt a squarer stance, so that they have more options in short play
(the right leg is not so far back as it used to be). Players such as Boll, Maze and Chuan Chih-Yuan
fall into this category. If you look at the world’s best junior boys many have a relatively square
stance - Zwickl, Süss and Asian players too such as Yang Xiaofu and Sakamoto. The main
exception is with the Asian penhold players who want to play more forehands and receive with the
right foot (for a right-hander) well back.
Even in the case of many players who do stand with the right foot back, often they come in with the
right foot against the serve to use the forehand from the middle of the table. In this way they keep
control of the table with the forehand on the subsequent ball. The men take over 80% of the
opponent’s serves with the forehand wing. If top men can’t open against the serve, the main
receive is the short push return with the forehand.
In comparison with the top men over twice as many of the top women stand quite square - almost
60% as opposed to 25 - 30%. The women too use the backhand much more from the middle of the
table on the service receive, both to push and to open. They in fact use the backhand receive
almost 50% of the time. European players such as Steff and Struse and the junior Pota fall into this
category as do Asian players such as Guo Yue, Zhang Yining, Niu Jianfeng (Ch), Lin Ling (H.K.),
Jing Jun Hong , Li Jia Wei (Sin) and top world juniors such as Peng Luyang (Ch) and Fukuhara (J).
In the service area we note a number of differences between the men’s and women’s game. The
female players use the long serve more than the men, in a ratio of around 16 - 17% as opposed to
10%, but there is not such a great difference in the short and half-long serves at the very top level.
Perhaps the most informative factor is in the difference between the junior and senior players of
both sexes. Both the boys and girls use the half-long serve more than the senior players do and
the girls use the long serve more than the women. At senior level the service game becomes
noticeably tighter. The men almost exclusively use the forehand to serve, with one or two notable
exceptions such as Primorac. Backhand service is however generally lower than 5% as opposed to
nearly 20% in the case of the top women.
There is a marked difference in service tactics between the top Asian and the top European
women. Asian women serve more short serves, around 65% in comparison with 50% and
significantly less long serves, 13% as opposed to almost 30%. The best girl in the world Guo Yue,
number 15 in the women’s rankings at 14 years, serves around 97% short or half-long serves. The
Asian women are generally better and much more confident in the ‘short’ game and at opening
against a backspin ball even over the table.
The European women usually serve longer as they wish to get their topspin game in at the earliest
opportunity. However in many cases it is obvious that the Europeans have neither good enough
serves nor a good enough first opening ball to obtain a real advantage. If we look at statistics of
rallies between top Asian and European women, the Europeans are struggling to hold their own in
drive or counter-play but also they are not really dominant in spin play either. Unless their first
opening topspin ball is of exceptionally high quality they almost always lose out when the game
accelerates into fast counter-play.
It is obvious too that counter-play is still the basic norm in the women’s game. We rarely if ever see
the loop to loop rallies that we see in men’s play with both players well back from the table. Instead
the first opening spin ball is blocked or hit and there is no time to spin again. Rather the top women
come in so that they are in a better position to counter fast over or close to the table. After the first
opening spin ball, the next is usually taken at an earlier timing point to pressure the opponent.
There seems to be little thought at top level to bring in any changes in the forehand service action
or position to create a more positive advantage in respect of the new service law. Most top players
just try to remove the free arm and serve as they did before. Few have thought to increase the
rotation of the upper body so that the free arm automatically swings away, or to use a higher throw
so as to have more time to rotate the body. Players don’t really seem to appreciate that without
rotation the service action is often quite stiff and it can take up to three separate movements to get
the body and feet in the right position to play the next ball. Few players too have thought to serve
from a squarer stance so as to be more adaptable against the return ball. It is noticeable that the
women particularly are sometimes a little slow now to get in the right place for the third ball,
especially if this is played hard into the corners.
8. DIVERSITY IN TECHNIQUE AND TACTICS - MEN’S AND WOMEN’S GAME
Many trainers in Europe seem to be of the opinion that girls at the moment are getting nearer to the
boys and playing a more similar game. However more often than not this is talked about in general
terms and we seem to get very little detailed information. If in fact you go to the ‘experts’ on girls’
training (eg. Nikola Vukelja, Croatia), the top European coaches who have players winning
individual and team events in the European Junior Championships and ask them why girls can’t be
successful playing strong topspin like the boys the answer is quick and to the point — strength,
speed and balance, (especially under pressure). To these I would add one more quality, the ability
to understand technical matters fully and quickly and to translate these readily into physical
actions. Many girls do not easily grasp mechanical and practical aspects and need much guidance
on technique, much more than boys.
Unfortunately in a large number of European countries we are not really professional enough, from
a coaching point of view, in isolating the important areas in technique and movement when our girl
players are at a young and formative age. Many coaches too do not really seem to grasp the
essential differences between the men’s and the women’s game. If you examine the basic topspin
techniques for example you find that in the case of the men the racket usually starts further back
and has a much more ‘closed’ bat angle. Quite simply the men have a longer stroke. Are there
reasons for this and surely women can play the same?
It is not quite as simple as it may first appear. Men are generally much stronger than women and
are able to feed considerable power into the stroke by starting with the racket well back and even
holding this position prior to initiating the stroke. Women however usually need the ‘assist’ of
elastic energy in stroke play to achieve real power which denotes directly that they must complete
the whole stroke sequence as rapidly as possible.
In addition men and women face totally different incoming balls with very different bounce factors.
Men almost always face a much higher level of topspin and power than the women do. If you have
ever watched women playing in men’s tournaments at the higher levels, they have great difficulty in
coping with the increased degree of spin and power on the ball. This higher degree of rotation
means that men almost always face a significantly more predictable ball than women do in their
play against other women. Because they face a more predictable ball it is of course
understandable that men use their strength and start the stroke from rather further back. If they
were to face a much bigger variation in ball movement after the bounce as occurs in the women’s
game, men would find it rather more difficult to play in this fashion.
If you think about this at some length the potential problems become quite obvious. The further
back you start the stroke, the more difficult it is to change the trajectory if you have a bad bounce.
You are fully committed from the moment you commence the forward swing. If you use a shorter
stroke and start nearer to the bounce it’s then much easier to change direction and to do different
things.
In the women’s game you face less topspin, more drive and block play and a much larger
proliferation of ‘funny’ rubbers. The element of strong topspin, which gives control and predictability
to the returns, is often no longer present. As a result because your own spin is often returned in
unexpected ways and also because the ball is being returned from a variety of pimpled rubbers,
women players more often face much more unpredictable returns. You regularly have balls
stopping short, bouncing low and kicking up or even sideways after the bounce. It thus becomes
rather less appropriate to use the man’s long loop stroke with a very ‘closed’ racket even if you
have a woman player who has the strength to do this.
We must also of course consider the time element and what happens after the serve and 2nd ball.
In the case of the world’s top men we usually see power with spin from a deeper position, two to
three metres back from the table — the men give themselves more time to play and to use their
superior power. In contrast in the women’s game the first opening ball is returned from a much
closer position. It can be blocked, forced, countered or even smashed from an early timing point.
The women have little or no time to topspin two or three balls in a row. What happens more often
than not at top level is that after looping the first ball, the woman comes in and blocks or drives the
next one. She tries to keep the initiative with a closer to table position.
All these aspects are of course ones which should be considered in the formative period of the
player’s evolution, when you are looking at the stroke development and planning for the future. In a
sport such as ours where the aim is to automate actions as quickly as possible, it is difficult if not
impossible to make major changes at a later date. Too many trainers look at the boys’ or the men’s
style as giving the ultimate answers to growth in the women’s game.
Coaches too encourage girls for example to have the same ready position as the men and to take
the serve as the men do with the forehand wing wherever possible. Many men of course do this so
that they can control the table with the forehand on the next ball. They also often stand with the
right foot a little further back so that they can get in with the forehand right from the word go.
However this is changing even with some of the top men, especially the younger players. Players
such as Kreanga, Boll and Chuan Chih-Yuan stand much more square than was usual three to
four years ago. In addition they are just as liable to open with the backhand from the middle as
they are with the forehand. If you have a strong backhand then of course you should play to your
own strengths. But perhaps there are other reasons too. Opening with the backhand adds a
measure of variety and unpredictability to the play. Often too it is a little more difficult for the
opponent to tell exactly where you are going to play the ball.
If you examine top-level women’s play in some detail, the women quite simply play more
backhands than the men in the receive situation. They push receive more than the men with the
backhand and they open more than the men with the backhand from the middle. They stand more
square than the men but with less wide a stance and are in a better position to move in to the
centre of the table to play backhands from the middle. Top European players such as Steff and
Struse and the junior Pota all fall into this category. You see exactly the same with the Chinese
players Zhang Yining, Niu Jianfeng and their top junior Peng Luyang, Lin Ling from Hongkong and
Li Jia Wei and Jing Jun Hong from Singapore. The men on the other hand both push receive and
open more than the women with the forehand wing.
The female players use the long serve more than the men, but there is not such a great difference
in the short and half-long serves at the very top level in the men’s and women’s game. Perhaps the
most informative factor is in the difference between the junior and senior players of both sexes.
Both the boys and girls use the half-long serve more than the senior players do. At senior level the
service game becomes noticeably tighter.
There is a considerable difference between the European and Asian women in the percentage of
long serves. Generally the Asian players serve a much higher proportion of short and half-long
serves and are rather better in the short game and at getting in on the attack from this position.
European players use more long serves and particularly to the backhand side. Asian players on
the other hand are very quick to come round and kill this type of serve with the forehand from their
backhand corner. It would appear that there is much to be said for working quite extensively in the
area of ’short play’ with our European girls and from an early age.
9. WOMEN — THE SIMPLE FACTS
With the modern racket the characteristics of the sponge and rubber allow the bat to be swung in a
different, flatter arc, giving more forward speed to the ball and because of the spin this produces,
permitting much more energy to be fed into the shot. In effect the ball sinks into the bat, is grabbed
by it and as the bat is moving up and forward, the ball is projected upwards and forwards too. The
surface of the rubber is very tacky so it grips the ball and imparts a great deal of topspin. It is this
topspin which causes the ball to dip down on to the table. Another fundamental point is that for the
same bat path, the faster the racket moves, the more spin it puts on the ball. A fast hit with a flat,
forward arc will contain more topspin than a slow hit. How much spin you produce is seen most
readily when you play against long pimples and your hard hit comes back with very much more
backspin than your slow hit.
Quite simply men can hit the ball harder than women so they will achieve more topspin
Most players, especially women, do not understand the importance of the initial power input in
achieving spin. Very few women for example are as powerful as men and few ever attempt to play
with the same degree of closed racket angle as the men, so how can they hope to achieve the
same level of spin as the men? It is the gyroscopic effect of the spin which gives strong directional
control and allows more and more power to be fed into the stroke without greatly reducing on-the-
table accuracy. Because women achieve less topspin, they have less on-the-table control than
men do. With less topspin the ball has a less downward curving flight path and less directional
control.
with less topspin women have less on-the-table control
With less topspin on the ball it’s also easier to block or to hit through the spin. Therefore it
becomes immediately apparent that length becomes much more important in the women’s game.
In the case of the men who are playing much further back and hitting the ball with much more spin
and power, whether the ball contacts the opponent’s side of the table in the middle or at the end is
relatively unimportant. With the women any topspin ball which bounces in the middle of the table is
liable to be smashed back.
it is crucial in the women’s game that the loop is either very short or very long. good length
is critical
Another extremely important consideration is predictability. For two reasons the men face a ball
which behaves as anticipated. Firstly the higher level of power and spin means that the ball
bounces off the table as expected - it dips sharply downwards before the bounce and shoots
forwards after hitting the table. Also the men do not face the vast array of differing material
surfaces which are common in the women’s game. A loop played against a long pimple blocker will
be returned for instance with backspin and sidespin.
in the women’s game the behaviour of the ball after the bounce is more unpredictable
This factor tends to have a direct effect on the technical development of the two sexes. The men
for example often have a long stroke, especially on the forehand wing, with the racket starting well
behind the body. This is of course quite permissible when facing a stable trajectory and a
predictable bounce. When facing an unpredictable ball however such a long stroke means that the
player is ‘committed’ too early to a particular racket ‘path’.
It is then next to impossible to change the stroke if the ball behaves in a totally unexpected way. In
addition most women need the ‘assist’ of elastic energy in stroke-play and this is rather easier to
achieve with a shorter back-swing and stroke action.
it is expedient in the women’s game that the players’ attention is directed towards the value
of the shorter stroke
It is obvious that counter-play is still the basic norm in the women’s game. We rarely if ever see the
loop to loop rallies that we see in men’s play with both players well back from the table. Instead the
first opening spin ball is blocked or hit and there is little or no time for the looper to spin again.
Rather the top women come in after their first topspin so that they are in a better position to
counter fast over or close to the table. After the first opening spin ball, the next is usually taken at
an earlier timing point to pressure the opponent.
timing is vital in the women’s game. The timing ‘window’ in drive-play is extremely narrow,
between ‘peak’ and 1 – 2 centimetres before. It is essential too that women can convert –
change from topspin to drive and vice versa at will. the ability to loop several balls in a row
is not a prime requirement in the women’s game
The European women usually serve longer as they wish to get their topspin game in at the earliest
opportunity. However in many cases it is obvious that the Europeans have neither good enough
serves nor a good enough first opening ball to obtain a real advantage. If we look at statistics of
rallies between top Asian and European women, the Europeans are struggling to hold their own in
drive or counter-play but also they are not really dominant in spin play either. Unless their first
opening topspin ball is of exceptionally high quality they almost always lose out when the game
accelerates into fast counter-play.
in the women’s game the vital importance of spin on the first opening ball (and good length)
cannot be over-estimated. This creates openings
European women should bear in mind that there are other alternatives when opening up against a
backspin ball. The Asians often demonstrate the hard first ball hit against backspin, which we
would do well to work with more often. As women usually play closer to the table this is a viable
alternative to the loop. It is feasible to either use the incoming spin or to create your own, but the
most important factor is to take the ball at an early timing point.
the ability to open hard against the first backspin ball and not just spin all the time is a vital
asset in the women’s game
In the men’s game over 80% of receives are with the forehand so that they control the table with
the forehand on the next ball. Many women players push or open with the backhand from the
middle of the table on the 2nd ball. This is easier for them and involves less movement. Most of
them stand closer to the table too so this is a viable option.
never stop girl/women players receiving with the BH from the middle (or even the FH) it’s
done at the very highest level
Although at a lower standard and at a younger age girls/women are less positive than men are on
the backhand side, at the very highest levels you rarely see women pushing more than one ball.
They have the capability to flick over the table or to open from further back on this wing.
from an early age girls should learn to open and play positively on the BH side
There is a noticeable difference in service tactics between the top Asian and the top European
women. The Asian women serve more short serves, around 65% in comparison with 50% and
significantly less long serves, 13% as opposed to almost 30%. The best girl in the world Guo Yue,
number 15 in the women’s rankings at 14 years, serves around 97% short or half-long serves. The
Asian women are generally better and much more confident in the ‘short’ game and at opening
against a backspin ball even over the table. Europeans must analyse the possibilities in this area
and upgrade their technique and tactics.
from early in their career girls should train till they are at ease in the short play situation,
aware of the various possibilities and able to gain advantage in this area
Examine top-level matches between the best European women and you see the play is often one
pace and predictable, pre-planned and leisurely. By the way they play it looks as if many
Europeans train far too much control play, loop to loop or loop to block, they don’t train to win the
point! The result is that against the top Asians they just don’t have the time or the opportunity to
utilize the stronger technical aspects of their game. Instead of playing further back from the table,
perhaps the European women’s development should be directed more towards the importance of
serve, receive and the first four balls and also towards methods of more effective and active play
over the table. In this way they will have rather more opportunities to create attacking positions and
earlier in the rally.
Rarely if ever are the Asians afraid of the European serves and follow up ball. They consider that
the Europeans have too few serves, are predictable in the way they use them and therefore usually
limited with what they can do with the first attack ball. Often at the highest level against the Asians,
European players aren’t allowed the opportunity to get their strengths in and are not able to use
strong spin early enough in the rally. With their serve and third ball and receive and fourth, the
Asians deny them the time. Not enough European women are able to impose their game on the
Asians.
Strong serve and 3rd ball are essential elements if women are to reach the highest levels
The importance of the receive cannot be underestimated in the women’s game. It is important that
they are able to control the short serve, drop short, push long, flick and deceive and from differing
timing points and with differing spins. Against the long serve it’s vital that women are both safe and
positive. There are just too many mistakes against the serve even at the highest levels.
Receive tactics are of prime importance in the women’s game
10. WIN OVER ASIAN WOMEN
A number of top coaches and top women players in Europe seem to be of the opinion that if you
can topspin the ball powerfully from both wings and get in the first attack, then the road to victory
against the Asian players is open. The idea is often to develop the player’s style towards a two-
winged topspin game similar to the men. It is also important of course to have the capability of
attacking first and of using the serve to set up a third ball attack. These are keys to winning at top
level. However is the concept of a consistent, strong topspin attack sufficient in itself in the
women’s game? Perhaps it is necessary to examine the whole approach to this type of style in
more detail! It can also be necessary to point out that we should see clearly what is happening and
not what we would like to happen!
There is for example a noticeable difference in service tactics between the top Asian and the top
European women. The Asian women serve more short serves, around 65% in comparison with
50% and significantly less long serves, 13% as opposed to almost 30%. The best girl in the world
Guo Yue, number 15 in the women’s rankings at 14 years, serves around 97% short or half-long
serves. The Asian women excel and are much more confident in the ‘short’ game and at opening
against a backspin ball even over the table. They are superior in short play and Europeans must
analyse the possibilities in this area and upgrade their technique and tactics.
It’s vital to have the advantage on the ‘first three balls’. If we let this slip away then we are on level
terms or even a little behind with the serve and handling the 2nd and 3rd balls. It’s also important
to reinforce control and counter-control measures over the 4th, 5th and 6th balls so we maintain an
offensive initiative and do not let the play drift into a stalemate situation.
The importance of the serve cannot be underestimated against the Asians. The European women
usually serve longer as they wish to get their topspin game in at the earliest opportunity. However
in many cases it is obvious that the Europeans have neither good enough serves nor a good
enough first opening ball to obtain a real advantage. If we look at statistics of the rallies between
top Asian and European women, the Europeans are struggling to hold their own in drive or
counter-play but also they are not really dominant in spin play either. Unless their first opening
topspin ball is of exceptionally high quality they almost always lose out when the game accelerates
into fast counter-play.
Indeed it is of some importance that the point be won after one or two topspin balls. In longer
rallies top European women often lose the point. This in fact emphasizes the difference between
the men’s and the women’s game. In the men’s game with the longer rally the Europeans have an
equal or better than equal chance of winning the point, as the Asians are a little behind in counter-
looping techniques and are often weaker back from the table, especially on the backhand side.
Therefore when the rally degenerates into a control situation they are at a disadvantage.
The reverse is the case with women’s play - women don’t counter-loop, they drive, block, hit or
even chop and as a result it is the player who loops, who is at a disadvantage as the rally
progresses. In the women’s game the longer a looping rally goes on usually the less chance the
Europeans have to win as the Asians initiate speed or variation. There is just too much pace or
variation on the return ball and it is difficult to maintain consistent pressure with topspin tactics. In
the women’s game therefore it is the first one or two loops which are of prime importance and it is
vital that the loop player makes the opening to ‘kill’ and wins the point as early as possible in the
rally.
European women should bear in mind too that there are other alternatives when opening up
against a backspin ball. The Asians often demonstrate the hard first ball hit against backspin,
which we would do well to work with more often. As women usually play closer to the table this is a
viable alternative to the loop. It is feasible to either use the incoming spin or to create your own, but
the most important factor is to take the ball at an early timing point to pressure the opponent.
Another aspect that strong women topspin players could work profitably with is counter-looping
techniques. Give the opponent the half-chance to spin the 2nd ball for example, then pressure her
directly with an aggressive topspin counter. This tactic is common in the men’s game but is rarely if
ever used in women’s table tennis.
Often if you assess the European woman’s game plan she uses something like 60% drive or flick
play and only 35% topspin. Does she fully understand how she should play? True short play may
be the key but she must use the right tactics to get her spin in from a short play situation! If she
puts the emphasis on speed and power she usually gets a faster ball back and it’s then more
difficult to create good spin! As a result flicking and drive play over the table often work against
what she is hoping to achieve, which is good spin on the first one or two balls so that she creates
the opportunity to win the point. In other words spin one or two then hit!
If we also often use a fairly high ratio of long serves (over 30%) the result is again that we get a
hard return and have problems in creating enough spin on the third ball. When we assess the
backhand too in Europe we often see that women have not really such good spin or don’t try to use
much spin - more often than not they drive the ball. Again as a result they get drawn into the
counter-hitting type of game.
Not only must we work at developing better serves, but must use them to best effect. The priority
(and here length is of particular importance) is to get the opponent to push so that we can loop
strongly and with good spin on the third ball. We then have the initiative in the rally. The same
applies on receiving. Subtle use of the push or of techniques such as the stop-block against the
Asians will pay more dividends than trying to flick or open all the time, especially when our first
opening ball is weak or has insufficient spin.
Often the tendency in Europe with a woman is to harness the strength element and to encourage
her to play more like a man. This strategy ignores both the theory of the creation of spin and the
differences between the men’s and women’s game. Top European women are often made to look
very ordinary when they meet players who can control their hard loops and who pick the right ball
to counter.
The theory of the creation of spin tells us that the harder you hit the ball with a closed racket, the
more spin you will create. Women are not as strong as men and will never achieve as much spin
as men. It’s of little use taking the view that a strong woman can hit harder than a man - compare
Boros with Wang Liqin or Kreanga and there is little or no similarity in the power development.
Equally the return ball is completely different in the women’s game. Rarely if ever do the women
run back and counter-loop, they block, hit or defend. More often than not the loop player just has
no time to loop more than one ball, as their loop comes back with so much speed - and in many
cases the harder you topspin, the faster the ball comes back. Such players as Steff for example
(top 10 world ranking) have the capability to topspin the first ball then come in and counter the next
ball from a very early timing point. It is often in fact a better tactic in the women’s game to topspin
slower and with more spin rather than faster and with more power.
The other critical point about the women’s game is that both because of the lesser topspin and the
greater use of differing rubbers, players face a much more unpredictable reaction from the ball
after the bounce than they do in the men’s game. This tends even to influence the technical
development of the female topspin stroke. There is little point in developing the habit of starting the
loop stroke too far back if you’re uncertain just what the ball will do after the bounce.
Overall in fact there seems to be very little point in women training to loop several balls in
succession. Rather they should be training to loop one (or two) then smash. Spin rather than
speed is of the utmost importance so they create the opening to hit hard on the next ball. In fact the
single most important loop is the first opening against a backspin ball.
If you look at the top European women such as Boros and Steff you in fact perceive quite quickly
that they do not run away from the table and loop several balls in a row. Indeed much of the play,
over 50%, consists of flick or drive strokes. But they are capable of flicking the 2nd ball for example
and looping the 4th. They are also accomplished in looping the 3rd ball if they have the slightest
opening and they both have good serves and good variety in the service area.
One final aspect that we must of course stress is the importance of competing in Asia. It is
necessary to play against Asian players and often, in order to learn what we need to work on to
defeat them.
11. LONG PIMPLES SIMPLIFIED
In learning table tennis our actions are ‘automated’ by constant practice, in other words we train so
that we don’t need to think when we play. In fact we play better when the body is on autopilot.
Because of this major difficulties occur when we encounter something unusual, an atypical
response. When for example we see a ‘push’ action our brain interprets this in a fraction of a
second as backspin.
If however the ball comes over as topspin then we are confused and all our instinctive, carefully
automated reactions are worse than useless. We then have to try and introduce a ‘thinking
response’ into an automated system, which tends to throw everything out of tune. We are again
like beginners, faced with a totally new situation. Reactions that we have built up over countless
thousands of training hours are not only of no help to us but they in fact actively hinder our
understanding of the new situation. This is why training against pimpled rubbers at an early age is
so important, because it widens the boundaries of our instinctive reactions.
The most deceptive long pimple rubber and the one with most effect is without sponge and on a
fast blade, so that the ball springs off the blade very quickly. Many players don’t understand that
what is happening is that they are in effect getting their own spin back. If they for example put
heavy backspin on the ball and the opponent pushes the ball back the return will not have backspin
(even though his or her stroke is down and forward) but an element of topspin. A long pimpled
rubber with a thicker sponge will usually return the backspin ball as ‘float’, while the rubber without
sponge can send back a ball with considerable topspin.
Of course long pimple players use their rubbers in many differing ways. Time is always an
important factor when trying to read what is happening. The long pimple defender gives you more
time to play your shots and to read the spin or lack of spin. The long pimple block player or
attacker on the other hand gives you no time at all and this is when life can become very difficult.
This of course occurs because most long pimpled rubbers have little or absolutely no friction
capability. Whatever spin you initiate, this stays on the ball, because whatever stroke the opponent
plays this doesn’t have any effect. You loop, the ball comes back with your spin still on it,
unchanged. You therefore get back backspin. You push, the ball comes back with your original
spin, topspin. Your mind only has to accept the fact that whatever the opponent does with his or
her racket is completely irrelevant!
Another factor that many players and coaches overlook is that power also affects the return ball.
The harder you hit the ball with a closed racket, the more spin you create. Thus the harder you hit
the ball against long pimples, the more backspin you get back on the return ball. It is often a better
tactic to play slower balls or balls without spin to this type of rubber.
A big problem too is that few if any of us play with ‘pure’ spin. We loop not only with topspin but
with sidespin too. This therefore results in us getting a return ball with backspin and a sidespin
‘kick’. This too is the reason for the ‘wobbling’ effect we often see on the return. The ball is in fact
not rotating truly but is spinning in an irregular fashion and the axis changes as one spin or another
predominates.
Many long pimple players for example are aware that sidespin is extremely effective with their
rubber. They serve a short, heavy sidespin serve (with their reverse rubber)and when you push
return they in turn block/push the ball back very fast with the long pimples and from an early timing
point. You then receive a ball with topspin (from your push) and a sidespin ‘kick’ (spin still
remaining from the serve). You also have little or no time to think or read what is happening.
When playing against long pimples it is in fact your own experience that lets you down. It is not
what your opponent is doing with his bat that is important but what you did with your last shot. You
therefore have to re-train your mind to remember exactly how you played your last ball.
Predictably this is not easy and even after you train yourself to do it, you will often have lapses,
where your ‘automatic’ training kicks back in and you make the most basic and stupid mistakes.
When this happens don’t panic, just keep calm, try to remember what you should be doing and
have the confidence and courage to do it.
Themes for Short Training Sessions
Rowden Fullen (1990s)
FOREHAND DEVELOPMENT.
 Look generally at the modern ready position in detail, width factor, right foot depth, body
position, flexion of legs, balance and position of bat and free arm.
 Look individually at the player, how he or she stands, moves in or out to the serve, whether
he or she has a specialized style (defence for example), which may require a different ready
position.
 From a static position, consider the stroke technique and the basic areas of expertise,
control, accuracy, consistency and feeling.
 From a static position, consider variety in timing, early, ’peak’ and late.
 From a static position, consider pace variation, slow, medium and fast.
 From a static position, consider variation in length, short, mid-table and long.
 From a static position, consider variation in placement, to the forehand, the body and
crossover and to the backhand and the adjustments this may require.
 From a static position, consider short, over-the-table forehand play.
 From a static position, consider ’deep’ play, back from the table.
 In a moving situation, consider the stroke played from the backhand, middle and the
forehand, while maintaining the technique.
 Consider the stroke played from the middle then out to the forehand.
 Consider the stroke played from the backhand then out to the forehand.
 Consider the stroke played short on the forehand, out deep to the forehand and then back
in short.
 Consider variation in power and in spin.
 Consider specialties and how these can be developed. (Sidespin, early ball or slow loop,
‘stop’ or chop blocking etc.)
BACKHAND DEVELOPMENT
 Look generally at the modern ready position in detail, width factor, right foot depth, body
position, flexion of legs and position of bat and free arm. Pay particular attention to the right foot
and balance during backhand play.
 Look individually at the player, how he or she stands, moves in or out to the serve, whether
he or she has a specialized style (defence for example), which may require a different ready
position.
 From a static position, consider the stroke technique and the basic areas of expertise,
control, accuracy, consistency and feeling.
 From a static position, consider variety in timing, early, ’peak’ and late.
 From a static position, consider pace variation, slow, medium and fast.
 From a static position, consider variation in length, short, mid-table and long.
 From a static position, consider variation in placement, to the forehand, the body and
crossover and to the backhand and the adjustments this may require.
 From a static position, consider short, over-the-table backhand play.
 From a static position, consider ’deep’ play, back from the table.
 In a moving situation, consider the stroke played from the backhand and the middle, while
maintaining the technique. Consider also the player’s style and whether the forehand should be
used more from the middle and exactly where the ‘cut-off’ point should be.
 Consider the stroke played from the middle then out to the backhand.
 Consider the stroke played from the backhand then back to the middle, while bearing in
mind the backhand or forehand split to be used by each individual player.
 Consider the stroke played short on the backhand, out deep to the backhand and then back
in short.
 Consider variation in power and in spin.
 Consider specialties and how these can be developed. (Chop and ‘stop’ blocks, spin or
drive and changing from a specialty to normal play or vice versa.) Consider also the possible use
of differing rubber combinations and materials, especially in the women’s game.
MOVEMENT
 Re-emphasize the ready position and especially from the point of view of recovery, both of
the body and of the racket. The player must at all times have good balance and be ready to play
the next ball.
 Does the player have a specialized style which may affect the movement patterns or which
may require them to be modified in any way?
 Consider movement to the short ball on the forehand side or in the middle.
 Consider movement to the short ball on the backhand side.
 Consider short sidestep movement to the forehand wing.
 Consider short sidestep movement to the backhand wing.
 Consider the playing of the forehand from the backhand corner.
 Consider wide movement to the forehand wing.
 Consider wide movement to the backhand wing, or back to the backhand wing after having
played a ball wide on the forehand.
 Consider movement backwards on the forehand side.
 Consider movement backwards on the backhand side.
 Consider in and out movement on the diagonal.
 For a right-hander explain the importance of the right foot in the movement patterns. Look
at the movement ‘circle’ as a whole.
 Consider the change of stance required in playing at differing distances from the table and
any changes needed due to a personal or specialized playing style.
OPENING (FROM A PUSHING SITUATION)
 Consider first the differing types of pushes, their uses and how to push to make openings.
Look at the preparation to attack and how this differs depending on the type of attacking stroke you
intend to use.
 Look at the different ways to open, slow spin, fast spin, sidespin, drive play, punch or slow
roll. Examine the effectiveness of these attacking methods in differing situations and against
differing balls.
 Opening on the backhand against the short ball.
 Opening on the forehand against the short ball.
 Opening on the backhand against the half-long ball.
 Opening on the forehand against the half-long ball.
 Opening on the backhand against the long ball.
 Opening on the forehand against the long ball.
 Opening with the forehand from the backhand corner against half-long or long balls.
 Consider the timing of the first opening ball.
 Consider the importance of the first opening ball and methods of making it most effective.
 Consider the advantages of more or less power in differing situations.
 Once you have completed the first attack consider whether and how you will change to
another form of attack to maintain pressure on the opponent or to win the point.
THE USE OF TOPSPIN
 Consider the differing types of topspin, fast and slow loop (with or without an element of
sidespin), drive or topspin block and slow roll.
 Consider the differing preparation, which each type of attacking stroke may require.
 Are you using elastic energy to its fullest effect?
 Have you control of the bat-swing and are you using it to full effect?
 Consider the different timing points that should or may be used in executing each attacking
stroke.
 Consider if you are making contact with the ball on the right part of the racket.
 Consider whether it’s best to continue with the first type of attacking stroke or whether it’s
usually more effective to follow the first opening ball with a different type of stroke. (From spin into
drive for example).
 Consider which type of topspin it’s best to use against which type of incoming ball. (Against
backspin, block or topspin for example). Which is most effective?
 Consider whether it’s best to use backhand or forehand from the backhand corner and
when.
 Consider the importance of length when playing spin.
 Consider the importance of placement to gain maximum effect when attacking.
SHORT LECTURE SUBJECTS
 Control of midfield.
 Types of forehand and backhand loop and their execution.
 Beat the block.
 Variation in pace and timing.
 The backhand, a lever to open up the game and a weapon against the left-hander.
 Playing against defenders.
 Playing against material.
 Service and how to gain advantage.
 Receive tactics.
 The first four balls.
Coaches’ Seminar: Summary
Coaching methods throughout Europe — formal or informal/innovative methods.
 England, Germany, Russia and former satellite countries, Holland. (A framework). Can be
too dogmatic. (D. Parker and Hasegawa).
 Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Spain, France. Develop own style. (Without a framework difficult
to develop, where is the base?).
 Influence of more ex-players going into coaching on modern playing styles. Can have good
and bad effects.
 History and growth over the decades — facts and changes in the game.
 Hard bat — upward direction of the strokes, no spin reversal from 1920’s – early 50’s.
 Sponge bat — spin reversal, lob defence early 1950’s – 1959.
 Sandwich bat – late 1950’s onward.
 1960 Loop – S. Jacobson. (Slow, much spin) Birth of the modern game.
 1970’s Long pimple and high throw.
 1980’s Swedish model, old guard, S. Bengtsson, K. Johansson, U. Thorsell and
youngsters, E Lindh, J. Persson, J. O. Waldner but with M. Appelgren in the middle plus coaches
such as G. Östh and B. Persson. New model playing style - short topspin, between Hungarians
and Chinese, nearer table and with glue. Stronger B.H.s, better blocking, better serve/receive,
more individual style development. Swedes in every final from 1983 - 95, (winning ‘89,’91,’93 and
in 2000).
 Worlds dominated by Europe (Hungary) 1926 - 1955. Dominated by Asia (China) from 1956
- 2002. ( Sweden 1973, Hungary 1979, Sweden ‘89-’93 and 2000).
 Style 2000’s plus? Super power but without so much spin, workmanlike but without flair?
The world picture — from a playing and coaching perspective
Players in Europe, most of top stars are old now but still at the top in Europe and high in the world
rankings - Waldner, Gatien, Saive, Persson, Primorac, etc. where are the young ones? Boll, Maze
perhaps. The women in Europe are even worse off, a forty year old winning the European singles!
Women’s table tennis is quite simply dying in Europe. With the Chinese super-league starting Sept.
2002 and big money in exhibition events in Japan it may well be that European table tennis as a
whole is on the way out.
From a coaching viewpoint we are losing expertise all the time, many of the older coaches are
giving up and not being replaced. Many ex-players are now going into coaching so we are in fact
getting a different kind of coach. The career path of a coach and that of a player are in fact rather
different. Players are often biased in favour of their own style of play and not always aware of the
‘whole picture’, the potential of other styles, uses of materials, the differing tactics and problems in
the women’s game, the theory of table tennis etc. Probably this is why we have less unusual
players like C. Prean and Ni Xialan coming through the system. In many areas too the status of the
coach is devalued as clubs want not coaches but player/coaches, someone who can play in their
first team and act as coach/trainer too. All in all we have more ‘fitters’ as it were but fewer
engineers as in many areas of modern life (generators and brushes). In many countries in Europe
the level of reward available to professional coaches is much lower than that in industry.
Coaching objectives — the prime skill is adaptability. (Sara and Anna, Japanese training camp).
The importance of growth and especially of direction. (Many coaches take players up to a certain
‘plateau’ then the development stops and levels out.) How many players even know how they
should play — B.H./F.H. split, playing distance, length, stroke-play spin/drive, serve to suit own
game, slow return of serve, a winning weapon etc. Many players don’t really seem to know where
they are going or how to get there! There must always be progress, without this there is stagnation.
Multiball – Movement v drive/topspin.
o Opening v chop/float.
o Variation v chop/topspin.
o Movement in/out, short/long.
o Player’s distance, close and back.
o Adaptability, irregular.
Stroke correction techniques
o Length of the stroke.
o Timing (where you hit the ball on its trajectory after the bounce).
o Table position (re where you hit the ball).
o Stance (relate to the line of play).
o Body action.
o Bat arm.
o Free arm. (rotation).
o Recovery.
o Anticipation.
o PLUS MOVEMENT.
Service — New rules and how to gain advantage.
Ball visible from the time when it is first thrown up to the time it is hit with the racket. How do we
gain advantage now? Distance between the contact of the ball on the racket and the ball on the
table, plus fast action. B.H. service action, higher throw and more rotation on F.H. to get arm out of
way and aid spin, some of old serves come back? (Axe serve?)
Receive
Early ball push, stop balls, slow returns of fast serve, value of slow roll etc.
Tournament coaching
Not talk about technique, not too many things, only a couple of points. Make sure first that player’s
mind is in tune, treat the mental problems first, calm them down if necessary. Main context should
be tactics, how to oppose your player’s strengths to the opponent’s weaknesses, or sometimes
play weakness to weakness.
Coaching Course Summary
THE MOUNTAIN
WHAT IS TABLE TENNIS? - WHY SO DIFFICULT TO LEARN?
THE YOUNG LEARN BETTER
COACHING OBJECTIVES - THE PRIME SKILL
COACHING METHODS THROUGHOUT EUROPE AND ASIA
HISTORY AND GROWTH OF TT. THROUGH THE DECADES
THE WORLD PICTURE - PLAYING AND COACHING
TRAINING IN CHINA WHAT THEY THINK OF US
THE WHOLE PACKAGE
CHANGE AND INNOVATION
INDIVIDUAL STYLE DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE MEN’S OR WOMEN’S
GAME AND ABOVE ALL PROGRESS
STATISTICS - MEN’S AND WOMEN’S PLAY
WINNING, LEARN FROM LOSSES
GRIP AND BASIC STROKES
THEORY OF SPIN
AUTOMATION, WHY INNOVATION EFFECTIVE
PIMPLE TECHNIQUES
AXIS
READY POSITION AND MOVEMENT
SERVE AND RECEIVE MEN AND WOMEN
THE SERVE POTENTIAL, 3RD BALL
RECEIVE TACTICS FIRST FOUR BALLS
STROKE CORRECTION TECHNIQUES - THE NINE FACTORS
(HANDOUTS FOR COACHES + FH TOPSPIN)
CENTRE OF GRAVITY IN STROKEPLAY
POWER AND LEVERS
CONTROL BAT SWING TO MAXIMIZE EFFECT
LOOP TECHNIQUES, ANGULAR VELOCITY
SHORT PLAY
BLOCKING
CHANGE OF PACE
MULTI-BALL TECHNIQUES
ELASTIC ENERGY - ELASTIC BAND STORES ENERGY, TIME VITAL, DELAY 1 SEC LOSE
55%, DELAY 2 SECS LOSE 80%, LOST IN FORM OF HEAT. WAY YOU PREPARE FOR THE
STROKE IS VITAL
4 ELEMENTS -SPIN/POWER AND SPEED/PLACEMENT(LENGTH)
MEN AND WOMEN - KEY ISSUES
Manuals and Policy
Over most countries in Europe coaching manuals and policies are initiated and controlled by only
one or two coaches. Although in the case of the manuals there is an increasing tendency to bring
in experts (in some European countries manuals for example pay tribute to as many as 20 – 25
specialists over a number of fields, diet, physical, mental, technical, professors of ballistics,
authorities on table tennis history etc.) often coaches in charge of policy are reluctant to dissipate
their power by calling in outsiders.
Unfortunately in these modern times with the increasing complexity of our sport it is next to
impossible for any one coach to be accomplished in all the technical aspects of table tennis. All
coaches whatever their level will be good in some areas and not so experienced in others. Some
are better ‘corner-men’ and tacticians, others at ease giving lectures or seminars. Some are more
skilled in the development of the girls’ game, have comprehensive insight into style development,
or in coaching defenders or pimple players. Yet others are specialists in multi-ball and its various
uses. What is needed more and more is for National Coaches to have access to a team of
specialists, if they are to be successful at world level.
Regrettably by their very nature manuals are often obsolete by the time they come out in print. The
preparation time more often than not takes years and our sport is continually changing, so to keep
them up to date is next to impossible. How many coaches too in charge of national technical
development are completely up to date – how many are in touch with what the top players are
doing at world level and observe them critically in action at the major tournaments at least half a
dozen times every year?
Often the key to innovation is apparent in the tactics and techniques which are being used by a
significant number of the world’s best players. If enough good players are all adopting a certain
tactic then there must be a good reason for this and it’s up to the policy coaches to see and
understand this as quickly as possible and then to disseminate the information down to grass roots
level. Sadly this takes far too long and in a considerable number of European countries there
seems little urgency to redress the situation – in fact technical development in some countries is
still some 10 – 15 years behind the times.
The quickest way to contact the table tennis public is probably via the national website (a technical
update page) or to hold a forum at major tournaments 3/4 times per year. A section in the manual
‘Technical developments over the last 1 – 2 years’ could be regularly updated and the rest of the
manual left largely untouched. Probably in fact we are now reaching a stage of professionalism in
our sport where a National Technical Adviser should be appointed in most European countries,
solely to monitor technical/tactical changes and advances as and when they occur.
Develop Excellence and Expertise in Coaches
Rowden 2011
The prime component of any expert system is significant, pertinent and ongoing knowledge and
experience. Such experience is never transferable in its entirety to other areas or subjects, though
some parts may be. Regarding for example top athletes being fast-tracked into coaching, the
downside is that unless their own coach was a great teacher and had them fully understanding the
whys and wherefores of workout designs, they are completely missing the foundational skills of
coaching. Doing and knowing are rarely the same thing.
Coaches therefore require a substantial core of relevant and up-to-date information and continual
experience – in other words they need to be doing the job all the time and learning as they are
doing it.
New coaches need access to continued professional development at a high level but any system
needs not only to provide data and instruction but also to create the means for change. There is
more to coach development than just gathering data, there is understanding what you have
gathered and learning the relevant applications.
1. Informing – giving coaches new information
2. Forming – changing the way coaches do things
3. Transforming – changing the way coaches think or look at things, which results in a permanent
change in their behaviour
Of the above three aspects that of giving new information is both the easiest and the most basic.
Because of the structure of courses in the UK and time constraints, too much time is almost always
spent on 1 (giving out information), very little on 2 and nothing on 3. To maximise the effectiveness
of any educational programme there has to be a shift towards more forming (learning activities)
and transforming (guided discovery and contemplation).
Many resources can be developed (written, web sites, DVD’s) to deliver information outside of tutor
contact, which would release time to allow for the required repetition of activities and for discussion
and awareness seminars to reform and master the necessary skills and thinking. We should of
course also develop specific opportunities within CPD to allow coaches to get more training in any
specialist areas where they have an interest. Updated courses should allow for maximum active
learning time to form new skills and to think in different ways.
What about the value of sending out experts into the club environment to work with both coaches
and players? This would give additional input on the technical/tactical, physical and mental factors
of player development. Also it would enable coaches to see first hand and at close range, the
experts’ values and the qualities that make them what they are. This is often more important then
what they do or know.
The United States Olympic Committee recently surveyed their coaches regarding the skills they
considered most important. The order of skills was as follows:
• Communication
• Knowledge
• Skill development
• Team development
• Passion
The difference of course between beginner and elite coaches is the way skills are used!
Periodisation: Training Planning
John Shepherd (2009)
1960’s Leonid Matveyev (Russia), Tudor Bompa (formerly Romania).
Training year divided into phases – ‘macro’, ‘meso’ and ‘micro’ cycles. (Roughly months, weeks
and days.) Within each cycle the key training variables of volume, intensity and specificity are
manipulated to create the desired training effects. Racket sports do not lend themselves as readily
to periodisation as track and field sports for two key reasons.
 The performance outcomes in training and competition are not as easily measured. For
example in track events the enhancement of CV ability can be monitored by heart rate control.
 Racket sports have a relatively high skill component and are much more dependent on
other players and the tactics of the opposition.
It is much more difficult to develop a highly quantifiable periodisation programme for the more
‘qualitative sports’, with their much greater and diverse skill requirements and influencing variables.
Double periodisation (and even triple programmes) are used from time to time, but for those sports
which allow it should not be practiced year in and year out. Every third or fourth year the athlete
should return to the single periodisation plan.
In the case of the ‘qualitative sports’ one must bear in mind that not only will there be conditioning
(weights, anaerobic/aerobic activity) in a quantifiable way, but also the need to spend much time
on technique and skill development as well as the mental aspects. It is of little use being supremely
fit if this is developed at the expense of skill. Periodisation must never allow the development of
physical condition to outpace technical requirements.
‘Skill strength’ periodisation models can also be developed, emphasising the development of sport
skill at the beginning of the training year and throughout, before more ‘power’ is added in
subsequent training cycles.
In table tennis an important part of the ‘volume’ will be time spent on the table.
Undulating periodisation is another model – this combines much shorter training phases with
differing modes of exercises and exercise intensities (one day more speed and power, the next on
endurance and the next on skill and agility). With this type of periodisation the coach has to fully
understand the needs of the particular individual and be able to apply a repertoire of workouts and
exercises that can be juggled to maintain players in as near to peak condition as possible.
Until relatively recently the periodisation of mental performance received scant attention. Now
sports performers are increasingly working on matching physical and technical training with their
mental training. It makes sense that different mental strategies should be employed during different
training phases to maximise performance and to bolster competitive readiness.
Table Tennis of Tomorrow Part 1
Rowden May 2014
Today’s table tennis is developing towards an all-round type of game and players need to have all-
round skills; there is no room for obvious defects or weaknesses which will be quickly spotted and
exploited by good opponents. Players have to be just as strong in attack as in controlling the play
and there has to be a good balance between the two. The aim has to be a high level of overall
consistency while manoeuvering for position to get in your strong shots: of course shot selection
and the appropriate moment is vital, you have to pick the right occasion and the right shot to make
your strong attack.
Speed is at the heart of table tennis and is the cornerstone of developing the sport. However this is
not just speed of the shot but covers all areas: the quickness of thought and of adaptive
intelligence which gives fast adjustment to change, the speed and correctness of footwork, the
point of contact with the ball, the sudden change of direction, angle or pace etc. Players must also
consider the best use of timing within the element of speed: the primary timing point for maximum
speed is late rising. Contact at peak is neither really fast nor deceptive and at this stage the spin is
starting to have effect. As a primary point peak is not so forceful and is becoming out of date.
Within this element of speed the player must also have the capability of controlling the speed of the
opponent, whether by his/her own natural qualities or by using other means such as tactics or
material.
If speed is at the heart, change is the animating principle behind and the nucleus of the playing
style: changing at the right time makes the style effective against any opponent and changing
before the opponent does makes him/her play our game! Over the last few years the game has
changed dramatically and become much faster, with the BH used much more over the table to
attack the short serve. As a result the whole area of short play has been revolutionised; no longer
do most top performers play ‘safe’ and drop short, they open immediately and the counter-play
situation is reached much more quickly. This has also brought about a mental readjustment in the
approach to short play, being more innovative and aggressive over the table. Future development
will almost certainly involve stronger confrontation and more and quicker changes and also
probably more precision in half-long service and more potent long serves. We will enter an era of
total unpredictability.
Change however must be looked at over its widest aspects. Accurate placement and rapid,
unexpected change in placement is the key to controlling the opponent and the play. Combining
placement with all its change of direction with speed, with change of pace, more or less power,
short and long and use of angles, provides the ultimate unpredictability and keeps the opponent
permanently off balance. But change embraces much more, the desire to take the initiative, to
improvise and innovate; the mental state must particularly be in tune with the idea of change and
ready to accept all aspects of this. The mind must be receptive to the need for and the moment of
change and adaptive intelligence should be cultivated and developed. Change is more often than
not reflected in the awareness of the player concerning how he/she plays; just how well developed
is the player’s self-knowledge and understanding of how he/she performs and gets effective
results? At the highest level the theme must be that we ourselves initiate change, not the
opponent!
To utilize the vital components of change and speed to the full we need to be mentally psyched up
to take the initiative at all times. This means we need not only the skills but the will! We also need
to focus on the ‘intent’ to innovate at all times and to be more and more creative in our play. When
serving we must be ready to attack all the time, at the earliest opportunity and then keep the
opponent under pressure. Any attack needs to be constant, not necessarily more and more power,
but keeping the opponent off balance until we can actually win the point. The importance of the
quality of the first opening ball in this scenario cannot be underestimated. In fact if you improve the
quality and effectiveness of your attack systems, your opponent will struggle and you will have
better control of the rallies.
In the receive situation as in rallies we must keep control until we can take the initiative, do
different things, use more or less spin or speed, change placement first. We should also appreciate
the importance of linking the 2nd and 4th and 4th and 6th balls to maintain advantage. Even
defenders should apply pressure to the opponent, pushing with variation, short/long, fast/slow,
spin/float, while they maintain control and seek the chance to counter-attack. If you cultivate a
variety of good serves you will have more opportunities to attack on the 3rd or 5th ball, if you work
at faster footwork you can continue your attack longer and stronger. All these aspects will help you
understand your own style more fully and where you are able to be most effective. Each player is
of course above all an individual and must look to develop his/her particular strengths and
specialties to the full.
Players find in modern table tennis that it’s no longer possible to play all shots from a stable base.
More and more because of the increased speed of our sport, players have to improvise and in
almost every situation. Often the only alternative is to use the speed on the incoming ball and to
endeavor to block to a difficult position for the opponent, while trying to retain stability for the next
stroke. If it’s not possible to take a strong offensive initiative it’s important to be able to control the
play in such a way as to keep the opponent off balance and uncomfortable in the rally, until you are
able to create the chance for the next strong attack. There is no room for weakness during any
period of improvisation or for playing safe, while waiting for the offensive opportunity. This will only
let the opponent back in.
Table Tennis of Tomorrow Part 2
Rowden May 2014
It is up to the coaches to design playing styles and to study the finer elements of the techniques
and tactics of the game at the higher levels and we must continually be alert to new possibilities
and different things which can benefit our players. Coaches must at all times look to be involved in
the future evolution of our game and even more than the players be ready to be innovative and
creative. With this approach they can improve the quality of play and be open to ways of enriching
their players’ game. The pursuit of excellence becomes a way of life and is crucial to the future of
our sport and its growth.
We have already looked at the 2 prime elements or our sport, speed and change. In the study and
development of players and playing styles coaches must also be aware of the 3 supporting
elements, which provide the methods to win points or control the game: these are power, spin and
trajectory. It is also vital that coaches understand the science behind these elements as this
knowledge will be specifically relevant at the higher levels of involvement with world class players.
Power can be used in basically 4 distinct forms and ways.
• 90% use, when smashing for example. There is no need to use 100% as this would involve more
body action, with the danger of slower recovery or loss of balance.
• 55 – 70% medium usage, as in drive play or topspin. This is more difficult than it appears as
many players find it harder to limit their power, but it has the advantage of maintaining a consistent
pressure on the opponent, while manoeuvering for opportunities to finish the point.
• Utilising the opponent’s force, by feeding in 30 to 40% of your own power in order to get 60 –75%
effect. This harnessing of opposing force can be a safer way to be aggressive, especially for
players whose comfort zone is closer to the table.
• Absorbing the opponent’s power by playing a softer or shorter return.
Spin has over the history of table tennis, had a tendency to continually increase. However there
have been limiting factors and will be more. For example the Chinese National Team researched
the maximum spin rotation of the 38 and 40mm balls in 1999 – 2000. Their findings were that the
maximum revolutions per second diminished from 150ps to 132.8 and that the larger ball lost
considerable spin through the air. This meant that top players had to come in and stay closer to the
table to be effective. When the plastic ball is introduced further reductions in spin will occur. Also
the banning of speed glue resulted in further loss of spin and the need for more physical input from
players (which initially resulted in a number of injuries).
Spin can of course give us an advantage against and cause problems for opponents; it also adds
stability to our own game and gives us more control in the rallies. Without the topspin intention for
example players would strive for faster and flatter drives (which some players would in fact be
better advised to do). As well as intention one must remember purpose. Many players continue
spinning long after they have achieved the goal of getting the ball up high enough to kill. Surely the
idea when playing table tennis is to win the point; topspin should not necessarily be regarded only
as a point-winner, but rather as another weapon in your arsenal, another tool to create openings.
The combination of speed with spin was almost certainly the way table tennis would have evolved
in the next few years, had it not been decided to limit the amount of spin by changing the ball and
banning the use of speed glues. What will occur next will be up to the ingenuity of coaches
worldwide and what happens with bats and material coverings in the near future.
Trajectory or the flight of the ball is also of vital importance. With a proper trajectory the
consistency, accuracy and the percentage of shots on table are confirmed. Trajectory together with
spin provides means for controlling the rally until you are in a position to change something, get an
advantage and win the point.
The 5 elements are not isolated items but interlinked and will affect the development of our players.
Each player must understand how he/she plays best and the importance of each element within
the individual style development. According to studies of world-class players, to achieve real
success it is necessary to be good at 3 of the 5. Otherwise it is unlikely performers will succeed at
the highest levels. Coaches must not only be aware of the scientific background and
technical/tactical requirements to produce top players, but also alert to the need for their own
flexibility in thought and attitude.
Unfortunately many coaching systems throughout Europe are too rigid in their application, certainly
in the initial stages and result in coaches being inflexible in their handling and development of
young players. Sadly too many coaches never get past this stage in their own development, they
keep working ‘by the book’ and their attitudes remain unchanged as they proceed up the coaching
ladder. As Mario Amizic, one of the most respected coaches in the world, has stated; ‘We have lost
our way, we are not adapting to new trends and our model is no longer up-to-date. The older
coaches in Europe will tell you we are not educating our coaches and trainers properly or indeed in
the right way.’
If we are to produce top 10 world-ranked players in Europe again, we need a total rethink on the
coaching front.
Coaches need to be able to ‘think outside the box’ and to be creative and innovative, they need to
constantly be looking for new things or they will stagnate. For example who invented/discovered
the reverse penhold backhand now used by many top Asian players? Not a top player but an older
coach working in the Provincial Centre in Harbin.
Above all however coaches must treat players as individuals and the relationship must be a two
way process. Each player is unique and individual and if the coach forces players into a pattern of
his/her own choosing, they are unlikely ever to find real success, in fact their own personal
qualities are suppressed. Only by getting players to ‘buy in’ to their own development and to fully
understand how they perform, can we achieve world-class results, because only in this way is the
full range of their talents allowed to grow, blossom and to come to full fruition.
Technique only Half-way there
Rowden Jan 2017
The table tennis player in the early stages should work at developing conventional strokes to the
best of his/her abilities. What the coach must bear in mind is that some of this process will entail
unlearning habits inherited from other sports, whether this is in the areas of movement, technique,
tactics or even the mental aspect.
Guard also against the purist’s approach; this can be right and wrong at the same time. Purists
create systems and academies, academies create dogmas and dogmas create fossils. Technique,
materials and ideas are in constant flux: purity is as limiting as consistency. Remember artistry
favours creativity and innovation over consistency and convention, unpredictability over regularity
and the exceptional over the normal. Artistry is flexible not rigid.
The whole point of standardizing one’s game and working to possess and execute all the
conventional strokes and practising them over and over again until they reach the highest level of
consistency, means arriving not at your destination (the complete and perfect player) but at
reaching the threshold (or starting point) beyond which table tennis is able to be transformed into
an art!
Of course in any form of competition it is never straightforward to predict a winner, there are many
imponderables such as physical and mental condition, lighting, luck and above all the vagaries of
style. We are all individuals, play similar strokes but differently and with a differing emphasis.
Competency in a particular style often requires many months if not years of practice. The correct
strokes, with the correct order, timing, tactics/strategies, character structure, balance and rhythm
are all essential. And however good and well ranked you may be there will always be styles of play
which can cause you problems.
In fact many of the Asian coaches and especially those from China, focus from the early stages on
the individual qualities of the player, actively looking for not only a sound technical base but also
for individual specialties. What does the player have which makes him or her different and which
will present real problems for any opposition?
Whichever style you will adopt, which will be one which suits you and with which you feel most
comfortable, you should endeavour to distill this down to a sublime simplicity. Much of how the
great players perform goes unnoticed. The public watching always sees the great loops, the
awesome smashes, but rarely sees the perfect balance, the seamless footwork, or the work put in
to neutralize the opponent’s power, spin or placement. The great performances always seem on
the face of it quite effortless!
Finally there is the problem of the mind, of too much thinking, too many thoughts crowding the
mind, too many instructions, pointers and ideas. The intellect clouds the picture. Rules and laws
take you so far but never beyond the threshold. Once you know them inside out, you can free
yourself of them and enter the next dimension and be in harmony with yourself.
Continue to learn more about yourself and your sport, but also all that’s behind and beyond it. It is
always a work in progress and has, is and will continue to be fun!
The Coaching Manual: What Should be Included
1. The main theme – individual focus.
2. Basic concepts.
3. Equipment.
4. Techniques.
5. Playing styles.
6. The development process.
7. The rationale of training.
8. Girls and women – development.
9. Relaxed technique.
10. Multi-ball.
11. Tactics.
12. Doubles.
13. Performance development, player, team and club.
14. Individual development plan.
15. Competition routines.
16. Mental training, introduction in the early years.
17. Sports psychology
18. Over-training.
19. Warm-ups.
20. Weight Training.
21. Anticipation.
22. Physical training.
23. Physical testing.
24. Flexibility training.
25. Flexibility testing.
26. Massage.
27. Diet.
28. Ethics and morality.
29. Child Protection
30. The roll of the parent.
31. Table tennis history.
32. Characteristics of the top player.
33. Player analysis.
34. Match analysis.
35. Advanced Techniques.
36. What is new today.
37. The future of table tennis.
38. References.
Coaches 2
Educating Leaders
COMMUNICATION
Consider the various ways to communicate and try to keep things simple and to the point.
 Simplicity.
 Methods — verbally, visually, by demonstration.
 Understand your audience (the right language).
 The right timing.
GROUP COACHING
Consider the various ways to make this effective.
 Volunteers and sparring.
 Mixed abilities, how to handle.
 Best format.
 Maintaining interest.
EQUIPMENT
The various items and aspects and how to use them to best effect.
 Tables.
 Blades.
 Rubbers, all types including pimple and anti-loop.
 Sponges, all types including sponge for gluing/optimising.
 Robots, when and how to use.
 Multi-ball, when and how to use.
PLAYING
How the player should start and different ways to develop.
 The strokes, beginners, intermediates and advanced.
 The routines.
 Technique.
 Tactics.
 Style development.
 Physical development.
 Mental development.
 Theory.
COACH’S RESPONSIBILITIES
In the area of resource management.
 Communication.
 Competence.
 Knowledge.
 Enthusiasm.
 Managing relationships.
 Professionalism.
In the area of analytical skills.
 Planning.
 Developmental skills.
 Administration.
 Support skills.
 Tactical and technical skills.
 Mental skills.
Consequences
 Pupil progression — personal development.
 Community benefits, social, relaxation and fun.
 Increasing numbers.
 Ability to influence over a wider area.
Training: Group Schedule
It is often a good idea when working with small groups of players to plan their development and
keep records of which aspects they need to improve. If you use something like the above chart,
which lists various areas in which players in your group may need to work in, it is relatively easy to
jot down the player’s number or initials under the respective titles. This has the added advantage
when planning sessions, that features which are common to a number of players are readily high-
lighted. In the same way it is obvious which players may need more individual exercises.
If you are working in national or regional centres or having to report to local authorities then such
charts give a professional impression. They have the added bonus of helping to focus the coach’s
attention on which aspects are important and with which particular players and helping to remind
him that all players are in fact different and should have individual help and advice.
Teaching Table Tennis
Table tennis is a fascinating sport and because of the combinations of spin, speed and deception,
one if not the most difficult of all ball-sports to learn. Many people working in the medical
profession consider table tennis to be one of the best sports for the development not only of bodily
reflexes and coordination but also for the brain, because it requires such a variety of decisions in
such a short time.
Like many other things in life the human organism absorbs table tennis and its principles, theories
and requirements rather better at a younger age and the establishing of a sound base at a young
age cannot be over-emphasized.
The prime skill of table tennis is to be able to adapt to an ever changing situation at speed.
Unfortunately the way we train is often significant in reducing our chances of achieving this ideal.
As a result of repetition our strokes become ‘grooved’ and automatic. We train so we don’t need to
think about what we are doing — so that we can react instinctively, in effect play on autopilot. So
once we are in this position of playing completely automatically just how are we supposed to
handle an unusual situation or to react to something new and different, much less being actually
able to cope with and adapt to new aspects? For once you introduce the conscious, thinking
process into an automated response you destroy its effectiveness.
This is why it’s so vital for coaches to ensure that their players, right from the formative years, have
the opportunity to train and play against all styles of play and combinations of material. In this way
the ‘automatic’ reflexes, the conditioned responses, that the player has to work so hard to build up,
cover a much larger series of actions and it’s rather easier for him or her to adapt to new situations.
In other words the content and method of training assume rather more importance than we may
have initially thought, especially in the formative years.
Equally it is important that we teach the ‘whole package’ in the formative period. Many coaches
and trainers have the idea that certain aspects are better left till some undefined time in the future.
However when the future comes it is that much harder to integrate the new aspects into the
player’s game. Once you allow the style to become ‘set’ then it becomes difficult to introduce new
techniques.
This does not of course mean that players should not be introducing new aspects into their own
game, they should. Indeed unless their game continues to change they will not develop, rather they
will stagnate. At whatever level you play each and every one of you will only progress, if you are
prepared to accept in your own mind that change is necessary to develop. Each of you must
monitor your own progress and question what is happening with your game. Ask yourself — ‘How
has my game changed over the last 6 months or one year? Are my strokes changing, different
timing, sidespin and slower balls, change of speed? Am I considering the possibility of different
equipment, faster, slower blades or rubbers or pimples? Am I happy with the way I play, my own
style, am I developing new tactics? Have I problems with certain types of player? What am I doing
about these?’ In the final analysis, although others may point the way, you should bear the
responsibility for your own fate. Always have an open mind, ready to listen and to question.
Perhaps it is true to say — the greatest danger is in absolute certainty. Certainty is the enemy of
progress, we stop thinking and further progress is not possible because our mind is closed to other
possibilities.
Each player is a unique individual, with differing strengths, reactions and skills — you cannot force
him or her into a style of your own choosing. Rather you must help him or her to develop and
flower in his or her own way. In the areas of technique, tactics and physical exercises the coach
can lead, in mental areas and in the choosing of a style, with which he or she feels comfortable,
the player should have a large say. Only the player knows what risks he or she wants to take,
whether he or she is more at ease playing close or back, fast or slow, spin or drive. A player’s style
should always be based on and directed towards his or her greatest strengths and always he or
she should bear in mind that style is a living, growing organism, developing all the time however
slowly. The only alternative to progress is stagnation!
Coaching: Lateral or Vertical Structure?
It never ceases to amaze me when I tour the tournament scene and talk to top cadets and parents,
that many of these young and in some cases very young players have achieved so much, so
quickly, often with little or no technical backing. It should perhaps be emphasized that I refer to
youngsters ranked in the top twenty, in some cases in the top ten in the country!
Is it not understandable that so many good prospects do so well at cadet level, even play nationally
a couple of times, only to fade away into oblivion as they get older? It would be an interesting
exercise to make a list of the top-10 cadets in any country in Europe over the last 15 years, to find
out just how many out of the 150 have played more than three times at senior level (or even to see
how many are still playing as seniors)! I think most countries would be appalled at the wastage
figures! I am not saying that there are not other good reasons why teenagers give up or give less
time to our sport. I am saying that lack of good technical coaching in the formative years coupled
with a clear path of development, can cripple the youngster’s chances of real achievement at
senior level.
Do not get me wrong on another front either. The close family approach to the game, with the
sharing of organization, planning, coaching and corner work is something I very much approve of
— this is the development of the artistic, the deeper side of coaching within the family unit; where
we have total trust, advice, motivation and encouragement are readily accepted and acted on.
What does concern me is that in-depth technical attention is not available in sufficient quantity or
quality, at the period in the child’s development when he or she is most susceptible to the learning
situation. I see young players 10 – 12 years old doing things which should be ruthlessly stamped
out if they are ever to be competent seniors, I see many glaring omissions and above all I see
limited guidance towards an end-style which will be effective at senior level. I even see players
being developed with techniques which manoeuvre them into a cul-de-sac from which there is no
way to progress further.
Equally at a rather higher level, at county, regional or even national sessions there appears to be in
many cases a shelving or an over-assumption of responsibility. I hear remarks such as – ‘Once a
cadet has reached top-20 standard their style is set, it’s not up to us to change things.’ Presumably
this means that if a 9 year old girl is in the top 10 because she plays with long pimples and has a
serve the other cadets can’t return, then all further technical development should be written off and
she should progress as and where the mood takes her!
Or coaches go the other way even at national level and I hear talk of how well ‘my player’ is doing,
this from someone who sees them all of two weeks a year and has very little input into the actual
development of the player. Unfortunately because of our system of development and selection in
Europe far too often young impressionable players come into contact with too many different
coaches and too many different ideas.
Some years ago I started telling players, even those I coached, not to listen too much to trainers
and coaches, even myself. Ask questions all the time, don’t just do things, be critical and ask for
reasons. As I said to them if a coach doesn’t know why you are doing a particular exercise and
how it is of benefit to you with your way of playing, then why should you waste your time listening.
Since then I have had feedback from several players who now play professionally in Europe. They
are not very popular with many coaches but as they say – ‘ The head coach treads very warily now
when I train and has started to think more about the training and even asks me what sort of multi-
ball I want for my particular style!’ Another player said to me — ‘I’m going to give our national
coach the benefit of the doubt and believe that he’s got too much on his plate and too many
players to look after. The alternative is to believe that he has never really known anything about
coaching players!’
I think that much of the difficulty is that the vast majority of coaches think of the process of
coaching as a lateral rather than a vertical structure. Just what do we mean by this? We mean that
they tend to see the development of a talented youngster as best served by a series of steps
where the player is uprooted at each stage and passed on to a new and supposedly more senior or
more experienced coach. (Many parents or coaches would in fact be quite horrified if they knew
just how little thought had often gone into the selection of these ‘more senior’ coaches and in many
cases just what qualifications and experience they actually had!) What many people fail to
appreciate is that there is little motivational continuity and little stability of development with this
and each change requires an adjustment to a new situation. Players are after all people and not
robots and in my opinion stability especially in the case of the young and often in the case of girl
players (even of an older age) is of particular importance. I would suggest rather than being
beneficial, such a system slows down progress!
The vertical structure as I see it provides a much sounder base for advancement where the young
player proceeds through the various levels of the one club gaining stature and maturity as he or
she does so. This tends to be the system in the bigger clubs in Europe where the young ‘gladiator’
comes to train and to hone his or her skills against the established stars. The unfortunate aspect is
that we have far too few top clubs where this can be achieved. This type of system does occur in
other sports, athletics for example, where the national, Olympic or World Champions regularly
return to train with and run for their own club. The thought does not seem to occur to them that
they may perhaps be too good for this sort of involvement or that there may not be too much in it
for them, rather they seem to have an ingrained loyalty to their roots which we might do well to look
to in our own sport.
The Coach: Tradesman or Artist?
Almost every coach in the country would wish to produce a World Champion. Just think of the far
reaching effects on our sport if we had the best playing here in England. Not the best in Europe,
not even one of the top dozen in the world, but the world Number One man or woman. What an
incentive to the young players!
An impossibility you might say — the quality of life in the West has become so easy, over
indulgent, that the ultimate effort is shirked by the talented few. Others are satisfied with a little
success and feel no pressure to push themselves to higher limits. Often national teams consist of
the same old players year after year with no players challenging for the top spots. Win or lose,
players are going to keep their place in the team — not really a tremendous incentive to keep
working and pushing to raise your own game to ever higher levels! Often other activities or sports
are seen as offering more glamour, pleasure or reward. However I would say this, things are only
impossible or unattainable if you believe them to be so. What is an indisputable fact is that unless
coaches are prepared to be totally professional in all aspects of their trade then achieving real
results becomes very difficult indeed for the player!
Most of us are not professional enough. We mention trade, all coaches are tradesmen,
technicians, engineers, many remain at this level, many only wish to have for one reason or
another limited commitment, however a few, a very few become artists. I do not say this in any
derogatory way, one definition of a tradesman is a ‘skilled worker’ and this is just what coaches
are. The fact that we need to coach at different levels is why we have different grades in coaching.
Most coaches are part-timers or volunteers and of course they have a life outside of table tennis,
we cannot expect them to sacrifice this to get a few players to the top. So have a care when you
talk to coaches about what they are prepared to give to our sport!
Let us take a look at the tradesman’s areas of responsibility
 Technician — passing on knowledge, developing technical skills.
 Scientist — analysing direction and style.
 Sparring partner — keeping the player sharp, developing tactics.
 Disciplinarian — building the framework so the player remains receptive to information.
 Administrator – planning, organizing.
 Publicity Agent – promoting.
 Trainer – increasing fitness, stamina, handling strains and injuries.
 Corner-man – handling tactical advice and dealing with stress.
Although these ‘bread and butter’ aspects are the easy areas of coaching, efficiency here is vital —
without the basic tools the player will have no chance to reach the top or ever to achieve his or her
full potential. Stroke development, movement patterns and style need to progress along totally
professional lines. Coaching should be organized in depth so that the player has a programme and
knows exactly where he or she is going. Each session should have a purpose and be part of a
series. Many coaches will say that they just don’t have more time to give but in fact I’m not talking
about giving more, I’m talking about using the time we do have available, much more effectively.
Only in this way will we achieve the best results. It’s relatively easy to keep track by drawing up a
simple three month programme for your player and tick off after every session which areas you
have worked on. In this way you start to follow a plan and coaching becomes more organized. Of
course the programme may have to be amended as tournaments or matches throw out aspects
which need attention but this is only to be expected.
As soon as the player starts to emerge from the intermediate level, he or she will need squad
coaching, where he or she is a member of a group benefiting from the experience of meeting and
sparring with a variety of styles and the formal, disciplined interaction between committed players.
Squad coaching offers a variety of moods and incentives, a classroom of association with rivals
and allies and the coach who can use the individual’s assets for group progress is on the road to
success.
The player will also require personal sessions with one or two good players and coaches, where he
or she can be put under the spotlight, studied in rather more depth and put under more pressure. It
is only with individual emphasis that you can work effectively in such areas as serve and mental
development. On the technical front it goes without saying that a great deal of work will need to be
put in at both personal and group level on aspects such as serve/receive, 2nd, 3rd and 4th ball,
irregular movement and style development. However overall the coach should try and maintain,
within the time and commitment he is capable of giving, the highest professional level in his
preparation and handling of and approach to the differing areas of the player’s development. Only
in this way will high level results be achieved and will the player have a chance to reach his or her
full potential.
We have talked of the engineer, the tradesman, the competent technician. Indeed we see in many
clubs and on many training camps and even at national level, what we can call the trainer. This is
the exercise ‘setter’ or organizer, he makes sure the session runs smoothly with a minimum of
interruptions or problems — the on-the-table exercises follow each other with monotonous
regularity and at exact 7½ or 10 minute intervals. It looks good, it seems to function well and even
the players appear to like being ‘organized’. The sad thing however is that often thinking has
stopped and everyone is just going through the motions. What is the purpose of each exercise,
how does it benefit each individual player, is there a programme for the individual players, do the
players know where they are going and how to get there? There is a far deeper side to coaching.
Coaching is after all a progression, a growing process, an alteration and a maturing of standards,
values and attitudes. It is of the utmost importance to bear in mind at all times that we coach
people and not just techniques. As the great Kung-fu master said — ‘It is far more than just a most
effective form of self-defence. It is an exercise in physical and mental balance and moulds the
personality of the individual.’ Equally the moulding of a champion in our sport of table tennis is far
more than the mere passing on of techniques.
Coaching is something akin to an experienced climber taking a youngster up a high mountain —
he or she must be trained gradually and well trained in the technical aspects. Well taught basics
are vital and will almost certainly determine just how good a climber the youngster will become or
whether he will become a danger to himself and a distraction to others when he gets higher up.
Initially there will be a duty to safeguard and to protect and guide. However as the climb
progresses not only will the coach and pupil face differing problems but slowly the relationship
between the two will change. The trainee will become more confident and self-sufficient and indeed
should be encouraged to be so. In due course the roles will be reversed and he or she will become
the master, at ease in any situation.
This is a time in fact when many coaches let go and give up with the feeling they are no longer
required. In some cases true, they aren’t. However I would say this to many who find themselves in
this situation. What gives you the right to give up on your players when you have spent several
years honing them to a peak of physical and mental perfection, when you know them inside out,
know exactly how they will react in any given situation, are aware of all their little moods and
problems? What gives you the right to leave them on their own when you are the one old,
comfortable friend they can trust and to whom they can talk openly and naturally at any time? As
we have said, over a period of time the teacher, technician and trainer areas will diminish and if the
right sort of relationship has been allowed to develop, rather more important aspects will flower.
This can be the time that the performer needs your support more than ever as the one stable rock
in an ever changing environment. I would suggest you think twice before running out on your
player.
 Tactical adviser.
 Psychologist.
 Motivator.
 Friend, mentor, counsellor, confidant.
As many of you will have noticed even at the very top in other sports, tennis for example, the
champions have their friend and mentor at the court-side. Top players are well aware that as far as
skills, techniques and physical condition are concerned, these are pretty near identical at the
highest levels. What will make the difference, the winning factor, will be the inner self, the attitudes
and values built up over the years - who better to have at court-side than the one person who has
helped them to develop these qualities? Here is where the true artistry of the coach will be
apparent and I suggest that it is only if he achieves the breakthrough in these areas that perfection
is possible.
Observations on Top Table Tennis Centres for Young Players
QUERIES
 In the total package of education/sport how much time will be given to table tennis –
o overall?
o during school hours?
 Is there any restructuring or flexibility in the educational side to make more time available
during the day for sport?
 Are there provisions for the children to be looked after/monitored when they are not in the
school?
 Do the players travel as a group to tournaments at weekends together with the coaches?
 What are the ultimate aims of the centre and what level is it expected the players will
attain?
 What plans are there for the player’s mental development? Are there sports psychologists
among the team?
 Will players be taught to be flexible in the mind?
 Is training in the centre the same for male and female players? Are there different training
methods for girl players?
 How many table tennis theory sessions are there each week?
 Do the players have their own representative to channel complaints and problems through
to the head coach?
 How often do players and coaches meet to evaluate technical problems or is this only done
in the training sessions?
 How many times a month do coaches discuss with players how they personally are going to
develop, where they are going and how they are going to get there?
 In which areas of style development does the coach have the final say and in which are the
player’s views of more importance?
 How much time is spent on the cultivation of table tennis consciousness?
 How much time is spent training against differing materials or playing styles?
 How many and how often are outside sparring players available for training with centre
players?
 Does the centre have connections with centres in other countries in Europe/Asia and
regular exchange visits etc?
 Do seniors, juniors and cadets train together or are they segregated?
 How many hours of multi-ball are there each day?
 Will there be coach supervised serve training?
 Are training sessions and multi-ball geared towards the individual needs of the player?
 Is physical training geared towards the player’s personal style requirements?
 Does the centre have access to experts in physical training, experienced physiotherapists,
chiropractors etc? (Of course these should be specialists who know about our sport and what is
required for table tennis players!) This is important as children are still growing and developing.
 Are the coaches in the centre capable of relating to young teenagers at their level (children
can often be ‘difficult’ at this stage of their development) without the use of the ‘big stick’.
 Are there any political or traditional limitations to the player’s development? In other words
at national level are certain styles more favoured than others because the coaches understand
them better or feel these are more suited to our culture?
 Is it part of the coaches’ job in the centre to deliberately change the style of the player if
they think this style will not be effective internationally? Do they liaise with the parents and the
player’s own trainer if they are thinking along these lines? Do the coaches involved have the
knowledge and the insight to do this?
 How many times a year do parents and the player’s own trainers get reports from the
centre?
 Will players be introduced to the advanced playing techniques suitable to their type of
game?
 How much time is spent on serve/receive exercises during each training session?
OBSERVATIONS
Often at national centres training is allowed to become too rigid and inflexible and there is a lack of
innovation and ideas. With large training groups and few coaches, development becomes
stereotyped with the same exercises and methods, systems take over and the individual emphasis
and personal touch are lost. Coaches do not make or take the time and opportunity to focus on
what is individual in style to each particular player. The group as a whole drifts without guidance
into a general style of play and development of new and different aspects and personal style
specialties is slowed down or lost.
Equally training itself, the process of training becomes devalued – players work within the group
and often work very hard indeed but in many cases without ever knowing exactly why! They train
because they want to be better – how can they achieve any destination when they don’t know
where they are going or how to get there? In this sort of situation it’s only the one or two very best
players who benefit. It’s very easy for the rest of the group to drift and become merely a support
element, expendable cannon-fodder!
On the other hand if the group is too small you lose the stimulus of variety and it’s too easy for
training to become boring and stereotyped, with the same players and sparring day in and day out.
As in all things there must be a balance, a balance between individual attention and group training.
Equally if there are too many coaches involved, all promoting their own ideas and without any
overall liaison, then the players will become confused and motivation and attitude will suffer.
Above all parents and coaches should ask the right questions, especially in the case of younger
girls starting in table tennis centres (they require more technical help, more style development
advice and different training) and should keep on asking until they get the right answers.
After this the next stage is to monitor development so that you are sure it is proceeding as planned.
If you can’t get answers then be suspicious, if things don’t happen as planned be even more
suspicious! Over the whole of Europe there are many of the best individual players who don’t go to
their national centres and have refused to do so even in the face of threats of expulsion from their
national team. These players and their coaches must have very good reasons for such a stand. In
those countries where many top players do go to national centres results at world level have hardly
been encouraging, especially in the case of the women.
Unfortunately in a number of countries in Europe the tendency is to isolate top young players from
their own coaches, presumably on the premise that only the National Team Trainers have the
required knowledge for further development. Yet strangely enough when you talk to top coaches in
Europe and discuss the way forward in terms of developing top talent and trying to compete with
the Asians, more often than not the coaches stress the vital importance of individual development
and that players should come to select high level training camps in Europe not with their National
Trainers but in fact with their own personal coaches. They stress the importance, if we are ever to
have real results, of having the coaches on hand who are actually working on a day to day basis
with the players.
COACHING EXPERTISE
Over the whole of Europe High Performance Directors are coming to understand that table tennis
coaching is much more complex in these modern times. Manuals are often written only after
reference to between 15 – 20 specialists in the varying fields, experts in areas as diverse as
nutrition, psychology and bat and rubber technologies. Even at national level coaches need access
to a specialist back-up team to compliment/reinforce their own knowledge (and it goes without
saying that the backup team should not only be experts in their own field but also in how their
expertise is applied to our sport of table tennis).
Does your centre have the right team behind you?
Observations on Coaches/Coaching
 The awareness of bodily sensations is crucial to the development of skills. Unfortunately
the majority of coaches persist in imposing their technique from the outside.
 Blackmail or the use of sanctions are the last resorts of the coach who lacks the knowledge
or the ability to convince the player.
 The job of the coach is to teach the player to do without a coach.
 Coaching is unlocking a player’s potential to allow him or her to maximise performance. It is
helping players to learn for themselves rather than instructing them.
 Most coaches talk too much – allow the player to have awareness and responsibility.
 It should never happen, but far too often the exercise of power gets in the way of the
development of the player.
 Sport is a constantly evolving entity; unless the coach continues to evolve he cannot be
effective.
 The coach should try to identify a new way forward with players working from their own
experience and perceptions rather than his own.
 The coach must think of the player in terms of potential and not performance.
 Coaches must bear in mind that their own beliefs concerning the capability of the player
have a profound and direct influence on that player’s performance.
 If you impose your experience on the player then his or her personal preferences, attributes
and qualities are suppressed.
 The coach is not an instructor, an adviser, a problem solver or even an expert. He is in fact
a sounding board, a counsellor and an awareness raiser.
 Often it is hard for experts to withhold their expertise sufficiently to coach well!
 The obsession with our own thoughts, opinions and ideas and the compulsion to talk are
often too strong, especially if coaches are placed in a position of control or power.
 The coach must help the player to arrive at the level of unconscious competence.
 To effect real change it is not the demands of the coach which are important, but for the
player to access his/her own internal, high quality feedback.
 The moulding of a champion in our sport of table tennis is far more than the mere passing
on of ideas and techniques.
 Thinking is the greatest enemy of perfection.
 The coach acts as a catalyst allowing players to realise their own potential.
 95% of all sporting encounters are won in the mind.
 Coaches must always be aware that strong guidance can in fact be detrimental to the full
realisation of the player’s innate flair and spontaneity.
 Coaching is like welding, stay away too long and you lose the fine touch.
 Coaches should above all appreciate that no player is going to reach full potential unless
his or her own natural capabilities are allowed to grow and flower.
 To the coach what manner of player you are is not important. What matters is what kind of
player you will become! To achieve this you have to renounce the player you have been. To
renounce him, you have to take him apart and examine him piece by piece. Only you, the player
can do this.
 There are no good coaches. There are coaches who see patterns others don’t. Then there
are coaches who understand the patterns unique to the individual player. Finally there are coaches
who can transmute the theory into reality.
 At all times it is the player who should be ‘in focus’. If the coach considers himself in charge
and of importance then a certain amount of his energy is directed into maintaining his position and
feeding his ego. Therefore not all of his energy is centred only on the player and in giving the
player the best of all possible opportunities to reach his/her full potential
 When a coach is able to produce better players and to obtain better results than the
National Association, this is not only unacceptable but almost always absolutely unforgivable.
 If you want to compete by playing and thinking differently, you must work with coaches who
have a similar mentality.
 In matters of technical skill there are 4 levels — competent, very good, brilliant and ‘a
natural’. The last category goes beyond mere skill and into an area where all technical knowledge
is backed by an innate ‘feel’, a gut instinct, a sixth sense, an empathy with the subject and the
machinery which by its very nature cannot appear in the textbooks.
Coach Development
A number of Associations fast-track young ex-players into coaching and expect them to be
immediately effective. We should however consider whether or not top athletes are the best people
to be drafted into top coaching roles – many of the top coach educators are very doubtful.
In their opinion rather than exceptional athletes being regarded as having potential for coaching
roles – being effectively fast-tracked through coach education programmes and swiftly elevated to
high profile positions – perhaps they should be recognised as requiring extra support in making the
transition to thinking like a coach, with more comprehensive input from coach education and the
accumulation of coaching experience in minor coaching roles. We certainly need, they say, a more
sophisticated talent identification process for prospective coaches than athletic achievement alone.
Coaching is well recognised as a cognitive endeavour, as opposed to the predominantly physical
nature of athletic participation. Coaching and performing are specific and distinct undertakings and
a period of learning and apprenticeship is required in each. Decision making is arguably the most
important skill for coaches ahead of communication.
Knowledge and experience are crucial to the development of the coach and to his achieving of
higher and higher levels. The essential problem about the attainment of excellence is that expertise
and skilled knowledge cannot be taught in a classroom, not even over a number of years. Another
problem is that knowledge and understanding are not transferable from one sport to another or
even from one area of one sport to another.
The really experienced coach sees all sorts of cues in the preparation and movement build-up, in
the stroke production and in the physical and mental characteristics, which enables him/her to be
certain of how the player will perform and of which techniques and tactics are needed for future
advancement. The less experienced coach does not yet have this ability (and may never have it).
Ex-players for example often try to force the strengths of their own style of play (with which they
are of course most familiar) on to the up-and-coming player. Also this capability is not something
you can teach it must be lived. It is above all an understanding which grows and flowers in the
coach over countless hours of meaningful participation in a particular sport (or other areas of life)
and it is selective to that particular activity. Also bear in mind that experience and understanding is
of little value if you don’t train anymore. In both coach and player areas, training is 90% of what
you do.
Often unfortunately many top coaches now come from the ranks of former players. As a result
although they may understand what top players need and feel, they often have little insight into
what is required in the development of differing playing styles and the use of materials, or in the
case of the women’s game, of the many and varied paths to the top levels. In the majority of cases
most of the in-depth development of these coaches comes only from the training camps they have
attended as cadets or juniors and of course what they have learned is very much dependent on the
expertise and methods of those in charge of such camps and also in the continuity of the training.
How many coaches in National Centres have ever actually ‘produced’ top players themselves?
Few if any!
Many of our European Associations don’t seem to understand the differing roles played by the
officer organising his own small area of the front line (the player doing his own thing and
responsible only for his own development) and the general in headquarters administering and
managing the whole war front (the coach involved with the development of a whole group of
diverse players with completely differing styles of play).
To produce top players what we need is a coaching team, using a number of coaches with their
own specialist skills. This type of approach will almost always lead to more playing styles and will
stimulate players to be more creative and inventive. The coaching team will of course bring
differing skills, knowledge and experience which will compliment one another. Another factor is to
build up access to the supporting aspects, mental training, physical testing, dietary and massage
and injury experts. It also goes without saying that the various team members, whether coaches or
supporting specialists, respect each other’s expertise and are prepared to work together from the
outset. Far too often our sport seems to engender both a parochial and proprietorial attitude
towards players – even national coaches are not immune.
Coach Maturity
Too many coaches at all levels seem to put their own interests before those of the player. The
more international players the coach develops or has in his/her squad, then the higher his/her
reputation; this is obvious and there's nothing wrong with this. But when the coach starts to pay
more attention to his own reputation and less to the needs of the player, this is a different matter.
Players, especially at a younger age, need support in all areas, technical, physical and mental.
Too many coaches again seem to want to fit players into boxes, depending on how the top players
are performing at the present time. 'The world's best are doing this or that, therefore if you really
want to succeed at top level you have to do the same!' Of course there are a number of aspects
which are vital at top level. You will need good serves and receives for example, but not just any
old serves and receives, but those which suit you and your type of game. You will need good
movement however not just any old movement, but those patterns which are most efficient for your
style of play! Putting players into boxes ignores the basic fact that we are all differing individuals
and need to develop to our own personal strengths and capabilities. Trying to copy another
player's game is never the answer, we instead, each one of us, needs to evolve in the right
direction to achieve maximum potential.
Another aspect which many coaches overlook, is that players, particularly the young require
protection. Often players have problems coping with the pressures of high level play and the coach
has to be aware that he/she may need to fill the role of psychologist and mentor. We have all seen
what can happen in the worst scenario with the suicides of top young athletes, when this aspect is
ignored or not fully appreciated.
A contributory factor in the success or failure of a player's evolution can be the rate of progress
and development. If players are pushed too hard, too early this can have a detrimental effect and
even cause 'burnout'. The coach has to recognise that all players are individuals and will have
differing thresholds at differing stages of development; some nine/ten year olds may be capable of
coping with much more than many youngsters of thirteen or fourteen. Exactly what players can do
and at what age/stage in their development depends on a number of factors -- primarily
environment, character and talent: how has the total environment to date prepared the child to
cope with pressures and problems, how strong a person is the child and how will he/she
perform/react when the 'chips are down', has the child immense natural skills/talents of whatever
kind, reactions, strength, stamina, feeling or does he/she need to work much more at acquiring
these?
Coaches should also be aware of the 'overall picture'. Our sport is one in most cases of slow
progress and development; the evolution of the player is a gradual process in all areas, technical
and style development, physical and mental aspects. Too many coaches over-emphasise the
technical and don't pay enough attention to the physical and mental sides. Physical development
should be appropriate to age and should also be relevant to the player's style. Mental development
should also be regular and organised; players must appreciate that at the higher levels the mental
aspect may well be the only difference between the top performers. One final point in player
development is that no player is too young to be introduced to advanced aspects; the coach should
always be ready to teach the child the whole picture and not to leave some phases to a later stage.
My view is always that the player comes first and it's the function of the coach to support the
player. Coaching is unlocking a player’s full potential to allow him or her to maximise performance.
It is helping players to learn for themselves rather than instructing them. Talk to and work with the
player; find out what he/she wants out of the sport. Over many years of coaching my satisfaction
has always come in seeing another human being achieve real success, not in the enhancement of
my own reputation.
Coaches should also bear in mind the fundamentals of table tennis. The most vital quality of the
great players is adaptability, that they have the game to change and cope with any situation as it
arises. Above all with our players we must cultivate the flexibility of mindset which encourages
them to try new things and to keep growing and moving forward in their game.
Coaching the young (Chinese Style)
Jerzy Grycan (2010)
A) The initial stages
B) Technical preparation
C) Understanding technical quality
Table tennis is a highly technical sport and because of this acquiring the correct movement
patterns which are appropriate to the player’s end style is the basis for future growth. Science also
shows that to become an outstanding athlete, we must practise from an early age and therefore
the initial stages of training are absolutely vital.
A) The initial stages
It’s important that the young player learns the right things from the start as follows:
1. About the differing areas on the ball and racket angles. It is useful to demonstrate these areas
on the ball during ball-racket contact using the right side of the clock (from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock)
and showing the racket angle required to hit the correct part of the ball.
• Top part of the ball is at 12 o'clock position, the angle of the racket faces down (is 'closed')
• Upper part of the ball is at 1-2 o'clock position, the angle of the racket faces forward (still quite
closed)
• Middle-upper part of the ball is at 2-3 o'clock position, the angle of the racket faces slightly
forward (slightly 'closed')
• The middle part of the ball is at 3 o'clock position, the racket is in a vertical position
• The middle-lower part of the ball is at 3-4 o'clock position, the racket angle faces slightly back (is
slightly 'open')
• The lower-middle part of the ball is at 4-5 o'clock position, the racket is facing back (almost
'open')
• The bottom part of the ball is at 6 o'clock position, the racket faces upward (is ‘open’)
2. About the timing. You can hit the ball:
• in the early ascending phase
• in the late ascending phase
• at the top of the bounce
• in the early dropping phase
• in the late dropping phase
3. About table tennis basic ready positions:
• close to the table position 15—50 cm suitable for fast attack players
• medium-close to the table position 50—70 cm suitable for fast attack and topspin players
• medium-far from the table position 70-100 cm suitable for defensive players and counter-hitters
• far from the table, retrievers and pure defenders
4. About table tennis power:
• If in the hitting movement the swing is bigger, the power is also bigger
• If in the hitting movement you use more power from the waist and legs, then the stroke is also
stronger and faster
• If you hit the ball too early or too late, the power of the stroke is reduced
• We can say that the increase in explosive power is based on the shortest possible time to
achieve the fastest speed with the racket touching the ball at the right moment and with the fastest
swing
5. About blocking. The characteristics of the block are as follows:
• stance very close to the table
• ball often taken very early
• stroke movement very short
• good placement with lots of variety
• as fast as possible
• able to control the rally and put extra pressure on the opponent
• able to create opportunities for spin, drive or pivot attack
6. About how to absorb the power. In table tennis there occurs in most situations:
• using one’s own power
• absorbing the power of the in-coming ball which is the key to creating short-long ball variation
• absorbing the power requires at the moment of ball-racket contact a slight movement back (of the
racket and /or softening of the wrist) and relaxing the body to absorb the power of the in-coming
ball in order to get the effect of the drop-shot or ‘stop’ ball
7. About rotation in table tennis:
• Examine rotation of the hips, this is in the centre of gravity area of the body and of vital import in
the control of the stroke production and also in the recovery
• There should also be rotation of the shoulders and the impetus of the striking shoulder is vital but
there should not be over-rotation
• The prime objective, which should never be overlooked, is to recover facing the opponent and to
be ready to play the next ball
8. About side-spin. Looking at the table tennis ball from the top:
• there is clockwise rotation for the left spin
• counter-clockwise rotation for the right spin
• it is important to bear in mind that rarely will there be pure spin on the ball. Topspin will often
contain some sidespin etc
9. About pen-hold grip reverse-side strokes:
• The pen-hold grip player, having rubber on the reverse of the racket can serve, attack and loop
with that side
10. About differences between spin and no-spin. The ball:
• over 20 revolutions per second is called a ‘spin ball’
• less than 20 revolutions per second is called a ‘no-spin ball’
• a backspin serve can have around 50-60 revolutions per second
• maximum revolutions with the big ball are 132.8 per second
11. About table tennis skills. Every table tennis skill development goes through 3 phases:
• The first phase is the general phase, with rough, badly formed action, accompanied by many
unnecessary elements
• The second phase is the developmental phase, the movement is becoming gradually more
economical, accurate and natural
• The third phase is the automation phase, the technical skill has been formed
So we have to learn these essentials through hard practice, step by step going through these three
stages gradually, to finally develop a strong and effective skill.
B) Technical preparation
Technical preparation is probably the most critical element for achieving mastery in table tennis. It
includes:
• specific coordination – the structure of specific movements both in time and space
• the quality of the table tennis strokes characterised by an amalgam of consistency, speed, spin,
power and placement.
Technical quality is a fundamental for tactical areas such as:
• variety
• adaptability
Specific coordination is the main task in the initial table tennis training stage. To develop the right
technical skills we need to follow the basic stroke principles such as:
1. Move naturally and economically:
• The movement in table tennis should be aligned to the requirements of anatomy, physiology,
biomechanics, psychology
• The movement of every stroke should be natural, rational, effective and economical, without
unnecessary elements
• The movement should be specifically in tune with the style of the individual
2. Use your whole body when playing table tennis:
To achieve quality in the table tennis stroke requires skilful utilisation of the whole body. The role of
different parts of the body in stroke movement are as follows:
• The trunk can initiate the swing, is important for power, but can’t create high speed, has low
agility
• The arm has the main role in creating power in the stroke, is more agile than the trunk and can
create high speed on the ball
• The forearm with its fast and agile movement can create high dynamic power and speed/spin on
the ball
• The wrist is the most agile link, the smallest part and can create high acceleration. However it has
only low power and over-utilisation of the wrist can easily cause injury
3. Organize your stroke in a ‘whip-like’ manner:
To achieve the maximum speed of the bat (in a perfect world) you have to use all parts of the body
in sequence. Bio-mechanically the human body is a chain and to achieve the maximum speed of
swing the stroke has to be ‘whip-like’:
• the bigger link should precede the smaller link (first legs and trunk, then shoulder, arm, forearm,
wrist) in a co-ordinated sequence
• the movement should progress from the less agile part (trunk) to the most agile part (wrist)
• the movement should progress from the part ‘closest to the body’ to the part ‘furthest from the
body’
4. Maintain balance between back-swing and follow-through:
• Every table tennis stroke includes basic ready position, back swing, forward swing, contact,
follow-through, recovery
• It is important to create the necessary length of backswing to produce the required power of the
stroke and to make the follow-through as short as necessary to maintain the balance of the stroke
5. Concentrate on ball-bat contact to ‘brush’ or to ‘hit’ the ball:
• The most important phase of the stroke is the bat-ball contact phase which lasts a fraction of
second. The bat-ball contact can have different approach (spin or flat) phases, placement, duration
of contact, angle of the bat, direction of power etc
• In practice almost every table tennis stroke is a combination of spin or flat hit
• For instance the flat (fast attack or block) strokes usually have some spin
• Also spin strokes have a flat stroke component
• Accordingly there is an emphasis on one or the other component
6. Choose the right ‘phase of ball-bat contact’ for the right stroke:
• The in-coming ball after bouncing on your side of the table goes through a phase where it rises,
peaks then falls
Values of the rising, falling and highest phases:
• If you hit the ball in the rising phase you can shorten the length of ball trajectory (and increase the
speed) and utilise the power of the in-coming ball
• If you hit the ball at the highest point you can use you own power
• If you hit the ball in the falling phase, when the ball has already lost its speed, spin and power you
can increase the consistency of your stroke
According to your purpose and the kind of stroke you should be able to hit the ball in different
phases. Not only should you should be able to hit the ball in different phases, but also according to
your individual playing style master the skills close to the table (in fast attack), at medium distance
(topspin attack) or at far distance (in defence). You should master the different phases but always
bear in mind your predominant phase (the phase in which you primarily operate) which will depend
on your individual style.
7. Strike the right part of the ball:
• Speed, spin and placement depend on which part of the ball is hit. For different results (speed,
topspin, left-side-back-spin etc) you have to contact different parts of the ball. For example for fast
attack you would hit the middle part of the ball in an upwards and forwards direction
8. Use the right type of stroke according to the nature of the in-coming ball:
During the bat-ball contact phase the relationship between the movement of the ball and
movement of the body with the bat is especially important. There are three situations:
• Using the power – this occurs when the speed of the body-bat movement is faster than the speed
of the in-coming ball for example ‘smash’, ‘loop’ or ‘powerful block’; these movements require
necessary back-swing
• Utilising the power – this occurs when the speed of the body-bat movement is equal or slower
than the speed of the in-coming ball for example ‘fast block’; these movements do not require
back-swing but good timing and the right muscle tension
• Absorbing the power – this occurs when the speed of body-bat movement is slower and in the
same direction as the speed of the in-coming ball, for example ‘passive block’, this movement
requires good timing and muscle relaxation when hitting the ball
9. Control amount of power, direction, angle etc. according to the nature of the in-coming ball:
• The interaction between the opponent’s and one’s own stroke is very important. The ball
trajectory depends on two main forces: (1) the force developed by the opponent (A) through his/her
stroke and (2) the force developed by your own stroke (B). Both forces interact giving the resultant
force C
• By understanding what was the force of the opponent’s stroke (and how the ball will behave after
the bounce on your half of the table) and controlling your own stroke – the amount of power (back-
swing, utilisation of the body etc), its direction (direction of used power, the angle of bat etc) you
can control the resulting force C
10. The Basics:
• In learning table tennis many students focus on the movement of the racket, but at the same time
ignore the basic ready position and footwork training. This has a very negative influence for further
technical development, and leads to learning incorrect stroke habits. The basic ready position and
footwork play a significant and leading role in table tennis, this is the most basic skill and a crucial
part in preparing to hit any ball. Therefore, the table tennis beginners should do a lot of footwork
training. A good basic ready position and good footwork enable the player to assume the proper
hitting position and together with good stroke skills enable improvement of the quality of strokes
and long-term technical development
11. The importance of the basic ready position and footwork:
• The basic ready position must be developed according to the idea of the player’s playing style
and the specific basic playing position and body posture
• The body position should enable the athlete to hit the ball while maintaining the most reasonable
position for the body. The basic ready position is the foundation for all table tennis techniques and
it directly impacts on the development of all technical skills in table tennis, it is also an important
factor in winning competitions
• The basic ready position enables the player to have good footwork, enables him/her to get into
the best position for high quality strokes and enables rational coordination of the whole body - arm,
waist, legs and other parts all combine to achieve the intended purpose
• Footwork includes the basic ready position, situation evaluation and reaction, the power of the
legs, the economical transfer of the body weight with balance at all times and footwork methods
• But no matter what steps the player uses the footwork should be fast, accurate, practical and
smooth in order to achieve the result of as high as possible quality of stroke-play
12. Let the player first observe, then think, then do:
• In technical training we need to be especially careful with the key components of every skill.
There are many table tennis skills and they are very subtle
• In every technical skill the waist has an especially important function, for correct utilization of the
waist is a key element in the coordination of every stroke, this enables fast footwork, increases the
power of attacking and the spin of looping strokes
• For example, when learning movement of the forehand fast attack you need to learn using your
waist first, so than you can assume the right position for the stroke
• After learning the twisting movement of the waist, we can start learning the proper stroke swing,
first the position of the backswing using the arm, the forearm and the wrist, then starting the proper
forward swing with arm and forearm, making sure that your arm is relaxed enough in the elbow
area (beginners very often keep the elbow too stiff) and that the whole arm creates a 'whip-like-
movement'
• To prevent the elbow stiffness problem, you need to make sure your fingers don't hold the racket
too tightly and you don't use too much power and also make sure that in the backswing phase you
forearm is stretched (helps with elastic energy)
• It is useful to learn the backswing and the forward swing as separate units. For example: Firstly
do the imitation of forearm swing forward - from a relaxed and stretched forearm do accelerated
and relatively short swing forward exercise with forearm. Make sure that your swing is relaxed. On
the basis of that do the next step of the exercise imitating the forward swing with arm and forearm
together. Make sure that the exercise is done strongly. Finally do the full stroke imitation –
backswing and forward swing together
C) Understanding Technical Quality
There are five elements of technical quality: consistency, speed, spin, power and accuracy. The
more of these elements you have in your stroke, the more difficult it will be to return and the higher
quality stroke it will be. In every technical quality training exercise you can focus on the
development of some aspect of technical quality separately or on some combinations. According to
your individual style you can emphasise speed and placement (fast attack), spin and power
(topspin attack), spin and consistency (chopping). Make sure that your main, ‘winning’ stroke(s)
have the highest quality
1. Consistency:
Consistency is the ability to Influence the ball in such a way that you have control over the ball
trajectory after your stroke to ‘keep the ball on the table’. It is extremely important in table tennis
since every stroke can win or lose a point. However you should avoid practising consistency
separately. You should always practise consistency considering other elements of technical
quality- e.g. speed, spin, power or accuracy
2. How to develop consistency in your strokes?
To achieve a high level of consistency in your strokes you need:
• correct assessment of the in-coming ball -- long or short, high or low, topspin, back spin, side spin
or no spin etc
• control which part of the ball you hit -- middle, middle top, middle low etc
• control the direction of power of your stroke -- forward, forward up, forward down etc
• control the amount of power in your stroke -- weak, powerful etc
• control the angle of your bat when hitting the ball -- ‘open’, ‘closed’ etc
• control the spin in your stroke
3. How to increase the consistency of your attacking strokes?
• If the ball is short and high hit the middle top part the ball; use your power in a forward downward
or downward forward direction
• If the ball is long and high hit the middle top part of the ball; use the power in a forward
(sometimes forward and a bit downward) direction or play the ball with a bit of topspin
• If the ball is short and low hit the middle (sometimes middle and top) part of the ball; use the
power in an upward and forward direction; use weak power to shorten and heighten the ball
trajectory or use a bit of topspin on the ball
• If the ball is long and low hit the middle (middle top) part of the ball; use the power in a forward
and upward direction and use more power to lengthen the ball trajectory
• If the ball is a strong topspin create a low and short ball trajectory; hit the middle top (or even top)
part of the ball; use your power in a forward or forward and downward direction; the more the spin
on the in-coming ball use accordingly a more closed angle and less power so the ball won’t go off
the table
• If the ball is a strong backspin create a high and a long ball trajectory; hit the middle or middle
lower part of the ball. Use your power in a forward and upward direction; the more spin there is on
the in-coming ball the more power you will need to use so the ball isn’t drawn down into the net
4. How to increase the consistency of your push and chopping strokes?
• If the ball is short and high brush the middle (middle and low) part of the ball and use the power in
a downward and forward direction
• If the ball is long and high create a low ball trajectory; hit the middle and lower part of the ball and
use the power in a forward and downward direction so the ball doesn’t fly off the table
• If the ball is long and low create a long and high ball trajectory; brush the middle low or almost the
lowest part of the ball; use the power in a forward direction
• If the ball is short and low create a high and short ball trajectory by brushing the lower part of the
ball and use the power in a forward direction. Use the amount of power carefully to slow down the
speed of the ball
• If the ball is a strong topspin create a low and short ball trajectory. Use a very small ‘open’ angle
of the bat and brush the middle or the middle and lower part of the ball using the power in a
downward direction. Use more power if required (the more topspin, the more powerful the chop
should be)
• It the ball is a strong backspin create a long and high ball trajectory, brushing the ball with an
‘open’ bat angle. Brush almost the bottom part of the ball and use the power in a forward direction
In table tennis every stroke can result in winning or losing the point, so consistency of the stroke is
extremely important. You should avoid however practising consistency separately, but do this
together with speed, spin, power or placement.
5. Speed:
Speed is another very important aspect of the technical quality of table tennis.
• The faster your stroke the less time your opponent will have to prepare a counter. A faster
topspin will be (generally) more dangerous to your opponent than a slow topspin. If your strokes
are faster than your opponent’s, you will have a better chance to gain and maintain the initiative
and you will have more opportunities to attack
• Find the best relationship between the speed and consistency of your strokes
6. How to increase the speed of your strokes?
• Stay close to the table so that you can hit the ball early, shortening and lowering the ball
trajectory
• According to the power of the in-coming ball make your swing shorter and utilise the power of the
coming ball. Use the ‘small power’ of your forearm and wrist
• With the same length of the ball trajectory, hit the ball harder (use more power) to shorten the
time of the ball trajectory
• Increase the ‘hitting component’ of your stroke and decrease the ‘friction component’ of your
stroke
• In your physical preparation emphasise the development of speed (reaction time, playing arm,
footwork etc.) agility and coordination. The faster your swing and the bat movement, the faster the
speed (or spin) on the ball
• In your whole technical-tactical, physical and mental training develop anticipation ability and
adaptive intelligence when playing table tennis
7. Spin:
• Spinning the ball is the next important method to create difficulty for your opponent. The more
spin you can produce in your service, push, chop or topspin, the more difficult your strokes will be
to return and the better chance you will have to create spin variety
• Most table tennis strokes have spin. For example a loop can have around 130 revolutions per
second, chop around 105, push 50, fast attack 30 etc
• If you hit the ball with an ‘open’ or ‘closed’ angle of the bat you will create spin. The force of the
stroke can be divided into two components: -- hitting - causing movement of the ball forward; and --
friction - causing spinning of the ball. The amount of spin depends on the friction component of
your stroke and the spin on the in-coming ball
• When producing the spin we can have two situations: -- reversing the spin- e.g. looping the loop
or pushing the push – or adding to the spin- e.g. .looping the backspin ball or chopping the topspin
• In case of adding to the spin, the direction of spin of the in-coming and returning ball is the same.
In case of reversing the spin, the direction of spin of the in-coming and out-going ball is opposite.
You can add spin only if the friction component of your stroke is more than the in-coming spin
level. If the in-coming chop has spin of 30 revolutions per second and your topspin is equal to 30
revolutions per second or less the ball won’t have extra spin
• In the case of reversing spin you can return a similar ball with a different spin. If the in-coming ball
has backspin and your stroke achieves more revolutions than the incoming spin, you will return the
ball with backspin. If your spin is equal to the in-coming spin, you will return a no-spin ball. But if
your spin is less than the in-coming spin, you will return a topspin ball. If the in-coming ball is
topspin and your spin exceeds the in-coming spin, then your return will be also topspin. If you
create less than the in-coming spin, then your return will be backspin
• If you understand and apply these principles in the game you can create more consistent strokes
but also a variety of spins in your game and you will know why some counter-topspins fall into the
net and some others fly off the table
8. How to increase the spin in your strokes?
• Brush the ball with the maximal ‘friction component’ and minimum ‘hitting component’ of your
strokes and as far from the centre of the ball’s mass as possible. Brush the ball with a ‘closed
angle’ (topspin) or ‘open angle’ (back spin) etc
• Increase the power of your stroke and/or the speed of the bat during the moment of bat to ball
contact to increase the ‘friction component’ of your stroke
• Use rubbers that produce extra spin (smooth pimples-in rubbers).
• To increase the spin of your stroke, especially the spin of your service, contact the ball on the
furthest part of your bat
• To increase the spin of your stroke -- push, chop or topspin, brush the ball with an inward curving
swing
9. How to increase the power of your strokes?
• With fast and accurate footwork you take the optimal position for a powerful stroke. In other
words you come to the ball quicker and are better placed to play a strong shot. This position should
enable you to utilise your whole body (legs, hips, trunk, arms etc.) to produce the complete whip-
like movement. The distance between your playing shoulder and the ball at the moment of bat to
ball contact should be as far as possible. (In women’s play strokes are often shorter thus creating
less pressure on the back. Most women also play closer to the table use the ‘total’ body less and
develop less power than the men.)
• Before you play the stroke stretch the muscles so they can contract faster and your stroke can be
more powerful (elastic energy)
• To achieve full power in your stroke find the right angle between the trunk, arm and shoulder.
When you are playing forehand strokes hit the ball in front of the right side of the body (right-
hander). When you are playing backhand strokes hit the ball in front of the left side of body (if you
are right-handed)
• To produce the maximum power in your stroke, your bat should be at its fastest at the moment of
bat-ball contact. To ensure that your stroke movement is ‘whip-like’- the legs should lead the hips,
hips should lead the trunk, the trunk should lead the arm, the arm should lead the forearm and the
forearm should lead the wrist. In the case of weaker strokes the movement can be shorter and the
centre of gravity can shift only a little. To produce the maximum power in your stroke make sure
that the accelerative phase of the swing is long enough
• After the stroke relax your muscles immediately and returned quickly to the basic ready position
so you are prepared for the next stroke. To be ready for the following stroke make sure that the
follow-through phase is not too long (as short as possible without losing balance)
• In your physical preparation emphasise the development of coordination of whole body
movements and dynamic power
10. How to increase your ability to control the placement of the ball?
• Every time you play table tennis, in every table tennis technical and tactical exercise be aware of
where you are placing the ball. Develop precise placement of your every stroke, increase the
difference between long and short balls, between the ball played to wide backhand and the ball
played to wide forehand
• If you practise ‘one to one’ exercises be accurate in hitting the ball to a set spot. For example if
you practise cross court (backhand or forehand) master sending the ball long but also to a very
wide angle
• If you practise ‘one on two’ exercises (set routine or random), work on widening the distance
between ‘down-the-line’ and ‘cross-court’ strokes
• If you practise ‘two on one’ you have a great opportunity to practise the ability to control the
placement together with footwork.
• If you practise ‘two on two’ exercises (set routine or random, left and right, short and long etc.),
work at widening the distance between the short and along ball, the wide to backhand and wide to
forehand balls. This is an excellent opportunity to develop your ability to control the placement and
the ability to control variety of placement and at the same time improve your footwork flexibility and
agility for you and your playing partner
11. Creating individual playing styles:
Creating the individual playing style of the table tennis player starts from learning the grip,
therefore the scientific selection and determination of the individual playing style is not only the first
problem to be solved in initial training, but is also intimately related to the athlete’s future technical
development and improvement.
The scientific selection and determination of playing style should consider the following factors and
constraints:
• The athlete’s individual characteristics, personal interests, personality and body type,
temperament etc table tennis developmental factors, the technical characteristics of various styles
of play, trends in development, the proportion of some aspects over others. One of these aspects
is the selection of the right playing equipment
• The experience of long-term development of many elite athletes shows that selection and
determination of playing style is the result of all the above mentioned various factors, of which the
athlete is the main component. Personal interest seems to be the most important factor
• To achieve the highest possible level in table tennis, it is especially important to do a good job in
the initial training stages, to design good long-term development plans with ambitious goals and to
strive to find future talented professionals. Also it is important to have in mind the requirements of
the next stages, the quality and quantity, and making sure that the highest standards are met etc
12. Specific fitness training
• According to Chinese studies about specific fitness for table tennis this is mainly based on
aerobic metabolism with moderate intensity in table tennis specific training and the order of
importance of physical qualities is: agility, speed, and power
• In table tennis endurance training should also be combined with agility, speed and power training
Development and Training
Rowden 2012
To develop full potential the prime criterion is that the player has an understanding of his/her own
style of play as early as possible in his/her career. Bear in mind that tactical development is based
crucially on technical abilities. If the player doesn’t have the technical weapons to play his/her own
game most effectively then the performer never reaches full potential. Throughout Europe there
has to be a great deal more attention payed by coaches to the individual development of the player
and to maximising his/her own personal style of play.
However there is much more to coaching and developing potential than just focusing on the
individual characteristics. It is the responsibility of the coach to address 3 prime areas in the
training and evolution of the player:
1. Pointing the way to develop adaptive intelligence and use multi-choice exercises, which require
assessment of the opponent’s shots and decision making from the player.
Because table tennis is such an extremely fast reaction sport it is of crucial importance that
players, right from the early developmental stages learn to be adaptable and not to think in
predictable patterns or to play in predictable ways. Essentially reactions should be automatic
because subconscious reactions are much faster than ‘thinking’ reactions. But essentially the mind
has to be trained to be adaptable and flexible. Therefore the reaction base must be as large as
possible, so that the player reacts automatically and effectively to more and more diverse
situations. Training must reflect this. Equally the player must as much as possible learn to think
quickly in tactical and strategic situations and exercises should exhibit the requirement for rapid
decision-making and for accurate assessment of the opponent’s shots and tactics to ensure the
best possible responses.
2. Directing the player to train in the right way for him/her as a male or female. Training and
development will almost always be radically different.
Training and development for the two sexes will be different and this should be reflected from the
early developmental stages not only in shot production and tactics (the type of strokes most
commonly used and the way in which they are used), but also in the ready position, movement
patterns and the distance from the table. Not only the technical areas will differ but also the
physical and mental requirements and this should be understood by the coach from the beginning.
3. Helping the player to fully understand that training in the right way for him/her as an individual is
crucial to the realisation of full potential and that the training regime should be such that it is most
beneficial to the growth and eventual blossoming of individual style.
Many players reach senior level (and some even go through their whole career in table tennis)
without ever really understanding in detail just how they should play as an individual to achieve the
most successful results and to reach full potential. The coach has a real responsibility in this area
to guide the player towards an in-depth and complete understanding of his/her own strengths and
how the style should ultimately evolve. Even more fundamental is the understanding from the
player’s side of the training methods and regimes required to reach full potential. Especially when
the player attends sessions run by other coaches (at County, Regional or National levels) he/she
should be alert as to whether the training program is even beneficial to his/her personal style
development or whether it could be counter-productive or actually harmful !
In general terms players succeed by refining their strengths and making these stronger. The aim of
the coach should not be to make the player outstanding in areas where he/she will only ever be
mediocre.
Many of the top coaches and coach educators throughout Europe are now becoming increasingly
aware of the importance of this individual emphasis in producing top performers, who have some
chance of matching the Asians and especially the Chinese. Even more so they are becoming
aware that the comprehensive understanding by the player not only of how he/she is going to play
most effectively but also of how he/she is going to achieve this, are pivotal in attaining full potential.
As we in Europe train less in quantity and less professionally, we must use each and every
advantage we can to raise our levels if we are to compete on the world stage. Certainly we must
aim at the ideal of all our players achieving and performing at as near as possible to full potential.
In all of this we must bear in mind when coaching young players that the brain is not fully
developed till the mid-twenties. Recent research has shown that the frontal part of the brain is the
last to develop. This area deals with decision making and the assessment of possible
consequences. This of course is why so many young people between the ages of 15 and 25 often
make such bad decisions which impact seriously on their lives. They look at results and what they
can achieve in a different light to adults. The coach must also be very aware of this when dealing
with player development at a younger age. Young players do need guidance and it is up to the
coach to ensure that this is in the right direction for them.
Progression Ladder
Rowden March 2018
● At a young age the ability to do the same thing time and time again till it becomes completely
automatic and you don’t need to think about it, should be a priority
● Speed is the single most important aspect of our sport. Work at continuing to raise the levels of
speed week by week, but continue also to maintain the levels of consistency
● At all levels minimize mistakes
● From an early age learn ‘game management’ and teach yourself to focus on the opponent’s
strategies and what needs to be done to win or gain maximum advantage
● Appreciate the importance of having enough ‘alternatives’ in your game that you are able to
create change and use differing tactics to your advantage
● To reach the higher levels the importance of change cannot be stressed enough. You cannot
afford to play in predictable patterns
● Understand that to succeed at our sport requires the establishment of automatic habits. However
these must be the right habits and we must always be capable of change, of being able to use
alternatives. In other words the execution of strokes can and should be automated, but the mind
must be free to focus on tactics and strategies
● Each player will develop his/her own individual style and will have greater strengths in some
areas. However it’s always crucial to understand that your ‘best’ game may not work every time
against every opponent. This is when alternatives come into their own
● Do not overlook the area of ‘best playing distance’ from the table. Each player will have their own
‘best playing distance’ and these will be individual to the player
● When you play matches or competitions you cannot always play as you WANT to: to WIN you
must do what you NEED to do to cause problems for the opponent.
The Growth of the Coach
Rowden 2010
The Problems
Most of the top coaches in Europe are concerned as to just how effective coaching is at the
moment and if indeed we are going in the right direction and with the right methods. Particular
criticism is directed at the lack of coaching expertise in general, the in-depth knowledge of
women’s development and the increasing tendency to focus on the very young rather than
developing players for the senior game. We certainly do not seem to be producing players to
match the Asians any longer and particularly on the women’s side. Let us hear what some of the
top people at the ‘cutting edge’ of sport throughout Europe have to say.
Slobodan Grujić: The danger is that the coaches try to prepare their young players to win cadet or
even mini cadet championships and do not think about the most important long-term goal - how to
form the player, his/her technique, tactics, fitness for the future as a senior player.
Peter Sartz: Regarding women we do not have training programmes and methods only for women
yet; that’s why European women mostly can’t play at top international level. Also in Europe many
countries have done nothing to improve their women.
Dusan Osmanagić: We all see that the situation in European table tennis is not very good. For me
one of the most important reasons for such a situation is the problem with coaches - speaking of
course generally as there are for sure exceptions to the rule - most of our coaches are not capable
to meet the required standards.
Michel Gadal: We in Europe are much behind, we usually start later, we think in age categories
and try to make from young players champions in their age category, not to follow from the
beginning only the goal to make a top senior player - in that way we lose a lot of time.
Mario Amizić: The Asian countries have adapted to modern table tennis, Europe has gone
backwards. The last three years have seen a particularly rapid decline in Europe; at one time I
believed that the younger generation would be able to step into the shoes of the older, but this is
no longer a possibility. The present situation in Europe is a catastrophe but if we really think about
it, it is in fact the reality we should have expected. The methods we had in place some years ago
produced a superb generation of players but these are not working any more. We have lost our
way, we are not adapting to new trends and our model is no longer up-to-date. The older coaches
in Europe will tell you we are not educating our coaches and trainers properly or indeed in the right
way.
Rowden Fullen: There are differing coaching approaches throughout Europe, which vary from the
rigid to the flexible. Systems unfortunately breed predictability and limit creativity. There are
coaches and coaches. We have coaches who see the pathways and designs that others don’t. We
have coaches who understand the patterns unique to the individual player and the relevant designs
and intentions which are crucial to him/her reaching full potential. Finally we have a few coaches
who not only understand the theory appropriate to the individual but who can actually convert this
into reality.
Clive Woodward (England Rugby Supremo): A good coach opens your mind to new possibilities
and plants the idea that to win against the best players in the world needs a whole armoury of
playing tactics. Just like there are no rules in business there are no rules in sport. It is all right to
question traditional thinking in others, who do things in certain ways because that’s the way they’ve
always been done.
Being a top coach is not and never has been a question of certificates and diplomas and how
many you are able to accumulate; rather it’s more a matter of how you think.
In most countries the Level 1 and 2 courses for coaches are characterised by predictability and
rigidity; coaches are encouraged to go ‘by the book’ and to be conventional and to work within a
certain regulated framework. Unfortunately as these coaches try to move forward and upwards
they find that what they have been taught is no longer applicable. They find for example that what
applies to beginners and intermediates may be totally irrelevant when they come to look at the real
top players. For example at top level:
• The stance may be very much wider
• The players are more square to the table
• There is no leisurely build-up to the stroke, weight starting on the right moving to the left foot,
measured rotation of the body etc
• The movement patterns wide, especially to the FH may be very different
• Often top players will use BH receive from the middle and even from the FH
What coaches eventually realise is that they cannot be totally dogmatic if they want to move on –
their thinking has to be much more flexible and more unconventional. Unfortunately many coaches
have been at Levels 1 and 2 for too long and are firmly entrenched in their views and approach to
coaching; often they will have great difficulty in making the change and in ‘thinking on their feet’.
One of the toughest skills to teach any athlete is how to think, the toughest skill to teach any coach
is to think more flexibly! It is often hard even for experts to withhold their expertise sufficiently to
coach well. But probably one of the worse things in sport can be the dogmatic coach who insists on
dictating and forcing his ideas on to the player. Each player is after all an individual and some of
that individuality should appear in his/her game, we should not all be clones to the coach’s idea of
technical perfection.
If the coach sees the player’s performance only in the light of his (the coach’s) idea of perfection in
technique then the coach is still at the beginner level in coaching and at too low a level to be of real
value to the better player. Then too we have the aspect of image and importance. Many coaches
seem to think they are important and a considerable amount of their time and energy is directed to
maintaining their image instead of using all their capabilities to help the player reach his/her
maximum potential! In the final analysis only the player is important and he/she should be in total
focus.
The prime skill of table tennis at all levels is the ability to adapt to an ever changing situation and to
do this quickly. Training is repetition in the right environment, with the right content and the right
attitude. As a result of this repetition our strokes become ‘grooved’ and automatic. We train so we
don’t need to think about what we are doing -- so that we can in effect play on auto-pilot.
Unfortunately the way we train is often significant in reducing our chances of achieving the ideal of
adaptability.
For example once we are in this position of playing completely automatically just how are we
supposed to handle thinking about something new and different, much less being actually able to
cope with and adapt to new techniques and tactics? It is obviously vital for coaches to ensure that
their players, right from the formative years, have the opportunity to train and play against all styles
of play and combinations of material. In this way the ‘automatic’ reflexes, the conditioned
responses, that the player has to work so hard to build up, cover a much larger series of actions
and it is rather easier for him or her to adapt to new situations. In other words the content and
method of training assume rather more importance than we may have initially thought, especially in
the formative years.
Teachers, coaches and instructors unfortunately more often than not are tempted to perpetuate
conventional wisdom and to want players to learn by the ‘book’. This means that the personal
preferences, attributes and qualities of the performer are suppressed. This makes life easier for the
coach and the dependence of the player on the expert is also maintained, which many coaches
unfortunately seem to need. Equally unfortunately the unique characteristics of body and mind of
each individual are ignored or over-ridden. The pupil learns to develop to an outside prescription
instead of harnessing his or her own confidence, esteem, self-reliance and responsibility.
Often it is hard for experts to withhold their expertise sufficiently to coach well! In many instances
even the really experienced coach sees players in terms of their technical faults instead of seeing
them in terms of how effective they are and how efficiently they use their bodies. Bodily inefficiency
stems from self-doubt and inadequate bodily awareness.
We have less training time than most of the top Asian countries. So if we are to develop players
who can match and overcome the Asians we need an ‘edge’. We need to harness the full
capabilities of the players allowing them more self-awareness and giving them more responsibility
for their own progress and development. We certainly need a lesser input from the coaches. The
coach should act as a ‘sounding board’, an adviser, allowing the players to air their own ideas and
giving them the freedom to direct their own growth.
In this way not only will the player grow in a way which is appropriate and relevant to his/her own
skills and talents, but the coach will indeed grow too.
The Solutions
The training hall is the arena in which athletes learn and develop techniques and skills. The prime
skill of table tennis is the ability to adapt to an ever changing situation and to do this at speed – it is
obvious therefore that our sport is an open skill and learning to execute the same technique time
and time again is not as important as developing the ability to select the most appropriate
technique to suit a changing situation.
Training must provide continuous and evolving possibilities for our athletes to apply a variety of
techniques in a realistic and competitive environment. Coaches must ensure that players, as they
progress through the learning process, are able to identify the most suitable technique (and the
most appropriate for them as individuals) and apply this in a variety of differing situations. Even
with an open skill such as ours, it is crucial to develop an automatic or subconscious reaction level
(as this is how we play best) but because we are facing a rapidly changing situation all the time, to
cultivate adaptive intelligence is absolutely vital. How do we do this? In a number of ways – we
must for example:
• Train against all styles of play, penholders, left-handers, blockers, loop players, defenders, long
pimple players etc.
• Learn to read the game more quickly (watching the opponent’s body action etc.)
• Train in the right way for the individual, using variable/random or thinking situation exercises.
• Use alternative training, such as multi-ball and use this technique in a variable/random manner.
• Train in a fashion which compels the player to react most rapidly to changing situations.
The coach should also try to identify a new way forward with players working from their own
experience and perceptions rather than his own. In our sport the most effective way for the
performer to increase physical efficiency is to become increasingly aware of the physical
sensations during activity. The awareness of bodily sensations is crucial to the development of
skills. Unfortunately the majority of coaches persist in imposing their technique from outside. No
two human minds or bodies are the same – how can the coach tell the player how to use his or
hers to best effect, only the player can do this by being aware! Let us try to encourage our players
to use their own intrinsic feedback to maintain and to refine their competence in applying various
techniques.
Practice and how to do this should be evaluated in terms of short and long-term gains and also in
terms of memory retention – some training methods result in rather better long-term retention and
performance than others. We also of course need to practise in the right way so that we are able to
adapt and quickly in the face of the myriad differing situations we will face in competition.
• Constant exercises where we repeat exactly the same stroke to the same place, with the same
length and the same spin are usually not very useful in transferring techniques into a competitive
environment. Each shot is identical to the next and the previous and the technique is very specific.
Such exercises are of more use in closed situations such as shooting rather than in learning open
skills such as in our sport, where we continually face new and differing challenges.
• Blocked exercises are also very similar where we repeat the same stroke but with minor
variations in pace, length, spin etc. Again one technique performed repeatedly hinders the transfer
of technique into an open or competitive environment. Such practice may appear very efficient and
looks good, but is unlikely to have any lasting learning effect and will usually break down in
competition, where we don’t meet the same predictability.
• Variable practice is when performers try to deliberately vary the execution of one technique, using
differing speeds, spins, heights and placement. This helps performers to learn the technique more
effectively, helps its recall and retention into the long-term memory banks and helps with the
transfer of the technique into a competitive situation.
• Random practice where we mix a variety of techniques, not only helps recall and retention but
also develops the ability to select the most appropriate technique for the situation and is most
beneficial to an open skill such as table tennis. Obviously this type of practice most replicates the
competitive environment and also forces the player to be actively involved in the learning process.
• Mental practice of techniques can also help the learning process especially if we imagine
executing the technique using all the senses – the resulting image is then that much more vivid
and realistic. Use of mental imagery can be particularly helpful when recovering from injury,
learning new techniques and when preparing for the big match or tournament.
The main problem in our sport is the instability of the environment. The player must be effective in
a constantly evolving situation. High level players for example learn from mistakes immediately and
do not repeat errors – they find effective solutions rapidly. Adaptive intelligence is the ability to
evaluate a scenario in an instant, take in all the immediately available solutions and then take the
best action. Often this is called reactive thinking – the ability to think clearly under pressure and
use any available means to hand to resolve the problem.
Speed and anticipation in sport however are not based on reactions but come from highly specific
practice over a long period of time. Top performers possess enhanced awareness and anticipation.
But the accumulated knowledge and experience are crucial. The really experienced player sees
cues in the preparation and movement build-up which enables him/her to be certain where the ball
is coming. The less experienced player does not yet have this ability (and may never have it). Also
this is not something you can teach in a classroom over a few weekends, it is an understanding
which grows and flowers in the player over countless hours of meaningful participation in a
particular sport (or other areas of life) and it is selective to that particular activity.
To be a really successful top-level table tennis player requires the nurturing and evolution of this
aptitude through specific training – for the top coach to produce top players he or she has to be
constantly aware of this fact and also be aware of the means of stimulating and fostering this
ability. Regrettably too many of the training exercises we continue to use even at quite high level in
Europe still reinforce predictability rather than cultivating adaptive intelligence.
What may not be readily obvious either is that adaptive intelligence is much more crucial in the
women’s game than it is in the men’s. This is of course because there are many more ways to the
top and many more different styles of play in women’s table tennis. Not only do women face a
much larger variety of styles but also a much larger variety of materials, which means that the
larger element of unpredictability inherent in women’s play requires them to be more adaptively
‘aware’.
Above all however it must be understood that for any practice to be effective it must be tailored to
the style of the individual player. Players are individuals with a host of differing ways of playing.
Exercises which are very beneficial to one player may in fact be detrimental to another. The prime
criterion of the value of practice to the individual is whether or not this complements the player’s
evolution. For this to happen the player must be aware of the direction of his or her development
and the means of achieving maximum potential – unfortunately a number of players go through
their whole career without ever understanding these aspects.
Imagine the situation on a high-level training camp with the best young players in the country if the
4 coaches in charge all feed in a differing input and then expect the players to comply. The players
will certainly be confused to say the least and the coaches will not get the best from either the
group or the individuals. Envisage the difference if the 4 coaches, all with diverse backgrounds and
experience, approached the players in an identical way. ‘What do you think you should be doing, I
think these are the possibilities, but where do you want to go? Are you comfortable with your style
of play? How does your stroke feel, do you feel a tightness, a tension anywhere, in wrist, arm,
shoulder etc? I think this, but what do you feel? Are you comfortable with your distance from the
table, your FH and BH split etc? Do you understand there are many things you can correct for
yourself and that the awareness of bodily sensations is crucial to the development of skills? Are
you aware that your development should be yours, not someone else’s?’
Coaching is unlocking a player’s potential to allow him or her to maximise performance. It is
helping players to learn for themselves rather than instructing them. In many cases the way we
learn and more importantly the way we teach in our modern society must be questioned and
modified. The coach must think of the player in terms of potential and not performance. Good
coaching or mentoring should in fact take the player beyond the limits of the instructor’s own
knowledge.
Training Tips
Rowden April 2017
● Every practice session should be tough and should extend your limits. In this way when you play
matches it becomes easier
● In training you should work until you’re tired, then you learn to focus, concentrate and to maintain
your willpower at a higher level when you would normally be fading because of fatigue
● In all training there should be a culture of work-rate and an intention to improve and learn even if
it’s only learning more about yourself and what you can achieve
● Don’t settle for being a one-dimensional player. Let your individual characteristics flower and
especially in the women’s game bear in mind there are many more routes to top level. There
should be more focus on the individual you
● It’s not the sparring that is of the utmost importance. Direction is the prime directive; how you are
going to attain full potential, what alternatives do you need against differing styles and how quickly
can you recognize and adapt to change in tactics? Table tennis is all about change and how you
cope with this.
● Your style of performance should be tailored to the ‘whole’ you. Does it embrace what you do
best technically, do you have the suitable physical attributes and is it mentally the way you really
want to play?
● Rather than talent it is purposeful practice and the intensity of effort and exertion that
distinguishes the best from the rest
Girls and Boys: Coaching Development
Multi-ball
Multi-ball is an important tool not only in the advanced areas but also in the initial stages.
Obviously at beginner level it is almost impossible for two learners to keep the ball on the table and
to have meaningful practice. Not all clubs have the advantage either of having parents and feeders
eager to join in and to help in this situation. It is however quite productive to have half a dozen
beginners rotating and playing say 5 shots each at one end of the table, while the coach/trainer
controls from the other.
However even in these early learning stages (or certainly as soon as the player can play two or
three strokes in a row from a static position) it is important to emphasise the differences between
girls’ and boys’ development.
Multi-ball Girls
When performing multi-ball with girls it’s important that you contact the ball close to the net or at
most half-way down the table on your side. Also important that you hit the ball from below net
height or at most at the same height. In this way you give the girls less time, feed them a natural
ball and don’t give them too much spin. Bear in mind that the women’s game is about controlling
speed and it’s vital that girls hone their reflexes and come to terms with the best way for each of
them as an individual to deal with the fast ball.
You will soon see that whereas some girls want to stay in and block or counter, others will naturally
go back and want to take the ball later. You will then be in a position as a coach to help them
develop their own individual style and to pinpoint even within the general style type, which
specialties the player should work on (for example some defenders may be good at chop and float,
others at chop and topspin counter, some attackers good at fast counter-hitting, others at varying
the pace or using spin). You will also be in a position to assess which rubbers will be of most
benefit to your developing player.
Multi-ball Boys
In the case of boys’ multi-ball (when starting with beginners) you should look to contact the ball at
the end of the table. Contact the ball from between net height to below table level. In this way you
give boys more time, a natural ball for them and more spin (although in the real beginner stages
obviously don’t give them too much). As the player progresses, you build up and vary the spin from
slow loop to fast loop-drive helping the boys to come to terms with the spin game they will meet at
senior level.
There will be variations in style development with the boys too (not however as many or as varied
as with the girls) and you should be alert to these. With the boys the most important aspect in the
modern game is play from the ‘mid-area’, this being the position from which you can win points.
Holding and occupying the mid-area and playing power and spin from here is vital – if men drift too
far back they are under more pressure, lose control of the table (angles and change of pace are
against them and they have to move more) and it’s difficult if not impossible to win the point. Even
however with the boys you will come across the odd defender or close-to-table player and not all
players will play the same from the mid-distance, some will play with more spin, some more slowly
or with better angles etc. The ultimate aim of course is to help players find their strengths and to
play to these.
Multi-ball boys and girls
One of the single most important aspects in the development of both sexes (and one which can be
done together, especially in the intermediate and advanced stages) is the capability to open up
against the backspin ball and on both wings. Far too many coaches leave opening on the BH till it’s
too late and many top girls/women still have a weakness in this area. The earlier you start, the
sooner this will be completely natural to the player.
Bear in mind too that girls will often open in a different way to boys and if they are using pimples it
will be necessary to explore differing racket angles and timing points. Boys will usually open with
more spin but need to be able to drive too (especially on the next ball). Girls will often just drive to
open (usually at ‘peak’ timing or a little (2 – 3 centimetres) before) and as a result the trajectory of
the ball will be flatter and slower after the bounce on the opponent’s side of the table. A very small
percentage of girls are able to spin well, if you encounter one of these help her to develop the ‘spin’
game.
Backspin feeding is better done from the close to net position for both sexes, as it is then easier to
bring in the short drop-shot and to develop short play.
Material
This is a minefield – there are over 100 long pimple and anti rubbers on the market with differing
frictions and sponge thicknesses. In the area of short pimples there are around 150, some almost
as grippy as reverse, others with very limited friction, plus of course variation in sponge
thicknesses.
If you think one of your players would benefit by using pimples, the first question for him/her to ask
is not — ‘Which material should I now use?’ Instead it must be – ‘Where am I going now in terms of
my playing style? How do I want to play?’ I would suggest you then contact an expert in the use of
material with some salient details of the player and their style.
Thinking points on differences – boys and girls development
We must consider time and the implications of the time element in men’s and women’s table
tennis. Men more often than not play from further back, with more spin and a more pronounced
arc. Because of these factors although they hit the ball harder it takes fractionally longer to reach
the opponent on the other side of the table. Women take the ball earlier and play flatter with less
spin. There is a big time difference between attacking close to the table and executing similar
strokes say three metres back. This is because of all the racket sports, table tennis is the one
where the ball slows most dramatically through the air and where spin most affects the trajectory of
the ball.
If we have two women both playing at the end of the table the time from contact to contact can be
as little as 0.2 of a second or less. If one player is 3 metres back both will have around 0.5 of a
second to react and to play the ball. If however two men are 3 metres back they will have a second
or slightly more to play shots, which at top level is a long time. What we have to bear in mind too is
that the limit of human reaction time is on average around 0.25 seconds so that women playing at
the end or over the table are at the upper limits of or outside normal reaction time.
Just what are the implications of this difference in the time element? It has for a start a direct
influence on technique for players who stay close to the table. When you have less time technical
considerations such as stroke length and playing the FH across the face assume rather more
importance – or for example playing the BH with the right foot or right shoulder a little forward. If
the technique is sloppy you deny yourself recovery time for the next ball.
Equally movement patterns are vital – it is critical that women have the correct patterns for their
style of play and can execute them with good balance. Above all retained squareness is vital –
because they are closer to the table, women need to be ready at all times to play either FH or BH
without a moment’s hesitation. A number of the world’s top women not only stay very square but
they step in to the FH corner to cut off the wide ball early thus increasing their options in close-to-
table play.
Having a stance with the right foot back when close to the table has several major drawbacks –
 It limits strong rotation of the hips (centre of gravity) and ultimate power development within
the time frame.
 It leaves weaknesses in the body and crossover areas.
 If players bring the right foot through to square up this takes too long.
 It encourages players to move back as they play wide forehands and militates against
taking the ball early on the forehand side.
On the other hand using the square or over-square stance while close aids recovery and there is
no lack in power input provided rotation is good. The most common fault is that players take the
ball too late; if the square or over-square stance is to be used then early timing is vital and
participants must be ready to contact the ball well in front of the body.
From the above you can easily conclude that in the women’s game because of the greater
pressure of time, your development and refining of the players’ technique is crucial. Girls need to
be square when close to the table, need above all to finish each stroke square (facing the
opponent) and with the racket in the central recovery position (ready for the next stroke wherever
the ball may come). They must use movement patterns which help them remain square and help
them retain and utilise the larger number of alternatives which exist in the close-to-table game.
They should use short strokes with good hip rotation to maintain power on the FH. Economy of
stroke and movement is more often than not the key.
Tactical considerations also become crucial. Not only do almost all women stand closer to the
table, they also stand squarer, use more BH serves, receive more with the BH from the middle and
play more BH shots from the middle. Nor are these tactics accidental as almost all the top women
both Asian and European utilize them and many women so doing, such as Boros and Guo Yan,
have in fact extremely strong FH strokes. These tactics are used because they work and because
they save time.
Boys and girls – exercises, points to consider
A common tactic in the boys’ game is counter-loop against loop. This never happens in the
women’s game and should not be practised by them. There is a difference between men and
women in the main purpose of topspin – men spin to win the point, women spin to make an
opening to kill the ball. In the women’s game the counter to a topspin ball varies depending on the
style of the player and can be a counter-hit, a block or a chop. Boys should train to re-loop, girls to
spin one and drive the next. Boys should also bear in mind the importance of occupying the critical
mid-distance area.
Girls should work at varying pace, length and placement and also using the angles more – it’s
much easier to do this from a close-to-table position. Boys should work at varying spin and speed
with spin (also using sidespin). Many male players have problems for instance in forcing the
slower, low and long topspin ball.
The majority of top women even those with very strong FH’s, use BH receive of serve regularly
often from the middle or even the FH side and girls should train at this. (This is often safer and
enables them to recover quicker to the 4th ball). Girls are often weaker against short serves to their
FH side. Boys should train more to receive the serve with the FH and to play 4th ball FH – because
they are faster round the table this presents fewer problems for them.
Women use more BH serves than men as this enables quicker recovery for the third ball and 3rd
ball attack. Men more often use the FH serves and try to get in with the FH on the 3rd ball even
from the BH corner.
For the boys devise exercises where control of spin and power is important, for the girls control of
speed and placement.
Always pay more attention to the ready position and stroke technique with girls playing close to the
table. With the boys a ready position with the right foot back is not as critical as they are faster
round the table, want to get their FH in more and will often drop back to topspin so that a partially
sideways stance here means they still have time to recover. Also if you watch in detail how the top
men execute the FH strokes you will perceive that many of them square up as they play the shot
so as to be ready for the next ball.
Common exercises for both boys and girls
 Variation in pace, spin, length and placement.
 Pushing and short play. Use mainly early timing on the push and use of spin and float balls.
Cultivate ability to push long, drop short and flick.
 Opening against backspin balls.
 Training against defenders and/or ‘funny’ bat players.
 Training against penholders.
Equipment
Bats and Rubbers
Much of the advertising material which is written in the various brochures on materials is of very
little use to the ordinary player and often misleading. The hardness of the wood and the make-up
of the ply, how it is bonded and whether you have carbon fibre or titanium mesh layers will all affect
the speed and control. Generally one ply will be more rigid and the ball will kick off the blade
quicker, multi-ply will be more flexible with more control and stability. The choosing of a blade is a
rather more personal matter than the rest of the equipment and it should feel right to the player.
Tests in one or two countries appear to indicate that there is an ideal racket weight for the player at
differing stages in his or her development and variation by even a few grams can cause a drastic
loss of form.
many of the tests they use are very simplistic and bear little or no relation to how a rubber is used
in a match. Players also use the same rubber in different ways and with different feeling.
Let us examine the characteristics of the rubber as it is this which contacts the ball.
Dwell time
This is how long the ball stays on the racket during the contact phase of a stroke, (bear in mind this
is a mere fraction of a second, if you have ever chalked a ball and thrown it to a player who slow
loops and tries to maintain a long contact you find that the mark on the ball is never more than one
centimetre). Rubbers have different dwell times for different strokes. The ball will be held longer for
a slow loop as opposed to a kill. Some players also ‘carry the ball’ longer than others even for the
same stroke. A long dwell time will often benefit spinners and blockers while a short dwell time will
suit defenders and hitters. The dwell time is also affected by the blade you use and how the ball
comes off the racket depends much on the rubber and sponge and how quickly it penetrates
through these to reach the wood layer underneath.
Resilience
The energy stored in the rubber during the contact phase of the stroke. Some rubber and sponge
combinations are much more elastic than others and will hold the ball longer on the surface at a
closed racket angle. This stored energy is converted to produce spin. While elasticity levels will
certainly increase we must bear in mind that the sponge cannot create energy, but can only
minimize energy losses. Compared to a hard bat a ‘sponge’ bat can be swung in a much flatter
plane so giving the ball more forward speed with spin. The sponge helps to lift the ball over the net.
Impact behaviour
A rubber and sponge can have differing performances at different impact speeds. At a slow speed
there may be very little elasticity but you may get very good spin and speed when the ball comes
into the racket with more pace. When you achieve maximum impact speed you can swing the
racket harder but you will get little or no more effect. Some rubbers are said to have good gearing
for spin and speed, which means they produce and maintain good effect over a wide range of
impact speeds.
Throw-angle
The angle of the flight of the ball as it comes off the racket surface in the direction the bat is
travelling. Differing blades and rubbers affect the throw-angle considerably as will different strokes
(the angles would be very different if you were looping for example with very tacky rubber or with
anti-loop). The throw-angle will also vary depending on whether the contact is on the outside of the
racket or in the middle, or whether low, in the middle or high on the ball. High throw-angle rubber
generally has a higher ratio of spin than speed, compared to low throw-angle rubber. (Flexible,
slower blades typically increase the angle).
Stall-angle
The contact angle at which speed/spin of a rubber is dramatically reduced — at certain angles all
rubbers will stall and not store energy (the ball will just drop off the racket, as it sometimes does
when it contacts the outside edge). The stall-angle can be used effectively for dummy loops or
short serves. A rubber with a wide range of stall-angles (or used with a badly matching blade) will
have little or no control. A stall can also occur when the racket contact speed is too fast at a
particular contact angle.
Friction
The grip of the rubber. Under certain conditions and with certain techniques some super-high
friction rubbers can give less spin/speed than ones with much lower friction characteristics.
Sometimes super-grippy rubbers have less spin at high speed — there is a critical level above
which little or nothing is gained. Some very tacky rubbers have the characteristic of slowing the ball
dramatically at low impact speeds, a function which is very useful in certain strokes. A low friction
rubber has difficulty generating speed at closed racket angles. Remember always the friction of
many rubbers is impact-dependent, they are more effective when the ball is coming at speed.
Sponge
Sponge can vary from soft to hard and from about 0.4 mm to 2.5 mm and the density of the sponge
contributes to the weight of the racket. The amount of spin generated by a rubber is closely related
to the elasticity of the sponge (irrespective of the top sheet of rubber), below a certain critical level
for a given sponge, the spin of the rubber will be considerably reduced. This can be improved
through the correct use of speed glues/optimisers which will increase the resilience by up to 30%.
Players who glue usually prefer soft or medium sponges.
Glue
Adhesives and glue sheets are used to put the rubbers on the blade. Speed-glues/optimisers are
used to increase the performance of the rubber in respect of spin, speed, control, throw and stall-
angles. It is always recommended that you allow each coat of glue/optimiser to thoroughly dry
before applying the next coat — otherwise you can get a ‘mushy’ effect which seriously affects
performance when the glue is a little wet.
Properly applied speed-glues/optimisers can increase the spin and speed capabilities of the rubber
by up to 30% (remember however that some glues/optimisers do not work well with certain
sponges, especially most hard and more dense sponges). Also the glue must be regularly
‘removed’ from the rubber sheet and the build-up must not be allowed to become too thick. All
rubbers (where speed-glue is used) should be taken off the blade as soon as possible after play so
that the tension in the rubber is released.
One interesting characteristic of speed-glued/optimised rubber is that it has a very predictable
effect over a wide range of strokes. Its ability to store energy is nearly constant over a large range
of impact speeds, (in normal rubber the storage of energy bottoms out at higher speeds).
Funny Rubbers
What is happening
Understand spin and its importance
Tactics to use and to expect
Advanced research areas
WHAT IS HAPPENING
When you play with a normal reverse rubber and topspin you get just that, topspin. You get what
you execute and the opponent gets what he sees. Equally if you push or chop you get backspin. Of
course the amount of spin will vary depending on how you play the stroke, how fast the forearm
moves, how much power input, the fineness of touch etc. A great many players get into the habit of
watching the opponent’s racket and come to understand that if it goes up then there is topspin, if it
goes down there is backspin. Over a number of years of playing the habit becomes ingrained in the
mind. What was a considered response becomes automatic, an involuntary reaction. It’s very like
when you put your hand on a hot stove by accident — there is no conscious, considered thought,
the nerve ends send a message to the brain and in a fraction of a second the hand is snatched
away.
However what happens when your opponent pushes (you see the racket go down and the mind
reacts instantaneously — backspin) and the ball comes over the net without spin or even with
topspin! All the ingrained habits, all the automatic reactions are of no value and often the more
experienced the player, the bigger the problem. The new beginner can be taught to look at things
in a different way and quite quickly, here the coach has a blank sheet and can write what he wants
on it. However with the player who has some ten years experience for example it’s rather more
difficult to change thinking and attitudes reinforced countless times every day of his or her training
life.
The problem is compounded in Sweden in that there are relatively few players who use the more
extreme rubbers such as long pimple or anti-loop and there is no in-depth tradition of using such
equipment or knowing how to play against it. In many countries in Europe especially those with
large numbers of veteran players, youngsters come into contact very early in their careers with a
considerable variety of rubber combinations both in league and tournaments and quickly learn how
to cope with them. Many players in Sweden also use combination rackets without really
understanding in any depth how they should gain advantage from them. A good example is the
number of girls who play with short pimple then just use it exactly like a normal reverse rubber,
playing the same range of strokes they would have used if they had never changed! Most also fail
to realize and understand that there are a vast number of short pimple rubbers, some of which
impart next to no spin while others are almost as spinny as a normal rubber (in experienced
hands). Which should they be using and why? Again in most cases they don’t know!
The first priority in understanding how to play against different rubbers is to know the spin on the
incoming ball and which stroke you should play if you were to play with the spin — for example if
the opponent loops you would chop, if the opponent chops you would loop.
The second priority is to understand that anti-loop and pimple rubbers vary considerably from
those which cannot reverse the existing spin to those which can easily reverse the spin on the ball.
For example if you serve with very much backspin and your opponent pushes back just after the
bounce you could very well get considerable topspin on the return ball, especially if he or she is
using a hard anti-loop or a non-frictional long pimple without sponge. This happens because the
opponent’s rubber doesn’t grip the ball so in effect you get your own spin back. When you serve
backspin the ball is spinning back towards you — if this spin remains unchanged it must come
back as topspin. The equation is further complicated because most players don’t serve just
backspin, they serve sidespin too. The ball therefore then is returned as topspin with a sidespin
kick, even though the opponent has pushed it back!
If on the other hand your opponent returns your backspin serve with a high-friction short pimple
rubber you could very well have much backspin on the return ball. Your opponent has the
capability of reversing the spin and imposing his or her own spin. Equally the experienced player
depending on how he or she decides to play the stroke, can return the ball with very much spin or
totally without!
As you begin to see there is much to be said for training young players to watch the ball and not
the action of the other player’s racket. The Chinese train receive for example with the opponent
serving through a narrow gap between two curtains so that the receiver has no visual clues as to
which spin the server is applying — the only help he or she has is by watching the ball and the
bounce.
Just what should we be looking for when we face players with combination rackets? Firstly those
players are most dangerous who twiddle and play with both rubbers on both wings, perhaps
sometimes blocking on the forehand with anti or pimples and looping the next ball with the normal
rubber on the backhand, then changing.
Probably the single most important point to consider is whether the opponent can easily reverse
the spin or not — because this will affect your tactics and how you play against him or her. For
example if your opponent uses a hard anti-loop or a long pimple without sponge and you force him
back so that he is defending, you know that he must continue defending and cannot counter-hit
(with any effect or penetration) from this deeper position. (Of course he can always twiddle and hit
or loop with the normal rubber). Because of the nature of the rubber the ball comes off the racket
quickly and there is limited dwell-time, the ball is not held by the rubber long enough to reverse
spin, so you know that the opponent must play with the spin. (With the spin you put on the ball.)
However the game becomes rather more complicated when the opponent is able to get in and
block. You loop, he or she blocks, what spin do you get back? It can be just float if the opponent’s
rubber is slow or it can be some backspin. But the return is further complicated by the fact that you
don’t just loop with topspin, very few players do, you loop with topspin and sidespin. So you get
back a float or backspin ball with a wobble and a sidespin kick after the bounce. The same for
example when you serve your super-spinny chop and sidespin serve and the receiver pushes back
with anti or long pimple — you get a topspin return with a sidespin kick (own spin back). There is in
fact much to be said for serving and playing without spin against ‘funny’ rubbers.
The amount of effect achieved will vary from one long pimple rubber to another.
Generally speaking the most return spin will be achieved by long pimple without sponge and on a
fast blade — because the ‘surface’ is hard, the ball rebounds very quickly and is not gripped by the
rubber, therefore the spin already on it is returned without alteration. Where there is sponge,
especially if this is a bit thicker 1.0mm. or above some of the return spin will be lost as there will be
a slower rebound off the blade and the ball will come back more often as ‘float’ (without spin). After
the bounce on your side of the table of course, the ball will ‘acquire’ a little topspin.
But what about players who can get immense spin with pimpled rubber? Usually these are the
high-friction pimples, short, slightly bigger, with a rough surface to each pimple and if you want
very good effect and control usually we are talking about a thinner sponge say 1.6 – 1.9 mm and
very soft. Soft is the key to effect with control. Haven’t you sometimes wondered why almost all of
the top Asian women rarely if ever use the standard sponge provided by the manufacturer? Instead
they put their own sponge under the rubber. For years they have known something that the rubber
manufacturers didn’t know. It is only very recently that manufacturers have started producing
sponges in a number of differing hardnesses so that players can match up sponges and rubbers to
their own individual requirements. There has for example over the last twenty-five years been
much dialogue between the world’s top men and the rubber manufacturers as to what qualities
they require from a rubber, but next to nothing with the top women. Of course it’s the women who
play with the different rubber combinations but almost all the top players are from Asia and
perhaps not so high a profile in the considerations of the companies who manufacture primarily for
the western world.
Just what sort of game and tactics can you expect if you play top Asian short-pimple, pen-hold
attackers? Hard flat-hitting from the forehand but used over almost all the table, often a low, fast,
flat ball with little topspin, certainly they will kill through your loop and at an early timing point —
because many of them come down on the ball at the moment of impact you can quite regularly get
a hard hit with some backspin! Not easy to take! On the pushes you will face great variety, stop
blocks both with and without spin and many sidespin balls almost always early timed. Much
change of pace short/long, hard/soft and good use of the angles. Also devastating short play –
pen-hold players are very good at flicking short balls, dropping short and early-pushing long and
fast. This is one of the main reasons why it is so difficult to get any advantage from the receive
situation when they serve very short.
Against the long pimple players you face rather different problems more associated with lack of
speed. Often you get a low return but one which slows very rapidly. What you should always
remember against long pimples is that your opponent can usually only use what you give him and
his capability to initiate is limited. Playing against such a player is more often a question of tactics
and not of the problems posed by the rubber. If you play the wrong tactics, yes, you will make life
extremely difficult for yourself! Invariably in Sweden players try to use power and spin and usually
continuous power and spin against such rubbers. With long pimples you get back what you put in.
If you feed in very much power and spin you get back very much effect and encounter problems
with unusual spins and bounces on your own side. On the other hand if you give the long pimple
player nothing, then he has nothing to use and nothing to send back to you. Why not play a slow
roll game with little pace or spin and wait for the ball to hit hard, or change the pace more often, hit
one, push one for example? In this way you avoid the build-up of spin and effect which is what
causes the problems. More often than not it is lack of spin or speed that makes life more difficult for
the player using a long pimpled rubber.
UNDERSTAND SPIN AND ITS IMPORTANCE
Let us look a little at spin, what it is and how it affects the ball, because we need to know a little
about the basics before we can cope with playing against different rubber combinations. Most
players and coaches in Sweden will be aware of what is known in physics as the Magnus effect. In
many countries in Europe it is taught in the first coaching stage on trainers’ courses. The important
point is that both backspin and topspin cause the ball to deviate in flight. Test this for yourself. In
your own training hall loop the ball hard and long with much topspin — it will dip quickly to the floor
during flight then after bouncing will spin forward and run on to the end of the hall. The backspin
ball will veer upwards before dropping down, will run forward only a little, then will spin back
towards you and can end up spinning back past you. Not only does the type of spin affect the ball
in the air but it also affects the way the ball behaves after the bounce.
 No spin — same angle in and out, (physics, angle of incidence = angle of reflection.) This
rarely happens in table tennis, test for yourself by throwing a no-spin ball forward, the ball acquires
topspin after bouncing because the bottom of the ball is held momentarily by the floor and the top
moves forward. (If a topspin ball hits the net, the bottom of the ball is held and even more topspin
is created.)
 Topspin has a smaller angle after the bounce and the ball shoots forward low and fast.
However if you have a high, very slow loop with much spin, because the main impetus is down the
ball will often kick up a little, then drop down very quickly. This is why this type of loop is very
useful against defence players.
 Backspin has the bigger angle after the bounce, the ball slows and kicks up sometimes
quite sharply. Why many players have problems against backspin is that they don’t understand this
slowing-down effect, that the ball doesn’t come to them. They must move forward, lower the centre
of gravity and get under the ball.
Topspin is of vital importance in modern table tennis. Without topspin it would be quite impossible
to hit the ball as hard as we would like to. When we for example hit a ball which is below net height
gravity is not enough to bring the ball down on the other side of the table, especially if it is travelling
fast. Another force is required and this is provided by topspin which causes the ball to dip sharply
downwards. Thus the harder we hit, the more topspin we need to bring the ball down on the other
side of the table. Our modern reverse rubbers give us great help in hitting the ball very hard from
below net height, because they are capable of imparting very much topspin and this has an
additional advantage that the ball shoots off the table very fast after the bounce.
But why does spin cause the ball to deviate in flight and why do we sometimes have unusual,
unpredictable effects after the bounce? This is in fact to do with the interaction of the spinning ball
as it moves through the air against the flow of air molecules. (We have all felt air, when we stick
our hand out of a car window moving at speed we can feel that air is rather more solid than we
thought). As the ball moves through the air different areas of the surface are subject to lesser or
greater resistance, the Magnus effect. Topspin forces the ball down, backspin conversely forces it
up. If we take a topspin ball for example, the fast moving area at the top of the ball opposes the air
flow and we get resistance or high pressure. However at the bottom, the fast moving area of the
surface moves with the air flow, the air molecules speed up and you get low pressure. As a result
the ball is forced downwards. At the bounce the bottom of the heavily spinning ball is held, topspin
increases and the ball shoots forwards very quickly.
Sometimes the ball behaves in a different way and not as the laws tell us it should. In fact at times
it can behave exactly the opposite to what we are led to believe — a topspin can jump up and a
chop can skid low under certain circumstances. This is because of what occurs in the last 20 – 25
centimetres of flight, just before the ball actually strikes the table, (this is also a time when few if
any players watch the ball.) A skidding chop occurs when a ball comes through low with very much
backspin, (often for example when a defender takes the ball early when it is still rising) — the spin
tries to make the ball rise during the last few centimetres of its travel and hit the table later with a
shallower angle than usual, but also the faster speed gives a lower trajectory. What ends up
happening is that the ball skids through quite fast and low after bouncing. Equally a slow loop with
a great deal of topspin and a high arc, will dip sharply at the end of its flight and hit the table at a
steeper angle than normal. Its downward velocity is increased and it has a higher impact speed so
often the ball will kick sharply upwards after bouncing before dropping down quite quickly.
TACTICS TO USE AND EXPECT
Now we have looked at spin and have a little better understanding of what is happening, how can
we use the Magnus effect against pimple players and how do they use it against us? A common
tactic for example of many ‘funny’ bat players is to use their service spin or speed against us on
the third ball. They serve (with the reverse rubber) short chop for instance with very much sidespin,
then block/push fast or short on the third ball from a very early timing point with the pimples — we
receive a fourth ball with varying degrees of topspin and a pronounced sidespin kick (sidespin is
one of the most effective spins to use with pimpled rubber, especially long pimple). Short pimple
players often serve very fast and flat with the pimples and then just kill the third ball.
We should of course be thinking how to frustrate their attempts to use spin or speed against us and
not to play the type of return they want us to play. If we for example play back a ‘nothing’ ball, roll
slowly from a later timing point, we take away much of their advantage and they have not so much
spin or speed to use against us. Also if we ‘stop’ or chop block against the fast serve then we give
the opponent back a different spin/speed return and not the simple fast ball he or she expects.
Another area where many of us encounter problems is that pimple players hit the ball much flatter
without topspin, so that it’s very easy to play into the net. Pimple players too have more options
which changes how the ball is returned to us — it’s very easy with pimples to take the ball
extremely early after the bounce with both push and block. A pimple player may for example block
early and soft (throwing back our own spin), force block early and hard (imposing his own spin) or
drive at the top of the bounce giving us a fast flat ball. These returns will behave very differently on
our side of the table. It’s also often much harder to gain a real advantage when serving against the
pimples.
Lack of speed is a very effective weapon against pimple (or anti) players. Speed and power or fast
spin they usually handle well and they train much against this type of game. The slow roll ball
however without much spin or speed, which doesn’t come through very fast, often causes big
problems to such players. For the same reason the slow spin loop with the high arc is a difficult ball
for the pimple player — again it doesn’t come through like the fast loop on to the racket and it
drops low very quickly.
Equally the constant stop/start, change of speed/spin game, is not liked by ‘funny’ bat players. The
spin doesn’t have a chance to build up on the ball and as a result we don’t encounter so many
severe problems with effect and bounce. If we hit one, push one and keep doing this, sooner or
later we will get a high ball to kill.
Of course one of the first areas we should consider when playing against ‘funny’ rubbers is our
own service. There is little point in serving with immense spin only to have severe problems when
we get all our own spin back. Often it is in fact a good tactic to serve with very little spin, short or
very long and fast. In most cases we know we will only have little spin back (unless the opponent is
using a high-friction short pimple rubber). However some pimple players have difficulty against
short, heavy backspin serves or the blockers against long, fast topspin or flat serves. Of course
serving and playing to the normal rubber is always an option we should explore, but quite many
pimple players are strong on this wing and often play very positively here. Footwork however can
often be underdeveloped with pimple players, especially those who prefer to play much backhand
from the middle of the table — a long ball to the crossover point and the next wide to the wings can
often pay dividends.
Playing defence players who use pimples is a slightly different ball game, especially those with
high–friction short pimple — such players can chop with very heavy backspin, float or even hit hard
from both close and back. Defence players in general are a type of player against whom the
Magnus effect is a very useful tool as is variation in all aspects — slow, high loop (very short or
very long), where we may get an unpredictable bounce but which will certainly drop very quickly
after bouncing, is never easy for defenders. There are also the options of topspinning, using
sidespin, hitting hard and a little flatter or dropping short. Here we have a tactical difference
between the men’s and women’s game. Often the men chop so heavily and to such a good length
that the only options are to attack in one form or another or to push long. In the women’s game the
spin is usually rather less and the length not so good — also women loop with less power and as a
result get a less hard return ball, so the option to drop very short is an excellent tactic.
In both men’s and women’s play we must be on the alert for the topspin ball — the defender who
chops with very much backspin then after one or two, loops with very much topspin causes
problems to players of the highest level. The difference between the two extremes (much backspin
and much topspin) on successive balls is great and too many in Sweden try to smash the topspin
with a predictable result — out! Perhaps rather better to block short at an early timing point and
back to the pimples where we may well get an advantage on the next ball.
One fact is certain — when we play against the various rubber combinations we must think a little
more than usual and think in the context of the type of rubber we are playing against and the type
of playing style we face. It is not always possible to play our own game or in the way we normally
do. The more fixed we are in our thinking as to the effectiveness of our own game and the lack of
necessity of changing anything, the more problems we can face. Flexibility of mind is a vital priority
when dealing with factors we don’t fully understand.
What we have looked at so far is a rather simplistic view of coping with ‘funny’ rubbers and there
are many things we have not examined in any detail. A chop block for example can come back
very fast and flat, without spin if the opponent plays down and forward through the ball, or come
quite slow, short and with quite much backspin if he or she just plays down at a timing point close
after the bounce.
ADVANCED RESEARCH AREAS
If we wish to increase our knowledge of what happens and understand the differing properties of
the varying rubbers we play against, we must be prepared to research and examine in detail the
individual factors which have weight in determining how much or how little spin a ‘funny’ rubber is
capable of initiating.
Rubber Factors.
 The ‘pitch’ ratio of the pimples (how many to a square centimetre).
 The ‘line’ of the pimples (down or across the racket).
 The length of the pimples.
 The size of the pimples (how broad).
 The air ratio (how much air between the pimples).
 The grip of the pimples (smooth or rough).
 The thickness of the base sheet of rubber (under the pimples).
 The softness or hardness of the rubber sheet.
 The thickness of the sponge layer.
 The softness or hardness of the sponge layer.
 The amount of glue used.
An assessment of the above rubber factors taken in joint consideration with the following areas
relative to the racket qualities as a whole will help you to arrive at a decision as to the behavioural
characteristics of a rubber.
Racket Qualities.
Dwell time — How long the ball stays on the racket during the stroke, depends on the thickness
and softness of the sponge and the rubber, whether the ball sinks in and is held for a fraction of a
second or kicks off immediately (can also be adjusted by the blade one uses).
Resilience — The energy stored in the rubber during the contact phase of a stroke, some rubber
and sponge combinations are much more elastic than others and the ball will be held longer on the
surface. This stored energy is thus converted to produce spin. While elasticity levels will certainly
increase we must bear in mind that the sponge cannot create energy, but only minimize energy
loss. Compared to a hard bat a ‘sponge’ bat can be swung in a much flatter plane so giving the ball
more forward speed wih spin. The sponge helps to ‘lift’ the ball over the net.
Impact behaviour — A rubber and sponge can have differing performance at different impact
speeds. At a slow speed there may be very little elasticity but you may get very good spin and
speed when the ball comes into the racket with more pace. When you achieve maximum impact
speed you can swing the racket harder but you will get little or no more effect. Some rubbers are
said to have good gearing for spin and speed, which means they produce and maintain good effect
over a wide range of impact speeds.
Throw-angle — The angle of the flight of the ball as it comes off the racket surface in the direction
the bat is travelling. Differing blades and rubbers affect the throw-angle considerably (the angle
would be very different if you were looping for example with very tacky rubber or with anti-loop).
The throw-angle will also vary depending on whether the contact is on the outside of the racket or
in the middle (or whether the racket is more closed or open), or whether it is low, in the middle or
high on the ball surface.
Stall-angle — The contact angle at which the speed/spin of a rubber is dramatically reduced — at
certain angles all rubbers will stall and will not grab the ball (it will just drop off the racket, as it
sometimes does when it contacts the outside edge).
Friction — The grip of the rubber. Sometimes super-grippy rubbers have less spin at high speed —
there is a critical level above which little or nothing is gained. Some very tacky rubbers have the
characteristic of slowing the ball dramatically at low impact speeds which can be very useful in
certain strokes.
Defenders with Long Pimples on Backhand
One of the most important aspects of defensive play is that defenders have the capability to move
in and out and take both the short drop shot and the hard hit. Many good attackers will NOT hit or
loop 3 or 4 balls in a row, they know this is easy for the defender especially if they loop with speed.
Instead they will hit hard and drop short or loop slow with a higher arc and much more spin, then
smash the next ball. Sometimes they will even just roll a slow ball without pace or spin, which also
presents problems for defenders.
Bear in mind that table tennis is all about adaptability and presenting opponents with new
situations against which they don’t usually train. If you can do this then opponents do not have an
automatically grooved response to cope with the new situation, they must THINK about what they
are doing. Of course the considered, thinking response is much slower than the automatic
reactions built up over countless hours of training and even good players immediately experience
difficulty in a new, unusual situation.
In most cases defenders train much against pace and power and are particularly good at returning
the fast, hard-looped ball. This ball comes on to their racket with speed and spin and they have a
good measure of control with the return. The hard flat hit is much more difficult for defenders to
deal with and they often play into the net because the ball has much less topspin and a flatter
trajectory through the air. Also the ball behaves differently after the bounce and does not come on
to their racket as quickly as the topspin ball. The slow high-arc loop also presents problems to
defensive players as again it doesn’t come through on to the racket and often drops low very
quickly. Slow roll balls are the same – there is no pace or spin for the defender to use in his or her
return.
As we stated at the start good movement in and out is vital for defenders. It’s important that they
are fast enough to recover well after coming in for the short ball. Many attackers will for example
loop hard well out to the backhand wing, drop very short to the middle, then hit hard into the body
while the defender is still struggling to recover. It is therefore important that defensive players have
good length to their chopped returns, so that attackers have difficulty in dropping short. It is
important too that when they have a little longer push return that they can attack themselves or
push long and fast with the pimples and at an early timing point. (Many defenders play too late on
push balls and lose the time advantage and the spin reversal effect). This will give a fast float or
topspin ball and gives the opponent very little time to react. It can be equally effective to push early
with the normal rubber and with much backspin. The opponent then has little time to get into a
good position to topspin a heavily spun ball.
In the case of defenders who at times come in and block or who block with the pimples against the
long fast serves, it is of vital importance that they can hold the ball short on the table on the
opponent’s side. Many good attackers are only too much aware that they can hit the long blocked
ball hard, provided they have not created too much topspin on the previous shot. Even against top-
class loopers if long pimple block-players can hold the ball short they give the opponent a very
difficult next ball.
Defenders who can chop with very much backspin and equally loop a little slower and with very
much topspin are always difficult to cope with because of the extreme difference in the spin
element. Most women for example experience more problems against the slower ball and the
slower loop with a higher arc is used quite successfully by women defenders.
Placement and serve variation are important too against defensive players. Often players use the
wrong serves and play too predictably in the rallies. There is little point in serving heavy spin to
long pimples then not being able to cope with the next ball! Pimple players usually have rather
more problems against flat no-spin serves. A short serve without spin to the pimples means a float
return which you can confidently attack. Equally a long fast serve with a trace of backspin will often
give a little high return with next to no spin, which again presents a hard-attack opportunity.
There is equally little point in playing diagonally all the time so that the defender doesn’t even need
to move. A short ball to one wing then the next hard out to the other side will often create attacking
opportunities, as will straight play and attacks to the body. Many defenders also like to use the B.H.
from the middle and can be caught out if you hit the next ball wide to the F.H. angle.
Sidespin presents particular problems for even very good defensive players, especially in the case
of a right-hander with long pimples on the B.H. who faces a left-handed loop player. Many topspin
attackers have an element of sidespin in their loop and provided this is relatively small and topspin
predominates, the defender faces a predictable ball, the type of ball he or she trains against
thousands of times in training. It is when sidespin is the major element that the defender has
problems. The automatic reaction is to allow for the topspin factor and as a result the defender
plays into the net. Remember as we said earlier in the article table tennis is all about adaptability
and presenting opponents with situations different from those against which they normally train. It
is then that even the best players have problems.
Table Tennis and other Racket Sports
No two players play the same — there is a product however for every variation of style and this
makes the choice of the right combination just for you an extremely difficult decision. Of all racket
sports table tennis is the one which has by far the biggest variety of racket coverings. This of
course creates a bigger variety of playing styles and tactics, especially amongst the women, who in
most cases lack the power of the men. In tennis for example one may have over-sized racket
heads or higher and lower tension in the strings, but basically one racket does not vary radically
from the next — the same applies to badminton and to squash.
However it is not only the racket which is very different in table tennis with its many permutations of
spin, speed, control and effect, but also the ball which makes the game rather more difficult to
master. This is because the ball is so light, takes much more spin than the balls used in other
racket sports and slows so much more rapidly in the air. Not only must the developing player be
aware of what his own weapon can do, but also of the characteristics of the opponent’s weapon
and what his opponent is likely to be able to achieve with it. But equally, to be effective the player
must be aware of what the ball will do after contact with the racket, both in the air and after the
bounce. In other words to be proficient at our sport the player requires to be rather more aware of
the mechanics and science of table tennis and especially as we have the least time of all ball
sports to react, recover and play our next shot.
What we also have to bear in mind is that to reach full potential we have to select the weapon
which most suits our style of play and which will enable us to develop in the right way. It would be
of little use for a strong topspin player to use 1.0mm sponge as the ball would not be held long
enough on the racket. But such a thickness might well benefit a defender who wishes to initiate
heavy backspin. The beauty of table tennis is that you can tailor the equipment you use to be of
maximum benefit to your long -term development – the main stumbling block however is that there
are such an immense number of sponges and rubbers on the market, that it can be difficult if not
impossible to find the right combination to suit you. However if you are a player who is always
looking to develop and to move on, then more often than not such evolution will involve
experimentation with differing materials. We must also bear in mind that there will be changes in
players’ styles and tactics over the years which will require research into different playing
materials.
Above all what we must be able to do before we select ‘the weapon’ is to analyse our own game in
detail and decide just what characteristics the racket of our choice should possess and what we
should be able to do with it. Do we need speed, spin, control, feeling or effect and in what
quantities and combinations? If we ourselves are not capable of doing this then we will need to call
in outside help in the form of trainers or coaches who know how we play and how we win points.
Once we have our style analysis the first step is to research the blade. The choosing of a blade is a
rather more personal matter than the rest of the equipment and it should feel right both in terms of
speed and especially of weight. Blades usually vary from about 65 grams up to about 100 grams –
very few players would want to use a blade heavier than this. Tests in a number of countries
appear to indicate that there is an ideal racket weight for the player at differing stages in his or her
development and variation by even a few grams can cause a drastic loss of form. We must also
bear in mind that the thicker sponge and rubber sheets (2.2 and maximum) and particularly those
with harder sponges can add considerably to the overall racket weight (Both Western and Chinese
reverse can weigh around 40 – 45 grams, pimples out between 28 – 38 grams and long pimples
without sponge as low as 14 – 20 grams). Handles are also important and players often have a
preference for one shape or another. In the case of ‘twiddlers’ the type of handle and the width of
the blade shoulder too may assume more importance.
The second stage is to decide on the sponge, both thickness and softness/hardness. Thicker
sponges are more effective for topspin play and have better control and feeling for blocking.
Medium sponges (1.7 – 2.0) are good for close-to-the-table play and drive/counter-hitting, while the
thin sponges are best for defence, especially where heavy backspin is needed. The softness of the
sponge is of particular importance in the areas of control and effect – soft sponges are better for
blocking, attacking from an early timing point and for achieving different effects when using
pimples. Harder sponges give more speed and a faster and lower ball after the bounce when
combined with topspin.
Finally we come to the selection of the rubber topsheet. Here we are concerned with softness,
thickness and the ‘tackiness’, the friction of the rubber. Softness and thickness are important
because these characteristics allow the full influence of the blade and the sponge to come into
play. For example the combined thickness of ‘sandwich’ rubber (the rubber and sponge layers)
must legally be no more than 4.0 millimetres and the rubber itself is not allowed to be more than
2.0mm. There is however no legal requirement as to the thickness of the sponge. What has
happened over the last 5 – 8 years is that with modern manufacturing techniques, the rubber layer
can be produced in much thinner sheets (as low as 1.1 – 1.2mm) and as a result sponge layers
have been able to grow in thickness up to around 2.8mm. This obviously is very good for the loop
players.
‘Tackiness’ is also important to many players, both in the service game and in the rallies. Under
certain conditions however and with certain techniques some super high friction rubbers can give
less spin/speed than ones with much lower friction characteristics. Sometimes super-grippy
rubbers have less spin at high speed — there is a critical level above which little or nothing is
gained. Some very tacky rubbers have the characteristic of slowing the ball dramatically at low
impact speeds, a function which is very useful in certain strokes. A low friction rubber will have
difficulty generating speed at closed racket angles. Remember too that the friction of many rubbers
is impact dependent, they are more effective when the ball is coming at speed.
Lecture on Material
 The cheating rubber
 Table tennis and other racket sports
 Principles of table tennis
 Diminishing ball speed
 Mechanics of flight, bats and rubbers
 Racket coverings, standards and sponges
 European women at world level
 Authorised racket coverings
 Rubbers – reverse to material
 Rubber categories
1. THE CHEATING RUBBER
Long pimples come in many variations and different friction levels. They are not always easy to
play against but their use is quite legal. They have however always been controversial.
 Long pimples allow easy control of spinny balls – TRUE but is easy control better control?
Playing a variety of strokes with long pimples against different spins is very difficult!
 These rubbers are difficult to play against if you don’t know the right tactics – TRUE but
whose fault is this? You may as well make excuses that left-handers, pen-hold players and
defenders are equally difficult.
 You have to think when playing against long pimples – TRUE but if you normally play
without thinking then you are playing with one less weapon than your opponent!
 Top players never play with long pimples – UNTRUE some top players do and some world
champions have!
 Long pimple rubbers allow you to do nothing and just wait for your opponent to make a
mistake – if you wish to use the rubber in this way you can, but it’s not the most effective method
and in any case winning by forcing the opponent to make errors is quite legal.
 Long pimples are more effective at lower levels – TRUE but this is still nothing to do with
cheating.
 Returning the ball without taking any risks is easy with long pimples – UNTRUE it can be
very hard to return a very difficult ball so that the good opponent is unable to attack. Also at top
level the golden rule is ‘don’t let the opponent attack or at least don’t let them attack hard’.
 It’s easier to do more things and do them well with a normal reverse rubber – TRUE so this
should make it more difficult to be successful with long pimples!
 Long pimple players have it easy and don’t need to work – UNTRUE good long pimple
players have to work twice as hard to master both rubbers on both wings!
 Some pimple players use the rubber to cover a weakness – TRUE but some players use
pots of glue, blast every 3rd ball and have little control over their reverse rubber. However this is
then called good tactics or positive play, never cheating!
 There is considerable variation in how different long pimples play – TRUE but again it’s up
to you to update your knowledge and your tactics instead of just whinging. There are far fewer
legal and deceptive rubbers since the aspect ratio rule.
2. TABLE TENNIS AND OTHER RACKET SPORTS
No two players play the same — there is a product however for every variation of style and this
makes the choice of the right combination just for you an extremely difficult decision. Of all racket
sports table tennis is the one which has by far the biggest variety of racket coverings. This of
course creates a bigger variety of playing styles and tactics, especially amongst the women, who in
most cases lack the power of the men. In tennis for example one may have over-sized racket
heads or higher and lower tension in the strings, but basically one racket does not vary radically
from the next — the same applies to badminton and to squash.
However it is not only the racket which is very different in table tennis with its many permutations of
spin, speed, control and effect, but also the ball which makes the game rather more difficult to
master. This is because the ball is so light, takes much more spin than the balls used in other
racket sports and slows so much more rapidly in the air. Not only must the developing player be
aware of what his own weapon can do, but also of the characteristics of the opponent’s weapon
and what his opponent is likely to be able to achieve with it. But equally, to be effective the player
must be aware of what the ball will do after contact with the racket, both in the air and after the
bounce. In other words to be proficient at our sport the player requires to be rather more aware of
the mechanics and science of table tennis and especially as we have the least time of all ball
sports to react, recover and play our next shot.
What we also have to bear in mind is that to reach full potential we have to select the weapon
which most suits our style of play and which will enable us to develop in the right way. It would be
of little use for a strong topspin player to use 1.0mm sponge as the ball would not be held long
enough on the racket. But such a thickness might well benefit a defender who wishes to initiate
heavy backspin. The beauty of table tennis is that you can tailor the equipment you use to be of
maximum benefit in your long term development – the main stumbling block however is that there
is such an immense number of sponges and rubbers on the market, that it can be difficult if not
impossible to find the right combination to suit you. However if you are a player who is always
looking to develop and to move on, then often such evolution will involve experimentation with
differing materials. We must also bear in mind that there will be changes in players’ styles and
tactics over the years which will require research into different playing surfaces.
Above all what we must be able to do before we select ‘the weapon’ is to analyse our own game in
detail and decide just what characteristics the racket of our choice should possess and what we
should be able to do with it. Do we need speed, spin, control, feeling or effect and in what
quantities and combinations? If we ourselves are not capable of doing this then we will need to call
in outside help in the form of trainers or coaches who know how we play and how we win points.
Once we have our style analysis the first step is to research the blade. The choosing of a blade is a
rather more personal matter than the rest of the equipment and it should feel right both in terms of
speed and especially of weight. Blades usually vary from about 65 grams up to about 100 grams –
very few players would want to use a blade heavier than this. Tests in a number of countries
appear to indicate that there is an ideal racket weight for the player at differing stages in his or her
development and variation by even a few grams can cause a drastic loss of form. We must also
bear in mind that the thicker sponge and rubber sheets (2.2 and maximum) and particularly those
with harder sponges can add considerably to the overall racket weight (Both Western and Chinese
reverse can weigh around 40 – 45 grams, pimples out between 28 – 38 grams and long pimples
without sponge as low as 14 – 20 grams). Handles are also important and players often have a
preference for one shape or another. In the case of ‘twiddlers’ the type of handle and the width of
the blade shoulder too may assume more importance.
The second stage is to decide on the sponge, both thickness and softness/hardness. Thicker
sponges are more effective for topspin play and have better control and feeling for blocking.
Medium sponges (1.7 – 2.1) are good for close-to-the-table play and drive/counter-hitting, while the
thin sponges are best for defence, especially where heavy spin is needed. The softness of the
sponge is of particular importance in the areas of control and effect – soft sponges are better for
blocking, attacking from an early timing point and for achieving different effects when using
pimples. Harder sponges give more speed and a faster and lower ball after the bounce when
combined with topspin.
Finally we come to the selection of the rubber top sheet. Here we are concerned with softness,
thickness and the ‘tackiness’, the friction of the rubber. Softness and thickness are important
because these characteristics allow the full influence of the blade and the sponge to come into
play. For example the combined thickness of ‘sandwich’ rubber (the rubber and sponge layers)
must be legally no more than 4.0 millimetres and the rubber itself is not allowed to be more than
2.0mm. There is however no legal requirement as to the thickness of the sponge. What has
happened over the last 5 – 8 years is that with modern manufacturing techniques, the rubber layer
can be produced in much thinner sheets (as low as 1.1 – 1.2mm) and as a result sponge layers
have been able to grow in thickness up to around 2.8mm. This obviously is very good for the loop
players. ‘Tackiness’ is also important to many players, both in the service game and in the rallies.
Many high friction rubbers have other qualities too, such as being able to slow the ball quite
dramatically in short play.
3. PRINCIPLES OF TABLE TENNIS
1st Principle — ADAPTABILITY
The main problem in our sport is the instability of the environment. The player must be effective in
a constantly evolving situation. High level players for example learn from mistakes immediately and
do not repeat errors - they find effective solutions rapidly. As Waldner says in his book - ‘In order to
win big titles, you must master play against all playing styles. Therefore, you must regularly
practice and compete against players of different styles. The most important styles to embrace are
loop players (maximum topspin), attackers (maximum speed) and choppers (maximum backspin).
Another important aspect is play against left-handed players. I would like to remind you that both
right- and left-handed players spend 85% of their playing time playing against right-handed
players. To be successful against both right- and left-handed players requires well-developed
technique and very good balance.’
Players can reach a high level (even playing for their country) and still have major limitations in
their game if they ignore this advice. The lack of ADAPTABILITY or inability to play against a
rubber or style is ONLY your fault (no-one else’s) and the problem is in your early training.
It is interesting to note that in some countries in Europe, France and Germany for example, there is
strong evidence in players as young as 9 - 10 years of age of a highly developed adaptation
capability and their coaches are to be commended. On the other hand in countries which one may
consider to be highly progressive, such as UK or Sweden, the same capability is severely lacking
even among players in their late teens or those at senior level.
Rubbers - To access the best rubber for your particular style of play is a monumental task. There
are over 1000 differing rubbers and if you consider all the sponge thicknesses probably around
4000 or more variations. The most rapidly increasing sections are China reverse and long pimples.
Chinese rubbers are popular because of the low cost, increasingly better quality, good choice and
variation and the possibility of marrying together a variety of sponges and rubbers. Especially in
the case of pimples and women’s play it is possible to experiment with differing effects by using
differing sponges and differing hardnesses of sponge under the pimples. In the West our approach
to rubber selection is usually rather amateurish.
However we can’t just talk about rubbers - we must investigate sponges and what happens to the
ball in the air. If we don’t understand how the ball behaves during its trajectory and after the
bounce it’s hard to understand the advantages and disadvantages of differing materials. Without
understanding what happens to the ball in the air and after the bounce and the 3 speeds - off the
bat, through the air and after the bounce, one doesn’t see the whole picture and is not fully
informed. Also much of this material unfortunately is just not available in the UK.
2nd Principle - TIME AND THE CONSEQUENCES.
In the case of the average person reflex speed is around 0.20 of a second; one or two rare
individuals may be faster than this. A smash on the other hand takes 0.10 to cross the table from
end line to end line.
As we can see from (J) there is a big difference looping close to the table and executing a similar
stroke three metres back. If we feed in an initial speed of 15 m/second, ball (1) will reach the other
end of the table in 0.2 of a second or slightly less and will then have a speed of 10 m/second - ball
(2) on the other hand will take around 0.5 of a second and the speed will have dropped to 7.0
m/second. We must also bear in mind that even at relatively slow speeds, say an average of 40
kph, the ball will cover the length of the table in about 0.25 of a second which is just within the limit
of human reaction time for the average player.
In our sport the importance of ‘reading the play’, of seeing what is happening as the opponent
plays the ball (or in fact 5/6 centimetres before ball contact) is absolutely critical. We must use all
possible cues (body and arm action etc) in order to give us every possible advantage.
It is also true to say that our sport is becoming faster and faster and as a result technique (and the
economy and streamlining of all technical movements) becomes more and more important.
Balance and ‘retained square-ness’ are especially vital. Because much of our technique has to be
automated and because we play best when we react subconsciously, we have to make sure that
the automated reflexes are absolutely flawless. With today’s time restrictions there is no room for
manoeuvre.
Above all training must provide continuous and evolving possibilities for our athletes to apply a
variety of techniques in a realistic and competitive environment. Coaches must ensure that players,
as they progress through the learning process, are able to identify the most suitable technique and
apply this in a variety of differing situations. In other words because we are facing a rapidly
changing situation all the time we play, to cultivate adaptive intelligence is absolutely vital. This is
the ability to evaluate a scenario in an instant, take in all the immediately available solutions and
then take the best action. Often this is called reactive thinking - the ability to think clearly under
pressure and use any available means to hand to resolve the problem.
4. DIMINISHING BALL SPEED
Metres/Second Equals Km/Hour Speed after 3M Speed after 6M Speed after 9M
31 = 112 20.1 13.3 8.5
27 = 97.2 17.4 11.0 7.6
24 = 86.4 15.0 10.0 7.0
21 = 75.6 13.0 8.5 6.5
18 = 64.8 11.5 8.0 6.0
15 = 54.0 10.0 7.0 4.8
12 = 43.2 8.0 6.25 4.0
09 = 32.4 6.5 4.5 3.0
At what speed does gravity come into effect? With a speed of 8.5 m/second (30.6 k/hour, 19.125
mph.) the air resistance is about equally as strong as gravity. Below this speed the effects of
gravity come into play very quickly. Air resistance however increases or decreases by the square
of the speed. This means that a doubling of the speed to 17m/second signifies a fourfold increase
in air resistance. Halving the speed to 4.25 m/second would bring about a reduction in air
resistance to around one quarter of gravity. In the case of fast counter play a normal speed would
be in the region of 13 — 15 m/second which means immediately that it’s always the air resistance
which is the dominating factor in the early stages of the ball’s trajectory.
We must also bear in mind that even at relatively slow speeds, say an average of 40 kph, the ball
will cover the length of the table in about 0.25 of a second which is just within the limit of human
reaction time for the average player.
5. THE MECHANICS OF FLIGHT, BATS AND RUBBERS
Mechanics of flight
Once the ball has left the racket, the trajectory and direction is determined by the power and spin
fed into the stroke. The trajectory itself is determined by gravity, the air resistance and the
influence of the spin. A similar stroke will always produce a similar result in terms of spin, speed
and direction.
However significant variations can and do occur. The major one is in air pressure and when we talk
about height above sea level. At 1000 metres air pressure sinks by 12% and at 3000 metres by up
to 30%! This has a major impact on both the air resistance and the effect of the spin on the ball in
flight. A major championship event played for example in Mexico City will result in the ball ‘flying’ in
an unusual manner and the players must be ready for this, as the trajectory of the ball will not
conform to expected criteria.
Let us look however closely at the ball in the air and before the bounce. What we must first
understand is that the ball surface is not smooth and contains pockets of air in the surface which
react with the flow of air against the ball. We do know that in the case of the top part of a
topspinning ball, this spins against the oncoming air while the bottom part is in the same direction.
Therefore we have an area of high turbulence at the top and low turbulence at the bottom.
However the air flow round a ball moving at high speed changes from turbulent to laminar as it
slows down in the air and this is what causes the ball to dip. Just what do we mean by this?
At the ‘static point’ which is the leading point of the ball at speed there will be an ‘eye’ like at the
centre of a hurricane where there is an area of pressure. The flow of air around the ball however
will in the initial stages of flight as the ball leaves the racket at speed, be chaotic or ‘turbulent’ in
nature. By this we mean there is no smooth pattern of air molecules flowing around the surface of
the moving ball.
It is only as the ball slows down that a pattern starts to emerge and the air flow around the ball
forms a more ordered outline. We call this a ‘laminar’ effect. It is of course at this stage that the
high and low pressure areas forming on different parts of the ball’s surface have a direct effect and
as a result the ball is forced upwards or to dip sharply downwards on to the table.
After leaving the racket regardless of the spin, speed or direction, the ball is influenced simply by 3
factors - gravity, air resistance and spin (Magnus effect). In the case of topspin, gravity and the
influence of the spin work together giving a more arced trajectory. With backspin gravity and the
spin factors work against each other so that the ball will rise initially in a curve before dropping
sharply when gravity predominates over the lessening spin. Gravity is always equally strong and
always directed downwards. Air resistance is always against the direction of travel and its effect is
strongly influenced by the speed of the ball.
But just at what speed does gravity come into effect? With a speed of 8.5 m/second (30.6 k/hour,
19.125 mph.) the air resistance is about equally as strong as gravity. Below this speed the effects
of gravity come into play very quickly. Air resistance however increases or decreases by the
square of the speed. This means that a doubling of the speed to 17m/second signifies a fourfold
increase in air resistance. Halving the speed to 4.25 m/second would bring about a reduction in air
resistance to around one quarter of gravity. In the case of fast counter play a normal speed would
be in the region of 13 — 15 m/second which means immediately that it’s always the air resistance
which is the dominating factor in the early stages of the ball’s trajectory.
Bats, rubbers and sponges
Questions relating to materials and the differing spins and effects can be rather more complicated
as the manufacturing companies have not tried to create standardised tests to measure exactly
what their products can do. Often experienced players or testers (or in some cases not so
experienced) categorise rubbers in terms of spin, speed and control, but obviously these
classifications are purely subjective. Different players will for example use rubbers in differing ways
and one player will often be capable of getting far more out of a particular rubber than another
player would. Such ‘subjective’ testing can give some useful information but helps little in giving
any base for objective measurement when comparing products from different manufacturers. Also
materials and indeed techniques and tactics are constantly in change - it is necessary that we
always have an open mind and are ready to look at new ideas and ways of doing things.
Much of the advertising matter which is written in the various brochures on materials is of very little
use to the ordinary player and often misleading. The hardness of the wood and the make-up of the
ply, how it is bonded and whether you have carbon fibre or titanium mesh layers will all affect the
speed and control. Generally one ply will be more rigid and the ball will kick off the blade quicker,
multi-ply will be more flexible with more control and stability. The choosing of a blade is a rather
more personal matter than the rest of the equipment and it should feel right to the player. Tests in
one or two countries appear to indicate that there is an ideal racket weight for the player at differing
stages in his or her development and variation by even a few grams can cause a drastic loss of
form.
In the interests of weight reduction, the central core of many modern blades consists of a thick
layer of balsa wood and the speed comes from the outer veneers of much harder woods often
supported by carbon or glass fibre or titanium mesh layers (these supporting non-wood layers
should not be thicker than 7.5% of the total blade thickness or 0.35mm whichever is the smaller).
According to the rules at least 85% of the blade by thickness should consist of natural wood.
many of the tests they use are very simplistic and bear little or no relationship to how a rubber is
used in a match. Players also use the same rubber in different ways and with different feel. Let us
examine the characteristics of the rubber as it is this which contacts the ball.
 Dwell time — This is how long the ball stays on the racket during the contact phase of a
stroke, (bear in mind this is a mere fraction of a second, if you have ever chalked a ball and thrown
it to a player who slow loops and tries to maintain a long contact you find that the mark on the ball
is never more than one centimetre). Rubbers have different dwell times for different strokes. The
ball will be held longer for a slow loop as opposed to a kill. Some players also ‘carry the ball’ longer
than others even for the same stroke. A long dwell time will often benefit spinners and blockers
while a short dwell time will suit defenders and hitters. The dwell time is also affected by the blade
you use and how the ball comes off the racket depends much on the rubber and sponge and how
quickly it penetrates through these to reach the wood layer underneath.
 Resilience — The energy stored in the rubber during the contact phase of the stroke. Some
rubber and sponge combinations are much more elastic than others and will hold the ball longer on
the surface even at a closed racket angle. This stored energy is converted to produce spin. While
elasticity levels will certainly increase we must bear in mind that the sponge cannot create energy,
but can only minimize energy losses. Compared to a hard bat a ‘sponge’ bat can be swung in a
much flatter plane so giving the ball more forward speed with spin. The sponge in fact helps to lift
the ball over the net.
 Impact behaviour — A rubber and sponge can have differing performances at different
impact speeds. At a slow speed there may be very little elasticity but you may get very good spin
and speed when the ball comes into the racket with more pace. When you achieve maximum
impact speed you can swing the racket harder but you will get little or no more effect. Some
rubbers are said to have good gearing for spin and speed, which means they produce and
maintain good effect over a wide range of impact speeds.
 Throw-angle — The angle of the flight of the ball as it comes off the racket surface in the
direction the bat is travelling. Differing blades and rubbers affect the throw-angle considerably as
will different strokes (the angles would be very different if you were looping for example with very
tacky rubber or with anti-loop). The throw-angle will also vary depending on whether the contact is
on the outside of the racket or in the middle, or whether low, in the middle or high on the ball (or
whether the racket is more closed or open). High throw-angle rubber generally has a higher ratio of
spin than speed, compared to low throw-angle rubber. (Flexible, slower blades typically increase
the angle).
 Stall-angle — The contact angle at which the speed/spin of a rubber is dramatically
reduced — at certain angles all rubbers will stall and not grab the ball (the ball will just drop off the
racket, as it sometimes does when it contacts the outside edge). The stall-angle can be used
effectively for dummy loops or short serves. A rubber with a wide range of stall-angles (or used
with a badly matching blade) will have little or no control. A stall can also occur when the racket
contact speed is too fast at a particular contact angle.
 Friction — The grip of the rubber. Under certain conditions and with certain techniques
some super high friction rubbers can give less spin/speed than ones with much lower friction
characteristics. Sometimes super-grippy rubbers have less spin at high speed — there is a critical
level above which little or nothing is gained. Some very tacky rubbers have the characteristic of
slowing the ball dramatically at low impact speeds, a function which is very useful in certain
strokes. A low friction rubber has difficulty generating speed at closed racket angles. Remember
always the friction of many rubbers is impact dependent, they are more effective when the ball is
coming at speed.
 Sponge — Sponge can vary from soft to hard and from about 0.4 mm to 2.8 mm and the
density of the sponge contributes to the weight of the racket. The amount of spin generated by a
rubber is closely related to the elasticity of the sponge (irrespective of the top sheet of rubber),
below a certain critical level for a given sponge, the spin of the rubber will be considerably reduced.
This can be improved through the correct use of speed glues which will increase the resilience by
up to 30%. Players who glue usually prefer soft or medium sponges.Sponges are manufactured in
different thicknesses, from around 0.4 up to about 2.8 mm. According to the rules the pimple layer
of a sandwich rubber should not be more than 2.0 mm but modern manufacturing techniques have
reduced the rubber layer to a little over 1.0 mm, allowing the sponge thickness to be increased
accordingly. Sponges are also made generally in 5 differing hardnesses, 23 - 28 (the softest), 30 -
35, 38 - 43, 40 - 45 and 45 - 50. In very general terms most sponges used by European players
are in the 30 - 35 range while Asian players use 40 - 45. Many top players especially in the
women’s game (and players using material), experiment with differing sponges until they find the
most effective hardness for their particular style and/or a hardness which produces maximum
effect when combined with the ‘material’ top sheet.
 Glue — Adhesives and glue sheets are used to put the rubbers on the blade. Speed-glues
are used to increase the performance of the rubber in respect of spin, speed, control, throw and
stall-angles. It is always recommended that you allow each coat of glue to thoroughly dry before
applying the next coat — otherwise you can get a ‘mushy’ effect which seriously affects
performance when the glue is a little wet. Properly applied speed-glue can increase the spin and
speed capabilities of the rubber by up to 30% (remember however that some glues do not work
well with certain sponges, especially most hard and more dense sponges). Also the glue must be
regularly ‘removed’ from the rubber sheet and the build-up must not be allowed to become too
thick. All rubbers (where speed-glue is used) should be taken off the blade as soon as possible
after play so that the tension is released. One interesting characteristic of speed-glued rubber is
that it has a very predictable effect over a wide range of strokes. Its ability to store energy is nearly
constant over a large range of impact speeds, (in normal rubber the storage of energy bottoms out
at higher speeds).
6. RACKET COVERINGS, STANDARDS AND SPONGES
Questions relating to materials and the differing spins and effects can be rather complicated as the
manufacturing companies have not tried to create standardised tests to measure exactly what their
products can do. To assess spin, speed and control some companies utilise a scale of 1 - 10,
others from 1 - 12 and still others measure up to 100%.
Often experienced players or testers (or in some cases not so experienced) categorise rubbers in
terms of spin, speed and control, but obviously these classifications are purely subjective. Many of
the tests used are very simplistic and bear little or no relation as to how a rubber is used in a
match. Different players will also use rubbers in differing ways and one player will often be capable
of getting far more out of a particular rubber than another player would. Such ‘subjective’ testing
can give some useful information but helps little in giving any base for objective measurement
when comparing products from different manufacturers. Also materials and indeed techniques and
tactics are constantly in change - it is necessary that we always have an open mind and are ready
to look at new ideas and ways of doing things.
Sponge can vary from soft to hard and from about 0.4 mm to 2.8 mm and the density of the sponge
contributes to the weight of the racket. The amount of spin generated by a rubber is closely related
to the elasticity of the sponge (irrespective of the top sheet of rubber), below a certain critical level
for a given sponge, the spin of the rubber will be considerably reduced. This can be improved
through the correct use of speed glues which will increase the resilience by up to 30%. Players
who glue prefer soft or medium sponges as these usually produce most effect.
Sponges are manufactured in different thicknesses, from around 0.4 up to about 2.8 mm.
According to the rules the pimple layer of a sandwich rubber should not be more than 2.0 mm but
modern precise manufacturing techniques over the last 5 years have reduced the rubber layer to a
little over 1.0 mm, allowing the sponge thickness to be increased accordingly (up to a combined
maximum of 4.0 mm). Sponges are also made generally in 5 differing hardnesses, 23 - 28 (the
softest), 30 - 35, 38 - 43, 40 - 45 and 45 - 50. In very general terms most sponges used by
European players are in the 30 - 35 range while Asian players use 40 - 45. Many top players
especially in the women’s game (and players using material), experiment with differing sponges
until they find the most effective hardness for their particular style.
The softness of the sponge is particularly important when playing with pimpled rubber and this is
something the Asian players especially the women have known for many years. Rubbers and
sponges are manufactured and sold separately in Asia and it’s easy to combine suitable sponges
and rubber sheets. Only recently has this facility been available in Europe. It’s also interesting to
note that rubber manufacturers have had considerable dialogue with the top men in Europe to help
develop suitable weaponry to win at world level. There has been little or no discussion with the top
women in the world who are primarily from the Asian/Oriental block and the production of pimpled
rubbers in the West has more often than not been sub-standard.
7. EUROPEAN WOMEN AT WORLD LEVEL
World Singles
Last European Winner A Roseanu 1955
Final
World Singles
Last European in Final A Grofova 1973
Final
World Doubles Z Rudnova/S

Last Winning Euro/Pair 1969
Final Grinberg
World Doubles Also Final

Last European in Final M Alexandru 1975
Final ‘73/Japanese
and ‘61/Romanian
Last Winning
World Team Final Russia 1969
Euro/Team
BRITAIN
World Singles
Runner Up D Gubbins 1926
FInal
World Singles
Runner Up E Blackbourn 1947
Final
World Singles
Runner Up V Thomas 1948
Final
World Singles 3 Finals/Lost in 5th

Runner Up A Haydon 1957
Final in each
World Doubles
Winners M Franks/V Thomas 1948
Final
World Doubles
Winners H Elliott/(G Farkas) 1949
Final
World Doubles
Winners H Elliott/D Beregi 1950
Final
World Doubles
Winners D and R Rowe 1951
Final
World Doubles
Winners D and R Rowe 1954 On 21st birthday
Final
World Doubles
Runners Up K Best/A Haydon 1954
Final
World Team Final Winners England 1947 By scoreline 21– 0!
World Team Final Winners England 1948
Euro/Team Final Winners England 1958 First time held
8. AUTHORISED RACKET COVERINGS

http://www.ittf.com(equipment/, Racket Coverings)
Dark sponge, (black, blue, brown, green, purple, red,) should not be used under translucent red
coverings. This is liable to make the rubber illegal (Law 2.4.3. governs the use of sponge).
Many racket coverings contain additional text on the rubber surface and all text appearing in the
authorised list must be there (eg. ‘D13 S’). The ITTF stamp must of course also be plainly visible.
Altogether there are around 850/1000 rubbers on the authorised list from around 75/86 companies.
These are split approximately as follows -
COMPANIES RUBBERS JAN/JUNE 2004 JULY/DECEMBER 2006
PRODUCING 1 — 5 RUBBERS 39 38
TOTALS 75 86
The major companies are as follows -
JULY/DECEMBER
JAN/JUNE 2004
2006
NUMBER OF NUMBER OF
COMPANY COMPANY
RUBBERS RUBBERS
BUTTERFLY 55 BUTTERFLY 55
NITTAKU 53 DONIC 55
JOOLA 44 DOUBLE HAPPINESS 50
DOUBLE
42 NITTAKU 47
HAPPINESS
YASAKA 41 JOOLA 44
DONIC 40 YASAKA 44
TIBHAR 38 TIBHAR 44
TSP 33 TSP 39
STIGA 29 FRIENDSHIP 37
FRIENDSHIP 28 STIGA 33
ARMSTRONG 28 ARMSTRONG 31
JUIC 25 JUIC 28
CHAMPION 20 ANDRO 25
ANDRO 19 BAMCO 20
BANCO 19 CHAMPION 17
SUNFLEX 19 LION 15
YASHIMA 16 SUNFLEX 15
IMPERIAL 14 GLOBE 14
LION 12 PALIO 14
DOUBLE FISH 11 KOKUTAKU 12
BOMB 11 GIANT DRAGON 12
DONIER 10 BOMB 11
PRASIDHA 10 NEUBAUER 11
IMPERIAL 11
MILKY WAY 11
POINT BLANK 11
PRASIDHA 11
XIOM 11
YASHIMA 11
DAWEI 10
DOUBLE FISH 10
Rubbers are divided into the following categories on the authorised list –
JAN/JUNE PERCENT
CATEGORY JULY/DECEMBER2006
2004 INCREASE
WESTERN REVERSE
518 611 18%
RUBBERS
CHINESE REVERSE
94 127 35%
RUBBERS
ANTI-LOOP 20 17 -15%
SHORT/MEDIUM PIMPLES 149 150 SAME
LONG PIMPLES 66 96 45%
TOTAL 847 1001
NB. In the case of all pimple rubbers there must be no less than 10 pimples to a square centimetre
and no more than 30 to a square centimetre. In the case of all long pimple rubbers the aspect ratio
(ie. The pimple length divided by the pimple diameter) must be larger than 0.9mm but under no
circumstances larger than 1.1mm ie. For pimples with a length of 1.8 the largest permissible
diameter would be 2.0 mm).
The 850 or 1000 rubbers on the authorised list are divided percentage-wise approximately as
follows –
CATEGORY JAN/JUNE 2004 JULY/DECEMBER 2006
WESTERN REVERSE RUBBERS 61% 61%
CHINESE REVERSE RUBBERS 11% 12.7%
ANTI-LOOP 02% 01.7%
SHORT/MEDIUM PIMPLES 18% 15%
LONG PIMPLES 08% 9.6%
Probably the most significant increase is in the number of long pimple rubbers on the market, up
from 66 to 96, an increase of 45%!
9. RUBBERS – FROM REVERSE TO MATERIAL
There are basically seven differing types of rubber surfaces on the market –
 Reverse (normal rubbers Butterfly, Donic, Stiga, Yasaka, etc.) usually with soft rubber
sheets and softish sponge around 35 – 40. Used by top men and women in Europe and by the top
men in China on the BH side. Very good for looping and the best control for blocking.
 Tacky reverse (Chinese rubbers DHS, Double Fish, Friendship, Globe, etc.) with sticky
rubber sheets and usually a harder sponge (around 39 – 45) than that used by top European
players. Mostly used in Asia as a FH rubber for the top men and women. Very few players in
Europe use this type of surface, except former Asian players. (Used successfully by Drinkall and
Knight in the European Youths).
 Anti-spin (Made mostly in Europe, Butterfly, Donic, Stiga, T.Hold, Yasaka but the odd
Chinese specimen such as RITC 804). Anti can come in two types, almost no spin or with a little
friction. Usually the rubbers are very slow with good control and the ball is slow off the racket.
 Short pimples are between 0.6 – 1.0 in length (rubber sheet only) and made by both
European and Chinese companies, Butterfly, Donic, Friendship, Globe, Neubauer, Stiga, TSP,
Yasaka, etc. Short pimples vary very much nowadays and some sheets are capable of creating a
great deal of spin while others have much less friction. Generally shorter, broader, grippy pimples
will create more spin. For maximum effect very soft sponge is a must (30 – 35 but no harder) and
top women normally use a thickness of 1.6 –1.8mm sponge while the men tend to go a little
thicker, between 2.0 and 2.3 mm. Men of course hit the ball much harder.
 Medium or half-long pimples vary between 1.1 – 1.4 mm. and are made by both Chinese
and European companies, Butterfly, RITC, TSP etc. These pimples too vary in grip (some have a
more anti-spin surface). The characteristic of half-long pimples is the ease with which players can
open against backspin and yet still play a good counter-hitting game with effect. Usually players
use these rubbers for attacking and with thicker sponges, 1.5 – 2.0.
 Long Pimples (with friction) are between 1.5 – 1.8 mm. and are made by both Chinese and
European companies, Butterfly, DHS, Donic, Prasidha, RITC, TSP, Yasaka, etc. There is an
element of friction with these pimples and they are used by many defensive players the world over
usually with a thin sponge varying between 0.6 – 1.2. Occasionally attacking players use long
pimples with a thicker sponge, Carl Prean, Gary Tendler, Ni Xialan, Deng Yaping.
 Long pimples with an anti-loop effect (between 1.5 – 1.8 mm. too) are made primarily by
two companies, Neubauer and Hallmark. These pimples are hard and feel more like plastic than
rubber. They have absolutely no friction and all the opponent’s spin is returned.
Maximum spin reversal is achieved by using the rubber sheets without sponge and in the red
colour. Spin reversal with a thin sponge (0.4 – 0.6) will be a little less effective for blockers but the
thin sponge will give better control with this type of game. Bear in mind that once the player is
competent with the long pimples the Ox version will give lower and shorter balls and will add
another dimension to the blocking game. In Neubauer’s opinion his Super Block Ox is the rubber
which gives maximum spin reversal.
NB. In the case of all pimple rubbers there must be no less than 10 pimples to a square centimetre
and no more than 30 to a square centimetre. In the case of all long pimple rubbers the aspect ratio
(ie. The pimple length divided by the pimple diameter) must be larger than 0.9mm but under no
circumstances larger than 1.1mm). A pimple length of 1.8mm and width of 2.0mm would give a
figure of 0.9 – the same length with a width of 1.8 would give a figure of 1.0 – one can therefore
say that the purpose of the regulation is to keep long pimples within certain limits and especially
not to permit the manufacture of very thin pimples.
If we look at these seven categories in the light of their ability to affect or change the spin on the
incoming ball we get results somewhat as follows –
CATEGORY PERCENT EFFECT
1 WESTERN REVERSE RUBBERS 100%
2 CHINESE REVERSE RUBBERS 100%
3 ANTI-SPIN RUBBERS 5 — 12%
4 SHORT PIMPLE RUBBERS 75 — 95%
5 HALF-LONG PIMPLE RUBBERS 65 — 75%
6 LONG PIMPLES WITH FRICTION 30 — 35%
7 FRICTIONLESS LONG PIMPLES 0%
10 RUBBER CATEGORIES
 WESTERN REVERSE
 CHINESE REVERSE
 ANTI-LOOP
 SHORT PIMPLES (0.6 — 1.0mm)
 HALF-LONG PIMPLES (1.1 — 1.4mm)
 LONG PIMPLES WITH FRICTION (1.5– 1.8mm)
 FRICTIONLESS LONG PIMPLES (1.5 — 1.8mm)
Performance Assessment Cards
PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT CARD
It is a simple matter to draw up an assessment card where you can plot the number of points won
or lost on both the BH and FH side and see as a result the patterns that emerge from this exercise.
ATTACK
• Loop
• Topspin
• Drive
CONTROL
• Push
• Block
DEFENCE
• Chop
• Float
SERVE/REC
• Serve
• 3rd Ball
• Receive
• 2nd Ball
UNFORCED ERRORS
• Over the table
• Back from the table
• Others
SERVE/RECEIVE ASSESSMENT
In the same way you can assess how effective your player’s serve and receive are functioning in
match-play and where points are won or lost and on which wing.
SERVE
• Short
• Half-long
• Long
RECEIVE
• FH Push
• FH Drop
• FH Flick
• BH Push
• BH Drop
• BH Flick
COMMENTS
Developing Speed for Table Tennis
Extracts from Seminar. Dr Larry Van Such
We have all heard of fast and slow twitch fibres in muscles -- in almost every sport the secret to
improving your athletic skill is to make your muscles not only stronger but also faster. Fast muscles
give you a big advantage in almost all sport related skills but especially in fast reaction sports.
The fast twitch muscle fibres are responsible for giving the athlete his speed, agility, quickness,
and power. Fast twitch fibres are up to 10 times faster than slow fibres. In most muscles, these
fibres are intermingled. However, there is usually a predominance of one or the other. In skeletal
muscles like those found in the arms and legs, the fast twitch fibres dominate. Fast twitch fibres
allow for powerful forces to be generated over a relatively short period of time. Because the fibres
are intermingled it is not possible to isolate out a single fibre type during a muscular contraction. All
of the fibres contract together, though at times one class of fibre may be dominant during the
contraction.
You cannot condition your muscles for speed in the same way you condition your muscles for
strength. With isometric training, a muscle opposes some form of resistance and is contracted to a
certain length and then held for a certain period of time, usually 10 seconds or more. There are no
repetitions required in isometrics as in weight training. The advantage of this type of training for
muscle speed is twofold.
• By forcing your muscle to hold a position without changing this for a certain length of time, your
body will begin to recruit more and more motor units to help maintain this contraction. Motor units
that are rarely exercised within a particular muscle are now brought into use, perhaps for the first
time.
• By limiting the amount of time the muscle holds a position, fast twitch muscle fibres can be
conditioned for their natural ability of speed and quickness – something that is rarely achieved
when using extensive repetitions in your workout routine. While the muscle is held in position
against resistance the motor units that are recruited are forced to contract continuously, time after
time, until your muscles achieve a state of maximum intensity, safely and effectively. The end
result is that the entire muscle matures very quickly.
The resistance band is an outstanding product that has a very unique physical property known as a
variable elastic potential. This means that the more you stretch the band the more force you will
have to apply to maintain the resistance level. The amount of resistance found within an elastic
band is therefore a function of its length when stretched. When the length of the band changes,
even if by a small amount, the resistance level changes also.
When holding a position, the resistance band is stretched and is exerting a significant amount of
force back into your muscle. After a few seconds, your muscle will naturally start to weaken. When
this happens, your muscle will begin to recruit more and more motor units to help keep the arm/leg
in a fixed position. When your muscles start to shake keep holding the position.
1. With each ongoing recruitment pattern of motor units a muscle’s weakness and lack of
coordination is instantly exposed on a much deeper level than normally experienced. This forces
the muscle fibres to immediately get stronger and quicker and with more precision than before. The
result is that the muscles are conditioned to contract faster with increased strength, coordination
and responsiveness. The athlete will start to notice the difference in his/her athletic performance,
often in just a few days.
2. A second benefit of this training strategy is that the muscle does not get a chance to adapt to the
force of the resistance and plateau, or level off, at the level of resistance applied. ‘Muscle
confusion’ is the term often applied to the idea of keeping the muscle guessing as to what force to
expect and this promotes ongoing muscle development.
3. Thirdly, the mass of the muscle typically does not increase with this type of training, which, if it
did, could potentially offset speed gains. So, whenever you are able to increase a muscle’s
strength and coordination without adding any additional body weight, your speed and quickness
will automatically improve.
These are just some of the reasons how and why this type of training works and why athletes often
see dramatic results in their sports performance in a short period of time. However many so-called
speed training experts, trainers, coaches and athletes never take certain aspects into
consideration. When you mention isometrics, they immediately think of using weights for
resistance, this won’t work for speed; and, when you mention resistance bands, they immediately
think of performing repetitions with them, which again, won’t work either.
Isometric training with weights won’t help you get faster and using resistance bands with a
weightlifting strategy (that is, performing repetitions with them) won’t work either. It’s ONLY the
combination of isometric training with resistance bands that makes muscles contract faster.
The interesting thing is that when we look into a lot of the different so-called speed training
programs on the internet or in books or articles, practically all of them are very similar to strength
and endurance programs. Some of them are almost identical. You have to ask yourself, if there are
two different fibre types in the body with two different functions, wouldn’t you think there should be
at least two different ways to train your muscles?
This is what makes isometrics with the resistance band so vital to speed training. Because the
fibres that produce faster muscles respond to this type of training. Fast twitch fibres won’t respond
to weight training and they won’t respond to plyometric training. In fact, when you do these types of
exercises, you are literally re-training and re-programming your fast twitch fibres to behave like
slow twitch fibres. Not only will they not make you faster, they will probably in fact make you
slower.
This is why you will always feel wiped out, totally exhausted after doing plyometrics and weight
training. These routines strip your muscles of their elastic contracting ability which makes even
doing the simplest routines afterwards such as washing your hair or brushing your teeth almost
impossible. However, after you train with resistance bands you will immediately start to feel lighter,
faster and more responsive. This is the complete opposite of what happens after using strength
training programs.
Training Charts
Rowden Fullen(1990’s)
Forms and Questionnaires
 Training camp report form.
 Player’s evaluation form.
 Training questionnaire.
 Innovation assessment form.
 Attitude and development questionnaire.
 Assessment and marking of attitude and development questionnaire.
 Girls – big ball questionnaire.
 The player’s development.
 Stroke correction techniques.
 Style profile.
1. Training camp report form.
Name Age Club
Stroke Production
Movement
Serve/Receive
Mental Approach
Style Development
Comments
Course Director Date
2. Player’s evaluation and feedback form.
NAME:
CLUB:
 Which stroke do you think is your greatest strength?
 What is the biggest weakness in your game?
 Which type of player causes you most problems?
 How is training here different from your own club?
 What have you liked most about the training?
 What else would you like included in the programme?
 Do you think you have improved and learned anything?
 How would you rate your service game out of 10?
 How would you rate your receives out of 10?
 Are you physically fit enough for table tennis?
 How much do you train in your own club?
3. Training questionnaire.
 How does the session differ from those you normally attend?
 Do you think one/two day/one week camps like this are good? Why? Do they benefit you in
your play? How?
 Is the content satisfactory for you? What else would you like included?
 Do you find the work-load too hard? Too easy? About right?
 Do you relate to the coaches involved?
 Do you prefer all girl camps? Some boys? About 50/50? Why?
 Was enough time spent on serve/receive? Do you need more personal help in this area?
 In which areas does your own game need attention? Spin? Movement? Stroke play
technique? Power? Change of speed? Others — give details.
 Do you feel coaching development is good in your club/area/district? Can you become a
top player just by training in your area?
 Is the girls’ game declining and standards falling? What do you think are the reasons for
this?
 What do you think is the ideal coach/player ratio for a session/camp like this?
 How do you think the training could be improved?
 What would you personally like to be included to benefit your own style development?
 Do you think that your style is being developed and guided towards the senior game?
 What is your ultimate aim in table tennis? At what level for example will you be playing at
16, 23 and 32 years?
 Which do you consider most important while you are young (15 years or younger),
tournaments or training? Why?
 Why do you play table tennis?
4. Innovation assessment form.
1. Do I want to be the best I can and reach my fullest potential?
2. Am I negative in certain parts of my game? Do I for example win points or do I wait for my
opponent to make mistakes.
3. If I am negative, how long have I been negative? Six months, one year?
4. Just when am I going to do something about it?
5. What new serves do I have in the last six months, one year?
6. What different receives do I have in the last six months, one year?
7. What new strokes or tactics do I have in the last six months, one year?
8. Am I prepared to listen to new ideas and to try different ways of doing things?
9. If I am not prepared to change do I understand that my development is finished? That I am
not going to get any better and I am going to stay at the level I am now?
10. Do I understand and accept that without change there is no progress?
5. Attitude and development questionnaire.
1. When I lose to a player I should never lose to, am I prepared to talk about it —
1. a) Immediately after.
2. b) After 3 or 4 hours.
3. c) Never.
2. The opponent pushes all the time to my backhand. It’s 9 — 9 in the 5th.
Do I —
1. a) Open direct.
2. b) Only open when I am sure I can win the point.
3. c) Wait for her to open.
3. Do I have any new strokes or tactics in the last months?– a) Six months. b) One year. c)
None.
4. Do I understand and accept that without change there is no development? a) Yes. b) No. c)
Don’t know.
5. On the backhand wing do I usually open up and attack–
1. a) After I – 2 pushes.
2. b) After 3 – 4 or more.
3. c) Never.
6. Am I prepared to listen to new ideas and to try new things? — a) Always. b) Sometimes. c)
Never.
7. Do I have any new serves in the last — a) Six months? b) One year? c) None.
8. If the opponent pushes long to my forehand, do I open on the — a) First push? b)The
second? c) Earliest the third?
9. Do I have new ways of receiving the serve over the last — a) Six months? b) One year? c)
No.
10. Do I ever push high balls on the backhand?
1. a) Never.
2. b) Sometimes.
3. c) Always.
6. Assessment and marking for attitude and development questionnaire
1.
 a=5
 b=2
 c=0
2.
 a=5
 b=3
 c=0
3.
 a=5
 b=3
 c=0
4.
 a = 10
 b=0
 c=0
5.
 a=5
 b=3
 c=0
6.
 a=5
 b=2
 c=0
7.
 a=5
 b=3
 c=0
8.
 a=5
 b=3
 c=0
9.
 a=5
 b=3
 c=0
10.
 a=5
 b=2
 c=0
A 36 – 55 Positive and developing.
B 22 – 35 Development starting to stagnate, needs to be more positive.
C 0 – 21 Negative, no development.
7. Girls – Big ball questionnaire.
Does the increased control benefit your game or cause you problems?
Can you use different methods of breaking up the control game — slow roll, spin, early ball,
chop or sidespin block?
Can you attack from a control situation in different ways — hard hit, loop, forcing block?
Are you aware that the whole serve and receive situation up to the first four balls is now much
more important?
Can you hit through topspin?
When the opponent opens whether hard or spinny are you reduced to blocking or can you
pressure them on the next ball?
Can you kill the next ball after your first loop?
Are you aware that many of your best hits are going to come back more often? Are you ready
for this both tactically and mentally and can you do something different with the next ball?
Do you understand that the first hard attack (or counter) will usually win the point?
Do you appreciate that the slower ball and change of pace is still a good tactic?
Are you thinking more of placement and variation in placement?
Are you aware that you have less chance to win points from back without increased power?
Do you fully understand that if it’s harder to win with power, then variation in all its aspects is a
much higher priority?
There have always been more options available to players playing closer to the table — do you
realize that the value of such options is now enhanced?
8. The player’s development
During a player’s development the coach has to be active in a large number of areas and he/she
has to be quite precise in trying to direct the player towards the most suitable end-style for him/her
as an individual.
TECHNIQUE – In this area the various strokes will be assessed to see where the player is
naturally proficient and this will be done on both BH and FH.
• DRIVE – Early, ‘peak’.
• TOPSPIN -- Slow, fast, sidespin.
• SMASH – Early, ‘peak’, late, topspin.
• BLOCKS – Soft, forcing, ‘stop’, topspin, sidespin.
• DROP BALL – Short, angled.
• PUSHES – Chop, float, early ball.
• FLICKS – Early, ‘peak’, late.
• DEFENCE – Chop, float, fishing and lobbing.
SERVE/RECEIVE AND NEXT BALLS – This is such a vital area that it should be treated
separately. The whole serve and receive area must, even from an early age, be geared to the
player’s style. How is this player, with his/her style, going to win points? Which serves/receives will
fit in with the style and which tactics will be most suitable on the next couple of balls?
• SERVE – Short, half-long, long.
• RECEIVE – Short drop, long push, flick, slow roll, chop, float.
• 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th balls.
APPROACH – It is also important to assess what the player can do with the ball in more general
terms and from differing areas and lengths.
• CONTROL
• ACCURACY
• CONSISTENCY
• FEELING
MOVEMENT – This is of course crucial and players need to be assessed early on to see which
patterns they will need for their style to be effective.
• READY POSITION
• MOVEMENT – In and out, side to side, diagonal.
USE OF THE TABLE – This is also vital. Does the player do things instinctively or does he/she
need to be programmed?
• ANGLES
• STRAIGHT BALLS
• CHANGE OF SPIN
• CHANGE OF SPEED
• DECEPTION
QUALITIES OF THE PLAYER – The person is above all important and the physical and mental
attributes should be evaluated early.
• PHYSICAL – Condition, speed, strength, flexibility, feeling.
• MENTAL – Willpower, fighting spirit, ability to focus, work-rate, confidence, self-belief, positive
thinking.
• ADAPTIVE INTELLIGENCE – The ability to adapt to new situations and quickly’.
EQUIPMENT/BACKING – Does the player have access to a robot, good multi-ball training, varied
sparring, is his/her home life stable and is there good support in this area? Is there enough
financial support?
IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS – No player is ever going to become great without harnessing his/her
own talents and abilities and without doing what he/she does best. Unless the coach directs the
player into the right channels to make the most of natural talents, the greatest potential can be
wasted.
9. STROKE CORRECTION TECHNIQUES.
 Stance.
 Body Action.
 Length.
 Timing.
 Table Position.
 FreeArm.
 Bat Arm
.
10. Style profile.
 What % F.H./B.H. strokes do you play in a game? 70 – 30%, 50 – 50%, why?
 What are your main strokes on each wing? If more than one list in % of use.
 What blade (in terms of speed) and rubbers (sponge thickness) do you use? Do you use
glue? Do these help your prime strokes and why?
 Do you think you have the physical requirements to play the game you want to play? Speed
round the table, reactions etc?
 At what depth from the table do you normally play? Close, mid-area (3 – 4 feet) or deeper?
If you change and play from varying distances try to breakdown in percentage.
 Do your strokes alter in overall quality/strength over varying depths? Is one wing weaker
close or back? Why?
 Is your general game unbalanced? One wing stronger close and one stronger deep? Which
is the main strength?
 Do your serves fit in and help you gain advantage in terms of your overall style? Which is
your best serve?
 How would you describe yourself? Blocker, drive player, loop player, defender, all-rounder?
What is your prime strength?
 Can you impose your game on your opponent however he/she plays?
 Do you feel looking ahead to the senior game that you should be thinking of making any
changes in the way you play? F.H./B.H. split, playing depth, stroke development, tactics etc?
 Are you on the whole happy inside with the type of game you play or are you dissatisfied
with the way you win? What type of opponent really frustrates you?
Training Exercises
Exercise 1
Warm-ups 15 mins
 X’s and H’s Controlled knocking-up
A)
1. C to middle/BH regular. P plays BH/FH
2. C one/two to BH, 1 to middle
3. C one/two to BH, then middle or FH
4. C 1/2 to BH, 1/2 to middle or FH
B)
1. FH to FH corner, C plays angle
2. FH to FH, C plays to middle or random angle
3. C anywhere in FH half, random angle play
C)
1. Fast serve, no spin, from BH to FH/middle/BH
2. P controls with slow returns. Examine alternatives
D)
1. Games to 11 up.
Excercise 2 Warm-ups 10 mins
Knock-up 3 ball 1BH - 1FH 2BH - 1FH 3BH - 1FH
control from the 1BH - 2FH 2BH - 2FH 3BH - 2FH
BH corner 1BH - 3FH 2BH - 3FH 3BH - 3FH
A)
1. P topspins 2 straight, C plays to the BH, P straight, C to the FH, continue
2. After P plays BH straight, C to initiate free play
3. C switches anywhere after first 1 - 2 FH topspins from P and initiates free play
B)
1. BH to BH slow/fast, long/short
2. As 1. but C short to FH at random, play free
3. As 1. but C at random plays anywhere short, free play
C) Backspin serve short
1. BH to FH or middle
2. FH to middle or BH
3. All returns - push short/long, play free
D)
1. Games to 11 up, starting from 5 - 5
Exercise 3 Warm-ups 15 mins
 Control exercise straight, narrow channel, 10 - 15 cms

A)
1. Line play to P’s BH, C switches to FH and sometimes angles ball. 2 to BH and 1 to FH
2. 2 or 3 line balls, then 1 to FH
3. 2 to 5 line balls, 1 or 2 to FH
4. Line play 2 - 5, switch, then free play
B)
1. Backspin or float serves, short or half-long. Use same action but different parts of the racket
2. Flick/open or drop short, play free
C) Games to 15 up, three serves each
Exercise 4 Warm-ups 10mins
 4 Ball, BH, middle, BH, FH

A)
1. BH - BH slow/fast,long/short + angle
2. As 1) 3 times, short/long to FH, play free
3. As 1) 1 - 3 times, to FH short/long, free
B)
1. BH - BH variation, mix topspin,chop/sidespin block, experiment to find what suits you.
2. BH - BH 1 - 3 balls, chop-block, spin to FH, play free
C)
BH Serve - variations
D)
Games to 11 up starting from 7 - 8 and serving
 X’s and H’s

 4 Ball, BH, middle, BH, FH
A)
1. C plays BH/middle, BH/FH
2. First 3 one ball, last to FH 1 or 2
3. BH/middle 1 or 2, BH/FH 1 or 2
4. BH 1 or 2, middle or FH
B)
1. Topspin to block
2. Blocker hits/forces right ball
C)
BH serve, high throw, side, topspin or chop
D)
Games to 11
 Control 5 ball
BH FH BH FH BH FH BH FH BH FH
1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1
2 2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4 4
5 5 5 5 5
A)
1. Reverse Falkenberg - small
2. And large
3. FH middle, 1 or 2 from FH, BH from BH
4. As 3. but 1 or 2 from BH
B)
1. Backspin serve short/half-long, push long to BH, open
2. Same serve, push long to FH, open
3. Push return to FH/BH, open
C)
Games to 11 up, from 8 - 8
Exercise 7 Warm-ups 10 mins
 Control 5 ball, BH/middle/FH/middle/BH
A)
1. BH/middle, BH/FH. Control with FH, P plays BH/FH alternately.
2. First 3 one ball, to FH 1 or 2
3. BH 1 or 2, middle, BH 1 or 2, FH 1
B)
1. Start with drive, loop to loop or drive FH from deep
2. As 1. but random ball to BH side
C)
FH axe serve with both top and backspin (+ side)
D)
Games to 11 up from 5 - 5
 Control 5 ball
Knock-up 3 ball 1BH - 1FH 2BH - 1FH 3BH - 1FH
control from the 1BH - 2FH 2BH - 2FH 3BH - 2FH
BH corner 1BH - 3FH 2BH - 3FH 3BH - 3FH
A)
1. Falkenberg - small 3A
2. Falkenberg - large 3B
3. Either small/large
B)
1. Small F, spin first FH from BH, drive next from middle
2. 1 - 3 to BH corner, then into Falkenberg small/large
3. Large F, play second FH free
C)
Smash to lob
D)
Long, fast serve, play free
E)
Games from 8 - 8 to 11 up
 Knock-up - X’s and H’s play 2 diagonal before switch
A)
1. P plays 2 FH’s from BH corner, C plays straight to P’s FH
2. As 1. but C plays 1 - 2 to P’s FH
3. C plays 1 - 3 to P’s BH, then 1 - 2 to FH
4. C plays 1- 3 to P’s BH, then to middle/FH and free play
B)
1. C - short serve to FH
2. P - long push or flick straight
3. C - slow topspin with FH/BH straight twice
4. C - fast topspin or drive to P’s BH
5. P - straight, free play
C)
 Reverse spin serve, long to BH/middle, or short to middle/FH
D)
 Games to 11 up
 Knock-up 5 ball 1BH - 1-5FH, 2BH - 1-5FH, 3BH - 1-5FH, 4BH - 1-5FH, 5BH - 1-5FH
 Control
A)
1. C short serve, middle or BH. P returns half-long to FH. C topspins/drives wide to P’s FH
side, free play
2. As 1. but C topspins/drives to P’s BH, free play
3. As 1. but C plays anywhere, free play
B)
1. C - one ball to middle, 1 to FH, then middle and BH
2. C - alternate balls to the middle then to BH/FH
3. C - alternate balls to the middle then 1 - 2 to BH/FH
4. C - 1 - 2 to middle then 1 - 2 to BH/FH
C)
 Sidespin, float or chop serve with FH. Work at variation with same action
D)
 Games to 7 points, only one serve each
 Control - FH/FH from FH to middle, then FH from BH to the middle
A)
1. P topspins 4 - 5 slow with FH to block on BH diagonal
2. As 1. with control to varied block
3. After 4 balls C plays to P’s FH, free play
4. C plays to FH at random, free play
B)
1. P topspins fast 2 - 4 FH to FH, C drives later with control
2. P topspins fast 2 - 4 FH to FH, C drives 1 - 2 then counter-topspins
3. As 2. but C topspins down line, free play
4. As 3. but C topspins down line, then wide to FH, free play
C)
 Reverse spin serves - test both arcs
D)
 Games to 11 up, 3 serves each
 Control 3 ball, but BH from BH corner, FH from FH corner
A)
1. P topspins BH straight, C blocks
2. As 1. but C uses varied blocks
3. Any time after 2nd topspin, C plays to FH and P continues straight to C’s BH.
4. As 3. but free play after C plays to FH
B)
1. P spins and drives with BH to block
2. As 1. but C mixes returns, block, drive and spin
3. Either player switches to FH then free play
C)
 Axe and reverse axe serves, with backspin, topspin and sidespin
D)
 Games to 11 up from 9 all, both as server and receiver
 Control FH from middle to BH, then middle to FH
A)
1. FH/FH topspin to block, after 3 balls C plays line, P diagonal, C straight, repeat
2. As 1. then free play
3. After P plays diagonal BH, C plays either to FH/BH, then free play
B)
1. Short or half-long serve, C drops short or pushes long to FH. P opens or pushes short or
long
2. As 1. but C short or long to BH
3. C short or long to BH or FH
C)
 Short play training, from short serve situation both players play several short balls in
succession
D)
 Matches to 13 all, short backspin serve to FH/middle or long, fast serve to middle/BH. 3
serves each
 Control straight, short and long
A)
1. C short serve to BH
2. P flick/push to BH
3. C FH slow spin diagonal twice
4. P then blocks straight
5. C slow topspin to FH 2 - 3 times, switches middle/BH, free play
B)
1. C short serve to FH
2. P drops short or flicks to C’s FH
3. C topspins 2 - 3 slow to FH or flicks then topspins
4. C then topspins slow to P’s BH
5. P blocks diagonally to C’s BH, free play
C)
 Short backspin/float serves to the middle or FH, flick return
D)
 Games to 11 up
 1 BH from BH,1 FH from FH
 2 BH from BH, 2 FH from FH/Middle
 3 BH from BH, 3 FH from FH/Middle/FH
 4 BH from BH, 4 FH from FH/Middle/FH/Middle
 5 BH from BH, 5 FH from FH/Middle/FH/Middle/FH
A)
1. Drive play BH/BH 2 to 4 balls, C topspins FH line, P returns to middle, C topspins to BH.
Repeat
2. As 1. but play free after P's return to middle
3. Reversed, C topspins to P's BH, P returns to middle, C topspins to P's FH, P straight,
repeat.
4. As 3. but free play after P returns straight
5. As 3. but free after C topspins to P's FH
B)
1. Long serve to the middle, return to BH, 3rd ball to BH
2. Long serve to BH, return to BH, 3rd ball to middle
3. Serve either to BH/middle, return FH, 3rd ball to corners
4. As 3. but 3rd ball to the body
C)
 Fast serve float/spin to body or corners
D)
 Games to 15 up. Three serves
 Control 1BH - 1FH from FH, 2BH - 1FH from FH, 3BH - 1FH from FH
 2BH - 1FH from FH, 2BH - 2FH from FH, 2BH - 3FH from FH
 3BH - 1FH from FH, 3BH - 2FH from FH, 3BH - 3FH from FH
All BH's from BH, all FH's from FH
A)
1. P FH topspin from BH corner to BH/middle/FH
2. Same from FH corner
3. To 3 areas from BH then from FH
4. Emphasis on CONTROL
B)
1. From BH to BH and middle then random to FH
2. From BH to FH and middle then random to BH
3. From BH to BH and FH then random to middle
4. From FH to BH and FH then random to middle
5. From FH to FH and middle then random to BH
C)
 FH serve with chop, sidespin and float
D)
 Games to 11 up
 C to BH/middle then to BH/FH. Control from FH
A)
1. FH topspin/drive from middle to FH/BH
2. As 1. but 1 - 2 to BH and 1 - 2 to FH
3. As 2. but random ball to body
B)
1. FH topspin to counter-topspin training
2. FH topspin to drive counter (both players in mid-area)
3. FH topspin to BH counter on diagonal from back
4. FH topspin diagonal, random switch to middle
5. FH topspin diagonal to BH, random switch to middle
C)
 BH serve to middle or FH, short or half-long, drop short, flick or push long (Examine
differing timing points)
D)
 Games to 11 up from 7 all
 From middle with FH to middle/FH then middle/BH
A)
1. FH topspin or drive alternately from FH/BH to middle
2. C 1 or 2 to FH and 1 to BH
3. C 1 or 2 to BH and 1 to FH
4. C 1 or 2 to BH or FH
B)
1. Chop defence v loop or drive
Explore differing methods of attacking, loop, slow or fast, drive, punch, sidespin etc. Also look at
different timing points and the option of dropping short.
C)
 Serve training - short to FH/middle, long to corners/middle
D)
 Games to 11 up
 BH/middle, FH/middle, FH/BH control from BH
A)
1. FH to FH, C plays 2 balls, P topspins line, C blocks on diagonal, P drives straight, repeat
2. Start FH/FH but between 2 - 4 balls, then continue as 1.
3. FH/FH 2 - 3 balls, P topspins down line 1 - 2, continue as 1.
4. Play free after 1,2 or 3.
B)
1. Receive training - against sidespin serves with backspin and topspin, train to play with and
against the spin. Work also to leave the server’s spin on the ball at times and return it to him or her
C)
 Games to 11 up, only the receiver can win points. If he wins on receive he carries on
receiving, if he loses then he must serve
 FH to FH/middle, then BH/middle, then BH/FH
A)
1. C to middle/FH 3 times, switch straight, P diagonal, C straight, repeat
2. C switches 2 straight, continue
3. C switches 1 or 2 straight, continue
4. P plays 1 or 2 diagonal, continue
5. C plays any number to middle/FH, then switches into exercise
6. Any time after first or 2nd switch, free play
B)
1. Varied serves and spin - BH, axe, FH and reverse, short and long. Work at differing timing
against the short serves and to play with, against or return the spin. Against the long serves train to
play positively but do not overlook the control element and the value of playing the slower ball at
times with less pace.
C)
 Games to 11 up but only the server can win points. The server carries on serving as long
as he/she wins the point
 Diagonal control, alternately short/long
A)
1. C/P drive or spin on BH diagonal between 2 - 6 balls
2. P plays FH on BH diagonal, then FH straight
3. C plays diagonal and P straight. Repeat.
4. P plays 1 or 2 diagonal, continue
5. At any time after 1, 2 or 3 free play
B)
1. FH/FH P loops to block 3 - 6 balls. C then drops back and counter-topspins
2. As 1. but after 2 - 3 counters C plays to middle/BH then free play
3. As 1. but C topspins alternately to BH/FH
4. As 1. but C topspins 1 - 2 to BH, 1 - 2 to FH
5. As 1. but C topspins to BH or FH, then free play
C)
 Short serve to middle or angles, long to corners
D)
 Games from 8 - 8, 8 - 9 and 8 - 10 and serving
 Control FH from middle to BH, then middle to FH
A)
1. C topspins 1 chops 1 on FH diagonal, P blocks 1 and topspins 1, C blocks and P chops and
so on (both play with control and keep changing).
2. Same on BH diagonal
3. C topspins on FH diagonal, P blocks straight, C chops on BH diagonal, P topspins straight,
C blocks on FH diagonal, P chops straight etc.
4. C straight, P on diagonal
B)
1. High throw BH serve from middle, with sidespin or side and chop to FH short or long. Same
serve with topspin long to the BH corner
C)
 Serve games from 8 -8, only server can win points
Articles
International Training
Michel Gadal (2005)
Michel feels that the training components necessary to achieve the highest performance are
technical/tactical, physical and mental preparation and that at the top level it is the mental side that
makes all the difference. There are certain basic areas in which players must be competent.
ADAPTABILITY
is one of the fundamental elements required to reach world class levels (players need to learn
techniques to adapt to any given situation, whether these be material combinations, differing styles
or methods of play, or unusual tactical ploys).
ANTICIPATION
is vital, the concept of ‘knowing’ and watching the opponent rather than focusing on yourself and
what you are doing. In practice for example too many players tend to focus too much on
themselves.
SPEED
covers a number of areas – the need to be fast, to create speed on the ball, to take it early,
between the bounce and ‘peak’ and the ability to move fast, which should be taught in the early
stages of a player’s career. If you play line balls at speed be aware too that 80% will be returned in
the same direction.
PRECISION
and the ability to use the table are important. Top players use the corners, the lines and wide
angles and hit to the crossover – weaker players play mainly to the middle. A study in 1989
indicated that it was better to play the ball 20% slower but deeper, right on the white line. This
opens up the match, gives much better results and creates more opportunities to gain a real
advantage.
CONCENTRATION
– table tennis is after all a competition between two brains! You need to be able to focus on the
right elements and learn not to be distracted and also practise maintaining focus during the non-
playing time.
Each time a coach is coaching he should ask himself whether he is including at least one of these
5 elements (Adaptability, anticipation, speed, precision, concentration). Coaches often know much
about technique but not enough about the game. THE GAME IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN
TECHNIQUE — YOU ADAPT YOUR TECHNIQUES TO THE GAME. Speed and accuracy should
be increased together. In the case of service teach the various spins with at first wrist only. The
appropriate service should be used according to the player’s own style and the game situation.
ADAPTABILITY
– a player must be able to give a good/appropriate response, preferably topspin with speed, to any
ball. The technique may be with the whole body if there is time, or just with the wrist and elbow.
The player should at all times train for the game. Practice should be aimed at the game situation.
Sometimes it is more important for a player to adopt his own tactics and to learn from his mistakes.
TRAIN FOR COURAGE – TABLE TENNIS IS A VERY RISKY GAME. Many coaches tell players
not to take risks, but from the beginning we should train players to think for themselves, take risks
and play in an unexpected manner and when the situation is tight to do a little more ( but without
going crazy).
COACH FOR THE FUTURE.
The player should practise the game – his game – for the match and at the same intensity as
match play. HE SHOULD TRY TO WIN EVERY SINGLE POINT.
The training hall is where players learn their trade. In practice partners can fulfil different functions,
being at first totally cooperative, then 50% cooperative and finally competitive/difficult all of the
time. Partners should be changed every exercise (around 30 – 40 minutes per exercise) so as to
adapt to different playing styles. If a player is making less than 4 successful routines out of 10 then
the exercise is too difficult but 8 out of 10 then it’s too easy. Make the exercises easier or more
difficult but do not accept the player making too many mistakes. Also in practice teach refocusing
in non-playing time to break the sequence of a high level of mistakes.
Regarding duration of exercises it’s good to change and not to be too rigid in timing. Be open to
what is happening, listen to players and be flexible. Let players try things out in games and learn
from their own experience. Before competition train as you would do in competition and schedule
in breaks between exercises so that the players learn to wait between matches.
Technique should be taught for use in different situations. With young players first teach – ‘What
should I do with the ball?’ Maybe it’s an arm action first, starting with the wrist and building up with
the forearm, whole arm and then whole body (upper and lower body for power). (When the player
is inconsistent use the whole body). Let players find their own movement and tempo. A soft hand is
important for returning short service. Start with early timing even though this is more difficult. Start
playing slow and build up to fast, rather than fast to slow. The timing is slightly later for the slow
ball. Teach difficult techniques – what is hardest to learn – early. Young players are able to absorb
advanced aspects more easily than you might think. The best age to begin learning is around 7/8
years. Build on something good or new in the player’s game and always be positive. A challenge
needs to be given to the more talented player, possibly a more difficult task within the same
exercise (playing to only half of the table instead of the whole).
Regarding competition players should always have a reasonable chance to win or at least to put up
a fight. Players learn from playing from 9 – 9. Speed glue can be used by young players provided
that they are training often – practice only 3 times per week no glue, train 12 to 15 hours use glue.
Also let players try out different rubbers, perhaps 20 – 30 minutes per week in match play. In this
way they will develop a better understanding of how to play against different material. Be flexible in
teaching the flick – the timing and the action. There are a number of different possibilities.
Above all remember it is the player who plays, who wins and who loses. The coach should be
ready to stay in the background.
Develop a Winning Playing Style
Carl Danner (2007)
So you’ve taken your table tennis seriously for a while and started to develop some reasonable
strokes. But in matches you struggle to win points by any means possible and never achieve the
flowing game the better players seem to have. What you need is a winning playing style – both to
raise your playing level and to make your matches more enjoyable.
Indeed, there is an interesting contradiction evident in top world-class play. On the one hand, such
players can presumably execute any stroke, probably quite well. Their choice of shots would
appear limitless. On the other hand, world-class players use distinct styles that depend on the
repeated execution of a few key strokes they seem to have mastered. How they decide what those
shots are and how they compel their opponents to allow them to make those shots, are the key
elements that they (and you) need to address in developing a style that will deliver more wins and
fun.
Let’s go through the process of developing a playing style. These basics are useful both for relative
newcomers trying to get started in the sport, as well as for intermediate or advanced players who
aspire to further improvement. Even experienced tournament players sometimes have trouble
putting it all together, and might benefit from a refresher.
1. What is a playing style, and how does it work?
Generally, a style has two parts. First, a style is built around a particular, reliable way to win points.
It might be, for example, a strong forehand loop. It might be consistent backspin (or “chopping”)
defence to force opponents into errors. Perhaps you want to throw repeated topspins at your
opponents until they miss. Because modern table tennis rackets let players hit a wide variety of
shots, there are numerous ways in which points can be won – a subject we address further below.
But for an effective style, you need to pick one shot (or shot sequence) as your goal for how most
points should end.
Secondly, a style uses all the shots you hit in a point to encourage your opponent to feed into your
point-winning play. Conversely, a style also eliminates from your game other shots that encourage
returns from your opponent that don’t feed into your winning approach. For example, if you prefer
to attack your opponents’ topspin shots, then you will want to use serves that encourage such
returns – and perhaps even give up the use of other serves that don’t, even if those serves
sometimes win points outright. Likewise, a looper who wants backspin pushes to attack is better off
serving low and short, rather than using deeper serves that will let your opponent topspin first.
2. Choosing a style to develop
For some players a style seems to develop on its own, while others may have to make a conscious
choice of which one to use. Either way, at some stage it will benefit you as a player to decide what
your style is, or should be. As a starting point, consider a winning stroke that’s already comfortable
for you. Perhaps you have a strong loop, when you get a chance to use it. Maybe fast hands make
your backhand counter-play solid. Some players take pleasure in manoeuvring their opponents
around with steady shots that are hard to attack. Defence is still a viable option in the era of the
bigger ball. Chances are that some combination of your best current shots and your personal
preferences (how you really want to play) will make a good starting point for your style. Your
regular opponents are another source of information about which aspects of your game seem
promising, or hard for others to handle.
Here are some typical point-winning plays which top players have used as the foundation of a
winning style:
1. Looping forehands for winners;
2. Counter-hitting steadily until opponents make errors;
3. Quick, well-placed blocking;
4. Top-spinning consistently from both forehand and backhand sides to outlast opponents;
5. Outlasting opponents through consistent, passive defence (retrieving);
6. Aggressive defence using spinny chops and aggressive counter-loops;
7. Pips-out flat hitting;
8. Looping aggressively (off the bounce) at the table for winners from both forehand and
backhand sides;
9. Counter-hitting to set up a consistent forehand smash;
10. ‘Twiddling’ (using a combination racket with one dead and one spinny side) for a mix of
defence and offence.
How can you choose from so many interesting possibilities? Physically, the relative quickness of
your hands and feet are important. Quick hands are good for the close-to-the-table work of styles
such as counter-hitting, flat hitting, or quick off-the-bounce looping. By contrast, fast feet are a
necessity for a big forehand loop, any kind of defence, and consistent top-spinning. You should
enjoy your preferred style, just for the fun of it and to help motivate the practice needed to pull the
pieces together. So again, feel free to pick one you like.
3. Turning style into strength
Having chosen a style, it’s time to build it into a winning approach. To do so requires you to
develop and perfect your weapon(s) of choice, while constructing the rest of your game to create
opportunities to use that weapon. Let’s start with your winning play before turning to the other
shots and rallying techniques that will let you use that play as often as possible.
Refining your weapon
It’s critical to develop your winning shot, or sequence of shots, into reliable weapons. It is important
to develop tactics around the first three to seven strokes of any point as most rallies end within this
number of strokes. Opponents around your playing level should almost always lose the point if they
fall (or can be pushed) into the shot(s) you want to play. This means that your winners should not
just be powerful, but also that they must be highly dependable. Remember – top players rarely
miss their signature shots! For example, you should be able to make your loop kill or forehand
smash (to use two possible examples) virtually every time they are available. As another example,
if defence is your game, then your chopping, retrieving and/or pick hitting must be rock solid
against the normal kinds of attacking shots you might encourage from opponents. By contrast,
many players overlook the importance of reliability, and take high risks in trying for winners. A big
swing that misses is no threat, just a lost point.
To build a consistent weapon requires an unusual kind of practice – that of hitting repeated
winners, or playing repeated winning sequences. For example, a looper should practice looping
pushes and service returns for winners, a hitter should smash numerous forehands, a steady
spinner should play long topspin rallies to conclusion and so on. Or if serve and attack is part of
your strategy, a significant part of your practice time should be spent serving and looping winners
off the returns. Executing your winning shot or play should become second nature and should be
practised frequently. Because so many points end just a few shots after the serve, it’s helpful to
start practice points with a serious serve and return. Handling the transition from a serve and/or
return into your attacking shots is a critical part of the modern game. The little touch shots that go
along with this effort (such as a short return of serve, or a flick shot against a short serve or push)
are also important to start the attack and to keep your opponent from starting his. Such “short
game” skills often determine the outcome of matches between highly-skilled opponents.
This is also an area where good coaching can be important. It’s worth making sure of your
technique for your winning shot, including paying an expert coach from time to time for a tune-up. If
such assistance is not available in your area, consider approaching a top coach for some help
during a free moment at a regional or national tournament.
Who opens, and how
To “open” in a rally means to hit the first offensive shot (usually with topspin). For some styles, it’s
critical to open first. Strong loopers, for example, want to take the first swing, as do most hitters. By
contrast, counter-hitters and defenders may prefer opponents to open, albeit against balls that
can’t be hit for immediate winners. Players with quick hands may even invite attacking shots which
they can block back forcefully.
In any event, you need to decide which player you want to open first, given your style. If it’s you,
then you need to emphasize short, low serves and service returns, a good short game in general,
and learning to attack every long serve (i.e., one that doesn’t bounce twice). If it’s just as well for
your opponent to open first, then you can use more long serves (and long topspin serves
especially), push a little deeper to your opponent’s weaker wing and learn to roll the ball (a gentle
topspin) deep to the location from which you would like your opponent to make a topspin return.
By contrast, many problems occur if there’s a clash between your style and your strategy for
opening points. For example, a blocker with a weak loop may not want to serve backspin or push
very much, because it just sets up opponents to tee off on big shots. Instead, blockers might want
to serve topspin to start their kind of rally immediately. As another example also noted above, a
looper usually should serve and push short and refrain from serves or deep pushes that let their
opponents open first.
Beyond these basics, there are many fine points of matching style and opening that can best be
learned by watching high-level play. Select a top player or two who uses your preferred style and
observe carefully how he or she serves (and opens) to get the most helpful returns. It’s even worth
taping some matches so you can go back to verify, as questions arise, how a player of your style
should handle a given shot.
Regaining control of the rally
Anything can happen when a rally gets going and you can’t always play points the way you would
like. But you can try to force the flow of the point back into your strengths.
Basically, you have three choices when your opponent succeeds in starting the type of rally he/she
wants (as opposed to the one you want). First, you can escalate your shots and try to win the point
immediately. Secondly, you can play along and hope to prevail even on your opponent’s terms.
Thirdly, you can try to reset the point, using a neutralizing shot to shut down the rally and let you try
again for the opening play you prefer.
Of these options, the first can be worth trying if your opponent is very consistent, and highly likely
to earn points played according to his/her style. In that case, you might have to take your first
decent shot at a winner, even if the percentages are not favourable. More often, however, it’s
better to de-escalate the rally through a neutralizing shot – such as a low soft block, a deep
consistent topspin to your opponent’s weaker wing, or even a simple chop that forces your
opponent to open again or push. That way, you can slow things down and give yourself another
chance to get in position and bring your weapons into play.
As with the above discussion of opening, space doesn’t permit a full description of how players of
different styles can use neutralizing shots. But watching how they regain control of rallies is
another key technique to observe among top players who play the style you want to learn.
4. Conclusion: Pulling it all together
If you have followed the steps described above, you will have chosen your preferred style and
method of winning points; you will have practised your best shots until they are highly reliable and
you will have structured your serve, short game and recovery shots to promote the kinds of returns
you want in order to execute your preferred tactics. These elements of a winning playing style
should let you approach matches at any level (basement, club, or tournament) with the confidence
of having a plan and the means to carry it out.
Indeed, if you are like most players, you may find yourself spending many months or years working
on your personal style, picking up tips from like-minded competitors and even debating the merits
of various styles with your friends. It’s all part of a varied and interesting sport, so have fun with it!
Moving Up a Level
Larry Hodges (2007)
What does it mean to move up a level in table tennis? I’d define two players to be on different
levels if it would be a major upset if one defeated the other. Another way of looking at it would be to
say that if the stronger player plays his normal level, he would win nearly every time.
Based on this, I’d say that a level in table tennis (using the USATT rating system) ranges from
about 300 points at the lower levels (under 1000) to about 100 points at the higher levels (over
2500). For most USATT players, a level would be about 200 points. How can you move up a level?
By improving all parts of your game, because one weak link in your game is like a weak link in a
chain. You could work hard, dramatically improve one aspect of your game, and hope to move up
a level. But it’s not that simple. Suppose you develop a really nice forehand loop. With this
weapon, you would think that your level would go up dramatically. And sure enough, you will do
better against players around your own level.
But when you play players at a level higher, their level is far enough ahead of yours that they’ll
simply do something to disarm your new weapon. They may serve or push short, push very heavy,
throw spinny or fast serves at you, use ball placement, block well, force backhand exchanges, play
quick shots, or simply attack first to take your weapon (in this case your forehand loop) away.
Often, stronger players will seem to win on one of their strengths, when in fact they are winning by
exploiting a weakness of yours that allows them to use their strength. A strength in your game can
compensate for a weakness, but only to a certain extent. A stronger player will simply set up his
strengths by going at your weaknesses.
The lesson is that to move up a level, you need to improve your game overall, not just one aspect.
A player who is a level stronger than you rarely defeats you with one aspect of his game; he does
so by using the overall level of his game. There are, of course, players who have improved all but
one aspect of their game and by improving that one final aspect, suddenly go up the coveted level!
So how do you go about moving your game up a level? You have to be able to match the higher-
level players on five key things:
1. Returning your opponent’s serves as well as they return yours.
2. Either rally as fast as your opponents do, or force your opponents to rally at your pace (by
slowing the pace down with pushes, slow loops, controlled drives, etc.). Rallying at their pace can
also mean reacting to their pace (i.e. blocking or chopping), because “pace” means both speed
and quickness.
3. Reacting to your opponent’s rallying spins (loops, pushes, chops, lobs, spins returned by
long pips, etc.) as well as they react to yours.
4. Ending the point (i.e. smashing or loop killing) as well as your opponents do. This can also
mean stopping them from ending the point effectively or consistently by not giving them easy
shots, or it can mean a series of strong shots that win the point.
5. And finally, possessing at least one strength which threatens your opponents as much as
their strengths threaten you. This includes having a way to get your strength(s) into play.
You may have noted that tactics is not one of the five “keys.” This is because tactics is part of all
five keys. Stronger/weaker tactics simply make you stronger/weaker in each key. If you can do
some (but not all) of the above five keys, your performance in a tournament will go up some,
perhaps half a level, but not a full level. Developing a single “overpowering” strength won’t raise
your level as much as you’d think, as opponents a level higher will beat you on the less developed
parts of your game. Even players at your “previous” level will still often beat you by exploiting these
weaknesses. But … if you work to improve all five of these keys, you may find yourself going up
dramatically.
What’s stronger, a chain with four powerful links and one weak one, or a chain with five pretty
strong ones?
Ten Tips for Future Champions
J.O. Waldner (2005)
Ten Tips for Future Champions , By Jan-Ove Waldner 1989 & 1997 World Men’s Singles
Champion, 4-time World Men’s Team Champion, 1992 Olympic Men’s Singles Champion, 7-time
European Top Twelve Men’s Singles Champion and many other titles. He is considered by many
to be the greatest table tennis champion ever. Excerpt from book “J-O Waldner: When the Feeling
Decides,” by Jens Fellke, sold by Pioneers (www.ping-pong.com) and American Table Tennis
(www.americantabletennis.com)
1. Become a complete player
In order to win big titles, you must master play against all playing styles. Therefore, you must
regularly practice and compete against players of different styles. The most important styles to
embrace are loopers (maximum topspin), attackers (maximum speed) and choppers (maximum
backspin).Another important aspect is play against left-handed players. I would like to remind you
that both right and left-handed players spend 85% of their time playing against right-handed
players.
To be successful against both right- and left-handed players requires well-developed technique
and very good balance. I have had the advantage of practising a lot with left-handed players, e.g.
Mikael Appelgren and Ulf Thorsell in my first club Spårvägen. Later on, in the Swedish national
team, left-handed players were well represented: Appelgren again, Stellan Bengtsson, Erik Lindh,
Ulf Bengtsson, Thomas von Scheele and Peter Nilsson.
2. Acquire point-winning weapons
Table tennis is a tough sport, exercised under a high level of stress. Often you have to play many
matches per day. Therefore, it is important to be able to win simple and quick points. I have always
been able to rely upon my serves, frequently directly point-winning. I have furthermore worked hard
to follow up my serves with a varying forehand stroke. Spend some time analyzing which point-
winning weapons you already possess. And remember that new weapons can be developed!
3. Develop a relaxed technique
Table tennis requires a tremendous amount of practice. Always try to play as relaxed as possible.
This will increase your chances to play relaxed even in tight situations and at the same time
decrease your susceptibility for injuries. Personally, I have managed to avoid lengthy injuries,
which is one of the reasons why I have been able to remain at the top for so many years.
4. Play a lot while young
Table tennis requires advanced motor coordination and dexterity. It is therefore important that you
learn technically as much as possible before the age of about 13. As long as you still have fun,
practise and compete as often as possible. Use your imagination by continuously trying out new
strokes, even during matches. Try a new strategy in the middle of a game. Consider a deuce in the
deciding game as a challenge to test your most effective serve, or a new type of serve return.
Remember that your career in table tennis is quite long. When feeling bad about a loss, try to think
instead about the next tournament and how you can improve.
5. Master three distances
Many players master play from only one or two distances. My recommendation is that you
consciously practise play from all three distances after the bounce as indicated below:
 Distance 1 - ball on its way up: You must hit the ball before it reaches its highest point after
the bounce. You should learn to use short and quick strokes with little backswing.
 Distance 2 - ball at its highest point: You should learn to use a relaxed technique when
hitting the ball at its highest point after the bounce. A large variety of strokes can be successfully
applied at this distance.
 Distance 3 – ball on its way down: You hit the ball after it has reached its highest point after
the bounce and on its way down. This distance requires a technique where you use a large
forearm movement before ball impact.
6. Study good players
Watch as much table tennis as possible. Study video recordings, both of yourself and world class
players. In particular, I used to study the Hungarian player Tibor Klampar. His wrist movements
and ball hits were of extraordinary quality. By studying a number of Chinese players, I learned to
appreciate the importance of developing effective serves.
Try to imitate certain players in order to get a better understanding of advantages and
disadvantages of different playing styles, racket grips, movement patterns, etc. In the Swedish
national team, we have throughout the years very much enjoyed mimicking different players. Erik
Lindh is a master at imitating many of our opponents.
7. Analyze your opponents
Only when you are up against a player the first time can you get an appreciation of, for instance,
the quality of his or her forehand loop. Therefore, enlist the help of those of your pals who have
played the person in question. Bring forward to discussion all relevant details. Remember that
there are many ways to win matches in table tennis. The better prepared you are, the greater are
your chances. The margins in this game sometimes appear minuscule, but it is always the best
and most professional player who profits from them.
8. Use your head
Mental strength is a vast and important subject and perhaps the most difficult characteristic to
develop through training. Personally, I have developed a way to think and act that I believe suits
my personality. The starting point must be yourself, in my opinion.
Mental strength is based on experience and acquired knowledge about your sport. Listen to the
advice of others who you trust but remember that, in the final analysis, you must rely upon your
own judgment. When I was younger, I studied in detail many successful Swedish athletes,
including Björn Borg (tennis) and Ingemar Stenmark (alpine skiing). I was impressed by their
calmness when competing. Over the years, I have learned to analyze my losses and then forget
them as quickly as possible. To the contrary, I do carry around memories of my victories in order to
boost my self-confidence.
9. Be respectful
A table tennis match is decided in a short time and it does not take much to lose by
underestimating your opponent. It is important to graciously accept losses and to show respect for
your opponent. Whether I win or not, my strategy has always been to keep a low profile.
10. Think long-term
To conclude, I would like to emphasize that it takes a long time to become a good table tennis
player. There are always new things to learn. Try to think long-term and avoid focusing too much
on results when you are young.
If you aspire to compete with the best, you must walk a narrow road. You must realize that only a
large amount of training and tough training, will lead to the goal. The principle applies both to
training at the table and to physical conditioning. However, don’t forget to now and then have some
fun and experiment a bit. Occasionally, you will discover something that will be useful in match
play.
Good Luck!
What it takes to be a Champion
Sean O’Neill (2007)
Does it take determination, discipline, desire, or maybe God-given talent, superior genes, the
perfect playing environment and just a little luck? No single component by itself will make you a
champion, but clearly the more key ingredients you possess, the brighter you will shine in table
tennis and in life.
You have no control over who your parents are, so there is little benefit in spending time worrying
about your genetics. For most American players, having an Olympic-level coach or full-time club in
your backyard is unlikely, so there is not much point in being upset if you don’t have these. Good-
luck charms or being Irish won’t suffice either, so what can you do?
The good news is that you do have control over many of the ingredients that help create a
champion. A burning desire to succeed, the love of competition, an eagerness to improve and an
understanding that each match possesses golden nuggets of knowledge that you can learn from
are all important pieces of the puzzle. Remember, becoming a champion isn’t a part-time job, but a
full-time commitment to excellence.
The pursuit of excellence is the fuel that champions rely on to push themselves to higher levels of
play. It is said that it takes a something extra to make a champion and this is true. For those who
would like to take the journey to the top of the mountain, here are ten winning traits to keep in
mind. No one is born a champion. It requires many years of hard work and dedication. The journey
begins with one small step and a belief that “I can and I will.”
1. Champions enjoy hard work
Serve practice, multi-ball, footwork drills, running, weightlifting and video analysis aren’t always the
most fun activities, especially after a tough loss. However, approaching these tasks with vigour will
provide a springboard that will let you leapfrog the competition. Champions use tournament results
as feedback to adjust their workouts and goals. The day after a rough tournament, don’t be
surprised to see a champion be the first to arrive at practice and the last to leave. During practice,
each point should be treated with value and nothing should be taken for granted.
2. Champions plan for success
Remember that failing to prepare is preparing to fail. But, what is your plan for success? Do you
intend to cram on Friday night before a tournament or hope to “get hot” in the final in order to
achieve success? Champions don’t hope for victory, they plan for it. Becoming a champion takes
time and requires thoughtful planning. Create measurable goals with timelines that are realistic
based on your performance and rate of improvement. Write down your daily, monthly, and yearly
goals, and place them in your racket case to review before and after each time you play.
3. Champions are confident and optimistic.
We play the ultimate individual sport: there is no one to hit a homer while you are on base or sink a
free throw while you are on the bench; the ball is in your hands and hopefully on your racket during
each rally. You must believe in yourself, if you expect to succeed. Champions know that with
proper preparation they will play their best and thus they can rightfully believe they can come out
on top. When the score looks bleak, they know it only takes one point to start a great comeback. If
someone just pulled off an upset, interact with them. Ask them how they did it. Their positive
energy will be contagious. At practice, look to associate with players who have self-confidence and
high expectations. Negative thinkers and pessimists are powerful energy zappers who should be
avoided at all costs at tournaments.
4. Champions visualize success
If you can imagine it, you can achieve it! Champions understand the importance of mental imagery
and visualization. This is a common skill most youngsters have until adults begin to tell them that
they can’t do something. Prior to practice and competition, it is prudent to daydream about the
perfect performance. Find a quiet place to relax and close your eyes. Imagine hitting that winning
shot against Waldner or beating an upcoming opponent. The more vivid the imagery, the more
powerful the impact. Your subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between real and
imagined events.
5. Champions are consistent
Champions know that success is the direct result of commitment and discipline. After a successful
tournament, when it would be easy to take it easy, champions don’t break their stride and often
take it up a notch. During events, champions know how to run their own mental program during
matches and don’t wait until it is too late to make adjustments. Champions don’t get too excited
when they perform their best nor get too nervous when they aren’t playing well. The key to being
consistent is playing within oneself and not attempting risky moves that aren’t dependable at
crunch time.
6. Champions are focused
Champions know that you can train hard and prepare well, but if you don’t have 100%
concentration during competition, the chance for success will be haphazard. Before important
matches, leave the building, take a break, clear your mind, and start to get focused for a point-by-
point war. If you can win the battle of minds, you can play relaxed and at ease, but your attention
must be on the task at hand. When your mind starts to wander, use a dependable technique like
breathing control to re-focus your attention. Revisiting your written goals on a regular basis will
make sure that you are always focused on your long-term success.
7. Champions are creative
Champions understand the need to think outside the box and to create their own unique style and
strategy. Always following the lead of others, or becoming a carbon copy, is a recipe for mediocrity.
Be original. Have your own set of serves. Learn from the best players. But, modify their skill set to
fit your needs. Don’t be afraid to add parts of other games into your own unique style.
8. Champions never quit
Far too many comebacks have been lost when players gave up a point too early. In our new
eleven-point scoring system, amazing comebacks are at hand, if one is willing to believe the game
is never over. Momentum is huge in table tennis, and failure to give an inch on the final point of a
game will often lead to a shift in momentum for the remainder of the match. Regardless of the
score, a champion knows anything can happen, in either direction.
9. Champions help others
Champions know that by helping others you are helping the game. Coaching or encouraging
others before or during a tournament will only help you in the long run. Don’t be afraid after a
match to speak with your opponent or their coach to share thoughts on what happened. While all of
us enjoy easy victories, it is the hard-fought matches that stay with us the longest. When
practising, much can be gained by working with lesser players in the areas of consistency and
control.
10. Champions love the game
The final trait which champions possess is a love and respect for the game. They recognize the
past champions for their greatness and look to them for inspiration and guidance. Even when doing
something else, champions figure out a way to tie it to the sport and use it to help their skills
improve. With a love of the game comes the enjoyment of a difficult challenge. This desire and
need to be tested will allow you to be at your best when your best is needed.
The Improvement Pyramid
Richard McAfee (2007)
For any athlete looking to be a champion, it is indeed a long path towards glory. Studies of Olympic
Athletes have shown that it takes about ten years of organized training to achieve elite status.
Within the Sport of Table Tennis, there is a definite progression of skill development. To help my
students understand where they are on this developmental path, I have created a tool called, “The
Pyramid of Success.”
The Pyramid shows the nine developmental stages that athletes go through on their journey to
becoming a complete player. See if you can locate where you are on your own personal journey
towards becoming a champion.
THE STAGES OF ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT

Stage 1 – Basic Stroke Techniques
At this stage, athletes are simply learning the fundamental techniques of the game such as basic
strokes, elementary spin theory, simple serve and return and the rules of the game.
Stage 2 – Basic Stroke Combinations
Once the athlete can control the basic strokes, the coach then begins to combine these strokes
together to form combinations, bringing together both forehand and backhand techniques. This
combining of strokes also requires that the athlete begins to move more and lessons in footwork
start at this stage.
Stage 3 – The 5-Point System
When the athlete can control the basic stroke combinations, the focus is turned to learning how to
play points. As most points in a game are finished by the fifth stroke, the emphasis is placed on the
first five possible strokes of a game. As all points must begin with either a serve or a return, these
techniques are stressed during this stage. Third and fifth ball attacks are introduced, as well as
fourth ball counter attacks or defence. The goal of this stage is to move the athlete from thinking of
executing one stroke at a time, into planning out whole points.
Stage 4 – Style Awareness
During stage three, the athlete’s natural style begins to express itself. It can be seen in how the
athlete chooses to begin putting his points together. Does the athlete naturally prefer to hit rather
than loop? Does the athlete have natural early or late timing? Does the athlete prefer to play close
to the table or at mid-distance? These and other telltale signs start to show as the athlete learns to
play whole points. During this stage athletes should be introduced to the basic styles of the game,
through written materials and the use of videotapes. He or she should watch the better players at
the club and place these players into style categories. Finally, the athlete should write a complete
description of his or her own style. An athlete’s style is normally a blend of two of the major styles.
Stage 5 – Advanced Stroke Techniques
Now that the athlete understands what his style will be, he must begin to learn the advanced
techniques necessary to complete that style. What these techniques are will vary greatly from style
to style. Pips-out hitters, all-round topspin attackers, and choppers all need to learn very different
techniques.
Stage 6 – Advanced Stroke Combinations
Once these advanced techniques are learned, they must be combined with the athlete’s existing
strokes and blended into the desired style of play. During this stage, the Five-Point System is
revisited and practised using the new combination of advanced strokes.
Stage 7 – Self-Awareness
At this stage, the athlete has all the technical tools necessary to execute his desired style of play.
The focus at this level of development is on gaining match experience and learning how to use his
style to defeat opponents at International Level. As the athlete is still somewhat inexperienced, he
is still focused rather more on what he is attempting to do than on what his opponent is doing. The
athlete has become self-aware but often cannot focus outwardly towards his opponent.
Stage 8 – Refining Style
As the athlete begins to gather more and more match experience, he will continually be making
small corrections and additions to his style of play. Ideally, athletes will return to this stage over
and over again throughout their competitive life. When an athlete stops learning and improving his
game, his development is over.
Stage 9 – Full Awareness
This is the stage of development that all athletes strive for. It is often called “the peak experience.”
During this stage, the athlete is almost totally focused outside himself. Fully aware athletes often
report feelings of time moving more slowly, the ball appearing larger and feeling that they can do
anything they want to do with the ball. While most athletes experience this “peak experience” at
some point in their lives, the fully aware athlete can reproduce this experience much more often.
Important Points
Please remember that an athlete’s development does not follow rigid, set stages. Rather, it flows
as a process with each athlete spending more or less time in any one stage, as needed. Movement
is not always in an upward direction. Sometimes, an athlete will need to return to a lower stage to
correct some problem or learn material that was missed.
Most coaches feel that it takes about ten years of training to take an athlete to the top of their
game. Hopefully, the Table Tennis Pyramid of Success will give athletes, coaches, and parents, a
guide to understanding the athlete’s journey towards reaching his goals. While many try to become
champions, only a few actually make it all the way to Stage 9. In fact, some athletes will stall out at
each level. These athletes will make up the majority of players who participate in our sport. For that
reason, it is important for everyone involved to understand that “the quality of the journey is more
important than the destination.”
The Pyramid of Success not only represents the path of the athlete but also the overall
development of our sport. There will always be a smaller number of athletes at each increasing
Pyramid Stage. The greater the numbers of athletes entering Stage 1 of the Pyramid, the greater
the number of elite athletes produced and the higher their level will be.
The Coach
Clive Woodward (2002)
If you want to compete by playing and thinking differently, you must work with coaches who have a
similar mentality.
A good coach opens your mind to new possibilities and plants the idea that to win against the best
players in the world needs a whole armoury of playing tactics. Just like there are no rules in
business there are no rules in sport. It is all right to question traditional thinking in others, who do
things in certain ways because that’s the way they’ve always been done.
Good coaches don’t necessarily take credit for a lot of original thought, they crib and steal and
plagiarise wherever necessary. But they know the essentials – if the players cheat in training,
they’ll give less than their best in matches and in life in general. The first chance to win is usually
the best chance, so the player had better make the most of it.
THINKING LIKE WINNERS
Thinking correctly –
1. Make training fun and games enjoyable.
2. Have your own style, do things differently and in your own way.
3. Build success, build on your strengths when you win, learn from your mistakes when you
lose.
Plan, organise –
1. Commitment, do players have the same level as the coach?
2. Help in key areas, can players organise their own mental and physical preparation?
3. Support structures, can other club members and family etc. get involved?
Coach to the player’s individual style –
1. Does the player know where he/she is going and how to get there?
2. Does training suit the player’s developmental pattern.
3. Is there a suitable level of competition and sparring (even if this means working abroad).
When you’re participating, your interest is to become actively involved in a sport or pastime and to
enjoy being involved in the game. When you become serious about your game and about securing
victories then you have elevated yourself beyond participation to a level of competition. It is only
when you begin playing at an elite level compared to those around you, when you become
obsessed with doing whatever it takes for victory, only then that you are operating in the realm of
winning.
THINKING DIFFERENTLY
Too many people do things using conventional wisdom, ‘because that’s the way it’s always been
done’. Inherited thinking is a curse. It’s the biggest impediment to thinking in any organisation.
Before we do anything we have to change the way we think. Not just on court but off it too. We
have to learn to think differently about every aspect of what we do. One of the toughest skills to
teach any athlete is how to think.
There are two parts to this concept – lateral thinking or thinking differently and vertical thinking or
thinking detail.
SUCCESS
Hannibal won his wars by doing exactly the opposite to what his enemies thought and to what
tradition had always dictated.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it’s
the only thing that ever has.
To create success, everyone’s nose must be pointing in the same direction.
As a player or coach I’ve never seen the benefit, when faced with a powerful opponent, of buying
into the ‘mystique’ of their strengths and successes. To focus your attention on your opponent’s
strengths leads either to revering or fearing them. You cannot spend enough time analysing your
opponents but this needs to create respect and not fear – there is a huge difference. Equally
important are your own strengths and addressing your own weaknesses and also finding areas
that will set you apart from the opposition.
It’s not all about skills. It’s about attitude and the effect on other players in your squad. One wrong
team player can sap the energy from the group.
We are so often let down by our performance under pressure and in our preparation. There seem
to be a thousand things to distract us at any one time. We have to improve our efforts in
preparation off the court before we can see any consistent improvements on it.
How do you want to be remembered? You are a National elite player. You must take the full
responsibility that this honour brings to you. Nothing must be left to chance and absolutely no ‘if
onlys’ or excuses are acceptable.
WINNING BEHAVIOUR
1. Body language, self-control, handling the pressure.
2. Identify opportunities.
3. Decisiveness.
4. Time management.
5. Momentum.
6. Work-rate.
7. Stubbornness, never give in.
8. Think correctly under pressure.
QUOTES
I learn from the past — but I dream of the future, for that is where I want to spend the rest of my
life.
Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do
things right once in a while; you do things right all the time. Winning is a habit. So, unfortunately, is
losing.
In professional sport where winning is the only thing that counts, you cannot compromise on
anything you do.
Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside
them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be
stronger than the skill. Muhammad Ali.
Coaching with Carrington
Jack Carrington(1960’s)
Defenders
In match-play a ‘good chopper’ spells certain death to –
 The beginner and intermediate player
 The unskilled player
 The lazy player
 The impatient player
 The gambling player (at least the bad gambler)
 The unfit player
Techniques against chop –You cannot be content with just ‘not losing points’, you must win some
points by your own actions. There are a number of different methods of tackling the good defender.
1. Drive two or three 80% balls, push or drop one
2. Same as 1 but switch to different targets (bear in mind the body is always a good target)
3. Play a selection of slow push shots all over the table, then attack hard
4. Vary loop (slow more spin) and loop-drives (faster more speed) interspersed with drop
shots and hard hits
5. Use BH or FH depending on the situation and your own capabilities
Situation Assessment
1. At this moment, in this rally, what is my situation? Am I ready for this next ball? With a
plan? Balance good? Strength good? Eye clear? Touch good? Confident?
2. At this stage of the match what is my situation? Could this be classified as – dominating,
advantage, neutral, disadvantage, desperate? Have I a lead in games, or on points in this game?
Am I on the upgrade physically and mentally or on the downgrade?
NB. On your answers to the above will depend the degree of risk or enterprise which you can
afford for the next ball/points. ‘Dominating’ or ‘Desperate’ are large, dramatic canvasses, painted in
bold colours for all to see. It is in the ‘neutral’ situation that most mistakes are made. The ‘neutral’
situation is one in which neither player has any automatic advantage and neither can reach an
‘advantage’ position unless he shows successful enterprise, or his opponent tries to show
enterprise but loses. If you are foiled by a superb defensive return or an acute angle, stabilise the
situation with neutral play. Another neutral situation occurs when both players are driving fast and
it’s difficult to secure an advantage because the rapidity of play prevents you from doing anything
clever. In this situation can you angle or slow the ball suddenly or even step back and use the extra
space and time to feed in more power or spin? In practice situations train to progress from neutral
to advantage. Remember neutral play is only a pause in the main design. Too many ‘top’ young
players seem ashamed to resort to neutral play, when even the greatest of champions are seen to
accept the necessity of using it from time to time.
Guidelines
1. If a ball gives you an advantage – take it
2. If a ball puts you at a disadvantage – play for safety
3. If a ball is ‘neutral’, play ‘neutral’ or ‘enterprising’
4. If a ball puzzles you, play ‘neutral’
5. If a ball surprises you – relax body and grip and play light
6. If you are desperate – play bold
Defenders
1. Long-distance chopped balls
2. Long-distance floats
3. Close-distance chops/pushes or block/stop-block defence
4. Deep topspin defence – long and low (not too fast, use more topspin) or high-lob defence
5. Hard counter-drive
6. Sidespin returns
7. Serve and 3rd ball
8. 2nd ball flick/attack
Topspin Timing Points
Of the 5 timing points for topspin only one, E, is below table level. It is necessary to learn to contact
the ball at differing stages in the trajectory.
 Against chop in order of – C, D, B, E, A.
 Against topspin (using FH) – C, B, D, A, E.
 Against topspin (using BH) – B, A, C, D, E.
Steady topspin is one you can repeat 100 times with only 5 mistakes or less. When you can spin
consistently from each individual timing point the next stage (in 20’s with no mistakes) is to switch
from one timing point to another without losing consistency. Use the knees, hips and shoulders to
adjust the contact height. Use variation in power with consistency.Use variation in direction with
consistency.
Remember fast explosive situations create excitement – excitement creates body tension – body
tension is the enemy of soft touch and block strokes and change of pace. Keep body and knees
relaxed whenever possible. The coach’s aim is to increase the desirable speed in any of the skills.
What is desirable? To the extent that you have control. Control speed is the maximum speed at
which you can operate at 85% consistency and still select targets on the table.
Speeds
 Speed of thinking – early recognition of ball or situation
 Speed of thinking – early decision on your action
 Speed of feet – early arrival at good position
 Speed of feet – quick recovery to alert position
 Speed of arm
o controlled speed of arm
o controlled speed of rotation and body weight
o controlled recovery of arm and body
Work on the areas where you are weak.
7 Point Winning Weapons
Rowden October 2015
Many players play, but don't think. To be successful at the higher levels a player needs to know
how he/she plays best, which are the best weapons and against which type of opponent.
What works against one opponent may play straight into the hands of the next. No player can play
the same against all varied opposition. Each player needs alternatives, the capability to change
when his/her usual tactics/strategies don't work. Players will have differing strengths and
weaknesses in strokes, serve/receive, movement, will and mental powers etc, but tactics,
techniques and strategies will be based on the seven point winning areas. Players need
awareness of the areas in which they excel and the capability not only to utilise more than one
area effectively, but also the instinct to switch in and out of differing areas as and when applicable.
Speed : This is the first and most important area in table tennis. If you are faster than the opponent
in all areas of speed, thought, reactions, movement, stroke and timing and can cope with
everything he/she throws at you, then his/her chances of beating you are slim. Unless the
opponent changes something. So just what can you do when it's the opposition which is faster?
Play short, slow the game down, take time with your serves, try to return the opponent's fast
serve/ball with a slow return. Don't be predictable, vary pace, spin and placement, hard and soft,
into the body and straight not diagonal, use the angles. A stop/start type of game is much more
difficult to adjust to for any opponent. Also use your set pieces, serve and 3rd ball etc. Remember
too that the plastic ball slows dramatically and even many top players have problems with the
slower, dying ball.
Power: This is particularly important with the plastic ball. Players who have the ability to use real
power effectively, rather than just keeping the ball on the table, will have a big advantage with the
new ball. Of course this also means being able to keep the ball in play and selecting the right shot
at the right time; shot selection assumes rather more importance. Players can still play off the table
with topspin but now power comes into the equation more than spin. Playing with plastic, more
balls are going to come back and it's important to realise this and to be really effective with the kill
shots, both in power and placement. But also the short drop ball is equally very efficient, as the
plastic ball dies quickly and this is another good tactic against opponents who want to back away
and lob. Against players who are more powerful than you it will be necessary to limit their power or
use this against them. You can play faster than them to limit their preparation, make them play
more short or over the table, play stop/start or short/long to disrupt their play or return power with
speed or lack of speed or more or less spin.
Placement: With placement it's vital to use all the table, short and long, straight and diagonal, to
the body and crossover and also to the wide angles. Remember some short shots and extreme
angles will need early timing and some feeling (soft hands). Early in the game look for areas where
the opponent has problems; into the crossover, straight or wide to FH then back to BH. All players,
whatever their level will be less effective and will be weaker against certain serves/strokes or in
certain areas of the table or against certain combinations. It's just a matter of identifying these and
using them, while avoiding the opponent's strengths. Players who place the ball well are the
hardest of all categories to come to terms with. They are able to place the ball so well that often
they limit your options to return or make you return to an area of the table where they are waiting.
What you need to do is work out how to disrupt the pattern and return the ball where they don’t
want it.
Spin: There will be less spin with the plastic ball. The Chinese National Team tested the 38 and
40mm celluloid balls and there was a reduction in spin of some 12% with the larger ball. The 40mm
celluloid ball was manufactured within certain parameters between 39.5 and 40.5mm. The plastic
ball is 40mm plus up to a maximum of 40.6mm but the polymers are very different and the spin
noticeably less, resulting in a further reduction of some 24%. Obviously this impacts on a number
of areas in the modern game. The topspin game off the table will be less effective and it's easier to
counter with a block or hard hit/drive as the ball comes through slower and tends to ‘sit’ up after the
bounce. However the slow spin can be quite effective as the ball drops quickly below table level.
It's possible to serve with substantial spin but this is lost quite rapidly as the rally progresses.
Against players whose spin causes you problems you have to limit their opportunities to create
maximum spin or when they do, use this against them. Play faster and reduce their time frame,
play short and over the table, play the stop/start type of game, or block soft (throwing their spin
back) or force through the ball giving them little chance to continue spinning.
Control: There are often longer rallies with the plastic ball, due to less speed and spin and a higher
bounce. Players will need to focus more on control and shot selection and those who like to finish
points quickly in the rally may often try to force the play too early. Control overall will assume a
higher priority, especially in the women's game and it will be necessary for players to be able to
keep the ball in play while they look at using differing strategies to win points. Against players who
have a high level of control, patience is important and the ability to make openings to use power,
spin, or slow balls, or to disrupt the play with variations for example in placement, pace or spin.
The stop/start type of game is the most difficult for good control players.
Slow Balls: It is a fact with the plastic ball that short returns, slow spins and drop shots over the
table tend to slow down or ‘die’. This can be of advantage when slow spinning a backspin serve
half-long or when dropping a lob short off the bounce, rolling a slow ball with short pimples or when
playing defenders and should not be overlooked within your tactical and strategic planning.
Set Pieces: Serve and receive now have a different emphasis. It is more difficult to serve really
short and tight to stop the opponent attacking. Many coaches and top players feel that the service
is no longer such a big advantage, or that the balance is even swinging in favour of the good
receivers. It is a fact that sidespin is now the most important spin in the server's armoury (often
combined with either back or topspin) as this helps to keep the ball lower over the net and after the
bounce. Service is also favouring half-long or longer serves as opposed to the very short
variations.
Dropping very short from an early timing point is still an option against shorter serves and the flick
is also more effective. It is therefore important both in the men's and women's games for all players
to upgrade their short play and maintain this at a high level. Aspects such as playing against the
sidespin to achieve extreme angles or fading the flick should also be researched.
Serves, in the women's game especially, have always been longer but this will now almost
certainly increase as will the focus on third ball play in an attempt to win points earlier. Even
against the fast long serves however there needs to be variation in receive, not only in spin but
also in speed. Players who use pace on the long serve want pace on the return. The capability to
return a slower or shorter ball against a fast serve is a viable option. Receivers must research
varying methods of receive and the second and fourth balls will be of particular importance within
the framework of the rally.
Summary: What becomes vital if you are to reach the higher levels of our sport is the ability to think
strategically. Few players will be equally strong in all seven areas but most top players will be
strong in at least four or five. You need to identify which are your best areas, then how and when to
user them. Each opponent you face will be strong or stronger in some of the seven areas. You
need to identify (and quickly) which are the opponents’ strengths, how to counteract these and
then how to use your strengths against them.
Within all of the above it must be considered that at the moment the plastic balls are not uniform
either in quality or behaviour. Differing brands of ball behave in different ways and breakages and
strange bounces are common. Equally differing brands have different characteristics in terms of
spin or control so for players even at quite a high standard we do not yet have a level playing field.
The advice has to be, find out which ball will be used at your next event and train with this
beforehand.
Game Management
Rowden March 2018
In our sport it’s not necessarily the best player who always wins. It is the player who manages the
game best and who is able to adapt and change to cope with differing opponents and situations.
To do this effectively requires focus and attention, to actively assess exactly what you have to
change to cope with constantly variable circumstances. This means of course that you need to be
calm and unruffled in attitude; if you are afraid, irritated, angry or upset it becomes much more
difficult to stand back and to estimate objectively which is the most effective course of action that
will work to your best advantage.
So what changes may we need to bring in to win games or cause maximum problems for the
opposition? For a start what is the style of your opponents and which type of game do they prefer
to meet? Do they like a fast game so they can use the speed against you? Do they play steadily
and wait for you to open so they can counter? Do they use various spins to create openings so
they can kill the ball and win points? And from your side of the table, which parts of your game are
they comfortable with and which aspects cause them discomfort? Once you’ve identified how your
opponent likes to play and what he/she doesn’t like about your game, then you’re in a position to
start to make changes.
So just what types of change are available to you, to create advantage for you and put pressure on
the opponent? Placement is of course the obvious choice. Most top players don’t play several balls
to the same place, they don’t set up patterns which the opponent can use against them; instead
they are unpredictable, wide angled balls off the side of the table, straight balls down the lines,
balls to the crossover/body and there is of course constant change of direction so the opponent
doesn’t get the opportunity to settle and plan counter-measures. Next is change of pace, hard and
soft, short and long, so that opponents are not able to settle to a constant length and instead are
obliged to move in and out in relation to their table position. Also do not underestimate the value of
sidespin with the plastic ball and consider the use of the slower ball, which often does not come
through to the opponent or stops short over the table.
But of course most important of all it is necessary that you have the weapons to be able to change
things. If for example your opponent can’t handle short serves this doesn’t give you any advantage
unless you are able to actually serve short! It is therefore vital that you have alternatives in all
aspects of your game and that you are capable of initiating change when required and have the
capability of playing differing types of strategies in differing situations. For example against short
serve you will need short touch receives, long quick pushes with and without spin and attacking
flicks from differing timing points, against long serves, topspin, drives, the full variety of differing
blocks and even some chop returns. Again alternatives are required in the rallies too; against
attackers, the ability to counter with topspin or drive, to use varied blocks, sidespin and even
chops; against defenders the ability to spin slow or fast, to drive hard or even push off the bounce
with or without spin to create openings.
But above all it is more important than anything else that you don’t fall into the habit of playing as
you WANT to play: WINNERS do what they NEED to do to win.
Professional Training
Professional training is just that – professional and not just part of the time but all of the time. The
main difference is the mindset and there are three prerequisites:
• The player has to be mature or prepared to try and be mature
• The player has to be really motivated and to want to get to the top and be prepared to make the
necessary sacrifices including moving towards the right kind of life style
• The player has to be prepared to make a major effort and to start thinking for him/herself and to
be ready to develop this aspect. No top player is ever going to reach the heights and still be coach
‘reliant’
Once the training starts other factors come into play. The training itself (and this is where many
European countries fall down) has to encompass the following aspects:
• It has to be enough in terms of length of time (usually we are talking around a minimum of 25
hours per week)
• It has to be intense enough. No player develops unless the training stretches his/her boundaries
all the time
• It has to be individually meaningful. In other words the training has to be aimed specifically at
what the player needs to do in order to progress
• It has to embrace both the necessary physical and mental requirements applicable to the
particular player’s specific style
• It has to cover a suitable balance of the necessary contributions needed for the player’s total
development – training, tournaments of differing types, rest etc
• Over the period of training there has to be a shift from coach responsibility to player
responsibility. In other words the player has to take the step of assuming an increasingly larger part
of the responsibility for his/her own development
• No development of this complexity can by its very nature be solely sports-oriented. Rather than
the moulding of a sporting star we are talking about the expansion and development of the whole
person.
In most countries in Europe unfortunately professional training is not engineered precisely enough.
Usually the required intensity is lacking and almost always the individual emphasis is non-existent
and much of the training is in fact not geared towards what the player needs. Most of the top
coaches in Europe are more than a little concerned with the direction and quality of our coaching
and three main areas are highlighted:
• The general decrease in the levels of expertise and coaching knowledge
• An increased emphasis on achievement for the young (sometimes the very young) at the
expense of senior development and preparation for the senior game
• A growing lack of good coaches in the women’s game and in the overall knowledge of what is
required to bring women up to the highest levels
A further comment which has been made in some Table Tennis Magazines in Europe is the lack of
‘substance’ among the top coaches, that they ‘talk’ good coaching but seem unable to produce the
goods in terms of results with their players. The consequence is that even a number of the top
young players are losing confidence in the ability of their associations to help them achieve the
higher levels they aspire to.
I quote from an article in a recent magazine published in one of the top table tennis nations in
Europe – ‘How do top juniors have any chance to develop their own game under any form of
sensible and understanding leadership? They are expected to follow blindly the trainers’ directives
and carry out numerous ‘exercises’ which may or may not suit their playing style. Some years ago
the older World Champions in Europe had to develop their own game without the advantages of
such detailed exercises and constant direction. This of course is something the current coaches
never mention. Top youngsters are heartily fed up with hearing ‘coach speak’ such as ‘I will teach
you all about table tennis’ or ‘We have everything you need to get you to the top in Europe’.
Blatantly many coaches in the association are unable to produce the results they are paid for and
this is quickly obvious to the players’.
In many cases coaches nowadays seem largely deficient in the areas of technical preparation and
in understanding technical quality. How many coaches work on the principle that the basic ready
position and movement patterns must accord even in the early stages to the performer’s playing
style? The basic ready position and footwork play a significant and leading role in table tennis;
these are the most basic skills and a crucial part in preparing to hit any ball. And what about the
waist? In every technical skill the waist has an especially important function, for correct utilization
of the waist is a key element in the coordination of every stroke, this enables fast footwork,
increases the power of attacking and the spin in the topspin strokes.
What too about the five elements of technical quality: consistency, speed, spin, power and
accuracy? The more of these elements you have in your stroke, the more difficult it will be to return
and the higher the quality of the stroke. According to your purpose and the kind of stroke you
should be able to hit the ball in different phases also. Independent of your individual style you
should master play from differing distances but always bear in mind your predominant distance
(the area in which you primarily operate). I could go on at some depth about timing, the flat and
brush strokes, contact on differing parts of the ball and racket etc.
What appears to be happening now is that we are in the business of producing ‘clones’ rather than
trying to develop a variety of top players. And sadly in many cases we have stopped listening to
the players.
Perhaps more coaches should reconsider their own image and what they are trying to achieve. At
all times it is the player who should be ‘in focus’. If the coach considers himself in charge and of
importance then a certain amount of his energy is directed into maintaining his position and feeding
his ego. Therefore not all of his energy is centred only on the player and in giving the player the
best of all possible opportunities to reach his/her full potential. In this case it is the coach who is no
longer professional.
Many careers nowadays unfortunately are about putting work before anything else. Then if the
motivation is about achievement, what matters most are promotion, salary and the annual
appraisal. It is the ‘me’ who is in focus. Are we serving the wrong things? If people work as a team,
not for themselves but for each other, how much more can be achieved! And then in fact believe it
or not, the results would flow!
In the final analysis the coach’s job is to make the player self-reliant and independent so that
he/she, the coach, is no longer needed.
Sayings from the Past
J. Carrington (1960’s)
Jack Carrington was one of the greatest coaches of all time and many years ahead of his time in
his approach to table tennis
Most players expect the coach to teach them new or better strokes, but the coach could do much
more if they would allow him to teach them new or better thoughts.
The importance of BH/FH practice is that over 50% of all points lost in matches occur on a change
of stroke between left and right-side play. This practice reduces the mistakes because it teaches
you to be ready to turn. It also teaches you that after each turn there is a fraction of a second to
think.
Baseline to baseline and short to short is the golden rule for non-expert players. Long shots need
longer strokes, short shots only need short preparation and follow-through.
There is a whole family of push strokes – the push is a preparation for many other skills.
Conversion is also a whole new field but don’t neglect the conversion of slow push to fast push.
In attacking shots the body weight should be moving upward and forward at the moment of contact
– in defensive shots downwards.
There is a topspin answer for every ball, but it’s not always the best answer. Training for advanced
players should include –
 Discipline Tasks
 Skill Tasks
 Speed or speeding-up tasks
 Ingenuity Tasks
‘Soft-touch’ skills are important, but possessing the skills is not enough, using them sensibly is
what makes you advance in match-play. In classic defence the intention is to recover some time –
recovering time is important to both defensive and attacking players. If attackers are blocked wide
they too must know how to take the next ball later. Anticipation depends on watching what is
happening at the other side of the table, good judgement, alertness and rapid movement into
position.
A quick take-off to any position is something every player can train for until it is automatic. In
advanced stages a very quick retreat over a short distance is often more effective than waiting a
long way back.
It is in the field of mobility that the biggest advances can and must be made. Improve your mobility
by 15% and this will immediately lift your game by one or two levels. Make it a habit to move
somewhere, even if it’s just a few inches, immediately after each stroke. This creates an automatic
‘rebalancing’.
The Battle, Weapons and Alternatives
Rowden January 2015
Battles are won by having the right weapons, by using suitable tactics, but above all having the will,
the desire and toughness to win. Heavy weapons usually prevail over light ones, the wrong tactics
can turn victory into defeat, but without the will any sustained conflict is doomed to failure. What
must also be understood is that new weapons and tactics are being developed year by year and
time does not stand still. Our sport of table tennis is very similar to warfare.
Above all else each player must know how he/she performs best and how to be most effective,
which are the best weapons and which is the best way to use them. In addition no individual can
stagnate or be satisfied with current levels. Change is the essence of all existence and in sport we
must move forward and keep bringing new aspects into our game. Equally we are all individuals
and must find our own way to success; no two players perform in the same way. Finally we have to
find the most suitable tactics to beat the opponent, what is effective against four players may fail
miserably against the fifth. We must have alternatives and be aware of when and how to use
these.
What many of us fail to understand is the need for differing alternatives to cope with differing
situations. Not only do we need to develop the right weapons for us as individuals but we need as
many alternatives as we can get, because this means we are more able to handle a bigger variety
of strategies more easily. Also of course we need to be able to use different tactics against some
players as we will always on occasion meet players who cope easily with our strongest shots. This
is when we need the alternatives and to be able to think and act ‘outside the box’.
The aspect of minimizing one’s weaknesses is important: the expert opponent will very quickly take
advantage of major areas of weakness and all top players are ‘complete’, in that they have no real
holes in their game. However even more crucial is to focus primarily on developing one’s strengths:
players only achieve their fullest potential by evolving in a way that their own natural strengths
blossom and come to fruition. It is only by refining these individual specialties that you will reach
the peak of performance because only in this way do you develop weapons which are both
unusual and particular to you. Against such weapons there is no easy method of defence.
But in the final analysis as in any battle the mental aspect, the will is of paramount importance.
Players must believe in themselves and their training; if they have good training and development
and understand how they perform best, then nothing is impossible. In many contests there are in
fact only very small margins between top players; technically and physically the differences will be
minimal. The winner is in fact often determined not by these technical and physical factors but by
attitudes, mental strength and self-belief!
The Vital Factors of Early Development
We must be aware from the very start that there are two basic coaching styles throughout Europe:
• The countries which have a quite rigid, basic framework within which players are expected to
develop their technical skills
• The countries which place less value on a framework and more on the player and coach finding
ways to develop their individual talents
Sweden is one of the leading exponents of individual development but it’s interesting to note that
there are strong similarities in the way the Chinese and Swedish coach their young players. As von
Scheele, the Swedish Junior Captain stresses: ‘The key phrases are responsibility for own
development and driving force/motivation. To be a top player requires from an early age that you
assume responsibility for solving your own problems in sport. Coaches in Europe help their players
too much, they should pull back and teach more self-sufficiency’.
The Chinese basically combine the two systems. Although they are strong on the technical side
and spend much time making sure that from a young age players have no weaknesses in
technique, they are also always on the lookout for what they call the ‘specialty’. Some ability, tactic
or playing style which makes the individual different and much more difficult to beat. In other words
they look specifically for individual characteristics.
Too often we see the table tennis player as developing in steps, where we pass him/her on to more
experienced coaches at higher levels, such as High-Performance, Regional or National Centres.
Unfortunately however throughout Europe many of these ‘centres’ have fallen in level and are often
no longer staffed by coaches who possess the required developmental skills and experience.
Without some form of continuity this sort of system just doesn’t work. Do the coaches of today
understand playing styles and the crucial importance of certain base techniques?
Too often too the men’s and women’s games are not seen as ‘two completely different sports’ and
this is the main reason why women’s play is currently at such a low level throughout Europe. In the
women’s game it is almost always speed which wins over spin, which is exactly the opposite of
what happens with the men. There are also many more material players among the ranks of the
women and coaches must be more fully informed as to the why, the how and the what. Many
countries are quite backward in the coaching of girls and not much thought goes into their
development. Girls must have a training programme which allows them to ‘get closest to their full
potential’.
The trainer’s early focus in the first stages of development is particularly crucial and embraces a
number of aspects, which the player must understand:
• Each technique should be as economical and as simple as possible
• In matches many techniques will be combined – this means knowledge of coordination, balance
and automated footwork patterns
• Balance depends on rhythm and equal weight on both legs (both feet on the ground as much as
possible)
Top coaches understand that certain factors, even in the very early stages of growth, have a direct
bearing on style development:
• The grip influences from the start just what you can do with the ball, which strokes are more
effective and from what distance
• The ready position is closely connected to the player’s style and influences balance, reach, the
movement patterns which can be used and which type of strokes can be effectively played
• Rotation is particularly vital and should be developed prior to the stroke
• Movement and the correct movement patterns (for your particular style) are crucial as these allow
you to ‘come right to the ball’ and play stronger shots. Even at the beginner stage, players should
not play strokes from a static position but should learn to move and hit the ball
It is interesting to note that both the Swedish and Chinese coaching systems are in agreement with
the importance of these factors in the early stages of development. But of course they must also be
understood when the player moves on to various coaching groups at higher levels. All coaches
must be aware that a forehand ready position leads to certain playing styles as a square ready
position leads to very different styles. Also the movement patterns from differing ready positions
will often be radically different. A very simple change, such as moving a foot back a few inches can
dramatically alter just how efficient the player will be as he/she is no longer operating from the
most effective position for his/her game.
This type of awareness is often less prevalent in Europe nowadays as many top trainers
increasingly come from the ranks of the players and do not have an in-depth coaching background.
Often too their understanding of a variety of playing styles is limited. They can be over-convinced
as to the value of their own style and that this should perhaps be promoted at the expense of
others which they don’t fully understand.
In fact many coach educators are increasingly concerned that top athletes are pushed into
coaching roles without adequate preparation. They also feel that top athletes do not necessarily
make top coaches and that their single-minded goal of pursuing personal excellence in one way of
playing does not qualify them to advise others, who may have considerably different playing styles
and physical and mental characteristics. In many cases too unfortunately the communication and
people skills of top players are less than adequate.
What is required in Europe is a more in-depth understanding of ‘the whole coaching picture’.
Coaching development is not something which occurs in stages, step by step and should not be
seen like this. Trainee coaches must be made aware right from the very beginning of the crucial
importance of many of the early factors of growth in directing the player towards the right path for
him/her. Also coaches must understand the close relationship between techniques and tactics and
that the appropriate techniques must be cultivated and refined so that the player is more easily
able to execute the tactics suitable to his/her end style.
Does the Top Player make the Top Coach?
D. Turner(2009)
(Dave Turner is a principal lecturer in sports coaching at the University of Hertfordshire).
Quite a number of our top coaches and other individuals occupying top positions in the Association
(selection for example) are ex-players and have been very good performers in their time. No-one
would argue with this. What however we can take issue with is whether or not the top performer is
the person best suited to take on the mantle of the top coach. It seems unlikely that the superstar
acquires huge communication skills during his single-minded quest for gold medals or even the
abilities to effectively cope with recalcitrant teenagers. Nor does it seem likely that a strong male,
topspin player will have vast experience in coaching and developing female defenders or ‘funny’
bat players. Perhaps selection of those who will handle the development of our young potential
requires rather more attention to detail than we may have thought in the past.
Rather than exceptional athletes being regarded as having potential for coaching roles – being
effectively fast-tracked through coach education programmes and swiftly elevated to high profile
positions – perhaps they should be recognised as requiring extra support in making the transition
to thinking like a coach, with more comprehensive input from coach education and the
accumulation of coaching experience in minor coaching roles. We certainly need a more
sophisticated talent identification process for prospective coaches than athletic achievement alone;
it takes a good coach educator to keep the player at the top.
Coaching is well recognised as a cognitive endeavour, as opposed to the predominantly physical
nature of athletic participation. Coaching and performing are distinct undertakings and a period of
learning and apprenticeship is required in each. Decision making is arguably the most important
skill for coaches ahead of communication (you have to decide what to communicate first!).
In a recent research article on the origins of elite coaching knowledge, the majority of participating
coaches believed that less naturally talented competitors would experience a smoother transition
to coaching, simply because they had to think twice as hard and analyse more.
Talented ex-performers may well be more familiar with how the skills, techniques and tactics of the
sport feel and are experienced by athletes. They may also intimately understand the pressures
involved at elite level and may be able to inspire athletes with competitive examples of excellence.
However in a study of successful high-school coaches, the breadth and extent of previous athletic
experience was implicated as more important in development than great athletic ability. In respect
of coaching, athletic ability may in some cases be an advantage, but it’s certainly not a necessity.
Some years ago while gathering research data from athletics’ coaches; I came across the following
quote with regards to the achievement of athletic potential.
‘It is often the B+ and not the A-grade people who will eventually come through. You can get so far
on natural ability, but if you’re not bothered to train or if things come too easily it takes a good
coach to keep you at the top’.
This resonated with some of my coaching observations. Some novices would quickly take to the
skills and techniques with apparent ease and experience much early success. However it often
transpired that these early learners dropped out in the longer term and those, who had
encountered initial difficulties would persist, work through problems and eventually flourish.
Over time I reflected on the above and began thinking that a parallel may exist with sports
coaches. Might it be that coaches, who have endured adversity as athletes could exhibit a greater
potential for coaching, compared to exceptionally gifted sports people, to whom success has come
much more easily? Are effective coaches more likely to have been merely adequate or good
athletes, rather than excellent ones?
Of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team only Jack Charlton went on to achieve any degree of
coaching success, taking the Republic of Ireland to two World Cups in 1990 and 1994. In contrast
many contemporary foreign coaches working in English football have very humble playing
backgrounds, yet far more impressive coaching records (eg. Arsene Wenger). Similarly, former
coaches of the highest world-ranked test cricket sides – John Buchanan of Australia and England’s
Duncan Fletcher – had never played test cricket. To be a good coach and to understand things
technically you don’t have to have played at the highest level. Sometimes you can introduce better
plans having viewed everything from afar, looking in, rather than being in it. It can well be that
when you haven’t been there and haven’t done it, that you learn and understand the game more
than those who have always taken it for granted and are completely natural players.
Straightforward athletic success as a competitor may result in a lack of compassion and empathic
understanding towards the problems experienced by others, which is critical within coaching. Some
qualities associated with a number of elite or high-performance athletes, such as selfishness or
egotism, can be a major drawback in trying to selflessly help others to reach full potential.
The message is quite clear; while perfection is unattainable in coaching, striving for perfection is an
essential prerequisite for effectiveness and/or excellence. As a coach you have to assiduously
develop self-awareness, work hard through times of adversity and conscientiously endeavour to
improve. Success will not just happen because of natural qualities or the accumulation of
experience alone.
Despite the above, the tendency in European Associations is for ex-players to go into coaching or
into the official structure in one capacity or another. So the system becomes self-perpetuating and
it then becomes unlikely that anything new or innovative will occur. Perhaps it is felt that young ex-
players have the right ‘image’ for public consumption.
Yet when you look at the top countries in the world such as China, yes they have their young ex-
player coaches such as Liu Guoliang, but also they have the much older coaches in the
Association, such as Mr. Li, who has been involved in women’s coaching in China for decades.
Also in their Provincial Centres they have many older coaches involved in the development of
young players. In fact the latest innovation from China, the reverse pen-hold backhand, was not
‘discovered’ by a player but came from an ‘older’ coach in the Harbin Provincial Centre.

Advanced Coaching Elements of the Table Tennis Loop

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Advanced Coaching Elements of the Table Tennis Loop

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Coaching Technical

The Loop: Advanced Coaching Elements

Rowden Fullen (1970’s)

The amount of backswing 1

The speed of the backswing 1

The length and plane of the arm 1

The power and impetus from the shoulder 2

The speed of the forearm fold 2

The angle and use of the wrist 2

The contact point in terms of time and place 3

The angle of the racket at contact 3

The optimum area of contact on the racket 3

The follow through of the arm 4

MOVEMENT OF THE LEGS -- SKILL BREAKDOWN

Flexion of both legs but especially left knee (for a right-hander) 1

Strong extension of the right knee 1

ROTATION OF THE BODY -- SKILL BREAKDOWN

Rotate right side of body backwards (for right-hander) in preparation 1

Start rotation with left elbow (for right-hander) 2

3.Critical impact instant

Table Tennis without Glue or Boosters

Modern Techniques -- Tips

FH Driv BH Driv BH Pus FH Pus FHTopspi FHBloc BHBloc BHTopspi

Stance Side Square Square Side Side Square Square Side

BodyAction Rotatio None None Rotatio Rotation Rotatio None Rotation

Length Short Short Short Short Medium Short Short Medium

Timing Peak Peak Peak Peak Peak or Early Early Peak or

TablePositi Over Over Over Over End Over Over End

FreeArm Rotatio Balance Balance Rotatio Rotation Rotatio Balance Rotation

BatArm Closed Closed Open Open Closed Closed Closed Closed

LINE OF PLAY = Where the ball is coming from

Mon. Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

Rest 2.5 Phys. 2.5 Rest 3 Comp

9. TOPSPIN AND BACKSPIN.

The amount of backswing 1

The speed of the backswing 1

The power and impetus from the shoulder 2

The speed of the forearm fold 2

The angle and use of the wrist 2

The contact point in terms of time and place 3

The angle of the racket at contact 3

The optimum area of contact on the racket 3

The follow through of the arm 4

MOVEMENT OF THE LEGS -- SKILL BREAKDOWN

Flexion of both legs but especially left knee (for a right-

Strong extension of the right knee 2

ROTATION OF THE BODY -- SKILL BREAKDOWN

Force producing movements 2

Critical impact instant 3

Metres/Second Equals Km/Hour Speed after 3M Speed after 6M Speed after 9M

31 = 112 20.1 13.3 8.5

27 = 97.2 17.4 11.0 7.6

24 = 86.4 15.0 10.0 7.0

21 = 75.6 13.0 8.5 6.5

18 = 64.8 11.5 8.0 6.0

15 = 54.0 10.0 7.0 4.8

12 = 43.2 8.0 6.25 4.0

09 = 32.4 6.5 4.5 3.0

World Doubles Z Rudnova/S

World Doubles Also Final

World Singles 3 Finals/Lost in 5th

World Team Final Winners England 1947 By scoreline 21– 0!