Hey guys!
This video looks at areas of the sport that can keep you an average player and mistakes that stop you improving, we want to show you them so you can avoid them and change these habits to progress your skills and reach a better standard of table tennis. Now you might not be doing all of these but perhaps one or 2 of them may sound familiar and this video will help learn and understand how to stop these mistakes and the reasoning behind why the limit improvements to your game, so here we go!
The 5 mistakes:
1) Shot selection
Shot selection is something that can transform players games at any level, quite often it can be the element that connects your improvement in training and transfers it to match play which is something we know many players find frustrating. Having better shot selection doesn’t happen overnight and takes practice but from players we work with you can really see the impact it has on match play.We discuss shot selection and highlight some common errors we see players making that you can avoid in your game.
2) Take you time
We all know that one player who loves to go for huge high speed winning shots and makes far to many mistakes, quite often players go for out and out speed rather than spin and consistency. By using more rotation on your shots you will have a greater margin for error without sacrificing the quality, usually high levels of spin causes opponents more problems than simply speed alone. So take your time and build your way into points and focus on more consistency and control in your game, you don’t need to win the point with the first shot every time!
3) Shot efficiency
Table tennis is an extremely high speed and dynamic sport so the importance of efficient shots cannot be overstated. Recovering well after each shot can be the difference between consistent attacking play and breaking down and making mistakes more often. Being more efficient is about keeping compact, controlled and repeatable strokes which can hold up well under pressure in a match situation. If you can only play one or 2 strong shots and then find yourself out of position or making mistakes it will be hard to progress to the next level. This requires more irregular practice drills and serve and return exercises to be able to repeat your shots and keep them efficient even when the ball placement is random, this also links to shot selection in mistake 1 and being able to read the signals from the opponents to give yourself as much time as possible.
4) Serve and return
Often the difference between an average player and the next level up is the area of serve and return, if you find your opponent are getting in the first attack on your serve or being able to stop you playing to your strengths then you know this area needs work. Serving in table tennis is the only time you have total control and you can dictate how the point starts, this makes it a vital aspect for all levels of players and something that separates average players from the top ones. The same goes for the return of serve too, if you can work on these 2 key aspects of your game it will have a huge impact on your game, we see far to much that players neglect the serve and return areas of the game and focus only on the exciting rally play.
5) Take initiative
Lastly be sure to take initiative and look at which ares of your game need work and what your strengths are, we see many players go to train without having a real focus on what exactly to work on that will take them to the next level. Don’t be that person who only practices the fun enjoyable stuff that you are already good at, look a the areas that are weak and turn them into strengths. Use video analysis, watch coaching videos, ask club mates and coaches for feedback. If you are pro-active and take initiative your game will reap the benefits!
At the TableTennisDaily Academy we have over 100 coaching videos covering technical, tactical and psychological aspects as well as in depth match analysis. As a member of the TableTennisDaily Academy you’ll also have full access to our “coach corner” which gives you the ability to ask questions that professional coaches Dan and Tom will answer. Whatever your questions, get swift and reliable coaching feedback you can trust right at your fingertips. You can even post videos of yourself in action for Dan and Tom to analyse, they will provide specific advice to help you take your game to the next level! So what are you waiting for, access your free trial today.
