Hello again everyone and welcome to episode 8 of the TableTennisDaily podcast. In this episode we are joined alongside former professional player and now world renowned coach Richard Prause!

Richard Prause won the English Open with the German National Team in 1992. In 1999 Richard became a coach working for the German Table Tennis Association. In 2004 Richard became the head coach of the German National Team where he coached the likes of Timo Boll, Christian Suss, Dimitrij Ovtcharov and many more German Superstars to victory.

In 2010 Prause joined the Werner Schlager Academy as the head coach. In August 2015 Prause returned to the German Table Tennis Association as the Sports Director. Richard talks in depth about the coaching side of table tennis and provides many great tips to improve your game. Here’s the podcast.

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Breakdown of the podcast

00:00 introduction.
01:13 Richards playing career.
04:12 Importance of starting young.
06:35 When Richard realised he wanted to become a coach.
07:51 Natural talent for coaching?
09:18 Natural talent for players, talks about Dimitrij Ovtcharov defying critics and how hard work beats talent.
12:10 Basics, basics, basics!
15:18 The Chinese secret.
17:12 Example of how important basics are using Timo Boll example.
18:35 Talent of wanting to play as much TT as possible.
20:16 How to make regular practise more fun.
23:00 Importance of service and receive in training.
26:32 Advise on how local league players can improve and how to improve if you don't play very often.
27:55 Richard tells us about his most special moment as a coach.
28:58 How to produce a good performance culture in the group you are coaching.
31:35 Richards coaching style.
32:45 Giving feedback when coaching.
34:35 What equipment to use.
37:40 TableTennisDaily user Questions.
41:02 Future of Werner Schlager Academy

If you would like to save or listen to the podcast on itunes, search TableTennisDaily in the itunes store.

What do you think about Richard's opinions on the world of table tennis?
Thanks for listening!
 
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That is how feel when a new podcast is out :)

7d38457e6233ff9b9b42996f887a68f5.jpg
 
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Another great episode. Well done.
Thanks for sharing.
Very enlightening.
I luv it.
Best parts IMO: the chinese secret, where he says he was lookin' for the magic touch in China and he found out there's no magic in chinese tabletennis BUT HARD WORK. Gotta luv it.
And Adults should stay even more patient than kids....
And not to forget: the very last part about coach improvement.
;)
But actually the whole podcast is amazing and very enlightening.
You're podcasts are improving as well. :)
Thanks Richard, Dan & Thomas.
Good job.
 

Dan

says editing a big TTD Team episode... stay tuned 👀

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That is how feel when a new podcast is out :)

7d38457e6233ff9b9b42996f887a68f5.jpg

Haha love this!

What an awesome interview, great insights about training and importance of basics. Motivates a lot!


Thanks Ilia! I love this video, you can see how much Richard enjoys coaching and his confidence in his ability to lead and coach players. Amazing!

I really wish that the podcasts were available as an mp3 or on other cross platform stores. Unfortunately iTunes is not available on android and I can't listen to the podcast on my phone.

Hey anchorschmidt, I think I have a solution. On android there is an app called Stitcher. If you download the app and search TableTennisDaily you will find all the podcasts :) The Stitcher app/website is currently under maintenance at the moment and will be back up shortly.

tabletennisdailypodcaststitcher.jpg


p.s. low battery is annoying! :)

Another great episode. Well done.
Thanks for sharing.
Very enlightening.
I luv it.
Best parts IMO: the chinese secret, where he says he was lookin' for the magic touch in China and he found out there's no magic in chinese tabletennis BUT HARD WORK. Gotta luv it.
And Adults should stay even more patient than kids....
And not to forget: the very last part about coach improvement.
;)
But actually the whole podcast is amazing and very enlightening.
You're podcasts are improving as well. :)
Thanks Richard, Dan & Thomas.
Good job.

Thanks Suga! I agree these were great parts of the podcast, very inspiring and i love his concept on talent are the players who work hard and have a love for the game! Brilliant! I am glad you enjoyed it.
 
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Another great episode. Well done.
Thanks for sharing.
Very enlightening.
I luv it.
Best parts IMO: the chinese secret, where he says he was lookin' for the magic touch in China and he found out there's no magic in chinese tabletennis BUT HARD WORK. Gotta luv it.
And Adults should stay even more patient than kids....
And not to forget: the very last part about coach improvement.
;)
But actually the whole podcast is amazing and very enlightening.
You're podcasts are improving as well. :)
Thanks Richard, Dan & Thomas.
Good job.

that's more like a propaganda rocky/nike type of statement.
there are many things that make chinese the best besides hard work, but it's true that none of them are a secret.
what did he think, that they had a magic potion they would drink before each training? lol
 
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that's more like a propaganda rocky/nike type of statement.
there are many things that make chinese the best besides hard work, but it's true that none of them are a secret.
what did he think, that they had a magic potion they would drink before each training? lol

Ahahahaaa :D
Sebas again.
I kinda missed your comments, when you're tryin' to find a hair in the soup.
(German phrase translated literally)

I'm quite sure everybody understands that this wasn't meant literally. But his point is clear (at least to me).
I think Richard spoke of this too in the podcast that of course it's not only hard work (But mainly it is), he also mentioned the structure and surroundings are also very beneficial.
Somehow i get the impression you didn't listen to it from beginning to ending, which lets you make these kinda comments when you're tryin' to pull something out of the context and try to make fun of it.
Very grown up reaction.
Yeehaaa, ride on, cowboy ;)
 
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I didn't listen at all to the podcast.
But for some reason when somebody says "it's hard work" everybody smiles and cheers and puts their drinks up.
Why is beyond my comprehension but well that's the way things are.
Maybe deep in their subconscious that gives them a chance (if I really work hard enough I can get anything I want).
We all know it's not that easy but well it comforts your soul.

Personally I think ma long is ma long because the chinese have a much wider base to choose and filter their best players.
In germany, in Sweden, the base is not that big so maybe you don't have THAT much talent but it's easier to get to the top so you get there anyway.

Also I was thinking if I was ovtcharov or boll or baum or steger and my coach said this I would probably not like it very much.
Unless I know that there is a substantial difference in the amount the chinese train, which most likely there isn't.
 
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Interesting point you make there about the hard work, sebas. I must admit, i've never seen it that way.
Good.

I can not say surely, 'cause i've never been to China. (Maybe someone else can help us here).
But i think i remember that i've read somewhere that the average practice time in China is somewhere around 8 h a day, whereas in germany it used to be 3 hours in the morning, three hours in the afternoon.
In the looooong run that might make a difference.

But you should try to find time to listen to the whole Podcast.
It's quite interesting.
 
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I didn't listen at all to the podcast.
But for some reason when somebody says "it's hard work" everybody smiles and cheers and puts their drinks up.
Why is beyond my comprehension but well that's the way things are.
Maybe deep in their subconscious that gives them a chance (if I really work hard enough I can get anything I want).
We all know it's not that easy but well it comforts your soul.

Personally I think ma long is ma long because the chinese have a much wider base to choose and filter their best players.
In germany, in Sweden, the base is not that big so maybe you don't have THAT much talent but it's easier to get to the top so you get there anyway.

Also I was thinking if I was ovtcharov or boll or baum or steger and my coach said this I would probably not like it very much.
Unless I know that there is a substantial difference in the amount the chinese train, which most likely there isn't.

why wouldnt you like it? He didnt say anything bad for them. Besides he didnt state that only hard work can bring you to the top. I believe anyone who deeply understand table tennis agrees that the chinese are better in general (by general i mean top 50 chinese vs top 50 europeans) because they have solid fundamental skills and strokes. Top 50 players in the world ranking can be easily destroyed and humiliated if they try their luck in the CTTSL. Boll and ovtcharov are having good results overall there, but they still lost to players who will never compete in the international scene.

Even the swedes managed to beat the chinese because they copied their training regimes & repetition philosophy and of course added weight training & bh loops/attacks for the first time
 
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why wouldnt you like it? He didnt say anything bad for them. Besides he didnt state that only hard work can bring you to the top. I believe anyone who deeply understand table tennis agrees that the chinese are better in general (by general i mean top 50 chinese vs top 50 europeans) because they have solid fundamental skills and strokes. Top 50 players in the world ranking can be easily destroyed and humiliated if they try their luck in the CTTSL. Boll and ovtcharov are having good results overall there, but they still lost to players who will never compete in the international scene.

Even the swedes managed to beat the chinese because they copied their training regimes & repetition philosophy and of course added weight training & bh loops/attacks for the first time


Absolutely correct, the trip that the Swedes made to China in their teens had a huge effect on their training. Multiball was used for the first time in Europe as well as an emphasis on Service. Pioneering in the area of the backhand loop only worked for the Swedes because they were training the rest of their game like the Chinese players.

You always try to learn from the best. Kong Linghui was sent to Europe and became the first Chinese player with a two-winged game.
 

Dan

says editing a big TTD Team episode... stay tuned 👀

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Thank you so much for the tip Dan and the podcast was great :). Very informative. The thing I'm going to take to heart is working on my basics and not too much time on fancy chop blocks.

Thanks Anchor, glad you found it informative and insightful :) The stitcher website/app is still down but should be back online soon :)

Ahahahaaa :D
Sebas again.
I kinda missed your comments, when you're tryin' to find a hair in the soup.
(German phrase translated literally)

I'm quite sure everybody understands that this wasn't meant literally. But his point is clear (at least to me).
I think Richard spoke of this too in the podcast that of course it's not only hard work (But mainly it is), he also mentioned the structure and surroundings are also very beneficial.
Somehow i get the impression you didn't listen to it from beginning to ending, which lets you make these kinda comments when you're tryin' to pull something out of the context and try to make fun of it.
Very grown up reaction.
Yeehaaa, ride on, cowboy ;)

I didn't listen at all to the podcast.
But for some reason when somebody says "it's hard work" everybody smiles and cheers and puts their drinks up.
Why is beyond my comprehension but well that's the way things are.
Maybe deep in their subconscious that gives them a chance (if I really work hard enough I can get anything I want).
We all know it's not that easy but well it comforts your soul.

Personally I think ma long is ma long because the chinese have a much wider base to choose and filter their best players.
In germany, in Sweden, the base is not that big so maybe you don't have THAT much talent but it's easier to get to the top so you get there anyway.

Also I was thinking if I was ovtcharov or boll or baum or steger and my coach said this I would probably not like it very much.
Unless I know that there is a substantial difference in the amount the Chinese train, which most likely there isn't.

Hey guys, great points I am enjoying reading the convo, this all goes down to the nature vs nurture debate. It is my biggest passion in coaching science, the talent idea/myth perhaps. I have read a book called 'the sports gene'. I recommend it, a great read. It talks about certain sports have genetic advantages, so for a sport like rugby in some of the positions in the sport you need to be a certain size in most circumstances. Or basketball players for example. However every now and then you will get a anomaly.

I personally think in table tennis you can get to a very elite level with the right coaching/match environment and the work ethic, focus and will to succeed. Of course in China there are millions of players working hard to become the best but I am pretty sure the very top players have put more quality hard working hours in than the rest. I think also there could be an element of luck, infact Richard does mention that if he had defeated a certain player things could have been different. Also if he started a bit younger perhaps. is there such thing as talent, its a tricky one. I think a lot of players think at the top level they are talented. For example in the podcast with Simon Gauzy, Simon said he had a gift and excellent ball feeling. But he also mentioned he played tennis at a young age so perhaps he activated a lot of different stimulants in his brain that he may not have if he didn't take part in tennis. During the age of 2-7 years of age there is so much cognitive development taking place so perhaps its here where players develop certain talents for different sports/skills etc. If you played a lot of swing ball when you were really young I think this is a great way to develop certain racket skills, something like this: http://www.tesco.com/direct/swingba...Z1cPAnoDSlfLgkCLQwldUaArQw8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

At the absolute top end of sport such as the likes of Jan Ove Waldner and Jorgen Persson, these two display a high amount of feeling for the ball. This could be due to the way they practiced or perhaps they are just born with this innate ability. Jorgen's talks about this in our next podcast, which will be released in two weeks time. Stay tuned! :)
 
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Interesting point you make there about the hard work, sebas. I must admit, i've never seen it that way.
Good.

I can not say surely, 'cause i've never been to China. (Maybe someone else can help us here).
But i think i remember that i've read somewhere that the average practice time in China is somewhere around 8 h a day, whereas in germany it used to be 3 hours in the morning, three hours in the afternoon.
In the looooong run that might make a difference.

But you should try to find time to listen to the whole Podcast.
It's quite interesting.

well yeah this is basically putting the european players as slackers.
if I was a top euro player, dedicating my life to tt and doing everything possible to be the best, this type of comment would hurt me pretty bad.
I still don't know what prause said but according to the comments seems he said something like "chinese are the best because they work harder than everybody else".

but none of this matters because my fake viscaria is on its way and I'm excited because of this :-D
 
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My god, the man can talk! But I don't mind, cause he's got something to say.

Really interesting podcast. Just listened to it and again, it's great stuff from you two. Quality is increasing cast by cast and that's great to see. Keep it up!

Oh, and... I want more! Now! ;)
 

Dan

says editing a big TTD Team episode... stay tuned 👀

Dan

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My god, the man can talk! But I don't mind, cause he's got something to say.

Really interesting podcast. Just listened to it and again, it's great stuff from you two. Quality is increasing cast by cast and that's great to see. Keep it up!

Oh, and... I want more! Now! ;)

Thanks Brabhamista, thanks for your great questions once again. I think you will really like our next podcast! :)

See you around!
 
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