Review: JOOLA Dynaryz ACC + AGR Rubbers

Review: JOOLA Dynaryz ACC + AGR Rubbers

Over the past two weeks, I have been testing the new JOOLA Dynaryz rubbers. There are two versions – Dynaryz ACC and Dynaryz AGR. Both use the same hyper bounce and advance traction technology, which helps players generate more spin playing with the new generation plastic balls. In this review, I’ll give my impressions of playing with the rubbers – looking at topspin, blocking, pushing and serving. Keep reading

Learn how to counter-attack (and take your game to the next level)

One of the players I coach likes to finish our coaching sessions with some match-play. We have some good games. I usually come out on top, but it’s close. After we finished one week, he said he found it difficult when I attack too much. He goes into automatic blocking mode and becomes too passive. So during our next session we worked on options for counter-attacking. When we played a few games at the end – he blocked less and attacked more and I found it much harder to win points. So for your benefit, here’s a couple of things we worked on, plus a simple training drill you can do. Keep reading

Tactics for beating a good junior player

Tactics for beating a good junior player

Any adult who has played competitive table tennis at any level has faced the unnerving and unglorified challenge of trying to beat a junior player. And not just any junior player. A junior who has been coached. A junior who has good technique and some great shots. A junior who plays without fear. It’s a difficult situation. There is no glory in beating a junior, but if you don’t try your best, you can easily get beat. In this blog post, I’ll give you some tactics on how to beat a good junior player. Keep reading

Men vs women – what we can learn from each other

One of the many things I love about table tennis is that men and women can compete together. Although we play the same sport, there does seem to be some differences between how men and women play. You could say there is a typical ‘female’ playing style and a typical ‘male’ playing style. Both have strengths and weaknesses. In this blog post I pick out one big thing men do well, but women don’t. And one big thing women do well, but men don’t. If we can learn from each other then we will all improve. Keep reading

Tactics for beating a looper

Tactics for beating a looper

As you progress from an intermediate player to an advanced player, you will start playing more and more loopers. These are players who like to play big topspin shots (loops), whenever they can. If you push a ball, they loop! If you block a ball, they loop! Even if you topspin a ball, they loop! What the heck are you supposed to do against this looping onslaught? Do not despair. Loopers are not unbeatable. Here’s a few of my favourite tactics to use when playing a looper. Keep reading