Tip of the Week
How to Play Doubles with a Much Stronger or Weaker Player.
(Excerpt from Table Tennis Doubles for Champions by Larry Hodges. April is Doubles Month!)
Weekend Coaching
Had an interesting experience with two of our junior players, both about ten and still relative beginners. They were struggling to even hit three forehands in a row together – their shots just flew all over the table. So I hit with them, taking turns. Immediately they both were able to hit 50 or more in a row, mostly keeping the ball to my forehand corner, no problem. After a time I put them together again, and again they struggled. The problem was their feet weren’t “active,” and so whenever the ball wasn’t exactly where they were standing, they’d reach or lunge after it. So, yes, we spent a bunch of time working on getting their feet more active, including pointing out the obvious, “We do all these footwork drills so you can learn to move to the ball!”