(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Table tennis is chess at lightning speed. Imagine that split second as you are about to hit the ball. Do you hit wherever, or do you pick the placement like choosing a move in chess? There are three main spots to choose from (plus […]

(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Many players go into a backhand stance when blocking. This is fine for the backhand, but it weakens the forehand side. Even worse, it makes smashing or counterlooping on the forehand much more difficult. You may find that you can block backhands almost as […]

(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame We will define a “short” serve as any serve that, given the chance, would bounce at least twice on the receiver’s side of the table before going off the end. Any serve that doesn’t do this will be considered a “long” serve. To attack […]

(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame At the beginning/intermediate levels, most matches are won by whoever is more consistent. Great strengths haven’t yet developed, and so while players do have strengths, the matches are mostly won by whoever makes the least mistakes. As you advance, this changes. At the intermediate/advanced […]

(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Everybody has at least one serve that always gives them trouble. It might be a certain sidespin, or a deep serve, a short serve, a no-spin serve, an angled serve, etc. (For example, you can almost divide players into two groups – those who […]

(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Most blockers develop timing to react to your normal loop. At the instant they think you will contact the ball, they commit to blocking either forehand or backhand. So set up to loop crosscourt, and make no attempt to hide this. At the instant […]

(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame When receiving, many players are either overly aggressive or too passive. It’s important to find the middle range. However, it is even more important to understand that it is consistency, placement and variation that are most important. Flip kills and loop kills are exciting […]

(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame So often players push just to keep the ball in play. Push with purpose and placement! Do something with the push. So, what can you do? Purpose: There are three basic things you can do with the push. You can push it very heavy, […]

(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame You want to play like the best? Here are eleven points to follow. (Feel free to make adjustments for your own style.) You can, of course, make tactical exceptions against certain players. Develop serves that focus on setting up your attack, with a few […]

(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame The operative word here is “try.” Table tennis is a full-court sport, and if you want to reach a high level you should learn to play from off the table when necessary. But some players always jam the table and do quite well, and […]