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Coaching Tip of the Week – Ten Table Tennis Quotes for Improvement

October 4, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) “Tactics isn’t about finding complex strategies to defeat an opponent. Tactics is about sifting through all the zillions of possible tactics and finding a few simple ones that work.” “Strategic thinking is how you develop your game. Tactical thinking is how you use what you have to win.” “Tactical thinking is a […]

Coaching Tip of the Week – Forehand Push for Playing Choppers

September 27, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) On the forehand side, when someone pushes long, it’s almost always a good idea to loop. Because of this, many players are not comfortable forehand pushing except against a short ball. Against a deep ball, they almost always loop, and that’s usually a good thing. The problem is when they play a […]

Coaching Tip of the Week – A Good Warm-up

September 20, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) A warm-up is different than practice. Practice is to improve, maintain, or fine-tune a technique. Few players improve unless they do lots of this. However, the focus of this tip is on warming up. Warm-up is to groove your shots before playing matches. (You also warm up before a practice session, but […]

Coaching Tip of the Week – A Different Measure for a Match Coach

September 14, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) It’s an advantage to have a top coach in your corner during a match. They can quickly pinpoint weaknesses of an opponent and come up with tactics that will maximize your chances of winning. They are also good at helping you get into the right mentality for a match. Most players will […]

Coaching Tip of the Week – Use Your Strengths, But Test Your Opponent

September 7, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) It’s wise to approach a match with the idea of using your strengths, but don’t forget to test your opponent as well. You don’t want to lose a match because you didn’t know about a glaring weakness in his game! This is why it’s often good to scout out an opponent in […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: How To Play Fast-Attacking Junior Players

August 30, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) No matter what your level is, at some point you’ve had to go up against some up-and-coming junior player. If he or she was your average up-and-coming junior, and you are an average adult, and the two of you were roughly equal in level, then the following was probably true: The junior […]

Coaching Tip of the Week – Forehand Position for Backhands

August 23, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) When playing close to the table, you have very little time to make a transition from forehand to backhand shots, and vice versa. If you are playing a relatively quick backhand or in a fast rally, there’s no need to go into a backhand stance for this shot. Therefore, learn to play […]

Coaching Tip of the Week – The Seven Links of Table Tennis

August 16, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) There have been numerous discussions over the years over what is the most important part of table tennis. Many say the serve, or receive, or the forehand, or footwork, or consistency, or tactics, or mental strength, and so on. Of course, many of these discussions are like arguing which link in a […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Relax Your Arm During Backswing

August 9, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) Especially when looping, you need a loose arm to maximize power. Many players literally jerk their arm backwards when looping. Instead, relax it into a natural backswing position, and then use the natural elasticity of the muscles to slingshot your arm into your forward swing. Think of your arm as a rubber […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Practice Service Spin … on a Rug!

August 2, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) It’s often difficult to judge how much spin you are putting on the ball when you practice serves. Without this feedback, it’s not easy to improve your serves. So try this – find a large, carpeted room, and practice serving there. Spin the ball as if you were serving and try to […]