Coaching Tip of the Week: How to Play the Attacker/Blocker with Dead Rubber

May 31, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) One of the more difficult styles to figure out is what to do against a player who attacks and blocks with a “dead” surface – either a slow inverted surface or short pips. The inverted may be slow because it’s designed that way (often for beginners) or because it’s old and used. […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Inside-out Backhands

May 24, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) Want to tie your opponent in knots – not to mention win a lot of points? Aim your backhand crosscourt. At the last instant, just before contact, let the racket fall behind (bringing it back with wrist and forearm), then continue your normal backhand forward stroke. Your racket will now be aimed […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Patient Decisiveness

May 17, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) Some players are too patient – they mostly just keep the ball in play, rallying while missing opportunities to score. Others are too decisive – they jump on every ball with little patience or judgment. Develop a sense of “patient decisiveness” – in other words, pick your shots carefully, but once you’ve […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: How to Play a Player Who Attacks With Long Pips

May 10, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) One of the most difficult shots to handle is a ball attacked by a player with long pips. You have little time to react to an attacked ball, and so have to rely on your reflexes – except your reflexes usually aren’t tuned to reacting to a ball attacked by long pips. […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Looping a Push is Not Going for a Shot

April 26, 2021

By Larry Hodges When you push (backspin vs. backspin), you don’t think of yourself as “going for a shot.” It’s just an easy shot that you can normally do over and Over and OVER, with few mistakes. But when you learn to loop (topspin vs. backspin, forehand or backhand), at first it’s a tricky and […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Imagine a Score or Situation

April 19, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) Is there a certain score or situation where you play best? Some players play better when they are behind; others play better when ahead. Some play best when they are way down, say, 4-10, and figure they have nothing to lose and so play relaxed. Others play better when up 10-4, since […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Power Player Control Shots

March 29, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) There’s nothing an experienced player likes better than facing a player with big shots . . . but little else. On the other hand, there are few things scarier than an opponent with big shots . . . and little else, i.e. without the “little” shots to set the big shots up […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Do You Really Play the Middle?

March 15, 2021

( By Larry Hodges) Except at the advanced levels, few players really attack the middle effectively. What is the middle? It is roughly the opponent’s playing elbow, midway between forehand and backhand, where the opponent has to make a quick decision on which to use; move into position to do so; and then try to […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Experiment with Serves and Receives Early

March 8, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) Early in a match you should test your various serves against an unfamiliar player. Which serving motions work best? What proportion of the time should you serve long, short, or half-long (where second bounce is right at the end-line)? Should your deep serves be fast or slower, spinnier ones that break more? […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Rote vs. Random Drills

February 22, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) A rote drill is a drill where you do the same repetitive movement over and over. An example of this is forehand to forehand, or a side-to-side footwork drill. These are excellent for developing specific techniques you will need in a match. A random drill is a drill where there is some […]