(by Larry Hodges) Many players use running to get in shape for table tennis and other activities, or simply for health reasons. There’s nothing wrong with that. But you get the same thing if you shadow practice your footwork for the same amount of time, plus you develop the footwork technique and the specific muscles […]

(by Larry Hodges) (Excerpt from Table Tennis Doubles for Champions by Larry Hodges. April is Doubles Month!) In both singles and doubles, I usually advise players to choose to receive first, if they win the choice at the start of the match. This is the time when a player is most likely to miss easy shots—he […]

(by Larry Hodges) (Excerpt from Table Tennis Doubles for Champions by Larry Hodges. April is Doubles Month!) Signal serves. Let your partner know what’s coming! Sometimes the server’s partner signals the serves since he’s the one who has to follow them up. Typically, signal under the table by pointing a finger down for backspin, thumb up […]

(by Larry Hodges) There are two main characteristics to consider in table tennis shoes. They are how well you can move in them, and how much support they give. (Durability is another issue, but I won’t go into that here.) Table tennis shoes are designed to maximize mobility for table tennis movements – and that […]

(by Larry Hodges) Some say that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result. But isn’t it just as insane to keep doing things differently and expect the same result? Each of these have implications for table tennis. First, if you aren’t improving at […]