(by Larry Hodges) There are many aspects of a good serve, but one of them – which I’ve written about before – is the importance of serving low. This puts tremendous pressure on the opponent, especially if he wants to attack your serve. Even on passive returns he’s forced to lift the ball a bit, […]

(by Larry Hodges) Some players try to work on the strokes by trying to learn the stroke, contact, timing, footwork, positioning, and reading of spin . . . all at the same time. That’s like trying to teach the alphabet to a kindergartner by asking him to write essays. One thing at a time! You’d […]

(by Larry Hodges) Of course lobbing is good for your game. It wins points that would otherwise be lost. It allows you to practice off-table footwork, which can improve your footwork for counterlooping, fishing, or chopping. It helps you develop topspin touch and control, which can help your counterlooping and fishing. It gives you practice […]

(by Larry Hodges) In dodgeball, the goal is to avoid getting hit. When the ball is thrown at you, you use your footwork to get out of the way. Otherwise the ball will probably hit you in the torso, which is where a good dodgeball thrower aims as it’s the largest target. In table tennis, when […]

(by Larry Hodges) Once you have reached a certain level, it’s easy to rest on your laurels. That doesn’t mean you don’t work hard to improve your game. It means that you work hard only to improve the parts of your game that you have already developed. Instead, be a learning player. You should experiment […]

(by Larry Hodges) When you practice your spin serves – and you do, right? – after a few minutes, your arm and wrist are tired and you’re sweating right? No? Then you aren’t putting in full effort and therefore not getting full spin. When I say “tired” and “sweating,” there’s some literary license, but the […]

(by Larry Hodges) As a player, I’m old-school – my backhand flip against a short ball is light topspin, basically a standard backhand drive against most spins. Against short, heavy underspin, I just open the racket and drive up and forward, and focus on medium speed and spin, depth, and placement. But these days top […]

(by Larry Hodges) Why do so many players continue to pound the ball out at an opponent who is a step off the table, ready and waiting for that shot? They are not only ready for a hard-hit ball, but it lowers your own consistency as you continue to hit the ball hard against an […]

(by Larry Hodges) As is often the case, the real reason many players have trouble looping against a heavy backspin is they simply aren’t used to doing so. They are used to less backspin, and so the stroke and racket angle used for that is ingrained into them. When facing heavy backspin, it’s a strain […]

(by Larry Hodges) What is a three-point attack? It means attacking all three spots on the table – wide forehand, wide backhand, and opponent’s middle, roughly the playing elbow (midway between the forehand and backhand). It often takes several attacking shots to win the point. Many players can perhaps do one strong attack, then struggle […]