I cannot win

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Hello everyone! I have a question and maybe somebody could help me. I started playing table tennis seriously when i was in high school. Went to amateurs tournaments and everyone beat me hard(obviously). A friend told me that i should get a better blade and rubbers and train with a private coach so that s what i did for a year. My coach was very good and i did my best in training. Also i tried to learn from my matches. However after lots(and i mean lots)of matches and 1 year of training nothing changed and couldn t even get one single win against anyone, not even elderly players. So i gave up, thought it was a waste of time and money, even if i loved the sport. Five years later i started tot try again, without coaching. I could see a little improvement even if everyone still beat me, i didn t get mad, i played for fun. However, some other players started to desconsider me and make jokes, and if they were my age would ve been ok(im 22 now), but it comes from players over 40 years old.
In conclusion, i guess i m just weaker than everyone whatever i do, i even lost to a weaker player in my oppinion and got mad but got over it cause now i think i m just very bad maybe however i dont like elder people make fun of me so i think of giving up...should i continue or just give up and find something else to do with my free time?
 
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Continue! You seem to love the sport. Wins will come.

You probably have some weaknesses. Try to identify them and train on them. In games it´s actually better to don´t have weaknesses then having some great strengths.

Serves and serve receives are key at all levels. At lower levels serve, serve receives and pushing are keys to win. Many players practice looping all the time, but can’t serve, receive a serve or handle a push game. If you train those three skills, you should start to win soon. I wish you the best of luck! 🏓💪
 
says Table tennis clown
says Table tennis clown
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baron de coubertain, founder of the new Olympics said: It is not the winning that is important but that we can be part of the games.

As a pretty useless player myself this is how i treat the game. First it is exercise, so sweating and keeping fit.
secondly it is the companionship of the fellow club members, whether i win or loose is pretty irrelevant to me, I want to have fun.

Apart from that, pretty much what Sam the Man says.


Look at some teaching videos on yutube, pick some simple serves watch the slow motion , then try to learn a couple and do them well.
Learn how to place the ball, not just to push it back over the net.

To those that are ridiculing and bullying you just laugh back at them, remember they all have their own problems too, like head aches, sweaty feet or nagging wife at home etc etc 😁

all the best, keep it up
 
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Continue! You seem to love the sport. Wins will come.

You probably have some weaknesses. Try to identify them and train on them. In games it´s actually better to don´t have weaknesses then having some great strengths.

Serves and serve receives are key at all levels. At lower levels serve, serve receives and pushing are keys to win. Many players practice looping all the time, but can’t serve, receive a serve or handle a push game. If you train those three skills, you should start to win soon. I wish you the best of luck! 🏓💪

Thank you so much for your advice!!!

 
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baron de coubertain, founder of the new Olympics said: It is not the winning that is important but that we can be part of the games.

As a pretty useless player myself this is how i treat the game. First it is exercise, so sweating and keeping fit.
secondly it is the companionship of the fellow club members, whether i win or loose is pretty irrelevant to me, I want to have fun.

Apart from that, pretty much what Sam the Man says.


Look at some teaching videos on yutube, pick some simple serves watch the slow motion , then try to learn a couple and do them well.
Learn how to place the ball, not just to push it back over the net.

To those that are ridiculing and bullying you just laugh back at them, remember they all have their own problems too, like head aches, sweaty feet or nagging wife at home etc etc 😁

all the best, keep it up
Thank you so much, it really helps

 
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says 2023 Certified Organ Donor
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...should i continue or just give up and find something else to do with my free time?

There are SO MANY LEVELS in this sport it is silly. Each level is moar bad-azz than the next.

A player several levels better than you might defeat you SO BAD, that you COULD get discouraged and immediately want to stop playing the sport !!! I am talking about a newb playing a newer newb kinda stuff, think what an average player can do to a newb in a match !!!

This disparity in level and result is natural and to be expected.

The question is, will you stay with the sport and do what it takes to improve enough the be the dude on the other end of that sharp stick a stickin' to jokers instead of getting stuck like Chuck.
 
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Your coach trains your strokes, which are the basis of your play and the basis is the most important part of table tennis. You got your basis correctly then you will never miss it. You got your basis wrong and after a few years you didn't try to correct it, you will never be able to correct it.

It takes many years, 2 or 3 or 4 years, to build up your basis, but your level of play will grow very slow at this stage. That is because you haven't been trained to deal with SPIN. A player who has been trained on spin for no more than 1 year can easily defeat a player who has been trained on basis for 3 years.

But bear this in mind: this is one way. Good at spin but wrong basis, the player will always be like that, he can't get improved. Good basis but no idea with spin, the player will finally learn the way of spin in the future and become a player good at both basis and spin.
 
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says Rozena! You complete me.
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Hello everyone! I have a question and maybe somebody could help me. I started playing table tennis seriously when i was in high school. Went to amateurs tournaments and everyone beat me hard(obviously). A friend told me that i should get a better blade and rubbers and train with a private coach so that s what i did for a year. My coach was very good and i did my best in training. Also i tried to learn from my matches. However after lots(and i mean lots)of matches and 1 year of training nothing changed and couldn t even get one single win against anyone, not even elderly players. So i gave up, thought it was a waste of time and money, even if i loved the sport. Five years later i started tot try again, without coaching. I could see a little improvement even if everyone still beat me, i didn t get mad, i played for fun. However, some other players started to desconsider me and make jokes, and if they were my age would ve been ok(im 22 now), but it comes from players over 40 years old.
In conclusion, i guess i m just weaker than everyone whatever i do, i even lost to a weaker player in my oppinion and got mad but got over it cause now i think i m just very bad maybe however i dont like elder people make fun of me so i think of giving up...should i continue or just give up and find something else to do with my free time?

I also went through the same experience like you. When I first started I could not FH nor do much. I was the official club ball picker. I pick up balls more than hit the ball. Those were the time when most people would avoid playing with me because I sucks at TT initially. Sure brings back memories.

 
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Remember to bend your knees, so you're ready and half way to the next ball all the time.
Play "safe". Don't attack on balls when you're out of position.
Keep services and returns short, so it's harder for your opponent to attack.
Focus on placement of the ball, instead of as hard hits as possible. To get your opponent out of position will give you opportunity to attack easier.
Never give up, always stay focused, always be accurate. Try to have a plan so your every stroke is leading towards a place you want to be...
 
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Analyze your match - where are your most mistakes, receiving serves, during pushes stage, when going from pushes to attack, in defence, in attack.
Exercise your weakest points with friends.

My observations are that many players often lose because they don't read the spin of the opponent serves. Exercise how to receive different spin.
For example a side spin serve is often mistakingly received with a soft back spin push, instead of harder direct/topspin hit/flick or even direct/topspin attack.
Exercise a lot the change from pushes to attack/counter attack. Many players, even if good in pushing and looping, miss the change.
Analyze your serve and find where is its most effective placement for most of your opponents and for a particular opponent, exercise it with friends.

Be cool and analyze your opponent during the match and your game after the match.
 
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Sorry for a rather short and quite laconic answer.

I think it would beneficial to see you play, that way people good give tailored advice.

One of the most (if not the most) important parts of the game is the serve and the serve receive. It dictates everything else that is going to happen afterward. You can be good at rallies and have proper strokes, but without decent, consistent and aware receive you will have issues scoring points. While looping is great fun and by far my favorite part of the sport it is usually the last part of the rally.

The point usually goes like this:
  • serve
  • receive
  • either short game, flip or open up if one of the players went long
  • loop or smash fest
This is not the case for all of the points, but it usually goes something like this. Most people (unfortunately me included) focus on the last part. Which is bad if you can't get through the prior phases. You can always serve fast and long to get into the last phase more quickly, but you will still have to face the short game in one way or another if the opponent spams short spinny serves.

My point is that it is important to focus on those elements that start the point. Having a diverse similar-looking serve palette is key to scoring. If your opponent has to guess your service and cannot read it, you are most of the way there.

The next thing is variation. Don't put every ball into a single spot. In the last video, dan spammed Tom's BH. Based on his own analysis, he got most of the points when he actually varied the place where the ball landed. It is a classic strategy to aim at opponents' crossover point. An imaginary point on the table where the ball after bounce forces the opponent to think whether he should do BH or FH. It is sometimes called a crossover point. The other well-known tactic is to try to alternate bh and fh corner, or aiming in general area where opponent cannot hit the ball.
 
However, some other players started to desconsider me and make jokes, and if they were my age would ve been ok(im 22 now), but it comes from players over 40 years old.

That's not ok in any way. It's a sign of a very bad social culture.
In one of the clubs we organize everyday tournaments, called "Friends".
No one makes jokes with anyone, and all are happy, no matter the wins and losses.
This summer we have many players of all ages from all around the country, because the town is a popular sea resort, and sometimes the better player gives the win to a weaker one, though its against the rules. Or, if its not the case, the better player gives a little training session to the loser between the matches.

 
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That's one of my pet peeves with coaching. They focus almost exclusively on technique rather than game skills. All their comments are based on basic rallying during warm up. I've been to two coaches, and neither actually saw me play any matches or played a trial game against me. I think that you insist that any future coach first play an actual game against you to judge your game skills, before trying to "fix" your technique.

As others have pointed out, the serve and serve receive are critical to winning. I personally don't think you need coaching for serves since you can try to copy better players whom you play with regularly or watch youtube videos and then practice for hundreds of hours on your own. However, for serve receives, coaches can definitely add value.

Another key skill is consistency. At the intermediate level, the player who makes less mistake usually wins. Focus on consistency (for which good footwork is critical) and on getting the ball back in play, rather than outright winners. That will raise your win percentage.

Also, take videos of your actual matches -- it'll help you analyze why you may have lost.
 
says toooooo much choice!!
says toooooo much choice!!
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I tend to agree with Andy K,
Training is one thing, matches are another!!
During matches people don’t do things you want them to do or expect them to do!! They don’t play the ball to where you want it !!!
Basic training using ‘regular’ routines has its place and is definitely necessary, but these should be integrated with ‘irregular’ routines, irregular routines are far more realistic to match play!! Perhaps the training sessions should also include some match play, with the coach advising / analysing the points being played, advising on tactics etc.
Another thing regarding serves and serve receive, is that I think that they should be coached far more than they are, including spins, how to spin, what to do against incoming spins etc
For 50% of a game, the 1st stroke is going to be your serve or serve receive!! So if you are doing a FH topspin routine, perhaps the routine should be started with a ‘match’ type top spin serve. Not every time, but it’s food for thought!!
This way 3 things can be practiced and learnt at the same time!, Serve, receive and the stroke in question.
Another option is ‘limited’ regular routines, for example back spin short serve, push receive long to servers FH, FH open up v backspin to opponents FH side, then ‘open’ play.

As the others have said, keep playing, improve your skills, and then the rest will start to fall into place!!
Mainly just enjoy your table tennis, I know some players that love training, enjoy ‘social’ games but won’t play competitive games / matches for a team or club!! It’s just not their thing!!
 
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You know, you can't change them but rather change yourself. Forget about tactics, first learn to be patient. Don't bother about them. And you know what, don't take anything serious, including tt, just play anything for fun/enjoy it. Then you'll see the improvement. Be dedicated, patient, hard-working and perseverant but play for fun.
 
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As an alternative, you may want to consider joining the dark side by switching to OX(no sponge) long pips for "spin reversal" thing and you can simply play blocks and pushes for some easy points against lower rated players. You'll win some of them for sure :>.
 
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