How to Win the Choice at the Start of a Match

March 28, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) Technically, a match begins with the umpire tossing a coin to see who serves first. In reality, most matches aren’t umpired, and so they “hide the ball” under the table, and the other player chooses. Whoever wins gets the choice of either serving first, receiving first, or choice of side. (Once you […]

When to Serve Long

March 20, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) At the lower levels, most players serve long both because they haven’t learned to serve short effectively yet, and because opponents aren’t yet skilled enough to attack them consistently and effectively. As you reach higher levels, long serves become less effective if used too often. But if used at the right time, […]

Study the Player, Not the Ball

March 13, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) I’ve always wanted to implant a camera in the eyes of up-and-coming players to record what they see when they watch top players play. They should see all sorts of great technique and tactics, right? But I’m afraid what I’d actually see is this. Yes, all they’re really watching is the ball […]

Don’t Practice Missing

March 7, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) Often I see players do drills where they try smacking the ball back and forth as if they were pros. (If you are a pro, then this doesn’t apply to you.) They rally at a pace they can’t control, and so their balls fly all over the court or miss. If they […]

Start with Your Trickiest Serve

February 27, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) Players often hold back on their trickiest serve (often long ones) until it’s close. And that’s sometimes a good idea. But there are three problems with that. First, you won’t know until you use it if the serve will be effective against this player. Second, if you use it early in each […]

Double Motion on Serves

February 20, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) Most serves are too simplistic. They get the job done, but simply aren’t done with real trickiness in mind. For example, a player serves backspin with a backspin motion. They may learn variations, such as a side-backspin serve, where the racket travels in a different direction in hitting the ball, or a […]

Play Games When Practicing Serves

February 13, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) Developing good serves involves watching players with good serves, getting good coaching, and lots and lots of practice. But sometimes, after all that practice, it’s hard to execute the serves in a game as you do in practice. There’s a simple reason for that – pressure. There’s no pressure when practicing serves, […]

Blocking Spinny Loops

February 6, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) You push the ball long, and the opponent does a slow but spinny loop. And you block it off, over and over, and can only stare at your racket in frustration. This is often the bane of every beginning and intermediate player. They know they have to aim lower, and yet, the […]

Don’t Fix a Problem You’ve Already Fixed

January 31, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) You’ve spent a lot of time working on a shot, and it’s now somewhat ingrained. Suppose, in a match, you make this shot several times . . . and then miss an easy one!!! The shot didn’t feel right. A common response would be to try to adjust the shot so you […]

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Size in Table Tennis

January 23, 2023

(by Larry Hodges) Table tennis is often advertised as a sport that all can play, where size makes no difference. However, it’s not necessarily true. While you don’t have to be tall to win (1971 World Champion Stellan Bengtsson at 5’5″ and three-time World and 2-time Olympic Women’s Singles Champion Deng Yaping was 4’11”), or […]