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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36647550937520598812018-07-20T02:05:08.123-07:00MHTableTennisLearn to become the best table tennis player you can be with one of the world's best free Table Tennis Coaching Blogs! MHTableTennis is the learning resource of international coach and player Matt Hetherington and includes technical articles on all areas of the game, along with interviews with a host of top international players! Enjoy!Matt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-2298546938883744472018-05-30T20:53:00.000-07:002018-05-30T21:16:26.955-07:00Athlete Transformation: Improving Health and WellnessI was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder in 2013 and have struggled with periods of relapse and remission ever since, still managing to remain determined as ever to keep my head down and stay in my chosen sport. Each relapse cost me 3-4 months of time each year between 2013 and 2016 in time spent sick or recovering. These are major setbacks for a training athlete.

After falling ill again in 2016 and being forced to withdraw from the Men's National Team for the Oceania Championships (my first time making the team for that event), I knew things had to change. I researched triggers and made some dietary changes to try and stay healthier on my own, without the help of modern medicine. During that time I learnt a lot, but at the start of this year I had another severe relapse and specialists identified a likely second autoimmune disorder which was causing inflammation in my spine.

This time Touchstone Essentials were at my side to help me look at things through new eyes.

How I'm coming back healthier and smarter than before

One of the things which separates table tennis success on most levels is the difference between table tennis players and table tennis athletes. Professional players train like athletes in any sport, they take care of their nutrition, do specific and generic physical training and evaluate and monitor their goals.

I think that's an area that is missing in a lot of young, developing table tennis players - they just go out and do their table time and expect to improve.

Coming back this time I knew one of my biggest goals (if I wanted to keep training and competing) was to stay in remission. I needed to transform into more of an athlete and to do that I had to stay in good health and avoid the 3-4 month omissions from each calendar year. This would take permanent and long-term changes in my lifestyle.

I am happy to say that Touchstone Essentials graciously joined in partnership with my goals, and things have been looking up since then. I have been trying to develop a routine across four different products to help me improve my physical wellbeing.

With the help of these products I was able to recover much faster than after previous relapses and I feel physically stronger and more alert.

Moving forward it is imperative that I can keep my body in remission and also take good care of myself, as I now undergo immune suppression therapy, so it is important to stabilize and promote my immune health.

Building my Routine:

I have far from perfected this, but I wanted to share it with any of you who may be looking to improve what you are putting in your body or are focusing on improving health and sport performance. Touchstone Essentials produce vegan, organic and GMO free health supplements which are made up of health superfoods. I had searched for a vegan protein powder previously rather than using whey or more artificial products, with Touchstone I discovered a whole range of products which would bring great benefit to me.

1. Super Green Juice

This was an important one for me as I needed to increase my intake of greens by a lot. The Super Green Juice contains 44 super food ingredients, and just 2 scoops of the powder can be mixed with a number of things, from water to aloe juice, smoothies or - my personal favourite, variations of chocolate milk. Presently I am trying to drink one every night, eventually I'd like to do it for breakfast instead.

As an individual who avoids much lactose, I have found chocolate almond milk to be the best combo and also recently tried chocolate flavoured nutritious pea milk. Always trying new combos!

- Check out the Super Green Juice at thegoodinside.com

2. Organic Super Protein

The vegan, Organic Super Protein powder has been one of my favourites. I tried other products like this before which utilize vegetable proteins but I found the flavour was a little bit too green for my liking.

The Organic Super Protein from Touchstone Essentials has a suprisingly more neutral taste with a subtle hint of vanilla. I have found this the easiest to incorporate into my routine and drink it after each training session.

There are many benefits to taking natural protein over whey and artificial products and I feel it has definitely improved my recovery and ability to up my game for multiple training sessions since coming back.

- Check out the Organic Super Protein at thegoodinside.com

3. Boost Focus | Fuel

Boost capsules include ingredients like organic green coffee bean extract and organic green tea extract. I used to rely on soft drinks like coke or red bull to keep me on my toes, things which are terrible for anyone suffering from multiple chronic illnesses.

If you are out there training, the last thing you need is an overdose of sugar and artificial caffeine - usually mixed with other chemicals (especially in red bull).

I take a boost capsule before each training session which gives me the kickstart I need to be alert and give each training the focus I need in order to get the most from it.

- Check out the Boost Focus Fuel at thegoodinside.com

4. Detox Plus - Pure Body and Supergreens

Now that my body is filled with chemo-type drugs, it is really important for me to detox. One of the suggestions from Touchstone was to try the Pure Body supplements. Four drops in water help to cleanse toxins from the body with the help of zeolite, a binding crystalline structured metal.

I have been managing to take this twice a day. I'm also taking the Supergreens +D - an organic combination of plant-based superfoods. Though I'm not big on capsules, I know this will be good for me in the long run and have been doing my best to take them as often as I can.

- Check out the Detox Plus Pack at thegoodinside.com

Just Pushing Product?

I won't lie to you, Touchstone Essentials are my sponsor and through my links I get some benefits (which you can also get involved with too by visiting thegoodinside.com and looking at membership opportunities), but I'm not just pushing product.

My blog is all about table tennis, I wouldn't clutter it with less relevant material if I didn't truly believe in the benefits. I wouldn't partner with Touchstone Essentials if I didn't believe in making a positive change in my lifestyle. It would be easy to carry on doing what I'm doing, but I'm in this to make long-term and sustainable changes, not just for the benefit of my sporting progress, but for my life in general.

Since beginning my comeback to training at the start of April, I have experienced significantly faster recovery than following previous relapses in my health. I am more focused and determined in training, moving faster and being more active with how I approach practice and matches - and my mindset is sharper than ever before.

Taking vegan, organic and GMO products is making me feel healthier and more energetic inside. I'm already pushing to train 2 sessions each day and maintaining higher quality. I'm looking forward to the journey ahead and am thankful to have Touchstone Essentials supporting me all the way!

If you are reading this and are interested in looking at some products, you can use the CODE healthy10 to receive 10% off your first order at thegoodinside.com

My hope is that while sharing my health journey I can also use the benefits to put back into continuing to work hard in table tennis.

Be sure to follow my journey and training diary on Instagram @mhtabletennis

Matt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2018/05/athlete-transformation-improving-health.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-14934177315194496972018-04-18T11:51:00.000-07:002018-04-22T20:29:26.833-07:00Attacking the Half-Long Ball in Table TennisPerhaps one of the most under-trained elements of table tennis is how to deal with the half-long ball. Sometimes it can be a loose serve or short push, sometimes it can be a long push which is too shallow, and on some occasions it can be intentional to draw out a softer opening or a push return. This article will deal with some ways to improve how you deal with the half long ball in practice and matches.

For more than 40 other helpful articles you can visit my Coaching Blog page.

Attacking the Half-Long Ball in Table Tennis
Image courtesy of ITTFWorld

Recognizing Depth:

First of all it's important to learn to judge when the ball is short and when it's long. For the sake of remaining assertive and active in points (check my recent blog here), you should only think of a ball as short or long, half-long is classified as long and therefore presents an opportunity to open with an attacking stroke.

Usually some things to look at when your opponent is serving or pushing the ball to indicate depth are:

- Tightness in forearm and wrist, often too much tension and tightness makes it difficult to play short and results in a loose ball (higher or longer)
- Body position, a player not in good position will also struggle to control a short ball.
- Lack of conviction in long push often results in a shallower ball placement rather than an effective, deeper push.
- Where the first bounce lands on service can help indicate the length of the serve - in many (though not all) situations, a bounce closer to the server can result in a long serve, whereas the first bounce being closer to the net will result in a short serve.

Once you are able to consistently recognize when a ball is going to be long (one bounce before leaving the table area), you will be in much better position to deal with the ball. Often recognizing a long ball is a major step in becoming better at handling the scenario.

Tips for Playing a Half-Long Opening:

In most situations where you are receiving a half long ball, it is almost always better to open with topspin, unless you are playing somebody where pushing creates a tactical advantage. So how do you go about opening off a half-long ball?

Judge the contact point: This is often the most difficult skill when it comes to attacking half long, as many players are scared of hitting the table and injuring themselves or damaging their racket. Against a half-long ball you have to decide to either hit over the table surface, or let the ball begin to drop a little. This requires some experience, but mainly comes down to body positioning.

Position Yourself: Getting in position for a half-long receive can be difficult as the ball is still relatively short for a long ball. On this occasion sometimes it can be acceptable to reverse your footwork position, moving the foot on the side of your playing hand forward in order to get closer to the ball (as you would with a short push). This helps you get closer to the ball contact and in turn allows you to judge your contact point better, also you don't need as much body weight transfer so you can rely more on hands and touch while still adding some force from that (now forward) leg.

Don't Overplay the Shot: This is more of a touch and judgement shot, you should aim to keep the ball low to the net and try and generate as much spin as you can. This stroke requires good touch and a more precise knowledge of how to adjust your swing and racket angles. Remember your goal is not to kill the ball, it is to initiate an attacking sequence and avoid being passive on a long opportunity. A good phrase to consider with this shot is 'go through the motions' - make your stroke technically sound but focus more on the feeling of the shot rather than generating a large amount of power.

Focus on Gripping the Ball: You really want to focus on gripping the ball as much as you can, either to help kick the ball up more if the ball is later in the bounce, or to brush more over the top of the ball as you accelerate forward. Players who try to hit the half-long ball too flat often have a lot of difficulty.

Commit to the Shot: This is probably the most important thing to remember when making this shot. Be decisive and confident, you need to be completely sure of what you are doing. Any hesitance or reluctance will come through in your stroke and you end up under-playing the ball or changing your mind and pushing at the last second, these are even less effective in a point than just choosing to push the ball back.

How to Practice for the Half-Long Response:

Half-long balls are present in training frequently and any opportunity can be used to practice this area of the game. You can do multiball training for opening off half long, or practice opening against half-long serves.

The best thing you can do is always be prepared for the long ball. If you are doing drills where your partner serves short then you should be ready on all occasions to open if the ball drifts out. This is a common mistake made by players who get stuck into mindless drill patterns and continue a sequence simply because it's part of a fixed drill i.e trying to short push a half-long serve.

Similarly you can also be active in opening off loose short pushes in practice. It's hard to practice specifically half long training because it's not really beneficial to your training partner to be playing half long all the time. A good drill is perhaps to serve short, have your partner play half long, open the ball and your training partner either blocks or counter-attacks.

I hope this post will help you improve how you approach half-long balls in practice and matches! If you have any questions feel free to email me at email@example.com!Matt Hetheringtonhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2018/04/attacking-half-long-ball-in-table-tennis.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-12929865949217823282018-04-13T07:52:00.000-07:002018-04-13T08:02:23.712-07:00The Importance of an Assertive Mindset in Table TennisI was recently at a large tournament with some high intensity matches between Youth National players and made a number of observations about an area I have written on before and frequently visit whilst coaching on the bench at tournaments. I had a little time and haven't written a blog for a while so thought now would be a good opportunity to shed some light on a gamechanging subject.

For more useful articles on different aspects of table tennis, visit my Coaching Blog.

The importance of being assertive
Image courtesy of ITTFWorld

A big problem I notice, especially among younger developing players, is a lack of attention to being assertive. Sometimes there can be a number of causes for being too passive in matches, it can be due to how you practice or to something as simple as not being focused enough.

Before playing the World Championships in 2016, US National Team member Adam Hugh gave me a priceless piece of information - in a WTTC you will not be given opportunities, you need to work hard to create each chance, and when you do you need to make sure you take it.

Of course at that level this is completely true, but it made me realize in my normal domestic matches just how many opportunities you get in a match to take control or gain the upper hand.

It's also worth noting that in a game as fast as table tennis, against a formidable opponent you are likely to only get once chance in a point (sometimes not even one). For that reason being passive in such high speed exchanges will often tip the scale way out of your favour.

Always Prepare to be Active/Assertive:
One simple piece of advice is to alter your 'default' mode. You should always be ready to attack (if you are any kind of offensive player). Some players hover in on serve receive and are automatically always ready to receive the short ball. Don't.

Even if your opponent is serving 90% short, your position on serve receive should be ready for any opportunity to attack if the ball goes long or loose. Moving in for a short receive is easier than moving back out to attack when you aren't prepared.

Don't Let Long Balls Go:
A common mistake by some players is to be overly passive on the long ball. I find, particularly among developing players, a lack of confidence in backhand opening - more common in young female players. A high quality push to the backhand results in a push return, this is not effective, it's important to build the mentality which recognizes any long ball as an opportunity to initiate the attack.

This comes back to practice and even practice matches. Some practice games could involve a player losing the point if they push back a long ball. As a coach there is nothing that frustrates me more than seeing young players pushing back a long ball. Opportunity lost and advantage handed back to the opposition.

Practice the Half-Long Opening:
One of the more difficult balls to play in table tennis is the opening off the half-long ball. This is useful for shallower long pushes and loose service/dropshots. Looping a half long ball requires a few different elements:

- Good body positioning relative to the ball and to the table.
- Good judgement of the ball contact and swing trajectory
- Adequate feeling and control (comes with practice) so as not to overplay the ball
- Decisiveness and good decision making

Often players can be afraid of attacking the half-long ball due to indecisiveness or fear of hitting the table on contact. It is important to get your body low and close to the ball contact in order to judge all of the above elements.

Picking up loose short balls or low quality (not deep) long pushes also adds more pressure to your opponent to tighten up their game or risk being on the defense more frequently.

Remember the Power of Initiative:
Being the initiator in a point often gives you some control over the point, statistically in table tennis matches the player who opens first holds some kind of advantage. What is important to remember is that this advantage lies with being active, not necessarily with launching an all-out attack. Even playing an opening ball with heavy spin and control can still give you the high ground to start out in a point.

Consistency in opening balls is vital in table tennis, also it allows a player to build confidence against the long ball in a match. A player who overplays their attacking shots may miss some shots and find themselves less committed to taking opportunities.

Other Aspects of an Active Mindset:
Of course it's not just don't to attacking, being active in a point is all about pin-point focus and can relate to long pushing and serve receive also.

In terms of long pushing, an active mindset is more about thinking of how to make your long push effective and using it to your advantage in a point. I wrote a blog on this here:

- How to Make Your Long Push Effective in Matches

Service receive also requires you to be actively looking for opportunities and ways to structure the point, particularly as it is often the server who has the upper hand. I wrote a specific blog on active mindsets on serve receive here:

- The Ultimatum in Serve Receive: Shut Down or Initiate

Hopefully the article and the links within will help you become a more assertive and active table tennis player. Sometimes you can have all the right skills, but being too passive can really hinder you in competition. Make a pact to be more focused and assertive in training and matches!

Matt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2018/04/the-importance-of-assertive-mindset-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-25687175937449848182018-01-22T00:28:00.000-08:002018-01-22T00:34:53.128-08:00How to Defy the Odds and Make a Comeback in a Match
Well it has been quite a long time since I have added to my Coaching Blog and with a new year turning over there is no better time like the present to try and get some new help topics out there. This blog is on how to look a large score deficit in the face and fight back to win a match. We saw this on a couple of occasions in 2017 including Xu Xin's intense 7th game comeback against Lin Gaoyuan and also Timo Boll's famous comeback against Lin Gaoyuan as well, without meaning to pick on one person of course.

Timo Boll's massive comeback against Lin Gaoyuan

So obviously there are no guaranteed skills or concepts that can ensure a comeback but here are some tips for when you are facing a likely defeat or a difficult scoreline:

Remain Positive:It might seem like an unbelievably cliche concept but one of the main reasons that people lose when they are down 2-0 in a best of 5 match (for example) is because they give up or become too negative. Your opponent already has everything they need to position themselves for the win, if you throw in negativity as well then there is a next to zero chance of any kind of comeback. It is more often swings in confidence and mentality that help create comebacks, so it is vital to remain positive and remember that it has been done before by other players and possibly even from your own experience. Try and remember occasions where you came back on an opponent before and reassure yourself that anything is possible!

Analyse Your Current Position:It is important to know how you ended up trailing in the match in the first place, was it a lack of focus? Tactical mistakes? Unforced errors? Was your opponent just too good for you on the day? In the last scenario it's always going to be an uphill struggle but often there are small things that can be altered which can make big differences in the scoreline.

This is a time to reflect on how you have been winning and losing points, in particular how the crucial points of the match have gone. Did you have game points you were unable to convert? Tight even scorelines where your opponent took a lead? Winning these points is vital especially in close matches. I wrote a blog on how to win crucial points previously.

Having a full scope of your current position is the only way you will be able to launch a strong comeback, you need to know where you are so you know what needs to be changed in order to flip the tables.

Change, Adjust and Move Forward:After getting your thoughts together on where you have been failing so far in the match it is important to evaluate your game plan. Your game plan is your overall strategy for the match. This is the opportune moment, whether it be between games or during a timeout, to adjust and adapt your game plan so you can create a more effective plan moving forward.

Perhaps you need to take more risks, perhaps go the other way and be more tactful and less aggressive, maybe your placements need to be more precise or you need to put more pressure on weaker areas. What is it that you haven't been doing in the match which could help you win more points and take control of the match?

Various Strategies When Trailing:

There are a few different things that can work when you are behind, one of them is to play like you have nothing to lose. Often putting ourselves on the front foot and being more aggressive can give a big confidence boost and can also help put your opponent on the back foot, caught off-guard. Going for broke helps hone focus and allows you to throw caution to the wind, taking with it the pressure of being down so much.

Another strategy is to take your foot off the pedal and try and play a completely different tactic, sometimes attacking may have gotten you into a hole and doing simple things like deep heavy pushes and well placed blocks can change the game. If it even forces a few errors from your opponent then they can also begin to lose confidence in their attacking game which can result in game-changing momentum shifts.

You can also look at altering your service game or pulling out some plays that you may not usually use, try and give your opponent a few surprises and really increase the variance of what you are doing so that there are no patterns for your opposition to follow.

Focus One Point at a Time:
Above all this is the absolute key to beating the pressure of a large deficit. When you are trailing it is very easy to think of how many points you would have to win in order to come back, the magnitude and difficulty of it. It is vital to focus only on the single point ahead of you in order to really hone in and give yourself a chance.

This is a very common point made by players who stage comebacks, they just focus on one point at a time. A comeback always starts with one single point, that is the first step. If you give your attention to one point individually and then go through a process of evaluating and then moving onto the next point then it becomes possible to win 2-3 points in a row. All of a sudden there is some momentum, perhaps some extra confidence, maybe you tie the game up or even take a lead. Starting with one single point can create many, many changes in a game.

Of course, this iconic comeback from Timo Boll was no different and began with a single point. In this case the significance of a single point was the difference between winning and losing the match. Each point won not only gave Timo hope for a comeback, but also added huge amounts of pressure to Lin Gaoyuan - a player who has struggled with pressure situations before.

The morale of this is, never underestimate the importance of each individual point in a table tennis match. A point can signify the end of a match, the end of a run of points, a turning point, a confidence booster, a pressurizer. This is beyond all else, and along with positivity is really the key to causing swings in a match and bringing yourself back into a game. Attitude and mentality is everything, especially when you are facing defeat in the face.

So as generic and cliche as these ideas may seem, they are very important. A comeback of even a few points can shake an opponent, even one who is a stronger player than us, it can give us momentum and carry us to the finish line. The important thing is, when you are down it doesn't mean you are out, fight until the very end!

If you have any areas of the game that you are struggling with or questions, please send them to firstname.lastname@example.com and I will be happy to answer them or write new blogs on those topics!
Matt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2018/01/how-to-defy-odds-and-make-comeback-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-80611338490125263552017-11-09T08:18:00.001-08:002017-11-09T08:18:57.464-08:00Guangdong Steps Up on Home Ground in ShenzhenThe Guangdong Team prepared for an epic showdown on November the 4th as they stood before their home crowd against a difficult opposition. Led by Coach and Chinese legend Guo Yuehua along with Chinese National Team member Hao Shuai, the Guangdong team would face off with Shandong Luneng, a team of formidable opposition.

Guangdong and Shandong Luneng players warm-up

The Chinese Superleague is the most high level table tennis league on the planet, one I had watched on the internet and television, but this was a unique experience for me. I had front row seats to a clash of some of the world's best table tennis players. Shandong Luneng would put forward an intimidating lineup with Shang Kun and Fang Bo taking the lead, for me the real honour of this contest was seeing the fighting spirit of Guangdong as they fought for glory.

The first match saw Xu Chenhao take on Shang Kun. The left hander Shang Kun from Shandong team has great touch and is perhaps most well known for defeating Ma Long at the Japan Open in 2015 right after Ma became World Champion for the first time.

Shang Kun would exhibit incredible touch and some very precise inside out forehand loops to take a lead but Xu Chenhao was beginning to wake up. He quickly saw that a passive game with short forehand counter strokes would not lead him to victory and began searching for opportunities to be more aggressive. The match boiled down to the 5th game, played to 7 points rather than 11 (a special league rule). Shang Kun took a decisive lead, but as with the rest of the match Xu fought back in spectacular style and in a full extension he won 11-9, taking the first point to the delight of the Guangdong home crowd.

With an early advantage in the best of 5 match team competition it would be upon Zheng Peifeng, the explosive penhold player, to take on 2015 World Championship silver medalist, Fang Bo. This match boasted even more fire power than the previous with some dazzling rallies as both players ventured further from the table. Fang Bo asserted himself in the match and held a 2-1 lead, making difficulty for Zheng with his reverse pendulum service.

Zheng would force a 5th and again the spectators were treated to a high pressure situation as both players battled for supremacy. It would be joy for the Shenzhen homeside as they clutched their second point in the tie. 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist Chen Jing watched on with satisfaction as the team looked victory in the eye.

A rare opportunity to meet the team after an impressive 3-0 win!

With a 2-0 lead in hand it was Guangdong who shattered the hopes of Shandong by bringing home the doubles. The immense pressure of the best of 3 doubles showdown could be seen but Guangdong fought valiantly. A buzzing crowd and a satisfied team left the stadium with joy.

A very unique experience and one I enjoyed very much, a special thank you to Chen Jing Table Tennis Club for making arrangements for us to attend this event!

Matt Hetheringtonhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2017/11/guangdong-steps-up-on-home-ground-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-24035175797604730472017-09-21T17:58:00.001-07:002017-09-21T18:05:39.603-07:00Is Conformity of Styles Hurting the Sport of Table Tennis?This is a topic that you may have considered subconsciously but never really discussed. Maybe when I talk about it you will notice. I spoke to a couple of players during the World Table Tennis Championships, legends of the sport, one in particular was Jorgen Persson - 1991 World Table Tennis Champion. A big topic for me with the players from past generations is what they think about the progression and changes in the sport. Here is some food for thought about 'conformity of styles'.

Is table tennis losing diversity of style and character?

As the game of table tennis continues to change and the game slows down and becomes slower and less spinny we are seeing a mass phasing out of different styles. This along with the charge led by the athletic and technically superlative Chinese National Team has led to a disturbing trend in the sport.

Traditional penhold style was phased out, short pips penhold - phased out, even modern age penhold is becoming less common in the modern era. Pimple rubber defenders are abandoning long pimples and changing to short to try and keep up with the ever changing game but defenders (outside of Japan) are becoming less common as well.

So what model are people following? Two winged offensive players - trying to focus heavily on technique and building athletic power and speed. This is not a completely bad thing but it opens up some serious problems.

When speaking with Jorgen he told me that the great Jan-Ove Waldner, the Mozart of Table Tennis, says that in this generation nobody could beat the Chinese because they were missing one key element from their game - variation. Everybody is trying to play like the Chinese players, everyone thinks to beat China they need to play like them. The trouble is - if everybody plays a similar style to China, they will likely never best them in competition.

International players are looking for the first chance to get into a power rally and once in it, they play at a constant fast pace - let's face it how is anyone ever going to beat someone like Ma Long playing like that? If you train to play in a similar fashion to Ma Long - unless you train harder and longer than him (which is bordering on insanity), then how are you going to have any advantage in a match?

Admittedly I don't watch anywhere near as much international table tennis as I used to, I used to love watching greats like Saive, Kreanga, Primorac, Korbel, Persson and Waldner out on the table - why? because they were unpredictable, they had class and scrapiness - each their own unique style different from the rest. Saive with his amazing lobbing, Kreanga with that outstanding backhand, Korbel his breathtaking inside out forehand and banana flip and of course lets not forget Persson's backhand swat and Waldner's godly dropshots and fade shots.

Every player had character in their game, they had signature styles. I feel like that part of the game is being distinguished as we move to larger balls, plastic material and we constantly look for perfect techniques and more athletic games. I think that, yes, perhaps we are seeing long rallies in tournaments, maybe for some people it is more entertaining, but something that was special about the sport before is fading rapidly.

There are very much two sides to this fence, some people like that the sport is becoming more athletic and that table tennis players will now and in the future hopefully be treated more like athletes and less like garage players. Yes perhaps changes in the game were necessary, perhaps they weren't avoidable, this we can never be sure about, but looking back I think a great era of the game is being lost as the sport progresses.

Very interested to hear other opinions and thoughts about this topic, please comment below or on facebook and as always feel free to email me at firstname.lastname@example.com
Matt Hetheringtonhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2017/09/is-conformity-of-styles-hurting-sport.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-18018013590491977552017-08-26T17:55:00.000-07:002018-01-22T01:16:51.226-08:00How Training Drill Selection Can Impact Your ImprovementTraining hard and working up a sweat is one way to improve but there are some small details that can restrict you from reaching your potential. One of these key factors is choosing the right training drills, failure to do so can stifle your improvement. I will explain why.

Don't forget to check out over 40 other helpful articles at my Coaching Blog.

Improve by choosing the right training drills

Laziness goes as deep as Drill Selection:

Don't be fooled by thinking that training at 100% helps you avoid being lazy. Laziness can creep into your drill selection and the effects can be highly negative on your game. Why? Because sometimes players don't want to choose drills which push them even harder.

Say your footwork is slow when doing Falkenberg (backhand, pivot-forehand, forehand), but when you do a shorter footwork movement like 2 point forehand you are much more comfortable. Sometimes players will use this as a premise to choose 2 point forehand more frequently.

Yes you may fly through the repetitions, you may drip sweat all over the floor and your short footwork may improve, but you are only hurting your advancement in the game by avoiding drills which push you harder.

A good example is the three point forehand and the '5' point forehand. One involves hitting a forehand at each line on the table consecutively, the three point on the other hand doesn't include a middle ball on the transition back to the starting forehand. In the training group of elite kids that I am involved with in my club I often give the kids the option of choosing 3 or 5 point forehand. Most kids will opt for the 5 point forehand, the ones who choose the 3 point are the ones who have a higher quality level in both training and matches and generally a better attitude when it comes to challenging themselves.

These kids are training hard, no matter which drill they choose, but the ones who pick the 3 point forehand are actively pushing themselves further to improve.

You NEED to focus on weak areas:

A lot of the mentality that leads to choosing the wrong drills is picking those drills that you know you are good at. Maybe you have the best forehand game but your backhand is severely lacking (as a simple example), players may steer away from drills where they are more likely to miss, not find rhythm or make simple errors - areas which they could improve to make them better players.

Complacency is part of the problem and keeping a constant level of confidence. It's a simple formula, we miss frequently and our confidence dwindles, we no longer want to continue the drill. This is common, especially among young players.

The key to success is - make your weak areas GOOD and your strong areas GREAT.

One such weak area which is not commonly practiced is the cross-step, used for covering very long footwork movements. This often results in players not having good movement or balance when pushed wide over a long distance. Think to yourself, when was the last time you practiced cross-step footwork movements?

How to choose your drills for best results:

Here are some tips on how to get a more well-rounded perspective on choosing your drills.

- Divide Strengths and Weaknesses: Write some notes on your strengths and weaknesses and for each area add a list of potential drills you can do to help improve them. This makes you actively think about the drills you are neglecting.

- Allocate Training Time to Weak Areas: If you are going to choose 5 different drills in a training session, be sure to choose 2 which work on your weaker areas. It is common practice to favour your strengths in training but still have a big effort towards working on those areas that are lacking in your game.

- Ask Others to Choose Drills: You can take advice on which drills could help you or which areas to work on - ask your coach/es, training partners or other training players in your club or team as to what they think would really help your game. Feedback is an all important part of the cycle of learning and improving.

- Try and Add Variety to Your Training: Add many different elements to your training to cover different areas - serve and return, multiball, forehand footwork (focus on different types of footwork: in and out, side to side, long, short, cross-step), some drills focusing on technique, some on tactics, offensive and defensive/passive drills. The more depth you can build into your training the stronger your foundations will be.

Actively Evaluate Your Training:

So those are some things to think about. One area of importance is to regularly assess your training and think of whether it can be improved. Actively think about areas that you may be missing out on in practice or weaknesses which could use more attention.

And remember, laziness is not only in actively doing the drills but also in choosing them. Make the best decisions for your game and always remember to keep pushing yourself to new heights!

If you have questions or topics you would like answered be sure to email me at email@example.comMatt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2017/08/how-training-drill-selection-can-impact.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-55857253012101273202017-06-05T11:44:00.000-07:002017-06-06T08:16:47.552-07:00Sweden's Golden Era Legend - Interview with Jorgen PerssonIt was my great honour to catch up with Sweden's legend Jorgen Persson at the 2017 Liebherr ITTF World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf, Germany. Jorgen has been one of the most prominent players in the sport, helping a powerful Swedish team to reach the top of the world and repel a strong Chinese movement. Hope you enjoy the interview!

For more top player interviews visit my Interviews Page.

FullName:Jorgen Persson
Date OfBirth: April 22, 1966
Nationrepresented:Sweden
HighestWorldRanking:1

Jorgen Persson - Courtesy of ITTFWorld

EquipmentUsed?

Blade: Donic Ovtcharov Carbon

FH Rubber: Bluefire M1

BH Rubber: Bluefire M1, sometimes Acuda S1

YourCareer

How long have youplayedtabletennisfor,whenandhowdidyoustart?

When I was 7 years old I came to Halmstad where I started playing properly. Originally I started playing at home at 5 years old against a door. We had so many role models in Sweden at the time, the likes of Stellan Bengtsson and Kjell Johansson among others, at the time table tennis was strong in Sweden.

One of the most outstanding moments in your career was your victory at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships. What memories stand out from that event and what do you think helped you make the breakthrough to win the title?

I of course had previously had a chance to win a World Championships but lost to Waldner in the 1989 final. Usually you only get one opportunity to achieve these things and when they arise you must take them. I was very disappointed about the 89 final and so when I had another chance in 1991 I went in with confidence as I had been playing well for the whole tournament so I had to take this chance.

Another incredible feat you achieved in your career was returning to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. You placed 4ththere and had some incredible results, what inspired you to compete in Beijing and to continue competing at an age where many players had retired?

I took a break from full time playing from 2005-2006, I was working at Aspire Academy as coach in Qatar. During the 2006 World Table Tennis Championships I was there watching and felt like I wasn't done just yet and I still had some competition left in me, at this time I was coaching and playing maybe 50% of the team split. I made the decision to play in Beijing. I was practicing in Beijing in 1981 at 15 years old so it was a return after 27 years.

You were a member of the Swedish team at a time when there was a fierce and very two sided battle in world table tennis between your nation and China. This must have been an exciting time, what is your best memory of competing against China in the team?

There have been many memories. Our team togethe beat China for our first time in 1989, Dortmund. We had lost to them previously, but we always believed we could beat them. The year 2000 was also a very special memory as we were the last team on the planet to beat China at a World Team Championships. I had lost easily to Liu Guoliang in the 1999 World Championships which he had won. I then had to play him in 2000 at 2-2 in the team match, it was a great feeling to produce this result. Also most people weren't really counting on Sweden to win this match in 2000, there were many fond memories.

I also have a very good memory of 1995 when we lost to China, The Championships were in Tianjin and we lost 3-2 but there was an amazing atmosphere, thousands of people watching.

Do you think the diminish of the Swedish team and therefore the start of Chinese dominance has caused problems in the popularity of the sport?

We simply had a fantastic generation and also strong previous players, it is not so easy to have players like this all together. It's no coincidence that China are so good at table tennis - its the national sport and they have history and infrastructure. They have the knowledge and resources so it's unlikely that their level will fall so much. We had to lift our game to beat them, you have to believe. The Chinese team need people to strive to beat them. Sweden before had the goal of being number 1 and we always strived towards this goal. There are more young players coming up from Japan etc and may start to believe they can win in the future. This is good for the future of the sport.

Jorgen and lifetime teammate J.O Waldner
ITTF Legends Tour 2016

 One of the great inititatives which I hope will grow is the ITTF Legend Tour including the likes of Saive, Gatien, Waldner, Rosskopf and Jiang along with yourself. How did it feel to be reunited to play with each other once again? Do you think the Legends Tour has a special role in helping promote the future of the sport?

Really fun, I hadn't seen Jiang for a long time. It was really nice to come together and share a lot of memories and development of the sport. Great for the sport, people want to see legends, playing a little slower but can still put on a good show. Would be nice to take it to different parts of the world, its a social experience too so we meet each other in a different environment.

Do you feel that there are certain things which Europe can improve in order to create more top players at the international level to compete with Asia?

It is important to learn from the best and put it in your own way, it's not really possible to copy the Chinese. I went to China in 1981 and learned many things, but took some things away and then made it my own special way. There is lots of knowledge in Asia in the coaches, and the top players come back into the system, this is not seen often in Europe. For the future more financial resources are needed to try and encourage former players to transition to coaching and development or to find roles where they can help the next generation.

Also because of the financial inputs in Asia coaches are able to focus on a smaller number of players, the coach:player ratio in many Asian centers is much better than in Europe and other continents.

Do you think nations have been trapped by trying to follow China in focusing on developing strong technique, therefore losing the variation which may have helped them win before and, in a sense, trying to beat them at their own game? (Accurate technique, speed and power).

We for sure need to have different styles. Now there is less spin on the ball and everything is power with use of the body, technique is important. Many players are playing full power on both sides, the game is quicker and harder to play style like full table with the forehand. Lots of styles have been phased out with rule changes like defensive players, short pimple penholders, traditional penholders and others.

Players are trying to copy China and are becoming too similar, power on both sides. Trying to play at this speed against China is very difficult there need to be other ideas and things to focus on in order to improve.

One of the most significant highlights occurring in your matches was your backhand 'swat'. How did you develop that stroke into your game, was it something you practiced or just a feeling of being the right shot?

I used to do one exercise with some forehand and then a random change to backhand and sometimes wasn't ready and ended up playing this shot. After a while I started to use it in practice and games also as I became more confident with it. I also knew in matches if I can hit this ball then I am in good form. Sometimes it even surprised me when the ball was very late and I could still hit it on.

What do you think it was that made your Swedish team during the height of your career so strong? What do you see in this era of the Swedish team and for the future?

We were very passionate and stubborn, we wanted to win in everything we did. This was shared among our team. Our matches even in practice were very intense, we hated to lose, everything was a competition even running, football games and other activities. This built the mentality which helped our team to win.

The team now needs to step up a little higher and work more on details. We have a young generation coming through and have WTTC next year at home, things are looking much better now than a few years ago.

What do you think about the current game and the balance of power and consistency?

Today many players play too hard and don't adjust so well. You have to adjust to how the incoming ball is rather than planning too far ahead. Sometimes the ball may bounce higher or lower and already the player makes a plan to play with full power and is then not able to adjust.

Off theTopicQuestions

Who'syourfavouritesportspersonofalltime?
Roger Federer gentleman and good for sport.

Favouritefood?
Japanese

DreamCar
Porsche 911

Idealholidaydestination?
New Zealand or maybe Fiji

Firstthingyouwoulddoifyouwon$1million?
Buy a porsche and go to New Zealand and invest some, be smart ;)

AndLastly

Wouldyouliketoaddonelasttip,oraninspirationalmessageforothertabletennisplayerslookingtosucceed?

You cannot always win so it's important to learn when you lose, don't look backwards always look forward.

Matt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2017/06/swedens-golden-era-legend-interview.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-9110958901082413992017-06-01T08:32:00.003-07:002017-06-01T08:35:37.199-07:00China's Grand Slam Table Tennis Sensation - Interview with Ding Ning
I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Grand Slam champion Ding Ning during the 2017 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf, Germany, as she attempts to claim another world crown. Special thank you to Wu Yue for helping me with this and translating!

For more interviews with top players, visit my Interviews Page

Name: Ding Ning
Date of Birth: 20 June 1990
Nation Represented: China
Highest World Ranking: 1

World Number 1 Ding Ning - courtesy of ITTFWorld

Equipment Used:

Blade: Stiga Ebenholz NCT V

FH Rubber: DHS Hurricane III

BH Rubber: Butterfly Tenergy 05

Questions:

How old were you when you started playing table tennis? How did your table tennis career begin?

I was 5 and a half years old. My mother was a basketball coach and in her workplace there were also some table tennis tables. Of course while she was working we would play table tennis there.

At what age did you begin to climb the ranks in China and eventually make the Chinese National team? How hard was it to make it to the team?

At the age of 10 I joined the Beijing team, I made the second National Team when I was 13 years old and then finally progress to the first National Team at 15 years old. You have to work incredibly hard to make it into the first National Team, in some cases you must be able to beat the last 2 players of the team to try and make it, also it depends on how many players can make the first team as there can be a quota in the team. So there are many challenges to face.

We don't often hear about the pressure and intense competition inside the Chinese system. How difficult was it to cope with the pressure of trying to become the best out of thousands of other players? Did you have moments of doubt along the way? What kept you going?

First when I was young I didn't have a lot of experience so I just listened to my coaches and friends and parents to get some more experience and to learn to control the pressure. After getting older when I started to know myself more I could find ways to control the pressure.

It's important to understand that it is a long term mission to achieve these goals, so you must always trust your plan and look at the bigger picture.

You had some big results in your career especially having completed the career grand slam, what is your most memorable moment?

2012 World Championship - China against Singapore. Match against Feng Tianwei.

Having become World Champion and World Cup winner, how did it feel to have successfully made it to become the very best player in the world?

After winning both I felt very excited it was an unbelievable feeling I was very happy. But in reality the Chinese national team doesn't care so much about number 1, more about titles. Number 1 is not that important. First time was very happy about it. After a while it's normal.

Rio was a huge result for you, 4 years after winning silver in London in an emotional final. After the London Games what were your thoughts about your table tennis career, how did it feel to come back 4 years later and take gold in Rio?

The 4 years, from 2012 to 2016 was very hard and there were many times where I felt like giving up after having given everything to try and win in 2012. I felt relieved to win in Rio because I had spent another 4 years to try and achieve this goal and was finally able to.

With two World Cup and WTTC titles along with an Olympic Gold, is it your main goal now to become the first player ever to complete a double Grand Slam by winning Tokyo 2020?

I don't really think about it so much, just one goal at a time. So right now my goal is to try and win here in Germany.

Do you feel being left handed has given you any advantages during your table tennis career? What is your favourite strength of playing left handed in matches?

Of course because there are not so many left handed players around the world so we have some advantages, I like to rally a lot in my game and so I can create some advantage in the rally with some different angles.

What are some tips you can offer left handed players to improve their game? What are good areas to focus on in training and match tactics to make the best of being a lefty?

Serve is very important and can be a big advantage for left handers, it is a good area to focus a lot of practice.

As a member of the Chinese National Team what was your greatest fear? How did you deal with personal failures and periods of bad form or results?

When I was younger I was afraid of not being good enough to make it to the higher levels. Once I became older and started to train more and more, I felt very disappointed when I wasn't able to fight my way through problems that I faced. But as I said, the journey is in long term so I always look at the bigger plan.

Non-Table Tennis Questions

What is your favourite:

Food: Dessert – Cake, Bread
Singer: Always changing, lots of different Chinese, Korean, American.
Type of Movie: Comedy
Travel Destination: France

What do you like to do when you aren't training or playing table tennis?

I like to watch movies and go to eat food!

What is one piece of advice you can offer to all table tennis players around the world?

Always do the best that you can do! :)

Matt Hetheringtonhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2017/06/chinas-grand-slam-table-tennis.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-6806374784116447402017-04-14T10:30:00.000-07:002017-04-14T15:22:59.121-07:00Pro Tip Blog: Pioneering the Backhand Banana Flick with Petr KorbelIt's been a while but I managed to get something together to write a new blog post finally. The Pro Tip Blog is an area of my blog which I really wanted to develop more but had a lot of difficulty contacting the players I wanted for it. Fortunately I was able to organize this new piece on the backhand banana flick or the chiquita with its pioneer, Petr Korbel. I have laid it out in more of an interview style piece with some additional ideas below.

Pioneer of the backhand banana flick - Petr Korbel

Many people say you were the player who pioneered the backhand banana flick, when you started to use this shot, was it in fact something you yourself developed or had you seen other players trying to do it?

It was one time, if i remember right, when i was 16, after some practice session, i stayed in the hall and tried some new technique of backhand flick...so tried to put a spin into my flick over the table and somehow the ball started to curved to the side, copied the body of banana. I found it funny...and since this moment I stayed almost after every practice session and tried to make it until the perfection.

What do you think the most important elements are for performing a good backhand banana flick? Are there certain things that make it most effective?

Most important is the wrist! Extremely fast movement and in the same time touch of the ball. This connection requires high performance of technique.

When you began to use it in matches did you feel it gave you a distinct advantage at that time?

I began to use it in age of 18. Especially against penholder players I get the feeling to have a massive advantage

Do you think this shot has become more difficult with the slower and less spinny plastic ball? Have you made any further developments with this flick during your career since its early developments?

Even now with plastic ball, the banana flick is effective. And of course, this shot went through developments. In my eyes, in today's time, more effective is slower, than faster banana flick. The players knows in meantime, how to play against, but still they have more problems with the slow banana flick, played with lot of rotation inside.

What are some of the big errors players make with their backhand flick stroke which cause them problems in matches?

First, don't think, you can use banana flick for each return, in every situation. No!!! And the right banana flick is only, if the flight path of the ball copy the banana shape...

Thanks for your feedback for this blog Petr!

Using the Backhand Banana Flick in Matches:

The backhand banana flick has become much more common than the standard backhand flick for its ability to impart more spin and acceleration on the ball. It also allows for a player to flick more comfortably against backspin serves and has become useful across a wide range of points on the table for serve receive.

The backhand banana flip is the strongest option for initiating against a short serve. You can read my blog on the ultimatum of service return here.

Here are some things to remember when using the backhand banana flick:

Focus your acceleration around the wrist

Bring your elbow up a little and allow your racket to fall downwards in preparation for contact

Follow through the stroke with your forearm, do not use your shoulder

Keep the stroke loose and fluid with firmness between the thumb and finger on the racket

Make sure the stroke is concise, make sure not to try and do too much with the shot

Here is a great video by Australia's William Henzell on the backhand sidespin banana flick:

Matt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2017/04/pro-tip-blog-pioneering-backhand-banana.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-79884554804489111442017-02-02T19:15:00.000-08:002017-02-02T19:16:33.532-08:00How To Beat Your Practice Partners in MatchesI had a great question this week asking how to beat the players you practice with, who know your game and particularly your serves. This is a great question and I really had to take a little time to consider how I would go about answering it because it is a very difficult area of the game. Hopefully I can provide some insight!

For more advice and help in multiple areas of the game, visit my Coaching Blog.

Jorgen Persson
Courtesy of elevenpoints.wordpress.com

Identify the Difficulty:

The first thing you have to understand is where the difficulties lie. Your practice partners know your game intimately in some cases especially if they are your main practice partners. They know your playing style, the strokes you favour, your service habits and setups and your signature tactics. They know your array of strengths and weaknesses. Often apart from these general facts, they also know how you react to many of their plays, how you respond to certain serves, placements, spins. They have a lot of information.

The hardest part about playing a practice partner is that sometimes they know things about your game which you may not have noticed. It can be easier to observe things from across the table than in self-reflection. This can be used to their advantage in matches.

How to Approach the Match:

Prepare the Best You Can: First of all you need to make sure you are in top shape prior to the match, be sure you have warmed up well and formulated a game plan. Sometimes in matches against our training partners we can ignore areas of preparation and assume we know what to do. Any edge you can get will help so it pays to put in the effort to give yourself the best chance of success.

Re-visit Training Videos: If it is an important match then be sure to check out any training videos you have. Shift your focus onto your training partner instead of personal evaluation.

Focus on Initiating: Whether you are predictable or not, making the first move will still offer an advantage. You need to work as hard as you can to target the weaknesses of your partner that you have learnt over time and try and shut down their strengths. Both of you will be battling to do this so your main task is to be the player who always gets in the first move, whether it be by finding effective serves or by initiating and staying positive on serve receive.

Ask Others for Advice: Sometimes if you train with someone frequently you may become somewhat numb to thinking about their actions in a tactical sense, you don't consider them to be an opponent. Other people however may consider them to be opposition and these are the people you can ask for ideas, perhaps about particular things that work for them in matches against your practice partner that you may not have tried before.

Persson beats friend and teammate Waldner in the 1991 WTTC Finals

Finding The Best Tactical Approach:

Service Tactics: While your partner may handle your serves better, don't try and focus on forcing errors or setting up easy balls. A training partner is not often going to give you a free point if they know all of your serves. What you need to focus on is patterns and how your training partner typically responds to your serves. With a heightened level of comfort it may be different to how other plays would respond but this doesn't mean you can't stay a step ahead.

Say for example you have a well hidden no-spin serve variation which players try to push and the ball pops up. Your training partner will know when the serve is no spin and act accordingly, perhaps instead they will flick the ball. With that knowledge you should then prepare for that as a more likely scenario.

So really with your service game it's about adapting all of your information to focus specifically on the patterns in how your training partner receives your serves and then altering your tactics based on that information.

Target Weaknesses on Serve Receive: As I mentioned above, taking the initiative and making the first move will always lend you an advantage. On the serve receive you need to take as many opportunities to target weaknesses early on as possible. You can also look at ways to close out favourable options. If your partner has a strong forehand then you may consider playing wide to the backhand off serve receive first in order to expose more space. This is an idea of trying to reduce an area of strength.

Another example would be if my partner is particularly good at backhand opening, can I improve the situation by first playing short to the forehand and then driving a deep push into the backhand instead of just pushing long to the backhand straight away. Do they have time to recover to play a strong backhand in that scenario? Perhaps not.

Don't Use Typical Set Plays in Crucial Situations: Your set plays are your biggest weapons in a match, these are kind of your signature tactics. When you need to win crucial points what is your most common play? I wrote a blog about How to Win Crucial Points in Table Tennis.

These usually involve a planned point with a high rate of success, a planned point which no doubt your training partner knows all about and for that reason it is not sensible to use those special set plays when you need to win points. You will need to try things out and devise other set plays which are unique to your opponent during the course of the match.

Be Unpredictable: Try and use unpredictability to your advantage. Perhaps you are a player who when given an easy ball always tries to put the ball in cross-court? Change tact, see if your partner is waiting for a particular ball, if they are sitting cross-court, play down the line. If your partner sees you preparing for a serve and gets ready to move in, predicting a short serve...serve long. You need to try and be different and see if your partner shows any signs of trying to pre-empt you. This may at times involve more risk so you have to evaluate each ball in the blink of an eye and balance out your decision making.

Make the Most of Variation and Change: I always focus on trying to keep my serve variations hard to read. This means keeping the action very similar and making incredibly subtle changes in my contact in order to change the spin. For this reason, even the players I practice with often don't really have a comfortable grasp on my service game in matches. I have many different actions and variations, pendulums, regular serves, reverse serves, high toss, tomohawks, backhand serves. I am able to change my service game in a very unpredictable manner and that has helped me personally have great success with my service game, even against higher players and training partners.

This also applies to tactics, if you can't find any one given tactic that works for you, keep changing, keep the tactics in motion. This way your partner/opponent will find it more difficult to predict what you are going to do next and it also breaks away from holding your usual patterns and routines.

Well I hope my thoughts on this topic will be useful to some of you. As always, please do submit any feedback or topic questions to firstname.lastname@example.com

Matt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2017/02/how-to-beat-your-practice-partners-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-31980426344735830662016-11-14T12:27:00.000-08:002016-11-14T12:27:49.193-08:00How to Recover Table Tennis Form and Confidence in TrainingTable Tennis is a sport of reflexes, speed, delicate techniques and automation along with split-second timing. When one of these things goes out the window it can create a less than pleasing shift in balance and cause errors and flow-on effects like lost confidence. How many times have we played a match and thought or said out loud, "I just can't play a forehand today" or "My backhand just isn't working." This can occur in matches or in training.

You can read my blog on 'How to Deal with Losing Confidence When Your Best Shots Start Going Wrong' or check out more free and useful articles from my Coaching Blog.

The mighty Chinese Team training
Image from TTDaily

Losing 'Form' or 'Shots' in Training:

We've all been there before, you get into your regular training session and something just doesn't feel right. Maybe you keep putting your forehand in the net, maybe you miss all of your long fast serves. Something is broken. At least that's what you convince yourself. But what do you do when that happens? Most players either keep on soldiering on and hope for the best, or they focus on something else. Is that the best solution? Not really. If you are in a match and your forehand has problems, can you avoid playing forehand? Not if you want to win. These issues are something you should learn to solve during practice so you will have the experience to deal with them in a match.

Losing form or shots can be down to any number of things, perhaps your timing is a little bit off, maybe your body is sore and you are a little too tense, sometimes you may not be completely focused, other things on your mind. Table Tennis is a sport where any number of small things can have an amplified effect on your came, you tighten up a tiny bit too much and your shot is out the window.

A good example is a player who gets angry easily. A lot of the time if your opposition is mad they tend to take bigger swings and can't control, their touch is lost because they are just too tense. This is why it pays not to become frustrated by small things in your game.

Identify the Problem:

First you need to try and focus on the source of the problem, work backwards. Troubleshooting plays a very important role in table tennis. Are your shots hitting the top edge? Going in the net or off the end? Isolate the problem first based on the most common outcomes.

You can even delve further and try and take one step backwards and try and find the cause of the problem, say for example I'm hitting the top edge on my forehand, is my angle too closed? Am I contacting the ball inline or behind my body instead of driving into it? Perhaps I'm hitting too early or reaching for the ball, maybe my swing is too big or too tight. There can be a number of problems but to fix the technical problems you need to identify the root cause.

On occasions you can narrow a surface problem back through layers of cause and effects to identify the most seemingly insignificant problem, for example one toe was pointing too much sideways instead of forward and that caused a little too much rotation away from the table, the ball contact was late and in-line with the body etc. etc.

Simplify the Techniques to the Core:

The core of a technique is the absolute basic stroke, usually if you strip back the stroke to its most basic form it becomes easier to identify problems. This means reducing the pace to say 50-60% and just going through the motions. Often just by reducing the pace this can help you relax and focus more on consistency.

Usually if you can go back to simple techniques it will help repair your timing and mechanics and after a number of repetitions you can slowly pick back up into regular pace.

Also working at a slower and more basic pace can help you build back some rhythm and also make sure your footwork is efficient, allowing for better positioning for each ball.

Constantly Evaluate:

As you begin to repair the stroke, make sure to constantly evaluate and really focus on mechanics, timing and positioning. Most of the time a player who is able to effectively concentrate on their game, form and tactics and ignore negativity from missing strokes is the one who is able to consistently perform and maintain a good standard of reliable shots.

This is no different than evaluating tactics in a match, frustrating will distract from your goals. If you go through training constantly thinking or complaining about your shot not working then you are not going to receive a miracle solution, you need to be actively focused on analysis during training and matches. Analysis of strokes, tactics and opponent/training partner.

Gain confidence from high number of successful repetitions

The Confidence Drill:

This is one of my favourite concepts and one which has helped me a lot in maintaining a strong training ethic and form in practice. It's called a confidence drill.

What is a Confidence Drill?

A confidence drill is a training exercise which you have a high success rate and reliability with, usually centering around the strengths in your game. This is the go-to drill when your confidence begins to dwindle.

An example for me is my preference for anchoring on my backhand corner and playing backhand and pivot forehands across the whole table. My confidence drill is backhand to backhand and I choose a random ball and pivot forehand anywhere. Why is this my confidence drill? Simple.

Backhand to backhand is simple and controlled, it has a very low error rate no matter how bad my form is, as a coach playing backhand control is something I can do in my sleep. I can choose any ball I want to pivot, this gives me a lot of freedom to pick the best ball to move and attack on and also gives me the element of making the first attack. Finally I am playing the ball with my forehand, my stronger stroke and anywhere on the table, this makes it very difficult for my training partner to anticipate where I'm going and make a quality return.

The end result is success. I usually win the 'point' 80% of the time. I get through the drills-set to the forehand ball on almost every occasion and if I make the opening forehand anywhere I don't need to play hard, I just focus on reliability and placement. As a result I land a great number of forehands and win a lot of points and my confidence increases dramatically.

Now you take that added confidence and get back into your regular training drills and you will find it can make a significant difference to your training form.

Avoid Negative Self-Talk and Personal Critique:

Often you are your own biggest critic during training and matches. Negative mentality can have such a big impact on all aspects of your table tennis; decisiveness, confidence, decision making, patience, timing and touch among many other things.

I wrote an article here on 'Attitude is the Make or Break of Sports' which demonstrates that fact. Avoid criticising yourself and remember, as cliche as it sounds, believing in your ability and your techniques can make a big difference.

Hope today's blog has helped some of you struggling with inconsistent training out there. Please don't hesitate to email firstname.lastname@example.com for any questions :)Matt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/11/how-to-recover-table-tennis-form-and.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-16757695421372849972016-11-10T16:30:00.001-08:002016-11-10T16:30:53.275-08:00Expectation: A Danger for Athletes in Table TennisIt's a common phrase, if you expect too much, you will only be disappointed. This blog talks about expectations can adversely effect your match-play and mentality. We have seen plenty of upsets where the pressure got too much for players 'chokes' from substantial leads. Ma Lin had significant leads in a handful of WTTC finals but always ended up losing and as a result never became World Champion.

This is just one example of an incredibly number of issues that can come from expectations and can really harm your game and ability to perform and remain mentally strong in competition.

Wang Hao, three time Olympic Silver Medalist

Have you ever played a match where you were the favourite? How about an event where you are the top seed? How does the pressure change in these situations?

Usually you feel either an immense anxiety or nervous feeling, going into a match with these feelings can be detrimental, or a steady confidence.

I for one always feel additional pressure in an event where I have been listed as the 'expected' winner (top seed). However it is important to truly believe in the concept of 'right here, right now'. Anyone can play amazingly on the day, upsets are a common occurrence, every match can have its challenges. Never underestimate an opponent who is out there with a desire to win. That is what competition is all about, everyone is battling for the same thing.

Where Does Expectation Stem From?

Expectation in table tennis I feel stems from three places:

- Increased Training: When you begin to train much more and more seriously, players can expect to see results immediately. They feel the additional effort and hours should translate into results, they expect to see improvement.

- Higher Rankings: Players who hold their ranking close to their heart can grow to expect to beat lower ranked players and become upset when they lose to a 'lower ranked player', this is common in young developing players.

- Holding a Lead: When victory is almost upon you in a match and you have a significant lead, you might expect everything to go in your favour. It doesn't always happen. Tactics change and players adapt and focus wavers and fluctuates. Having the upper hand in a match doesn't mean you should expect the match to fall in your favour.

I see these as three main fuels to the fire of expectation. Notice expectation is most commonly results based, tournament and league results. We feel expectation the most when the matches really count for something.

One of the greatest examples of Holding a Lead and Losing

Hao Shuai vs. Michael Maze 2005 WTTC Quarterfinals

What We Need to Understand and Some Tips to Improve:

- Increased Training: It's an age old saying - Good things take time. Sometimes training improvements can take longer periods of time to translate into results. That can be frustrating but failing to address that simple truth can cast dangerous doubts over your training regime and why you are putting in the effort if not to get immediate benefits.

This blog on Why is My Training Level Better than my Matchplay Level?  may also offer you some help on improving the transition of skills. The most important thing is to have patience.

It is also crucial to ensure you are practicing the right things, evaluate the links between your match performances and your training plan constantly.

- Higher Rankings: An important thing to remember is that a ranking is only a reflection of the previous times you have played, these numbers change all the time, maybe they go up or down a lot, maybe they are more stable. Each time you go out on the table you should think of yourself as a zero rated player. You need to have the same desire to beat everyone, no matter what their level is. At the end of the day they are standing between you and victory and all of them are the same in that regard.

Here I wrote a blog on How to Win Consistently Against Lower Players which gives some insights and exercises/match drills which can help you improve your game against lower 'ranked' players.

- Holding a Lead: This can be a big mental buster for some players, they are winning a match and all of a sudden they end up losing. It is vital to try and not consider the score during a match. Knowing the score can have a psychological effect on you, for example if you have lost 5 points in a row and it was 10-5 and now it is 10-10. Being conscious of the score can hurt you.

Try to focus on one point at a time and play by your game plan. Focus on tactics and awareness of changes, observe and analyse. Your focus is much better spent here than on the scoreline.

Some players can also get complacent and lose focus completely when they are further ahead. Opting to lob or make silly shots without thinking. On the flip-side a player can try and finish the match off quickly and overplay the ball.

Here is a piece from my Coaching Blog called Why Do I Always Lose When I'm Winning? with some advice on trying to fix holes in your mental game and tactical game.

Feng Tianwei wins 10 points in a row

Anything is possible at any time until the match is over!

Play in the Moment and Focus on Performance Not Points

One of the hardest things to learn is not to play for results but to play your best. It sounds cliche and easy in theory but it's not. If you focus on playing your best table tennis and give your thought to the game then you gain some immunity to the deflating effects of expecting good results and coming home with nothing.

Disappointment is something all of us have felt before and it can be a very devastating feeling for your ambitions, your training ethic and performance in matches (mentally). A buildup of disappointments can cast some serious doubt on everything, even your love for the game of table tennis. It can be very hard to come back from!

The simple fact is, if you go out to play your best table tennis and don't focus on the end result, you have a much better chance of finding your best form. And let's face it, if you find your best form then that is literally your best chance of winning on the day.

So play for the moment, forget the expected outcomes or the impending results and just keep your head screwed on until you are out of the playing area. If you can do that you will find a new confidence in your abilities, regardless of individual results. Focus on the bigger picture!

Further questions or feedback always welcome at firstname.lastname@example.com
Matt Hetheringtonhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/11/expectation-danger-for-athletes-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-63539068708632321362016-11-05T09:36:00.000-07:002017-01-19T18:46:45.317-08:00Basic Rules of Table Tennis and Common MythsWhen I'm coaching in the club I get a lot of social players coming up to me to clarify rules on some basic areas of the game. I figured since I'm trying to branch out and make posts which relate to all levels that it was a good idea to make a post on the most common areas of conflict among new and social players. Here are the basic rules and common conflicts:

Be diplomatic, learn the rules of table tennis to save disputes!

Net Serve Rule: If the ball hits the net on a serve then it is a net serve and the point must be played again. If the ball hits the net any time other than the serve then the point is still in play and play continues.

Parts of the Net: All parts of the net are considered 'the net' this means if the ball hits the clamp which holds the net to the table, it is considered hitting the net. On rare occasions the ball will hit the top of the net and go over and hit the clamp and go off, in this instance the ball has hit the net twice but not the table and will not count. Even the post of the net counts as 'the net'.

The Edge Rule (Guidance in Brackets): A lot of players get confused about when a ball touches the edge. When does it count and when does it not count? It's simple. If the ball hits the top surface of the table (usually signified by a bounce upwards) then the point is awarded. If the ball however hits the side of the table (often deflecting downwards or straight) then this is not counted and the opponent wins the point. These can often be difficult to judge and can sometimes require the judgement of both players and an umpire in international matches.

Official Service Rules: Here are the official table tennis rules for a serve:

- The ball must be tossed from a flat palm, vertically, 16cm minimum
- The ball must be struck behind the white baseline of the table (not over the table)
- No part of the body may obstruct the path or contact of the ball during serve

Hitting Rules:

- Your hand down to your wrist is considered 'part of your racket' if you return a ball hitting your fingers, hand or upper wrist by accident then the shot is legal.
- Accidental double hitting was made legal by the ITTF a few years ago, this means if the ball somehow double hits your racket or your hand/finger then racket and goes over then the shot is legal.

Debunking Myths:

- Diagonal service is not required for singles, only doubles.
- Three net serves in a row is not a point for the opposition, there is no net serve limit.
- You can play around the net to win a point, the ball does not have to travel 'over' the net.

Volleying Shots: It is illegal to volley in table tennis. A common conflict is when a players racket contacts the ball even after the ball has gone out. Here is the rule:

If the ball is travelling out but a player contacts the ball on the full in front of the white baseline then they lose the point as this is considered a volley which is illegal. If the ball is travelling out but a player makes contact with the ball after it has passed the white baseline then it is considered a missed shot and the player wins the point.

Table Contact and Movement: You will lose a point in table tennis for contact if:

- Your non-playing hand touches the table during a point.
- You move the table during a point.

Hopefully these will prevent you and your friends from souring a friendly game of table tennis by being up to date on all the stranger rules of table tennis! :)Matt Hetheringtonhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/11/basic-rules-of-table-tennis-and-common.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-88558091791850485622016-11-01T21:56:00.000-07:002016-11-01T21:56:33.866-07:00Why Blocking is a Vital Table Tennis SkillNot many players talk about their blocking game, most of them are out there focusing on service or forehand and backhand loop, developing kill shots and methods of aggression in their game. Blocking in fact plays a crucial role, not necessarily in your matchplay, but in your value as a training partner. Here I will tell you why being able to block at a high level is necessary and how you can improve your blocking skills by incorporating blocking drills into your practice.

For more advice and tips, visit the rest of my Coaching Blog with dozens of free coaching articles on various areas of the game!

Blocking is a Vital Table Tennis Skill

Why is Blocking Important?

Well there are plenty of reasons why blocking is important for both matchplay and developing your table tennis skills overall:

- Good for developing touch and timing, focusing on positioning rather than playing big strokes.

- Focus on consistency and returning many balls instead of being overly offensive.

- Good practice for adding variation from blocking to reduce pace to topspin variations.

- More focus on placement as a weapon over power.

These are reasons why it will benefit your game directly but there is another potentially more important reason why you need to bring your blocking up to scratch.

Make Yourself A Valuable Training Partner

I might not be the same level in matches as the Chinese players in my club, no their USATT ratings are far higher than mine, but can they train with me? Yes. In many ways my training level has gradually surpassed my playing level by a significant factor, especially since starting to coach more.

The main reason for this is because I had to work hard on my blocking game to make myself a good training partner. When you practice with someone, they only care a little bit about how your drills go, let's face it, if you train with someone all they want is someone who can keep the ball on the table during their drills. If you make good quality training for a player then they will have no problem asking you to train again.

If you go out onto the table and can't block more than 2-3 balls then you have no value to a higher player as a training partner. So this is where being able to block and control during drills can be a huge advantage to you.

How to Improve Your Block

There are many drills you can do to directly improve your blocking. Remember when you train a drill for someone else you are blocking but if you really want to improve a great deal, you should also include some blocking and control drills of your own too.

Blocking Tips:

- Keep your racket head up and a little more vertical.

- Control your placement with your shoulders, make sure they point to where you are controlling the ball to, especially on your backhand.

- When the oncoming ball has more spin, close your bat angle, when it has more speed, open the angle.

- Use your finger and thumb to apply tightness to your racket head, keep the rest of your arm and body relaxed with your body weight forward.

- Ensure the contact point is close to the body for better control. Keep your backhand between your shoulders and not too far in front of you and on your forehand try not to reach too far.

- Do your best to simplify the action, don't try and hit the ball too much, just try and use the speed and spin of the oncoming ball.

- Add a small tightening of the wrist and forward movement over the ball to add topspin variation to your block. Make sure the wrist movement is in the same direction as your small stroke movement.

Hungary's Georgina Pota teaches how to Block

Fixed Placement Drills:

- Have your training partner loop from the forehand side, one to your forehand block, one to your backhand block alternating. This helps you improve your block transitioning.

- Practice blocking placement points like 3 point forehand and 2,2 drills. Having accuracy in your blocks is important too. Try and focus on repetitive placements and narrowing down closer to the points you are aiming for consistently.

- Have your partner loop 1 or 2 to either forehand or backhand alternately, this helps you start to build anticipation with your blocking as the frequency of placements is constantly changing.

Random Placement Drills:

- Allow your training partner to hit anywhere from their forehand and try and block back to the forehand from anywhere on the table. Not only do you have to get into position by also make sure you are aiming your return as well.

- Push long to either side and let your partner attack 3rd ball anywhere, try and block the first ball and then transition into a drill.

- Play backhand to backhand and then your partner can pivot and attack anywhere, block back to the backhand and repeat.

- Full random topspin, both you and your training partner can play anywhere, focus on blocking and placement and try and outplay your opponent (you can score too if you want). Concentrate on both staying close to the table to also improve reaction times.

Variation Blocking Drills:

- A simple forehand half table random to your backhand drill but the forehand player can change the pace and spin constantly, playing slow heavy topspin loops or fast power loops and everything inbetween. Make it your goal to maintain control and to make the forehand player miss more frequently than you.

- Random with variation. You control random block from your backhand but your goal is to control the table and upset your partners rhythm. You can focus on using placement changes to 'win points' or on altering speed and spin, or even both together.

- Create an opening. Block random from your backhand and try and force an opening and turn the tables on your partner. Changing pace and placement and spin can help you create an easier ball and you can launch a counter attack and get on the offensive.

One of the greatest touch block players ever, Waldner

Hope my tips today will help with your blocking and you will consider the importance of developing your game by improving yours. By showing yourself as a strong training partner you can attract better players to practice with no matter what your matchplay level is.

If you have any further questions or coaching topics for me please email to email@example.com

Matt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/11/why-blocking-is-vital-table-tennis-skill.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-14164222109118462582016-10-26T20:30:00.000-07:002016-10-26T20:30:07.025-07:00How to Win Crucial Points in Table Tennis MatchesWe all have them, moments in matches where the pressure builds to a significant point. Sometimes the point can be the difference between taking a lead, winning a game or even winning a match, sometimes turning from losing to winning momentum. The question is how do you treat these points? The same as other points or differently? And how do you go about preparing yourself to win when the point bears a lot of value? Well that's the topic of today's blog!

For more tips and help be sure to visit the rest of the Coaching Blog

What serve to do in pressure situations?

Let's think of some examples of when points may hold more value. You could be tied with your opponent in a crucial set, say 9-9 and 1-1. You could hold set or match points, or be looking to start a set with a lead. It could be the first point after changing ends in the deciding game. Perhaps you have lost 3-4 points and need to stop momentum, the first point after a timeout?

These are all situations where you may find winning a point can be extremely beneficial, not just for the scoreline but for your confidence.

Point Structure:

The key to being able to succeed in pressure points is the ability to plan a point and execute a pattern of pre-determined strokes, this is known as a set play or set piece. These are most effective on serve but can also be used on receive if you can gain an initial advantage and control.

Most players fail to plan their points before they play, tending to go with the flow and play basic tactics like looking for opportunities to attack or targeting a weaker area of the table. A deeper level of analysis is required to advance to becoming a tactically sound player.

In order to be able to structure your points you need to be able to predict responses to each of your shots, creating spin, variance and placements which will help increase the probability of a favourable return in order to continue the plan. We will talk about that in a moment.

Know Your Strengths:

Winning points in crucial situations should solely gravitate around your strengths as a player. This is not a time to be thinking 'how can I keep them off my backhand (if it is weaker)', it is a time to be thinking, I'm ready to play a forehand anywhere, what specific part of the table am I likely to execute the best shot from, how can I make the ball go there and how do I want the ball when I arrive.

Your point setups should always revolve around the strongest areas of your game, this way in crucial situations you will be able to have a high level of confidence and reliability. Focus your point structure around your strongest areas.

Creating Set Plays:

You could almost consider it 'designing' points. Connect an effective serve to a particular reaction. If I serve long and fast topspin and land a perfect elbow shot to the middle, how will my opponent react? Well if they are not expecting the serve, usually if they don't move the return will be a reflex shot, usually float no spin to the middle of the table. Your next move? Move into position for a forehand. Where do you play? A player caught off balance at the elbow usually moves away from the ball to play a forehand, so the balance shifts away from their forehand side, usually in the form of leaning or stumbling. With the balance going in the opposite direction it's a perfect change to play out to the forehand corner.

This is one example of a set play which could be used in a tight situation. The most important thing about set plays is the execution of the serve. If the serve starts the chain well then life becomes much easier. If I serve long topspin and I miss the elbow, the result becomes very different.

Another example is playing a sidespin reverse short down the forehand line. It becomes very difficult to return the ball down the line because of the spin direction, leaving a high likelyhood that the player will flick the ball with their forehand, crosscourt to your forehand (if you are both right handed).

If you have successfully made the player move across the table to forehand receive you should be primed to make a nice early counterloop down the line to the backhand corner with nobody home.

That is how a setplay works, it is a structured chain of pre-planned shots, if executed well, resulting in a point.

Watch how each points is played out, the angles, and deliberate moves

How Do I Know If the Play will Work?

You need to examine your opposition, look at their strengths and weaknesses and tailor a tactic to them. Look for serves they don't receive particularly well. Areas of the table they may not cover well. Faults in their movements or balance in certain plays.

In order to plan points effectively you need to be very aware of your opponents game in order to exploit them when it counts the most.

Take Your Time Before the Point:

Take a moment before each point to revisit your game plan and to focus on how you are going to win the point. Remember simple tactics are great but try and be more analytical and give your points some thought. If you have the chance to towel break before an important point i.e 9-9 or 12-12 etc then be sure to take the moment to clear your head and bring your focus back in on the point ahead of you.

I hope these tips are helpful and make you think a bit more about how much thought process should go into winning a point and following an overall strategy in a match!

Remember if you have topic suggestions or questions just email email@example.com
Matt Hetheringtonhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/10/how-to-win-crucial-points-in-table.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-13872475264026185942016-10-24T08:17:00.000-07:002016-10-24T08:17:50.881-07:00How to Improve Your Reaction Speed in Table TennisIt's one of the world's fastest reflex sports, involving the making of decisions in fractions of a second repetitively during a point. This blog will focus on ways you can help improve your reaction speed in order to benefit your table tennis.

Be sure to check out more for tips and advice on improving your table tennis at The Coaching Blog.

One of the great reflex and reaction shot players of all time
Jan-Ove Waldner

We've all seen it in matches and videos, a player blasts an awesome shot and somehow in the bat of an eyelid their opponent get their bat to it and create an awe-inspiring reflex return to win the point. Reflexes are one of the most important things to have in a sport as fast as table tennis. One such player which is renowned for his quick hands and great touch is of course Jan-Ove Waldner, there are many amazing points from his career demonstrating his incredible reflexes in logic defying shots. So what kind of things can you do to improve your reaction speed?

Off-Table Exercises for Improving Reactions:

There are many non-table tennis related exercises which can help you focus on reactions and hand eye coordination skills. Any kind of physical exercises which involve speed and coordination can be helpful, especially if you can include footwork, here are some examples:

- Ball Coordination Drills: Any type of catch and throw exercises are great if done at speed. One I used to use with my junior players is the catch and throw reaction game. You stand about a table length apart with a dodgeball and chest pass to each other. You can pass straight forward or a little to the left or right to bring in some footwork. The rule is, to keep the pace, as soon as you catch the ball you have to throw it again, so it's more a quick catch and release. You can also underarm pass and spread the side to side range in order to get a good footwork workout too!

One famously used by the Chinese National team involved a coach squatting down in front of a player and tossing table tennis balls left and right at close range. The player would have to stay low and try and kick the ball in a fraction of a second.

- Vocal Recognition Drills: Another common one used by coaches is for players to react to changes rapidly on a set of vocal commands. One such example is a game where players start at a central point and have to move left, right, in and backwards mimicking table tennis footwork movements. A coach will stand at the front and call each command with players having to move as rapidly as possible.

You can also use the same game for strokes, forehand backhand, loop, drive etc. Also to add a difficulty element you can change from vocal commands to visual by create a set of hand motions for each action. This way you improve your hand-eye coordination.

- Other Sports and Games: Sports like squash, badminton and tennis can all help develop hand-eye coordination for racket sports. Even something like air hockey which you can play in an arcade can help with your reaction speed. Many sports have interchangeable skills.

Table Based Drills:

- Random Drills: Any random drills which don't involve fixed patterns will really help to improve your coordination. The classic is the random to backhand drill where your training partner hits anywhere on the table and you play to a fixed point. This improves your ability to react, you can also progress by increasing the speed of the block and also to counter-driving to make the difficulty higher.

To add another element of difficulty you can do random topspin with both players staying close to the table and playing random but with short drive shots. This keeps the speed up and the reaction time low but also forces you to practice making decisions about your placement as well, adding another dimension to the already very little time you have.

There are a great number of anticipation skills, here are a handful:

- Backhand to backhand, control switches randomly to the forehand

- One or two backhands, one or two forehands

- One middle forehand, one wide ball either side

- Short serve and push short, one player randomly pushes long to attack/flicks to initiate

- Forehand loop to full table block

- Full Table Forehand

- Defensive Drills: Defensive drills are often overlooked. One great drill for building reaction speed and fast hands is to push long to the middle or backhand corner and allow your training partner to attack anywhere. Anytime a drill includes giving your partner full range over the table, it becomes a very difficult task to react, especially if they have a lot of speed or power in their shots. Developing close table counterloop will also help with your reaction speed. I will be preparing a blog on that in the coming weeks.

- Multiball: The best thing about multiball is that it operates at a speed frequency higher than natural for a table tennis game. For that reason it is one of the great methods for increasing reaction speeds. The feeder of the multiball should constantly but slowly increase the speed to keep pushing your limits in order for you to continue improving your speed. Some of the Chinese players doing multiball are great examples of players reacting with ridiculous speed and precision.

Above, Fan Zhendong does a random multiball drill with his coach. Notice the reaction time shrinks as the feeder stands closer to the net, this is also something you can build as you improve, start with the feeder closer to the back line and move them forward to shorten the reaction time. This speed Fan achieves is a pure result of physical conditioning, an insane number of multiball and training hours. So the biggest secret to improving your reaction speed is constant practice.

Muscle memory and brain training are really the crucial elements behind reactions and hand-eye coordination.

Hopefully this blog has been useful to you all. Any queries or topic suggestions just send me an email at email@example.com
Matt Hetheringtonhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/10/how-to-improve-your-reaction-speed-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-14829153329761723042016-10-21T22:14:00.000-07:002016-10-22T09:01:19.610-07:00Automatism and Servomechanisms: The Science of Training in SportsThis is a topic which can relate to any sport or task, it is a post on brain training and something which was part of a coaching course I did a few years ago and it has stuck with me since. Automatism and Servomechanisms are two brain functions which are activated during regular training leading to conditioned responses. Training in table tennis is very repetitive and here is why:

Servomechanism: The reason service practice is vital!
Image from www.pingskills.com

What is a servomechanism?

In literal terms a servomechanism is an automatic device which constantly uses error feedback in order to self correct. This is also a brain function. A prime example of why we practice simple strokes and basic so often is to master a number of things; timing, ball contact on the racket and the angle of our bat and swings in each stroke.

The more you practice these strokes the more feedback you are giving to your brain, you are conditioning automated responses by allowing the brain's servomechanism to make calculated corrections each time you make an error.

A prime example is bat angle. Say you are training multiball and someone is feeding you topspin to your forehand. Your first few strokes your bat angle is open too much and your swing slightly too vertical, as a result the ball goes over the end. By understand that closing the angle and driving forward more will create an opposite effect you will adjust your stroke accordingly. Over hours and hours of practice (they do say 10,000 hours of practice makes a well rounded player), these techniques become ingrained into your muscle memory and brain mechanisms and table tennis becomes second nature.

So as you can tell training techniques thoroughly and also dedicating time to practicing serves can have big advantages for your game.

What is automatism?

Automatism is the brain's default response system. This is the reason why you should always train to have good habits and good shot selection in matches, while in training. An example I always use is players who get into the habit of pushing too much in matches. Their automatic response has not been conditioned adequately.

Do you always push back long pushes or long/half long serves? Especially players with weak backhands tend to lack confidence to open with their backhand. Pushing becomes their default response. Why? Because it is a habit.

In order to condition your brain and create a new default response, you need to update your brain, through training. Instead of pushing the long ball back, practice pivot forehand and using your backhand opening. It is no different to training yourself to flip serves instead of always pushing them long. Being aggressive and taking initiative early on in points and making the most of opportunities comes from conditioning your responses.

Hopefully having a little more knowledge about these two concepts and how they relate to table tennis can help you build a strong foundation in your game. Sometimes players will look at international professionals and say "Hey, they make it look so easy", and that's because it is! They have trained countless hours and dedicated their lives to making their automatic responses of the highest quality and reliability!

While this is a bit different from my usual topics I hope you find it useful! :)

Matt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/10/automatism-and-servomechanisms-science.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-76372760017669606572016-10-20T16:40:00.000-07:002016-10-20T16:40:56.089-07:00The Importance of Match Practice in Table Tennis In any competitive sport at higher levels the main goal is to play well and to win in competition and table tennis is no different. One of the things which can often be overlooked when training to become a good player is an adequate amount of match practice and tournament play. If you aren't putting yourself into match situations then it is going to be difficult to learn how to win and gain important experience. This blog is going to briefly go over what kind of matches you can use to help develop your game.

What Does Match Practice Help Develop?

Match practice is crucial for developing experience in a number of areas, being able to execute skills in pressure situations, learning to adapt to different styles and tactical changes, learning to develop reliable skills and tactics in competition and many other things.

Having strong match skills can be a make or break even against players who may be technically and physically above your level, knowing how to win is a great skill to have. Without a satisfactory amount of match practice, players can become technically very strong and have a good skill base but unable to perform well in matches, this can be a big downfall for athletes.

Types of Match Practice:

Full Matches:

The best place to start is to practice full matches as often as you can. It doesn't even matter what the level of your opposition is. A lot of people say you can't improve by playing with lower players, this is absolutely not true. I play with lower players regularly especially in match practice, as being able to consistently win against lower players is important to keep stability in your progress. I wrote a blog here on How to Win Consistently Against Lower Players.

Playing full matches is the benchmark for match practice, you can figure out areas you need to improve on and modify your matches accordingly with some ideas from below.

Score Handicap:

A great way to add some pressure is to give lower players a score handicap, i.e they start on 4-0. This makes playing almost any player of any level somewhat difficult. Even if you play somebody way below your level, with a 9-0 or 10-0 handicap that puts a lot of pressure on you. What you can learn from these matches is:

- How to maintain confidence when you are losing during a game
- How to win points efficiently and execute set plays and winning tactics
- How to be stable and not make unforced errors

If you can perform well in these matches it will help you cut down on errors, make more efficient plays and learn how to raise your game and try and constantly play your best table tennis, no matter who your opponent is.

Serve and Receive Games:

I've covered this area before, working on serve game or receive focus can help with your game a lot. You can play whole games or whole matches where only one player serves. If you are the server you can work on structuring points from your service and making sure the execution of your serves is successful. If the other player is receiving you can work on how to stop them from initiating offensive play.

You can read my blogs here on:
- Why a Strong Service Game is Important
- Tips for Effective Serve Receiving
- The Ultimatum in Service Receive - Shut Down or Initiate

These are absolutely fundamentally important if you want to become strong match players, serve and receive are paramount skills to build and constantly improve on.

Team Matches or Ladders:

Team matches or ladder matches give you a good chance to play for something and strive for results, representing a team in practice or having ladder challenges force you to bring out your best game. You can include rewards for winners or punishments for the losers to add an extra edge.

Team matches and Ladder games also give you a chance to play a variety of different styles and levels to help you gain experience, which is my next point!

Matches with Styles:

Try and play practice matches with a range of players, left and right handers, attackers, choppers, blockers, long and short pimple users, anti players. Often a lack of exposure to some of these styles can result in poor performances in tournaments. I have seen high level offensive players make mince out of other offensive players and then come up against a chopper and perform miserably. You need to build experience against less conventional players so you have more understanding of how they play, how the ball reacts to their shots and how to adapt your game and tactics to take advantage of their style.

An underexposed style has awkward traits which become strengths, if you have experience and have been exposed to that style more, those strengths become exploitable and turn into weaknesses.

Compete in Different Types of Matches:

I recommend playing as many tournaments as possible. In the peak of my activity level during University I played 15-20 tournaments during the year. In some places (like the New York area) there is a tournament every weekend. If you can expose yourself to the highest level of matches as frequently as possible you will learn and gain valuable experience from it.

Also if you have a chance to join school teams, local or professional leagues etc, make the most of it. You will notice that most professional players started out playing leagues whether it be the Chinese League from the lower divisions or German, Polish, French leagues etc. The players strive to work their way up through the divisions to reach the highest echelons of the sport, you can set these goals too.

Essentially the more matches you are exposed to in different environments and events, the more goals you can set with regard to your performance.

So hopefully this has helped you realise that just training drills won't necessarily help you become a higher level player. Above is a video of the best of the 2013/2014 German League season. Enjoy and for further questions or new topics email me at email@example.comMatt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/10/the-importance-of-match-practice-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-44856116427467048282016-10-19T00:09:00.002-07:002016-10-20T11:30:39.182-07:00Devising the Best Practices for a Winning Doubles Combination in Table TennisI have been deliberating on this topic for quite a while, so my apologies to Javier Chong who asked me if I could write about useful tactics for playing doubles. Fortunately doubles has always been a strong point for me as I tend to work well in a team pairing and also being left handed I developed fairly strong serve receives. So off the back of my silver medal in the New Zealand Open Men's Doubles event with Adam Hugh, here are some tactics for making the best performances in doubles!

Me and Adam Hugh NZ Open Doubles Semifinal
Photo Courtesy of Murray Finch

The First Rule of Doubles: Possibly one of the most important things to remember when you are playing doubles is that it is almost a totally different game to singles. The combined level of two individually strong players does not necessarily create a good doubles pair. Take for example the Bryan brothers in Tennis, not overly well known for their singles performances but incredibly dominant in doubles for many years.

What Makes a Good Doubles Team?

Communication is probably one of the biggest factors which contributes to a good doubles pairing. A constant stream of information going back and forth, feedback, tactical information and of course positive vibes between the two players. Two players can create an incredibly amount of confidence and momentum given the right situation and behaviour during a match.

Play as a Single Unit, doubles is very much a team match and you need to change your tactics. Remember you are setting the ball up for your partner not for yourself, this means you need to take their strengths and weaknesses into consideration whenever you make a play. Here are some pointers:

- Let Your Partner Call the Serve:
The follow-up on the serve is a crucial start to the point in doubles and as such it should always be your partner who calls your serve in order for them to anticipate the ball they would like to receive back. On many occasions allowing your partner to choose your service will allow the best chance to get ahead and take initiative in a point and it also allows them to work with their strengths.

- Find the Best Way to Maximize Strengths:
You need to find the right tactics in order to play to the strengths of the team. This means coordinating set plays and each of you working to set your partner up for the best possible play within their style and capabilities. Good team combinations often include one anchor/tactician and one attacker or a pair of offensive players with coordinated tactics.

- Latch on To Any Weak Links:
As a team you need to be aware of any weak plays or opportunities from the other team, if you can find anything to force easy points from one player this can sometimes place a strain on the opposition team. This can also offer a psychological advantage if the mental game of the opponent side crumbles (can occur through breakdowns in the partnership, blame games etc.). Also taking advantage of easy setups off a weaker player makes it more difficult for a stronger player in the pair to stay on the front foot. This causes the opposite team as a whole to play much weaker. As in many things a team is only as strong as its weakest link IF you can expose the weakness.

- Make Sure You Have Coordinated Footwork:
One big area of doubles which is often overlooked is the footwork patterns. Coordination of footwork is crucial for a team to operate within each point. Some players prefer to circle rotate around each other, others prefer the diagonal in and out method. It's important (especially in right and left handed pairings) to be careful of being pushed into the corner and of crossovers (where one player blocks the sight of the other by being in front). Errors with footwork coordination can usually cause massive exposure of weak areas and gaps in defense so it's rather important.

Spectacular Doubles Video

- Tactics Should Focus on Lots of Variation:
As you are dealing with two players within one table, emphasis on variation of depth and width placement are fairly important. Bringing players in and out from the table as well as targeting crossovers, body and wide angles are paramount in doubles as disrupting balance and positioning can be much more rewarding in doubles than singles on occasion. Not only can you create space to play into but you can also target the body of the player who just made a play to you in the hopes that they won't be able to move in time, this is a common tactic in doubles.

So I hope that has made an adequate response on the topic, a lot of these pointers are relatively simple because of course formulating specific tactics really depends on your opposition, but these are all important areas to work on to maximize your team performance.

Please remember any questions or topics can be sent to firstname.lastname@example.comMatt Hetheringtonhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/10/devising-best-practices-for-winning.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-2147834547821644742016-10-17T17:58:00.000-07:002016-10-20T11:30:50.128-07:00Humidity: The Ultimate Pitfall of the Plastic BallIt's been over 2 years now since the plastic ball was formally introduced into competition and, like most players, I have come to accept the new ball and continue on with playing. Most of my quarrels with the ball have been diminished but there is one which comes back to sting me over and over again. Humidity is probably my biggest pet hate when it comes to table tennis, that feeling of hopelessness in humid conditions when the ball constantly fails to make any kind of quality contact with the rubber at all. As a 5th ball attacker, moisture is my biggest enemy when trying to make a good quality heavy spin opening.

While it was difficult before, I never recall it being as difficult as it has been since we changed ball and there is a perfect scientific reason for that. One of the reasons that the plastic ball produces less spin is because of the surface of the ball.

It is commonly known that celluloid has an almost unseen layer of grip on the outside, you may remember that new celluloid balls have a certain grittiness (if that's a word) to their surface. Plastic on the other hand has a smooth surface. The difference is easily seen with the ball in normal playing conditions, the amount of spin achieved with celluloid is much greater than with plastic.

Add humid conditions into the mix. With the celluloid ball that microscopic level of grip seems to make quite a significant difference. I have found it much more difficult to play in damp or muggy conditions since the ball changed. It's more difficult to play slow spin and also to make soft blocks without the ball completely sliding off your bat. Also previously the level of humidity was visible in difficult conditions and usually left a ball mark. Now even with the slightest film of moisture on your rubber it becomes far more difficult to play.

I don't feel there have been significant advancements in rubber production to combat the effect and I'm left wondering if in future development of the ball, ITTF will look past the fact that they want less spin and at least make the ball more playable in wet conditions by adding some grip to the surface of it.

A slightly ranty post, be sure to let me know what your thoughts are and whether it is something you have found problems with. Also if you have noticed other issues give me feedback! :)Matt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/10/humidity-ultimate-pitfall-of-plastic.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-53615534550825907442016-10-17T08:38:00.001-07:002016-10-20T11:31:00.612-07:00Table Tennis University Back Online!It was one of the most solid online educational resources for table tennis in its day and now Table Tennis University is back. You can SIGN UP at no cost and get access to the Mastering Basics course absolutely free (usually $97) which features 12 segments on the basic techniques and skills of table tennis.

Table Tennis University Coach Tao Li

Led by a former Chinese professional player, Coach Tao Li, the site also offers a full year course which you can now get all in one installment! Now being led by Expert Table Tennis' Ben Larcombe, the site promises to show more growth with more experts potentially coming on board with courses further on down the road.

Be sure to get involved and take advantage of a great chance to use this unique online resource for developing your game.

There is a chance I might potentially create a course online too further on down the road! ;)

SIGN UP FREE NOW!Matt Hetheringtonhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/10/table-tennis-university-back-online.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-42867955544994135122016-10-10T15:34:00.002-07:002016-10-20T15:52:45.602-07:00Attitude is the Make or Break of SportsWe all train hard and build physical strength and skills in our sports (for us table tennis) but what sets players apart and makes them great? I recently played a handful of tournaments in New Zealand and by the end of it I probably couldn't have been any more disappointed in myself for how things went. I struggled to adapt to the playing conditions and after the first couple of tournaments I was more than a little frustrated at how things had gone. This all served to metaphorically scold me in a lesson which most people take for granted. The role of attitude in becoming an athlete.

Hopefully writing from my own recent experiences can help some of you relate to the situation.

Photo courtesy of Murray Finch

By the time the New Zealand Open came around I could only think of how badly I had been playing prior to the tournament. That was one of many mistakes. Going into the tournament with a negative mindset was setting me up for failure already and in many ways this tournament was what you could describe as a landslide in terms of attitude.

I found myself top edging a lot of balls, mis-timing shots, making average contacts and between all of that, becoming more and more doubtful about my ability to win. My confidence in myself and my game was all but diminished. By Day 3 of the team competition I was already seriously considering hanging up the towel on the sport I have dedicated quite a significant part of my life to. Why? Because I had so many doubts floating around in my head. Having doubts about your abilities is the biggest drain on your confidence you can have.

I felt sour inside and generally deflated and then I just stopped caring. My results quickly followed in the same direction. I had no competitive spirit, in my mind I felt like I hated playing tournaments and I had already committed to not returning to New Zealand to play. I was on the brink of retiring.

Two days later was an event I had committed myself and all my energy to. The Men's Doubles. I had injured my ankle during the event which hadn't really helped with all of this but I strapped it up the best I could and vowed to endure any pain which I suffered. In the doubles I was paired with Adam Hugh and I knew I had to give it everything. I had to try and find my A game.

So how could I find my A game when for weeks I had been performing badly? Quite easily. It was there the whole time. One of the great things about Adam (and those of you who know him will agree) is his ability to be almost explosively positive during matches.

It's contagious.

As we played through the early round I could feel my confidence building as I invested myself into the game. I had a partner to play for and, as it was my last event in the tournament, I had nothing left to lose, I wanted to end on a high note.

By the time we reached the 5th set of the semifinal stage I had so much confidence I had already committed to playing full table forehand. The results were clear. I had found my A game.

Photo Courtesy of Murray Finch

With Adam continuing to burst with positive energy throughout the match I found myself following suit and my game was uplifted with it. While we didn't win the final I sat down after the match and took a moment to reflect on a performance I was finally satisfied with. Not because my skills had improved, not because I felt physically stronger. No, none of those things made any difference, confidence and attitude were the difference between me playing like an idiot and having poor form and me playing like a world-beater.

Several players commented saying the doubles semifinal was the best table tennis they have ever seen me play. It was also the most confident I have been in a match in my whole career.

So the end result was an epiphany, one which might seem obvious. Attitude is the difference between good and great in sports. If you create confidence and positivity in matches, you are much more likely to find your A game than if you just go out there to play.

I left the tournament feeling a lot of disappointment in myself, but more importantly with a desire returning to me, to redeem myself. One of the most popular life quotes is 'never give up', it's pinned as the key to finding success, perseverance, determination even in the toughest of situations.

It is the attitude, from preparation before matches to on the table, which can determine whether you succeed or fail. It's an area of the game which a lot of people struggle with, something I can quite openly admit to finding difficult.

If anyone has any questions of topics they would like answering on mentality and attitude, feel free to email me at firstname.lastname@example.comMatt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/10/attitude-is-make-of-break-of-sports.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-28881197576975933542016-09-13T01:20:00.000-07:002016-10-20T15:52:57.440-07:00Maximizing Benefits from Multiball Training in Table TennisThe topic of multiball came from a good friend of mine and player/coach from New Zealand who wanted to know my thoughts about multiball feeding when coaching. I figured I would take the opportunity to look at it from both sides of the coin as both a player and coach and see how you can get the very best out of multiball sessions as a player and provide the best quality training if you are a coach.

Remember for more tips and blogs on how to improve your table tennis, head to my Coaching Blog.

Liu Guoliang feeds Ma Long multiball

Everybody knows that there are many great benefits to multiball, the main factor being the high amount of repetitions in strokes and movements. Here are some helpful ideas to get the best out of your multiball:

Player Training Tips:

Incorporate Multiball into Regular Training: Multiball is an excellent training tool for players of any level and is often overlooked once techniques are developed. The repetitive and high paced nature of multiball means it can aid players all the way from beginners through to World Champion players.

Whether you are fine-tuning or fixing technique, improving footwork movements and speed, increasing stamina or simulating match scenarios, multiball can offer a helping hand. The differences between training with no multiball and adding multiball on a regular basis can be significant.

Focus Your Session: I tend to focus a handful of drills around a key area for the session. Take for example the pivot forehand movement. I can practice a plain backspin feed for opening, or perhaps falkenberg, maybe a forehand short ball transition to pivot forehand, a backhand flick transition to pivot forehand, or others. there are a huge number of drills you can incorporate one key element into.

You could start a session with the focus of 'in and out' footwork and attach a set of related drills, side to side footwork, random topspin elements, full table forehand drills. Each focus area can fill a session and, by working on a number of elements which are fundamental to that focus area, can create a substantial improvement.

You can also read at the bottom of this article about how to build a simple concept into a more complex feeding drill.

Always Strive to the End: One of the things which made a big impact in my game was challenging myself to finish entire buckets of multiball in one go without breaking. I spent the better part of 2 weeks in China doing multiball every day and just grinding myself into the ground to train to the end of each bucket (and they weren't exactly small buckets). This has incredible benefits to physical stamina, training level and form and also psychological aspects.

The mentality that builds of pushing onwards even when your body is screaming to stop is something which can have a lot of positive effects on your game. I found that as each day went on my muscle memory improved, my strokes became more fluid and my movement improved. Aside from that it became easier to finish a box of multiball.

Video Your Multiball Sessions: When the pace is sometimes higher than that of an actual match, a great number of technical errors can come to light. I always feel that multiball is a great time to video and analyse techniques and footwork movements. Sometimes a fixed position ball can also present the opportunity to use slow motion video to really break a technique down and make changes to even minute details.

World Number 1 Ma Long Multiball Training

Basic Feeding Tips:

Pace of the Feeding: One of the key areas, especially for coaches, is knowing how fast or slow to feed the ball. This can almost be a make or break between a good quality training session or one which is not so useful. I like to feed to a number of scenarios;

- Focusing on Fixing Technique: Marginally slower starting feed, bigger recovery time between balls to evaluate strokes and recover fully. As the session goes on you can increase the speed and shorten the recovery time.

- Focusing on Stamina and Speed: I always try to aim for a pace which will push the student but not be too fast for them. If the player is making errors because the feeding is too fast for them, that is the point at which you need to slow down.

- Placement Changes: I tend to feed the ball faster when doing short movement within a drill and a touch slower when there is a longer movement where the player has to really stretch.

To Bounce or Not to Bounce?: Some coaches prefer to bounce the ball before feeding it, other choose not to. During my time coaching I have found that it is preferable (for me at least) and more popular to feed underspin with a bounce and topspin without a bounce. This allows you to achieve a greater feeding speed and contact quality on the topspin ball as from the hand it is fed above the net height.

Distance from the Net: To give your player more reaction time during basic long backspin or topspin drills you can move you feeding position closer to the back edge of the table, this gives a more realistic time-frame for the player to react to the ball at 'matchplay speed'. Multiball however is particularly good for offering a speed higher than matchplay so as to prepare a player to deal with match speed with ease. Standing closer to the net reduces the reaction time significantly and can add extra pressure to the training player.

Vary the Spin and Pace: Once a player has become accustomed to basics it is important to create some variation when feeding multiball. One of the weaknesses one could assume of a training robot and sometimes multiball is the constant nature of feeding. Try and change the amount of spin on the ball frequently as well as the pace of the ball and also the depth on the table. These changes will simulate real opponent scenarios and add random elements into an otherwise fixed drill so as to avoid mindless repetition.

Increasing the Degree of Difficulty: Often each ball added to a drillset can have exponential effects on the difficulty of each drill. Adding speed, spin and additional ball placements are all ways of increasing the difficulty levels of a drill.

The great thing about multiball is you can build on something very basic and turn it into something much more complex. Here is an example:

Two Phases: The two ball drill of one short push on the forehand line and one pivot forehand loop off backspin from the backhand corner.

Three Phases: The two phases above followed by a wide forehand ball.

Four Phases: After the wide forehand ball, recover to play a backhand.

Complex Drill: Forehand Short Push > Pivot Forehand Loop off Backspin > Forehand Topspin > Backhand Recovery Topspin > Falkenberg Transition (after backhand, step around forehand then wide forehand). Then recover to start the drill again.

You can do this with any simple drill, adding different elements of the game in. If you go through the complex drill above there is an in and out footwork movement and short touch, followed by an opening ball and a pivot movement, followed by a long footwork movement and a long recovery. Granted it's not an easy drill but it can improve many parts of your game.

Austria's Stefan Fegerl in Multiball Training

So I hope both players and coaches alike can take something away from this article. As always I am looking for more topics to write on. Send your submissions to email@example.com!Matt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/09/maximizing-benefits-from-multiball.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3664755093752059881.post-75742337050387300592016-09-11T00:23:00.000-07:002016-09-11T00:33:52.143-07:005 Steps for Mastering Service Deception in Table TennisThis blog is from another question submission which I received recently and will focus on how to create deception in your service game. The serve is so important in establishing a foothold in a table tennis match that making it as difficult to read as possible is crucially important, this blog will offer some tips as to how you can increase that difficulty level.

Remember for more tips and blogs on how to improve your table tennis, head to my Coaching Blog.

5 Steps for Mastering Service Deception

So here are 5 simple tips to follow in order to improve your service and ability to make the serve more difficult to read.

Step 1: Master the Simple Stroke Contact for Each Spin (Top, Side, Back, No Spin)

It could be the most basic service motion possible but behind every deceptive and difficult to read service is a very simple contact motion. When I work on improving the spin or contact of my serve I strip it back down to the bare essential motion. If you can master the basic contact for each spin and maximize the spin produced in that serve then you can then work forward and put the basic contact into some more creative service motions.

Step 2: Create Simple Service Variations (Spin Combinations)

Once you have the basic contact for each main spin type (top, side, back) it becomes useful for you to combine spins together. By making contacts across the bottom axis of the ball and contacting in different directions you can combine top/side, back/side serves and change from a continuous trajectory to more kick-type serves where the ball path deviates sharply after the second bounce. Having variations in movement as well as just spin can make the ball much more difficult to read.

You can see Jun Mizutani's serve in the video below and see the effect of combining sidespin into top and backspin serves and the movement patterns of the serve trajectory!

Step 3: Control the Speed and Amount of Contact Time

Not only can you cause deception in spin direction and movement but also in changing between spin and no spin. The ability to control the contact of the ball on service can create a huge advantage in a match, particularly when a no spin serve may create the perfect surprise.

In order to master the no spin serve it needs to look like spin is being imparted on the ball, this means you must be able to maintain a level of acceleration into the contact point. If the serve contact and stroke looks too slow and soft it will be easier to read as having less spin.

The best way to execute the serve is to hide a flat sharp contact within a service motion so you are hitting the back of the ball without making a brushing motion on the ball. Another option is to make the service motion angled and then quickly change to a flat contact or switch direction on the ball contact. The second method allows the momentum into the ball contact to stop on the direction change and create less spin on the ball.

Step 4: Put The First 3 Steps into Basic Deceptive Follow-through Motions

The first step up from basic service motions is to make a simple motion with a basic added deception. You can try and do a basic pendulum serve and attempt to change the direction of the follow-through (after ball contact). You can try and make a backspin serve and pull your racket upwards after the contact point to make it look like topspin or vice versa. These motions and follow-through motions are still simple but are important in getting smooth actions and core service motions.

Step 5: Incorporate Everything Together into Match Serves

The final step is to incorporate steps 1-4 together into your final match serves. Once you have mastered the first 4 steps all you need to do is make some creative service motions, changing the spin, trajectory and follow through.

The best part about this process is you can break it down into simple parts and as such working on troubleshooting issues becomes simpler. I may have match serves to use now but if I want to work on the spin amount I will go back and revisit step 1 in service practice, afterall the core motion of the serve is where the spin comes from.

This is a great time to start practicing the serves against training partners and getting feedback on how effective the service is. You can also play games where only one player serves for the whole game which gives you a chance to see how reliable your serves are in a match and whether you get the outcomes that you want from them.

My Coin Serve Trick

So I hope this has been helpful to you all and you can work through the steps to master the art of deceptive table tennis service!

Remember if you have any troubles with your game or want a detailed answer to a question, be sure to email email@example.com any time!

Matt Hetheringtonhttps://email@example.com://www.mhtabletennis.com/2016/09/5-steps-for-mastering-service-deception.html