Topspin variety and pushing practice.
Twiddle_TV asked 4 years ago
Alright guys, I took Tom’s advice and I’m working on some pushing consistency and topspin variety to help against skilled blockers. I’m having trouble recognizing when the ball is going to be short and miss a few because they are not as long as expected. Any tips for that?
Any other feedback would be most welcome! Thank you so much!
-Adam
Forehand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivu8yyKtWyk&t=144s
Backhand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-XVBAHUNoU
Tom Academy Coach answered 4 years ago
Hey Adam, that’s a great room there you’ve got with your table, looks awesome! On the first point about judging if the ball is long our short I would say its definitely harder against a robot because you don’t get those clues from the body language like you would against a human. It will naturally improve with experience this decision making but you can still work on this by the exact drill you did here on the robot, it forces you into really watching the flight of the ball coming over the table.
I feel your pushing and topspin technique are both pretty solid on the forehand, a couple of of small things I think will help though. You’ve got a good rotation and weight transfer but I think you can make even more of this, by getting a bit more turn from the shoulders and waist and this will help you transfer the energy and your weight forward even more into each topspin. But keep that nice brushing contact and the spin will still keep the quality.
On the backhand topspin I’d say the main area to focus on is shortening down the follow through and making the shot a bit more compact, this will save you time on the recovery. So when you finish the shot try to make sure the bat doesn’t go across your body but it finishes in front, more or less in front of your face. I also think you can be a touch closer to the table on your backhand and try to use your knees to bend down more as the ball comes in which will help your push up into the ball with more energy. You’ve got a great use of the wrist so keep that going, just think about it releasing more into the direction of play, forwards.
On the pushing it looks pretty solid, just concentrating on staying, low with your head and body close to the ball and keeping that brush under each one. This area will keep improving with practice and will help in games as you won’t feel you have to rush into a topspin, you can be patient and pick the one you think is there to attack.
Keep up the good work Adam!
Any questions just let me know on here, Tom
Twiddle_TVGreat call outs Tom! I’ll watch for those tips going forward.
