About 90% of table tennis players claim that serve return is their biggest issue. I feel that they aren't able to return serve properly because they haven't developed the stroke. It isn't merely good enough just to touch the ball back to the other side. The player must actually loop or push or flip the serve with quality. Check out one of my favority serve return drills where I demonstrate flipping and looping the sidespin/backspin serves:
Regardless is if I'm practicing, playing league, or just coaching during the day, I put a huge priority on morning warmup sessions. For warmup, sometime I do light robot training, sometimes I go swimming, often I go for a jog with my kids. Warmup up in the morning is a great way to wake up your muscles and your mind for the task ahead. Here is a light warmup drill that I often do:
I would also like to congratulate the SDTTA winners from the Millcreek Giant RR! Good job guys! Keep up the good work!
Joe Ciarrochi - u1800 Champ (with many other good wins in other events as well)
Roger Liu - u2250 Champ
Chris Jordan - u1000 Finalist
Craig Nivens - Division 4B Finalist
Jason Zhang - Division 4A Finalist
Aryan Mahajan - u1800 Finalist
Sarah Jalli - Division 2A 4th Place
Laura Paglin - Division 6A Finalist
Ali Khatami - Division 2A Champ
I'm very excited for the new Spin & Smash club opening in Columbus Ohio on Monday, April 17th. This full time facility features coaching, classes, open club play, Saturday night social club with live music, and a pro shop selling Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy products as well as a full array of other top equipment. If you live in Ohio or are just passing through, check out the action in Columbus! www.SpinAndSmash.com
12 weeks after the injury, I'm very happy to say that I'm now 90% of the way healed and back to training.
So why do I play anyway?
Many top-level coaches have encouraged me to only coach and not play.
There are several reasons that I'm still working hard at my game...
Enjoyment
I enjoy playing. I enjoy the training aspect and I enjoy the competitive aspect.
Coach Carl Hardin is both a table tennis coach and a top-level bowling coach. This week, we had a brief conversation on the phone. At the end of the talk, I asked him to summarize what he was explaining in article form so that you could see the difference. If you have ever come to one of my classes, you will understand that Coach Carl Hardin's approach has had a huge impact on my coaching.
Check out the tactics to beat this difficult opponent!
The Smasher
Playing against smashers can seem overwhelming – it might seem as if they are smashing everything – your loops, your flips, your pushes. These players want to put pressure on you enough to take you out of your normal game. Before you freak out, just listen to a bit of advice.
-->
