Tactics for beating a pusher

Tactics for beating a pusher

In local league table tennis, you’ll often have to play against pushers. These are players who like to push again and again and again. The pusher’s aim is to frustrate you. They want to draw you into a pushing match or force you to attempt a risky attack. The outcome is often an unforced attacking error, frustration, more attacking errors and more frustration. How do you beat these annoying players? Here’s some tactics you can try… Keep reading

The easiest way to instantly improve at table tennis

The easiest way to instantly improve at table tennis

There is one skill which I work on with every player I coach. It doesn’t matter what standard or whether the player is an attacker or defender. I give every player the same advice. Focus on ball placement. This is the simplest and quickest way for every player to instantly improve. You don’t need to learn any new shots. You just need to improve where you put the ball. Keep reading

9 ways older players can compete with (and beat!) younger players

9 ways older players can compete with (and beat!) younger players

As we age, we do decline physically. We are not as fast, strong and nimble as we once were. But the great thing about table tennis (at the amateur level at least), is that power and athleticism are not essential to win matches. If you’re a senior player (60 years+), what is the best way to compete with, and beat, younger players? In this blog post, I give nine areas you can focus on to help you get the better of your younger, fitter and stronger opponents. Keep reading

Create confusion by using disruptive shots

Create confusion by using disruptive shots

One way to add an extra dimension to your game is to develop shots which disrupt the pace of the game. These are shots which unexpectedly change the speed, spin, length or direction of the ball. Examples include a chop block, fade, wiggly, push with sidespin, a smash with backspin – all sorts of weird and wonderful shots. In this blog post I explain why these types of shots are useful and when you should use them. Keep reading

How to destroy opponents with long serves

If you play table tennis at an amateur level, especially at lower levels, you can dominate your opponents with long serves. These are serves which land very deep on your opponent’s side of the table, ideally with a lot of speed and spin. In this blog post, I explain why long serves are effective (especially at lower amateur levels) and how to do devilish long serves which can give your opponents nightmares. Keep reading

Tactics for beating weird players

Tactics for beating weird players

If you play in local league or amateur tournaments, you will come across all kinds of weird and awkward styles. These are players with strange looking strokes and movements. They may not look great, but somehow they have developed an unorthodox playing style which works for them and can be infuriatingly effective. In this blog post I give four tactics to try when playing against weird players. Keep reading

Why you should make notes about your opponents

This week I beat an opponent who I lost to twice last season. The biggest factor for my win, was my note-taking. Yes, that’s right, good old boring note-taking! I regularly make notes about my opponents. I make notes about an opponent’s playing style, how I lost points, how I won points and what tactics to try the next time we play. In this blog post, I explain why I write notes about my opponents, what I include in my notes and why you should make notes too. Keep reading

Tactics to beat a much stronger player

Tactics to beat a much stronger player

A situation you can’t avoid in table tennis is playing someone of a much higher standard. At some point in a league match or a tournament you will face someone who is simply a lot better than you. What’s the best approach when playing a much stronger player? Is there any way of winning? Is it really possible to cause a major shock? Maybe, just maybe. But you need to approach the match in the right way. In this blog post I share some things you can try… Keep reading

The best table tennis tip ever (interview with Larry Hodges)

This week’s blog post is dedicated to the great Larry Hodges. If you don’t know who Larry Hodges is, where the heck have you been? This man is MR TABLE TENNIS. He’s an inspiration to me, both as a coach and a writer. In this blog post, I’m going to briefly explain my love of Larry, shamelessly plug his new book (and a previous book which is the best table tennis book I’ve ever read) and share a recent interview, where he reveals his most important table tennis tip he’s ever written. Keep reading