Giving useful advice to a team-mate during a match is a difficult skill to master. I don’t profess to be an expert in this area, but I have been doing it long enough to have a decent idea about what definitely doesn’t work and what type of advice is more likely to lead to an improved outcome for the player. Keep reading
As a coach, I often give advice to beginner players about what table tennis bat to buy. There is a lot of choice available and if you have never played before it’s quite difficult working out a good bat from a rubbish bat. Rather than giving my wisdom only to players I coach, I thought it would be good to share my thoughts on the best beginner bats to a wider audience. So here’s what I tell my beginners… Keep reading
Is it true that you should only serve long occasionally? Most players and coaches would say that you should serve short, or half long, most of the time and only use a long serve now and then. But there are times when using lots of fast, long serves is absolutely fine, and strategically the best thing to do. Here’s some scenarios… Keep reading
Most table tennis rallies are very short. The point is often over in the first few shots. Serve, return, attack, done. The point is won. Table tennis is high-paced and frantic. Therefore you need to assert yourself on your opponent as quickly as possible in each point. How do you do this? Let’s look at how you can dominate your opponent in the first five shots of each rally. Keep reading
In the past few weeks I’ve been feeling pretty good about my game. So how would I get on in my latest VETTS Masters tournament? The standard at these tournaments is very high. Many of the best 40+ players in the country attend. The first time I attended one of these, in February this year, I was comprehensively trounced. This time I was determined to do better. Keep reading
When serving, most players usually try to generate very heavy spin. This is undoubtedly a good thing. A heavy spin serve can be very challenging to return. But players often neglect using no-spin serves. In this short article I explain the benefit of using no-spin serves and give some tips on how to use them effectively. Keep reading
Worrying too much about winning or losing a table tennis match can really increase your anxiety levels and lower your performance. How can we overcome this? In this article I explain how setting yourself an alternative goal can limit your anxiety and make you play much better. Keep reading
From September 2022, I will be organising a monthly group coaching day in Cambridge. This will involve 5 hours of coaching, focusing on a specific aspect of table tennis, e.g. serving, rallying, topspin vs backspin. The group size will be fairly small – a maximum of 10 players, which will allow me to spend time with each player and give plenty of feedback. Keep reading
At the beginning of June, I had the pleasure of playing with England no. 1 Liam Pitchford. Why the heck was Liam playing with an average local league player like me? Had he seen footage of me on the internet and decided I was an exceptionally good training partner?
Erm, no. Did he need a new coach and after weeks of research and deliberation select me as his number one choice? Nope, don’t think so. Was he harassed and cajoled into making some videos with me for my YouTube channel? Yes, that’s a bit nearer the truth! Keep reading
A few years ago, I purchased a table tennis table for my home. It was an agonising decision (really it was!). Do I have enough space? Where am I going to store it? How much should I spend? Who am I going to play with? Am I really going to use it? Will I improve my table tennis skills? So many questions. In this blog post, I’ll share some advice about buying a table tennis table for your home and give a few recommendations of decent (and affordable) tables you can buy. Keep reading