Site Products
Coaching Tip of the Week: What to Do in the "Big Points"

Coaching Tip of the Week: What to Do in the “Big Points”

(By Larry Hodges)

Some players have reputation as being “winners” because they seem to be able to pull out close matches. There are two aspects to this. One is mental – nervous players don’t do well in close matches. The other aspect is tactical – you need to learn what to do tactically in a “Big Point” near the end of a game.

This means being aware of what has worked, and what hasn’t worked, up until that point. Many players find a successful tactic, but don’t think to use it when the game is on the line. Or they use a tactic that hasn’t worked. You probably aren’t going to keep track of exactly how many times each tactic worked or didn’t work, but you have to develop a feel for it.

If you have a serve, receive, or rallying shot that really gave the opponent trouble, there’s often this tendency to not use it at a key point, since you figure the opponent is expecting it. That’s over-thinking – overwhelmingly it’s better at key points to go with what was working. It’s just as likely your opponent is thinking you will cross him up with something different! If you don’t, say, use that serve that your opponent kept missing, you may end up losing, with your opponent perhaps asking afterwards, “I’m curious why, at the end, you didn’t use that serve I couldn’t return?”

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.

Latest News

Lift the Ball

July 28, 2025
WAIT FUNCTION: 1 backspin serve robot will play 1 random backspin ball anywhere on the table, either Forehand… Read More

Freitas ALC + Dignics 09C + Dignics 05 – Need Mid-Distance Power?

July 28, 2025
(by Bowmar Sports) In this video, Coach Brian Pace emphasizes the importance of finding the right equipment setup for… Read More

Consistency and Good Form Lead to Speed and Power

July 28, 2025
(By Larry Hodges) Don’t be that guy who spends years smacking shots but also missing over and over,… Read More

Geovanny Coello – Gameplay Sequencing

July 28, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Geovanny Coello is working a player on Gameplay Sequencing https://youtu.be/zGRnfYszoWQ… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Central Florida Table Tennis Club

July 27, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) With its location near the junction of Highway 423 and 441, just northwest of downtown… Read More

Calderano Wins in Buenos Aires

July 27, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) The WTT Contender Series visited Buenos Aires this week, and this Hemisphere’s best… Read More

US Open Teams Entry Deadline is August 10

July 27, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) The deadline for registration into the 2025 Butterfly US Open Team Championships in Myrtle Beach… Read More

Shigang Yang – Forehand & Backhand Counterlooping

July 27, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Shigang Yang is working on a player executing the Forehand… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.