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When I played StarCraft, I learned a nice concept from a guy named Sean Plott, or Day[9]. It was the "mental checklist". Basically, a list of core things you should loop trough your head while playing. Doing this, you don't forget the things you should pay attention to, and you have your next action already triggered.
I adapted this concept to poker with good results, so I was thinking about trying it with table tennis.
I did some starter examples, as I am still a starting player, but I felt it is a good exercise just to think about it.
Feel free to comment, edit, ignore, post your own, or just bash any of the steps/lists.
It may seem a lot of steps, but I believe most of you already do some of it unconsciously. The idea is not to do it forever, but to make it automatic.
Checklist for serving
• Don't rush the serve, take your time
• Choose a serve
• Serve
• Get in position for your 3rd ball
Checklist for receiving
• Get in position
• Look for tells or patterns from your opponent previous services
• Chose a return
• Get in position for his 3rd ball
Checklist for general playing
• Don't wait for the ball to hit your face to decide what to do
• Watch the direction of the ball while leaving your opponent's racket and
• Try to get in position before the ball hits your side of the table
• Choose your move and the height of the ball/stage of the bounce that you want to hit
• Choose a placement and aim to it, don’t just return the ball anywhere
• Don't rush your swing, if you got there in time, you will have the time to do it properly
• Reset you position for the next ball
Obs: the formatting got screwed on Tapatalk
I adapted this concept to poker with good results, so I was thinking about trying it with table tennis.
I did some starter examples, as I am still a starting player, but I felt it is a good exercise just to think about it.
Feel free to comment, edit, ignore, post your own, or just bash any of the steps/lists.
It may seem a lot of steps, but I believe most of you already do some of it unconsciously. The idea is not to do it forever, but to make it automatic.
Checklist for serving
• Don't rush the serve, take your time
• Choose a serve
o Remember your serving history in this match
o Which serves/placement gave your opponent more trouble?
o Which serve he may be expecting now?
o Does the position of your opponent favor any placement?
o What kind of return do you want?
o …?
• Think about the most likely 3rd ball from your opponent and what you will do with thato Which serves/placement gave your opponent more trouble?
o Which serve he may be expecting now?
o Does the position of your opponent favor any placement?
o What kind of return do you want?
o …?
• Serve
• Get in position for your 3rd ball
Checklist for receiving
• Get in position
• Look for tells or patterns from your opponent previous services
o Does the positioning change?
o Does the grip change?
o Does the height of the toss change?
o …?
• Look for the direction of your opponent's racket during the contact with the ball, to read the spino Does the grip change?
o Does the height of the toss change?
o …?
• Chose a return
o What kind of return does your opponent expect with that serve?
o Is your opponent rushing to a pre-planned position?
o …?
• Return the ballo Is your opponent rushing to a pre-planned position?
o …?
• Get in position for his 3rd ball
Checklist for general playing
• Don't wait for the ball to hit your face to decide what to do
• Watch the direction of the ball while leaving your opponent's racket and
• Try to get in position before the ball hits your side of the table
• Choose your move and the height of the ball/stage of the bounce that you want to hit
• Choose a placement and aim to it, don’t just return the ball anywhere
• Don't rush your swing, if you got there in time, you will have the time to do it properly
• Reset you position for the next ball
Obs: the formatting got screwed on Tapatalk
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