how-can-i-get-my-daughter-into-table-tennis
Ziv Glazer asked 2 years ago
I have a baby daughter which I would like to get into table tennis.
I play for many years and in a local league and I used some of the videos here with good success to complete my game 🙂
I would love to get some tips on how I can get my baby girl into this sport as well and what different things I can do with her in different ages (starting from the minimum)
Hoping to get her to play this sport if she likes it and maybe become a great player one day 🙂
Tom Academy Coach answered 2 years ago
Hey Ziv that’s great to hear you’re trying to get your daughter into table tennis. The most important things early on are to get the grip and the basic shots right and consistent, but most importantly to make it fun for them so they enjoy it at a young age!
In the beginning just things like holding the bat and trying to balance the ball on it, then bouncing the ball and seeing how many she can get in a row. Then slowly moving into the basic forehand and backhand drive movements, but trying to give targets like reaching 5 in a row or 10 for example.
Just trying to keep things fun and interesting for them will help them to improve and enjoy it as well! 🙂
Ziv GlazerThanks for your answer Tom.
To be honest the things you suggested are already obvious to me. I was wondering if there are things to do besides that, maybe getting some products like:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Miniature-Tennis-Table-top-Rackets-Family/dp/B01MDJ9D2V
Or something else along this lines? We have a lot of space at home for these type of things.
Hey, no worries. To be honest the mini table can be quite fun and help the feeling of controlling the ball slightly. But its best to get an understanding of a full size table straight away. How old is your daughter, has she played at all? Going to a club with kids sessions is great too because she can meet other kids who are learning! Some good drills when kids are starting are using a balloon and getting her to try and hit the balloon up, this is obviously much easier than a ball as it comes down slower. Another great drill is playing on a table but taking the net off and rolling the ball along the table to her. this means she can learn to hit the ball without it bouncing everywhere and the net in the way.
She is 3 months old. Obviously it’s too soon right now but I wanna be ready for when it’s not 🙂
At which age should I take her to a club? Also any of those things that I can do myself at home?
Hey Tom do you have anything else to add? (since you asked her age in the last comment)
Hey Ziv, sorry I missed your last reply! I think realistically you can take her to a club at about 4 years old at the earliest, before that it’s very tough because kids that age just don’t have enough hand eye coordination. You can definitely do the basic bat and ball skills at home for sure like balancing the ball on the bat and bouncing it etc. But like you said it’s good to be prepared and understand some things to do that will help her in the early days! 🙂
