Progression Ladder
Submitted by Rowden on Sun, 03/11/2018 - 16:56Rowden March 2018
● At a young age the ability to do the same thing time and time again till it becomes completely automatic and you don’t need to think about it, should be a priority
Plastic and Change
Submitted by Rowden on Wed, 11/29/2017 - 11:16Rowden November 2017
Top players change things. They are not winners by being predictable and allowing opponents to settle and play their own game. They are winners by being different! Many lower level players unfortunately don’t learn this lesson early enough in their career or think they have a good enough game that they can impose this on anyone and in any situation.
Modern Techniques -- Tips
Submitted by Rowden on Thu, 10/26/2017 - 18:45Rowden October 2017
Playing Systems and Tactics
Playing Systems
● A playing system can be active or passive, or a blend of both
● At the top level individual active systems are clearly dominant
● Offensive players can still be very different in their individual playing systems
● The current tendency towards more speed will continue
● The playing system of a player demonstrates both his/her understanding of the game and of the way in which he/she individually performs to best effect
Girls/Women Players -- Development in Own Hands
Submitted by Rowden on Thu, 10/26/2017 - 18:30Rowden October 2017
Change is the one certainty in life and table tennis. But although change is happening all the time we humans like to resist and keep our immediate environment ‘steady’! Not only people resist change but institutions and governing bodies are exactly the same.
However as far as development in sport is concerned resistance to change is the one thing which is guaranteed to limit potential. For you to progress and develop you must be embracing new things constantly, the alternative is quite simple – stagnation!
Summer offers that rare moment of respite
Submitted by Rowden on Sat, 08/26/2017 - 19:25Rowden August 2017
Summer offers time to contemplate, to prepare, to recalibrate the system, in the quiet time away from the frantic rush of competitions of all types and levels. It also offers especially to those still moving forward and wanting to progress, an appreciation that a quiet time is profoundly important!
Player - Focus Points
Submitted by Rowden on Sat, 08/26/2017 - 19:16Rowden August 2017
● Read the play. Play your shot, watch the opponent’s body action and preparation for his/her return and you should know 6 to 8 inches before he/she hits the ball where it is coming and with what speed and spin. Make this a habit till it’s automatic.
Performance and Habit
Submitted by Rowden on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 08:35Rowden May 2017
Most of us rarely ask ourselves why we really play our sport of table tennis. But sometimes it pays dividends to do this. Often if we sit down and examine just what we are aiming to really achieve in the long run, the pathways and methods to get us there become clearer.
Women's Table Tennis - Singles Progress
Submitted by Rowden on Sat, 04/22/2017 - 19:58Rowden April 2017
The first World Championships were held in London in 1926. In the early years up to 1955 Europe dominated with Hungary winning 10 singles (Maria Mednyanszky champion in the first 5 singles and runner-up in the next 2 to Anna Sipos).
Rise of the Japanese Girls
Submitted by Rowden on Mon, 04/17/2017 - 17:52Rowden April 2017
It is interesting looking at current female World rankings that Japan is very much in the ascendency.
Direction not Sparring
Submitted by Rowden on Mon, 04/17/2017 - 17:19Rowden April 2017
Far too many players and coaches too, seem to ignore the purpose of the journey of table tennis or to become so heavily embroiled in the minutiae of the technique, tactics, strategies, the stresses of competition and the constant need to win and show results, that they overlook the importance of the final destination. Or perhaps they become so much involved and interested in the journey that the ultimate goal is forgotten or is no longer under constant scrutiny.
