Has Des still got it...The value of every shot

Haha nice, never too old to play the game and have fun

That's cool, but Brazilian Biriba around 70 years old, usually makes 1000 balls.

It's a really nice clip. This might not look that amazing on video, but the truth is that training with these kind of points makes you a lot better player than if you just try to hit hard every point on training. It's also the difference between the best players in the world and other players. The best players can simply keep the ball on the table while others eventually can't. If you can return the ball more often than your opponent, then you have a huge advantage in the actual match situation. Playing more with control than power is a very important thing when training.
Thanks for sharing the video Tim, it's really good to discuss about this subject. It's one of the key things of becoming a successful table tennis player.

EditingSports said:

It's a really nice clip. This might not look that amazing on video, but the truth is that training with these kind of points makes you a lot better player than if you just try to hit hard every point on training. It's also the difference between the best players in the world and other players. The best players can simply keep the ball on the table while others eventually can't. If you can return the ball more often than your opponent, then you have a huge advantage in the actual match situation. Playing more with control than power is a very important thing when training.
Thanks for sharing the video Tim, it's really good to discuss about this subject. It's one of the key things of becoming a successful table tennis player.

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Totally agree. It's better to control and keep the ball on table, make less mistakes than your opponent than there r more chance to win a point.

Des is still class! Watched the rally a couple of times and you can't fault the technique... great footwork, body rotation, perfect timing! One thing did strike me, when I coach kids at my local club, most of them tend to watch the ball when we demo the exercise and not the footwork/technique - I just thought it was me BUT check out the clip again!!!!

Tim, were you using pimples on BH or have you abandoned them now that you're coaching?

LIKE.

We have a TON of Over 50 players here in Korea. Prolly 80-90% of players are all over 40 or 50. It is a real difficult thing to play vs those Div 1 old-school jokers who got 30+ years of TT and a ton of scalps under their belt.

Totally agree with you guys, consistency and shot efficiency is essential in the game of table tennis especially when one is under pressure. The more efficient one can play the harder they become to break down. My coach Kevin Satchell used to practice with Des once a week and he told me they both focused on shot quality and lots of control. I know the game nowadays is big third ball attacks etc, but the pro's and better players have such great 'ball control'. For example, When I was in France, I played for a Pro B club and every now and then I got to watch Andrei Filimon and Peter Serada practice, although both players can blast the ball, during the start of their practice sessions they would drive and keep the ball on the table for 5 minutes at a time without missing. Very similar to what you can see in the video here. It's also very important to highlight both players contact points, almost at every shot the ball is taken at the top of the bounce giving both players the best possible chance of shot accuracy.

Being efficient in your strokes, with great balance, and a high level of concentration in your practice will make you improve fast and you will become hard to beat.

Keep pinging guys!

Thanks for sharing Tim!

Tim Yarnall said:

No worries editing sports. Yea I put to show that reason - may not look special but the balance and ball control Des shows should be in everyones game!
Just had a look at your videos - they are pretty awesome!

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Yeah, you are absolutely right

Haha thanks man