In today’s newsletter, we want to show you the stages of learning a new skill. For illustrative purposes, we are going to use the backhand loop against backspin as an example for you today. This approach can be used for any stroke, such as pushing, flipping, looping, counter-looping, lobbing, chopping, smashing, and any other skill that you want to develop. Before beginning stage one, take a few minutes and assess your game for strengths, weaknesses, tendencies, and game patterns.
 
Backhand loop against backspin
 
Stage 1: Visualize your selected skill and think deeply about the improvements that you want to make.
Stage 2: Go to YouTube and watch an expert demonstrate that particular skill. Make sure to watch from multiple camera angles and watch in slow motion as well.
Stage 3: Do shadow strokes in front of the mirror with the desired variation that you want to learn.
Stage 4: Do shadow strokes combining the primary stroke with other strokes. For illustrative purposes, we are using backhand loop against backspin. So a great shadow stroke combination would be push, backhand loop against backspin, and backhand loop against topspin.
Stage 5: Using your Power Pong Robot, isolate one ball and practice backhand loop against backspin at 20 balls per minute. Continue with this skill until you can make 95% on the table.  
Stage 6: Using the same drill as the previous stage, do one backhand loop against backspin from the wide backhand and one backhand loop against backspin from the middle backhand. Continue the sequence at 20 balls per minute.
Stage 7: Using the same drill as stage 6, have the backspin balls thrown randomly to either the wide backhand or the middle backhand. Move your feet into position, stop, and backhand loop the backspin ball.
Stage 8: Have the robot throw one ball very deep to the backhand (Power Pong Omega - trajectory 100, speed 13, spin -1) and one ball half-long to the backhand (trajectory 110, speed 9, spin -1). Make small steps slightly out for the deep ball and slightly in for the half-long ball.
Stage 9: Do the same drill as stage 8, but randomize it between the half-long and long. We feel that this stage is one of the biggest overlooked stages in all of table tennis.
Stage 10: Have the robot throw one ball low to the backhand (trajectory 95, speed 11, spin -1) and one ball high to the backhand (trajectory 120, speed 10, spin -1). Practice looping the low backspin ball, then the high backspin ball.
Stage 11: This is exactly the same as stage 10, but the balls are randomly thrown high and low.  
Stage 12: Still isolating one ball at 20 balls per minute, combine all the skills that we have worked on so far – placement adjustments and depth adjustments and height adjustments. In addition to robot training, make sure that you are doing these drills with people as well. If any of the stages require additional practice, be willing to stay on one stage for several days, before moving to the next stage.
Stage 13:  Now it gets fun.  Set the robot to give one very spinny backspin ball to the backhand side (trajectory 100, speed 12, spin -4) and then a light backspin ball (trajectory 100, speed 12, spin -1).
Stage 14: This stage is your choice. Combine spin with one of the other variations to create your own drill.
Stage 15: Program the robot to give you a short serve followed by a deep backspin ball. Push the serve and then loop the backspin.
Stage 16: Program the robot to give a variation short serve and then a variation deep backspin ball to the backhand. In order to do this, enable the serve feature on ball one. Ball one has trajectory 0, speed 9, spin -1 near the center of the table. Ball two should be trajectory 100, speed 12, spin -2, balls per minute 55.
Stage 17: Now we are working on the next ball. Have the robot give you one backspin ball to the backhand, followed by one topspin ball to the backhand.
Stage 18: Do the same drill as the previous stage, but this time turn on scatter.
Stage 19: Now practice the ball before (push), our main skill (backhand loop against backspin), and our follow-up ball (backhand loop against topspin).
Stage 20: Now do full robot drills incorporating your main skill into the drill.
Stage 21: Now do drills with other people, incorporating your main skill into the practice.
Stage 22: Serve backspin, have your training partner push deep to your backhand, backhand loop, and play the point while keeping score.
Stage 23: Play normal matches.
Stage 24: Play tournament matches.
Stage 25: Play important tournament matches, and of course, continue using your new skill.
 
Some of the stages listed above might last for 20 minutes; some of the stages above might last for days or weeks. Once you learn the process of developing a new skill, you can use the system to develop any skill in table tennis. The Power Pong Robot is the most ideal tool to guide you in your development. Get your personal training partner today.
 
 
 
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For questions, e-mail him directly tt@SamsonDubina.com
 
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