Table Tennis Advice

Hey guys, my son wants some advice on how he plays. He wants to know:
  • What he's doing well
  • What he's doing wrong
  • How he can improve
  • How can he fix that free arm of his (Always Moving)
Here is a video of a practice match recently: (EDIT: My son is the kid in the black/blue adidas shirt)
 
Hi, I will spit out everything I have in mind while watching:

1. Bad serve technique 0:29, body doesnt help to apply force -> late to get into ready position.
2. Good footwork 1:00
3. I started to notice that he uses too much wrist on backhand, not recommended, not stable, ball is high but spinny, easy to be attacked
4. I started to notice the way he does FH topspin is more upward motion, not good, best is to close angle and forward motion
5. 1:41 i notice he's very backhand oriented player, not good style IMO, cuz his backhand isnt killer enough compared to his forehand.
6. Again, very good footwork on 2:07
7. I started to notice on the next shot, he tends to see whether the ball is in or not (just like me T.T) -> not ready for the next ball
8. Again 2:20 bad backhand, too much wrist and upward motion
9. Again 2:38 bad backhand, but he made good forehand topspin
10. 2:46, he gives topspin long serve down the line but somewhat expecting a return to backhand side...
11. wow nice footwork to reach forehand, but he checked if the ball was in or not -> late -> lost point
12. Again, too much wrist on backhand
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: BeGo
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
Well-Known Member
Super Moderator
Dec 2010
16,146
17,685
54,747
Read 11 reviews
To me it looks like the one main thing is that he has to keep playing. Any of the minor technical issues will sort themselves out by him playing lots of matches and doing good training drills.

The left hand: have him practice shadow strokes in front of a mirror so he can watch what the left hand does and get it to move with the right hand on FH (like he was holding a big bucket with both hands) so the left hand is part of the stroke; and on the BH when he is doing shadow strokes, the left elbow stays bent and moves a little out when he does the BH stroke.

If he practices that with a mirror, his left arm will start doing the right thing in match play and start helping his body mechanics on his stroke. When his body feels the right action with the left arm it will just click and start happening.

He could also, after having done the mirror, start off a practice session with counter strokes focusing a bit on what the left arm is doing. But once it is doing the right thing, he can just pay attention to the ball.
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Oct 2014
12,276
17,740
44,291
Read 17 reviews
How long has he been playing and how old is he? That's the first and most important question. Everything always needs work, but if he has been playing 1 month, this is ridiculously good. If he has been playing 5 years, then maybe a different take.
 
Last edited:
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,822
13,211
30,390
Read 27 reviews
I will hit upon one thing here in this paragraph that is not very well discussed on the forums. This kid, when faced with a serve deep to his body does not freek out and try a long straight armed swing that hinges on the shoulder joint. He does the right thing and uses a much shorter stroke (with less absolute force) using the lower arm and wrist to control and place the return. Sure, he coulda placed it better, but so what. I see many players who have played for years go for too much on that and never fix that. Heck, on a few balls to that location, I also sometimes mistakingly go for too much.

It is obvious to me this has been coached into him. When away from the table, he correctly uses a longer swing and attempts a more powerful shot.

Sure, he doesn't have the timing for everything yet and he was out of position on some of his BH shots, but he used his shoulder/upper arm to get them into position (to setup the strike zone) to leverage his lower arm for the shot. This I believe is something that has been coached to him. On a few occasions, he set up his strike zone way too far in from and those were obvious reach shots that he ended up missing badly.

I agree with Carl and NL's assessments that it is prolly too early for everything to come together at this point. I would guess this player has had either infrequent coaching/training or has been getting training a year or less. Either way, I think someone has been getting the kid to use some sound concepts and he has a start.
 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,822
13,211
30,390
Read 27 reviews
I respect Hamasaki's detailed analysis of the points and suggestions, but disagree on the value of playing many shots with a BH. Korean coahces would also side with Hamasaki on this too, so take it with perspective. I am lone wolfing this one.

Korean coaches teach/preach EVERYTHING is a FH and the BH is to keep ball in play, prevent opponent from killing you with FH, and create a chance to crush you with a FH. Close to table courage and good footwork are required and this is what Korean coaches train you up for.

I personally believe that the BH can play more of a role in setting up points, staying alive, applying pressure, and even winning some points. I would say that this style is viable at amature level and even some pros are more BH leaning. I still believe the FH is the main weapon and you should be able and ready to use it. I feel there is nothing wrong with learning to use the BH shot to stay in the point, prevent the opponent for attacking, and create your own attacking chances, be it FH or another BH.

Carl will tell you Der_Echte personally plays with an eye to employ his BH more, because he simply sees the ball better on that wing and can make very good spin or pace and pressure the daylights outta an opponent from that wing. It also sets up his FH too. Since I have a differing personal and fundamental tactical belief on the use of the BH, it is natural I would discuss this.

I agree this player could benefit from being more ready to switch into FH attacking when the chance presents itself or he creates the chance with a good BH. I think that is prolly the big thing in Hamasaki's mind causing him to comment about the BH and I would agree with him in that aspect.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BeGo
I respect Hamasaki's detailed analysis of the points and suggestions, but disagree on the value of playing many shots with a BH. Korean coahces would also side with Hamasaki on this too, so take it with perspective. I am lone wolfing this one.

Korean coaches teach/preach EVERYTHING is a FH and the BH is to keep ball in play, prevent opponent from killing you with FH, and create a chance to crush you with a FH. Close to table courage and good footwork are required and this is what Korean coaches train you up for.

Im myself is more FH oriented (ryu seung min wanna be, but i have very bad footwork :p). But as you can see his backhand is not a killer kreanga backhand. His forehand has better killing stroke. So, instead of taking everything with backhand like 1:41, he has the chance to win the point by taking it forehand.

btw, i send you nuggets Der_Echte... check your PM ;)
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Oct 2014
12,276
17,740
44,291
Read 17 reviews
For 1 year, he is a good player. He is getting stronger but he is still using the same lifting strokes than he used when he didn't have hand speed. Tell him to play more forward over the ball on all his strokes. Instead of finishing upward, finish at a point more in front of the body. He can achieve this by fixing his stance and bending forward on his strokes, or by finishing more forward with the arm.

Other than that, his game is very good.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Der_Echte
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Oct 2011
1,043
381
1,659
Read 14 reviews
Very talented for only playing one year, pretty good technique overall. I think Hamasaki Fanz gave some good advice. I noticed that he can try to use his wrist and underarm a little more in the serve to generate more spin but this is not so important at so early age. The best advice I can give you is actually not to focus to much on every single part of the technique all the time, the technique often gets better by itself from playing and of course watching the pros play a lot. The most important part is to make sure that your kid has so much fun he can with the sport with a lot of fun matches. To much regular technique practice in so early age is not the most exciting thing. Everyone and especially young children are learning the best when enjoying themselves and experimenting with the sport.
 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,822
13,211
30,390
Read 27 reviews
If I could say ONE thing from the two vids it is this: STAY CLOSE TO THE TABLE, like STICK like glue to the table, like not go more than a foot or two behind it.

He serves and somehow is a bit too far back, then opponent makes a softer shot, he is trying to make a shot too far in front of him and must either play it really easy for opponent or risks losing a lot of control on the shot.

He could always recognize the ball and step into the shot, but he isn't doing that.

It would be in his present best interests, as well as his future strategic interests to develop a close to the table attacking game. He might have a little less time to cope with the ball, but for the most part, for the game he is playing, he will be in a much better position to make his attacking shots. This will help him be more flexible as an attacker when he gets better ball reading skills and can play further back. Having a close to the table game can help a lot.
 
Thanks for the quick suggestion. Everyone (including me) is telling him to stay closer to the table. I don't know if it is a bad habit or something, but it is very hard to change from a bad habit. I will try your solution to see if it works, hopefully it works. Son really wants to improve :)
 
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
Well-Known Member
Sep 2011
12,822
13,211
30,390
Read 27 reviews
Well, if he hears it more from forumers like us, he might realize it a bit more.

I used to play WAY too far back and coach in Korea had me train in a tight space where I could only drop back a couple feet max and if I went further and did a backswing, I would be hitting the wall behind me. That forced me to play close to table or no more than a couple feet back.
 
This user has no status.
This user has no status.
Well-Known Member
Oct 2014
12,276
17,740
44,291
Read 17 reviews
The rubbers are fine. The blade is probably too fast, though he has to want to swing at the ball.

The boy needs to learn to make the first topspin when the ball gets pushed back. He gets a push to his backhand and rather than spin with his backhand or pivot and use his forehand, he is pushing the ball back. This is how old men with bad knees play, not young children. He is serving too long for a backhand player. He also probably needs more backhand serves if he wants to continue to play this style. His recovery after the serve is slow.
 
I am also wondering, if his equipment is too fast making him have a move vertical forehand loop? His blade and rubbers are:
Blade: Hurricane Long 3
Forehand: Tenergy 05
Backhand: Tenergy 05-FX


maybe this is the problem... Tenergy is high throw rubber, so you have to really close the angle and brush the ball.
 
Top