Paddles for 7th/8th Grade school group?

Sam Lowry said:

I play at my local club and have decided to volunteer to teach table tennis to my daughter's school class of about 40 teenagers (I'll only be teaching small groups at a time). They have a great table which hasn't had much use, but they need some paddles. The question: what would everyone recommend for inexpensive paddles that are capable of at least a little bit of spin?

Thanks,

SL

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Well, to be honest, if the kids have never played before, I think some kind of premade bats would fit them well. Maybe some Cheap premade DHS or Butterfly paddles... Otherwise, if the kids agree too (assuming that they will buy each one their own bat), maybe some inexpensive chinese blade and rubber could be fine, for example, a Friendship/729 C-3 Blade with a pair of 729 General rubbers, that bought from Aliexpress or Eacheng may be some 18~22 dollars/kit.

If of interest, I can send you via PM the link of the shop in Aliexpress that I buy from, reliable and fast shipping!

Go to colestt.com

Select: Combos

Select: Galaxy 896 for Blade

Select: Dawei 2008XP for FH and for BH.

For the blade you can choose Flared, Straight or CPen (Penhold) handle. You may get a few (say 2) of each (flared and straight) if you don't know which to get. But you should be okay if you only get flared. If there are any penholders you could get a few with Penhold handles also.

For the rubber you could choose from the thicknesses of 1.8, 2.0 or 2.2.

2.0 is safe. I like 2.2 better. But a beginner would be better off with 2.0.

Each blade costs 32.00 before shipping.

Those are excellent blades that someone could start and learn on and someone at a decently high level could still use. Like, I could use that setup and be totally fine.

It is way way better than anything that is premade and anything that costs less. It is close to as good as a lot of setups that would run in the $100.00 price range for blade with rubber.

If you are having the kids share, you may not need more than 4 rackets total. And if you only got Flare handles, a Penhold player can still play with a shakehand handle.


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You could contact Cole and explain him the situation. He might be able to suggest a setup like what Carl said, or even lighter in weight.

I have liked the 729 premades that I have tried. They are able to produce lots of spin and speed if you put the power into it. they are also easy to control. They are pretty heavy though.

rokphish said:

You could contact Cole and explain him the situation. He might be able to suggest a setup like what Carl said, or even lighter in weight.

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This is an excellent point. I was thinking of the combination of good and inexpensive. But I was not thinking about weight. Since I kind of like blades they are a bit heavy. Cole would know of stuff he has that may be a little lighter and in the same price and quality range.


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If you'll glue yourself you can get a discount from Cole if you buy bulk. Bulk = about 7 paddles I believe. I talked to him about this when he was in town for our tournament


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The ultimate in NEW inexpensive equipment is as follows.

** Go to WALMART - Buy a dozen 3 dollar something Sportcraft bat that has OX SP on each side.

** Remove the SPs on each side, very easy on this one, the glue is thin. Us rubber to rub off excess glue and sand smooth **

** Get 24 rubbers XP 2008 Super Power from Colestt.com. Ask him about side tape, buy used roll, also buy bat cases **

** Get a large sized can of Elmers Rubber Cement and glue on rubbers, use scissors to cut **

Total Costs:

Bats: $45 with tax
Glue: $5 or less
Rubbers: $197 if he doesn't give bulk deal
Cases: $60 if he doesn't cut you a deal.

Total price without negotiated deal is $307 for everything needed. That comes to around $22 & pocket change a bat max price.

That is pretty damned good for 12 bats that are ALL in speed - suitable for beginners/intermediate level players and will last months before needing rubber change.

If you have cole do a buster deal, it will be a little higher per bat, but his total job per bat would cost less than a discounted sheet of Tibhar Aurus rubber.

why buy 10 identical paddles when you can buy 10 different paddles?

Wow this thread has made me realize what a good deal I get from a club member. I've bought 13 setups from him all together for 20$ a setup. He's used them each anywhere from 1-5 hours.

I use them as loaner paddles and if players like them I resell them for 30$ which is still a fantastic deal since they often have rubbers like bluefire on them.

He still has boxes left too. Planned on buying a handful of them for the table tennis club at my college soon


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tikitiki said:

why buy 10 identical paddles when you can buy 10 different paddles?

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Hard to find 10 rackets that are all different that are that cheap and are still that good.

Besides, if these are all beginners, too many options would just mess them up.


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But don't these children have smaller hands? And wouldn't they need a shorter handle? And lighter weight (including lighter rubbers)?

I read Yinhe has children blades (e.g. model CN1).

I'm starting an open gym for 8-14yo so this topic is of interest.