(by Larry Hodges) Someone once complained that reading coaching articles was pointless since nobody ever became a champion player by reading. He was absolutely right and absolutely wrong. No, you cannot become a champion by reading about it. Coaching articles and books (including mine!) are not meant to be used in isolation. They are supplements to […]

(by Larry Hodges) You only get one break that you can call during a match, and it’s only sixty seconds long. How should you use it? Here are four reasons you might consider a time-out, in rough order of how often you should use this reason. (Ideally, you should have more than one of these […]

(by Larry Hodges) I’ve watched players, even top players, spend hour after hour practicing the simplest serves imaginable. Yes, you need to practice basic serves so you develop near-perfect control of their height, depth, and direction. But it’s drudgery to practice such serves over and Over and OVER when there’s so much more you can […]

(by Larry Hodges) You’ve all played them – a tournament match that is simply uncompetitive, where you don’t have to try and you’ll still win easily. These can be dangerous matches. Why? First, make sure it’s a “laugher” match. I once coached a match where my player was rated about 700 points higher than the […]

(by Larry Hodges) Perhaps the easiest way to stop an opponent’s big serve and loop is the loaded push. Many players don’t understand how effective this can be for a simple reason – until they can do it, it isn’t particularly effective, and so when they first try it, it doesn’t work. And so they […]

(by Larry Hodges) There’s a common saying in high-level sports: “Don’t practice until you do it right. Practice until you can’t do it wrong.” This is another way of saying ingrain the fundamentals. You can never practice the fundamentals too much as that’s how you make it so you can’t do it wrong. Far too […]

(by Larry Hodges) “It’s an unreturnable shot,” said US Team Member Perry Schwartzberg many years ago after failing repeatedly to block, hit, or counterloop against fellow team member Ricky Seemiller’s slow, spinny loop. World #3 Mikael Appelgren had a similar problem against Ricky, losing to him when the world’s best counterlooper couldn’t counterloop Ricky’s spinny […]

(by Larry Hodges) The title is a quote from the famous Danish chess champion Max Euwe (pronounced “oo-vay”). What does it mean and how does it apply to table tennis? It comes down to knowing the difference between strategic and tactical thinking. The words “strategy” and “tactics” (and variations such as “strategic” and “tactical”) are […]

(by Larry Hodges) Know the rules, or at least the more important ones. Examine opponent’s racket at start of match. Don’t rub your fingers over the playing surface, which can get grease on it and anger your opponent. If he has pips, then perhaps rub your finger on one along the edge. If it’s antispin, […]

(by Larry Hodges) This really could mean two things. Some players try to unsettle their opponents by staring at them between points or when about to serve. I’ve never been able to decide whether this is proper gamesmanship or poor sportsmanship. You decide. But there’s a more important stare, and that’s the one that allows […]