Looking for best backhand 47.5 / 48 rubber for SALC

[HyperBlow]

Trying to flick half long topspin serves is a mistake, you need to practice judging serve length and be certain those serves are really short and tight (they could be short and still easy to loop). It's more likely they were long and you could loop them with practice. If they are really short, by all means, patiently flick then, that should work, but the more errors you make on that kind of return, the more likely it was really a long serve that you kept trying to play as if it was a short serve.

To be clear it was very difficult (at least for me!) to see the amount of spin in the serve, but you're totally right. The secound bounce was short on my table but with the kick it would certainly have ended as a long serve I could loop, instead of rushing to flick and getting caught by the kick.

 

[NextLevel]

To be clear it was very difficult (at least for me!) to see the amount of spin in the serve, but you're totally right. The secound bounce was short on my table but with the kick it would certainly have ended as a long serve I could loop, instead of rushing to flick and getting caught by the kick.

Sometimes, when you return serves like that, it is good idea to stand just a bit further back than you usually would so that the serve has definitely revealed itself by the time you get it. Standing close to the table makes you feel like you have less time than you usually do.

 

[ThePongCommenter]

If someone tells me there is an older adult in the club who is under 1000 and has SALC + very fast rubbers, I will make the prediction that this player will be part of the forever under 1200 club. This is based on seeing many of these players. I have never seen one older adult with a very fast setup get significantly better. They usually hit way more balls out than in, but fall in love with the one ball that landed.

The people who have progressed very rapidly are kids who got regular coaching and went to China to train during summer break.

How many older adults, regardless of setup, and controlling for training effort compared to the people you are talking about, do you see get significantly better?

 

[HyperBlow]

How many older adults, regardless of setup, and controlling for training effort compared to the people you are talking about, do you see get significantly better?

I used to play when I was younger but was just a pretty average intermediate player tbh. I've been back playing TT for 3 years now, after a close to 30 years break.

While I still struggle on many aspects of my game, and have been recently in a period of underperformance and frustration with my level of play, for me there is absolutely no doubt I've been progressing over the course of those 3 years, technically and tactically. My backhand is better than it ever has been, my forehand is much more stable. I got better at constructing points and anticipating the next shot. I get tired quicker for sure and tend to lose my focus at the end of pratice sessions and tight matches.

Of course my progression curve has nothing to do with the one of a talented 12 yo. And with age you take bad habits that are less and less easy to break. But the idea that there is no progression path for someone past 40 years old is just plain wrong imo.

 

[NextLevel]

I used to play when I was younger but was just a pretty average intermediate player tbh. I've been back playing TT for 3 years now, after a close to 30 years break.

While I still struggle on many aspects of my game, and have been recently in a period of underperformance and frustration with my level of play, for me there is absolutely no doubt I've been progressing over the course of those 3 years, technically and tactically. My backhand is better than it ever has been, my forehand is much more stable. I got better at constructing points and anticipating the next shot. I get tired quicker for sure and tend to lose my focus at the end of pratice sessions and tight matches.

Of course my progression curve has nothing to do with the one of a talented 12 yo. And with age you take bad habits that are less and less easy to break. But the idea that there is no progression path for someone past 40 years old is just plain wrong imo.

He isn't responding per se to your specific situation, he is talking more about the limits of the kind of reasoning that make people think slower blades are the only thing older players can improve with. Whether you will best improve with a slower blade or not is not the same question as whether it is okay for an adult learner to buy advanced equipment. Many adult learners would not get much better regardless of what they use because they often don't get the right coaching on how to use it and as sad as it is to say, some lack the ability and temperament to learn something as demanding as table tennis.

 

[ThePongCommenter]

I used to play when I was younger but was just a pretty average intermediate player tbh. I've been back playing TT for 3 years now, after a close to 30 years break.

While I still struggle on many aspects of my game, and have been recently in a period of underperformance and frustration with my level of play, for me there is absolutely no doubt I've been progressing over the course of those 3 years, technically and tactically. My backhand is better than it ever has been, my forehand is much more stable. I got better at constructing points and anticipating the next shot. I get tired quicker for sure and tend to lose my focus at the end of pratice sessions and tight matches.

Of course my progression curve has nothing to do with the one of a talented 12 yo. And with age you take bad habits that are less and less easy to break. But the idea that there is no progression path for someone past 40 years old is just plain wrong imo.

I wasn't saying that there isn't a way for older players to improve. My comment was directed at pong99, and many others on this forum who seem to insist incessantly that fast equipment is the sole reason for certain players not getting better and having all chances at improvement ruined. While equipment matters a lot in certain ways, it is never going to be the main influence on improvement in the sport, proper coaching and training will.

Older players can and do improve (to a certain point) if they put in the effort which it seems like you are. Most older players don't improve because it simply isn't a priority to them and they either aren't trying at all or enough. But it isn't because they are using a Viscaria. That is why I posed the question to pong99 - I am curious if all the comparable-in-training older players he sees that are using equipment he recommends are improving greatly while those using the Super Viscarias are left behind.

A while back in another discussion on this topic I posted a listing of the equipment of some players from a top training center who were early in their careers and still at a beginner to intermediate level. These equipment all were stiff blades and bouncy to very bouncy rubbers. According to many on TTD, those players would have had been ruined and never learned proper strokes due to their equipment choices. Instead, many of them went on to become national champions, national team members, Olympians, international players, or at a minimum a highly advanced level (2000-2300 USATT).