(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 […]

(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Put fear in the heart of your opponent by developing overpowering strengths. It doesn’t really matter what the strength is; it can be anything that really threatens the opponent. It could be a big forehand or backhand; pushing and blocking; sheer consistency; quickness; great […]

(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Many players have at least one strong serving motion. Often they are forehand pendulum (racket tip down), forehand tomahawk serves (racket tip up), or standard backhand serves with a left-to-right motion (for righties). These are all excellent serves that opponents at your level will […]

(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame Most often coaches and top players (including me) talk about attacking the “three spots” – wide forehand and backhand, and middle (opponent’s transition point between forehand and backhand, roughly the elbow). But there are really five spots to play, though not always in the […]