(by Larry Hodges)
What is a three-point attack? It means attacking all three spots on the table – wide forehand, wide backhand, and opponent’s middle, roughly the playing elbow (midway between the forehand and backhand). It often takes several attacking shots to win the point. Many players can perhaps do one strong attack, then struggle to keep it up unless they get a weak return. How do you keep up a relentless attack? It’s all about Placement, Positioning, and Balance. Call it PPB – Ping Pong Basics!
- Placement. Place the ball where the opponent will have the most trouble, while also setting yourself up for the next shot. Most often focus on attacking the middle and his weaker side. But also focus on where he’ll return your shots. If you play a forehand from the backhand corner and go down the line, unless you are very quick you’ll have trouble covering a quick block to your open forehand. So, you’d probably want to attack more to the wide backhand or middle, unless you are ending the point on one shot. If you attack the wide backhand, the most likely return is crosscourt to your backhand (assuming you are both righties or both lefties), and if your strength is your forehand, then (unless you are very fast) you probably want to attack more to the middle or wide forehand. And so on – work out your best placements, based on your game and your opponent’s.
- Positioning. To keep up an attack, you need to recover quickly from the previous shot. That means following through back into position for the next shot. If you move wide to a corner to attack, you don’t finish the shot, stop, and then move back into position. Instead, moving back into position should be part of the follow-through, putting you back in position for the next shot.
- Balance. Balance doesn’t mean weight evenly distributed between both feet; it means your weight is between the feet, allowing you to immediately move back into position. If you finish your previous shot even slightly off balance, you will have a hard time recovering for the next shot. That means learning to attack while staying balanced throughout your swing. I’ve heard coaches say balance is the biggest weakness of many players, and it’s definitely up there. Many players can do one good shot, and then struggle with the next one – and they think they are just slow, when in fact it’s the poor balance that keeps them from recovering for the next shot.
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