January 17, 2018

Ten Tips

  1. Shirt Longevity. Have you ever bought a nice table tennis shirt, and perhaps had your name and/or club lettered on it – only to see it wear away after a year or so? There's a simple way to avoid this. Always turn your shirts inside out before putting in the laundry. A washing machine pretty much pounds with water the outside of a shirt, so put that lettering and other shirt designs on the inside.
  2. USATT Clothing. Buy some USATT clothing, brand table tennis clothing, or some sort of table tennis outfit, and look like a real pro!
  3. Shoes in a Bag. Keep your playing shoes in a plastic bag or shoe bag in your playing bag. You don't want to wear them to and from the club unless you want to get the soles dirty (thereby losing traction), track dirt into your club, wear the shoes down, and put extra pressure on your legs and knees (since table tennis shoes aren't designed for extensive walking – little support).
  4. Dedicated Shoes for Slippery Floors. Do you sometimes play on good floors, other times on slippery floors? Have two pairs of table tennis shoes. One pair should be new and dedicated to slippery floors, since new shoes grab on the floor better. When it begins to wear out, it becomes your regular pair, and you get a new one for the slipper floors. Since some types of shoes grab the floor better than others, you might even buy a special pair of "grabby" shoes for slippery floors.
  5. Keep a Towel. Keep a towel in your bag when the weather gets hot and humid. In fact, if you sweat a lot, have two of them – one for you, and one for your racket and ball. (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was right.)
  6. Drink. Always have plenty to drink while playing. Just keep sipping a little at a time the whole session. Perhaps have a few snacks available as well.
  7. Keep your Racket Clean. Normally wash it with water after or before every session. Occasionally use special rubber cleaners to really clean it off.
  8. Long Pips. Learn to play against long pips. If you have trouble playing long pips, then find someone who uses long pips, and ask, plead, or beg them to play you, and keep playing them until you figure out how to play them. Then you will never lose to anyone with long pips ever again. (Unless they are better than you.)
  9. Read this Blog. Mon-Fri. Why, of course.
  10. Have Fun. This is ping-pong, not real life.

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