Coaching Adult Learners

You all read the title... we have discussed this topic throughout several threads on and off.

Sound off on key things to do for adult learners... I am talking about our typical TT player who never started TT until their adult or mid-life years.

First a few things on the coaching situation in USA and a few other countries. Some countries have good organization and support/infrastructure. Most places in USA don't have a proper club, even those places hire a current or former elite amature high dollar cost per hour. Typically, many adults do not progress measurably or at least not nearly as much as they should. Some coaches string players out teaching them just enough to keep them with coach. Some coaches treat the adult training like training kids. Some have no idea how to communicate to adults or clearly articulate fundamentals. Some adults do not listen, some experiment too much with equipment, some don't want to learn and progress, just learn enough to look good at lunchtime TT at work.

This discussion could use some things for an adult learner to look for in a coach.

1) RESULTS - Easily the number one objective measurement. If an adult player is club average 1400-1500 and receives pro style training from a coach, within 2 years, that player should be 1700+ EASILY. Often we see no progress, so looking at players that a coach does lessons with and seeing if they all progress would be an EASY no-shyt Sherlock way to spot ineffective coaches.

2) ABILITY to clearly articulate to make adults understand how and why to do the fundamentals. So many pro-style coaches do not coach - they drill the player, often their attempts at talking are too rigid or not well communicated.

3) FLEXIBILITY in getting player to progress. Not all players play the same way or have the same skills (although their are common skills we should all have) An effective coach is one who does not dictate playing exactly this way. A coach has to work with what he/she has got and cannot try to get there in one step.

4) WORKABLE PLAN - an effective coach for adults should be able to help the player realize and form a plan, several plans with clear steps and goals - plus how/why to get there. A player paying all that money should have a plan and a few paths to get there. There should be many immediate/down the road and way down the road things. Plans for technical shot improvement (say improving a BH opening topspin) and strategic goals (such as finding ways to use shots to setup better FH finish or how to integrate footwork building the point)

5) SPOTTING FLAWS - an effective coach should immediately be able to see ineffective biomechanics, wrong footwork/position, strike zone effectiveness, and tactical decisions) Said coach should frequently be talking to player on how this is impacting the game and level and HOW to improve it.

That was for starters... now about some things the coach should focus on... I will leave some out so there are things for TTDers to chime in on.

1) FUNDAMENTALS (The technical stuff) - Every exercise or drill or shot should be focused on applying the fundamentals to a shot or situation

....1A... POSITION - getting into effective position should be a must in every sequence, it all starts with position. Good position allows leverage and some room for imperfection.

....1A0... Ready Position Crouch - how to start
....1A1... Footwork - HOW to get into that good position, which ones work well in what situation
....1A2... Knee bend prior to opponent's shot - this makes a world of difference in ones ability to move laterally on an instant

....1B... BALANCE and RECOVERY - Obviously there is no good leverage or preparedness for the next shot without this. All shot sequences must emphasize this.

....1C... STRIKE ZONE - Where in the zone to impact the ball to do what. How to wait or speed up timing. How to give MAX impact to the ball.

....1D... POWER TRANSFER - how to efficiently make kinetic energy and give it to the ball

....1D1... Whip - how to use sequence of muscles to make bat speed
....1D2... Grip Pressure - how to control or add rebound of ball

2) How to apply it in a rally (technical, tactical and strategic stuff) - How to adjust under pressure, how to deal with no time or non-optimal position, how to read opponents and their tendencies, measures and counter-measures. How to grow technical/technical things into usable items in a rally, game, match, and growth (Strategic)

rokphish said:

Perhaps being ITTF certified coach is something you should do sometime down the road?

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Haha, I got an International Umpire trying to get me on track to become a National, then International Ump...

I think the ITTF coaching certification is a good step in the right direction... to identify some common things and give a short course... unfortunately, it is difficult to make a coach in this short timeframe... but it is starting interest in official certification for coaches... which leads to more belief and trust from places like schools, which are essential to grow the sport. That makes a market for more clubs and coaches and equipment companies. More commerce is good for everyone. More players, more fun, more growth, more opportunities for players to make an income from the sport. EDIT: More opportunities for AFTER their playing days.

Andy,

Der_Echte likes a lot of what you said. I think there should be balance. In USA, most "clubs" are not really clubs at all, just some school gym rented for 2-3 hours 1-2 times a week and all anyone does is play matches or organized round robin groups. That is way too much balance towards matches.

On the other end, only training and no trying to apply it under real match conditions is an injustice, also, one must at the right time learn how "real" it gets in comps.

Having said that, any real gains in technical things are darned difficult to immediately show in competitive match play. Often, like you said, there is a DECREASE in performance. It just isn't so easy to be consistent in match play on those things right away. It can take MONTHS if not longer, sometimes a year for improvement in training to consistently show in match play under pressure.

However, there IS a proper place for competition in the strategic development of a player, unless only if the player is only interested in just having fun or learning only selected things for his/her own reasons.

I believe the "at the end of the day" strategic realization is application of the coaching/training to improved match play in competition. We are all competitors and Warriors at some level, excluding the fun purists. That is fine too. The fun purists are true to themselves, all good.

Baal is spot on, so many coaches train players like they are drilling kids. Adults learn different. We need to know how/why/what all the time and have more reps, guided reps, kids pick it up faster/better. A coach who treats adults like kids is for the animals - avoid. Should be easy to spot... yet it is still a huge problem in USA and some other lands.

You l can thank ttmonster for this thread, we had a long discussion over late dinner in a diner after the CLC playoffs. The topic arose after he asked me how to improve as an adult where he lives.

Hahahahahah quadruple haha, ttmonster is smak in the middle of the best TT club situation in USA. EASILY 12 real clubs within a 30 minute or so drive. ALL with ex-pro or elite amature athletes as coaches with a full time facility.

Yet, all the problems I discussed early in the first post still apply to this great TT area... it might apply even MORE. The clubs that produce the top junior talents in our nation are perhaps the WORST for an adult to take lessons in. We identified and discussed a few of them.

ttmonster will chime in later and his personal experiences - he has a decade plus in this great TT area of our nation.

ttmonster asked me to identify ONE thing to do to improve by self in the area clubs. I identified applying 3-4 of the fundamentals in everything he does as the way to go. Can be done even if all he does is just play matches and use matches as an opportunity to try and apply and grow.

NextLevel -Adult Coaching Extrordinaire Deluxe said:

In addition, it is incredibly hard to teach table tennis to anyone who cannot generate racket head speed.

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I fully agree with this statement, however, I also believe it is an absolutely WONDERFUL opportunity to teach control of hand pressure and body mechanics in middle shots to produce different output of the ball and how to control the ball.

This counts for a LOT at the average USA club level and maybe 5 levels above it.

Of course, NL is discussing this as it applies to learning offensive shots - both heavy spin and speed shots. You are not going to do either without a good explosion or grip and whip. (Hey! That rhymed !)

Still, even here, control of the output of the ball without a huge power is still a value. How many points in a match are won with a block? How many are won with a simple light counter away? How many are won with some simple spin variation (and much shorter ball than expected) caused by a loose hand at impact?

Baal said:

If a player has certain technical limitations that they can never change, in competition they can learn to make what they have work. I am not ssying that no technical problems can be fixed in adults. But the solution that fixes the problem may still look a bit unorthodox and they may discover these fixes by themselves in competition.

I have a practice partner like that and he is not to be underestimated.

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Thanks for supporting my hypothesis #3 of flexibility from coach. This is one sure-tell sign of an effective adult coach.

Can the coach work with what is there and make it work? Can the coach get the player to learn what they want to become and provide a path to get there?

These are obvious questions that anyone can make self-use of a bullshyt filter and arrive at the right answer.

I purposely left out serve and receive, which is over 1/2 the game. There is so much in these two areas I ought to make separate threads.