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Coaching Tips of the Week: Stepping Versus Lunging

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(by Larry Hodges) Many players reflexively reach for the ball when caught out of position. This means leaning toward the ball, with your weight on the foot in the direction you are trying to move – and so you can no longer move in that direction! And so, rather than move into position you are […]

Accelerate Through the Ball for Power

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(by Larry Hodges) Mike Tyson once said, “I tried to punch his nose bone into his brain.” That’s a rather graphic way of showing how to maximize power as well as killer instinct. (That’s a separate issue.) But it is one of the reasons why he had such power. In boxing, they tell you to […]

Random Drills Placement

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(by Larry Hodges) In the standard random drill, one player (the “feeder”) plays backhand (or forehand) randomly anywhere while the other player (the “driller”) keeps it to his backhand (or forehand). There are really two things going on here, as both players are actually doing a drill. For the “driller,” he’s reacting to (“neuromuscular adaptation”), […]

Solving Slow Starter Syndrome

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(by Larry Hodges) A common problem for many players is starting slow. Often they have a bad loss or two before they get going, and from there on they play well – but it’s too late for that tournament. And this happens over and over. I struggled with it for many years as well – […]

Table Tennis Gems

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(by Larry Hodges) I think you’ll find these 20 general tips useful. Many are covered in other Tips, but now they are compiled in one listing! If your opponent hits the ball aggressively at your crossover point between your forehand and backhand (where your playing elbow is), return it mostly with your backhand if you […]

Are You Trying Too Hard?

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(by Larry Hodges) Dang it! How’d I miss that?!!! I can’t play! These (or perhaps harsher words) are the words of a player who is trying too hard, i.e. pressing too much. This is also true if you feel like saying these things during a match but hold back. They are symptoms of a player […]

Tactics at the End of a Close Game

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(by Larry Hodges) Rarely have I heard more (and often weird) opinions on what to do at the end of a close game. Some say, “Play safe!” Others, “Go for it!” And a zillion other types of advice. The reality is that the end of a game is only different in two ways. First, there […]

Dumb Ways to Lose

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(by Larry Hodges) There’s a famous song, “Dumb Ways to Die,” that one of our top juniors use to play endlessly as a fun way to relax, often before a big match. (Years later and I still can’t get it out of my head.) Maybe someone should do a song, “Dumb Ways to Lose”? Over […]

Blocking Footwork

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(by Larry Hodges) Before a drill, players often ask, “Who’s doing the drill?” The answer is, of course, both players. And that includes a player who is blocking. But it’s more than that – some would say one player is doing a footwork drill while the other is blocking, but that’s totally wrong. They are […]

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