Equipment advice needed (USATT 1650)

 

The other weakness I noticed in your video is your cross over step.  You should cross over from BH to FH side of the table without turning sideways too much since you're still within 1-3 feet off the table.  Especially during drills, since you know what the next ball in the pattern is suppose to be.

Just because it's not said enough...

Leshxa, you rock buddy. I highly value your comments and find them very informative and well worded. Thanks for posting. 

Strangely, about 80% of your posts seem to end up addressing precisely the things I'm addressing in my own game at that particular moment. It's a funny coincidence, though I know you are quite a bit better than I. 

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for posting the above comments (as well as others) and though I don't post much anymore, know that there is at least one member who really appreciates your input. 

 

 

Aha I see it's "that kind" of TT forum.

 

Then please by all mean I retract my statements, please continue on...

Also in the video he needs to take into account his hitting partner cannot return all his heavier shots.  If wants to get more consistency out of the training, he should focus on keeping the ball in play with his partner even if he has to hit below 70% of his full power.  

His basics are all there, it is basically refining and good repetition at this point.  And learning how to make good split second judgements.

So if he ever plays a good player who has a heavier topspin than him, what options does he have with his current stroke and equipment...I just suggest tacky Chinese or tacky Hybrids to compensate a flaw I see in his game, if he doesn't want to improve his stroke mechanics.

His partner could be an ex-world champ, if he can't return the shot what's the point of training like that.  You get less out of the session every time the rally stops.

You're suppose training not playing a game.   Every second you're wasting pickup balls is just wasted time and money.

Some of those drills can be done in multi-ball.  The hitting partner is good, but not consistent enough to place some of those balls in a rally situation, you should ask to do multiball in those drills.

Yes, I do cross my legs when moving sideways :( Working on that.

Yes, I do hit too hard during my lessons. 

I thought about it and came to a conclusion that I lack balance. My first loop is too hard, I end up in an unbalanced position + plus the ball comes back too fast, so I am totally not ready for it. Which lead me to a conclusion that I need to work on slow opening loops and I realized my setup is probably too fast for that. So, I hit too hard during the lesson because I feel I am loosing balance and this shot could be my last shot for this point, so unconsciously I am hitting harder and harder trying to "win the point", which makes my problem with the balance even worse :(

Working of that too :)

Thanks again for your thoughts and analysis.

 

What Andy describes is a very typical scenario of anyone under a high level with challenges to their current level and future growth. Whatever number we assign to it, whether it is 2000 or 2200 under a certain high level, there are many fundemental issues with players games affecting their matchplay and level, MUCH more than equipment. Here in Korea, a coach can ask a new player to get a Schlager Carbon with Extend HS, train a couple years, and in several cases, the player is already 1700-1800 and rising. Many new players will not get above 1600 playing an OFF game for other reasons, like they are not physically coordinated enough to play that style.  Usually, there are root causes that go way beyond equipment that are entirely equipment NON-related issues. Balance, timing, movement, consistancy, training of combinations, putting together tactics are among a myriad of things that affect players under that level. At OOAK, I posted a quick-hit 51 item list of things that keep playes from making 1500, but many of these things affect many players under mid-advanced levels. I can copy/past for LULZ.

 

Don't get me wrong. Equipment is important. Whether one as an OFF player who loops and drives, uses Tenergy or Aurus or Vega or Hexer... big deal. Whether one uses TBS or Strat or PC or SC or Tibhar/Andro OFF blade... big deal. Important point is to use equipment appropriate for the desire style of play. A DEF player who wants to kill spin and play a control and pick hit game can use slower equipment and thinner sponge, maybe even SP/MP. A chopper should use a controlable inverted or LP sponge, even OX if that is their cup of tea. Point is to select appropriate equipment and that area is debatable all day, not exact correct answer.

 

In practice or in the club... those are two worlds and have obvious differences.

 

When in a match vs a better or equal player who can think and adjust and who puts you under pressure... Does anyone really think this equipment or that equipment will win them the points? Equipment don't mean a spit when the player is under pressure too tense not thinking, playing errect, out of position, too slow, unable to see tha ball coming at his/her crossover, attacking the wrong balls, etc... These kind of things are the main issues a player should consider and address.

 

For laughs, I copy & paste the 51 item hit list. Mind you, I still struggle with many of these, but in my time here in Korea, I have improved imeasurably in these areas and became (still becoming) a better player for the tought training coach gives me and the matchplay vs many styles here.

 

Some reasons why TT players do not reach 1500, 1800, 2000 levels.

1) Cannot properly read spin
2) Cannot be in position for shots
3) Strike the ball out of their optimal strike zone
4) Cannot receive serve
5) Have little spin variation on serve or it is too obvious
6) Do not control depth of serve, nor the height, nor the break, not the location of bounce on serve
7) Make a nice attack, but are unprepared to continue the attack. One block by opponent wins the point.
8..Try for too much power by lifting their elbow or bending backwards, that creates an attack that might land, but player is way off balance to do anything afterwards.
9) Poor balance, stance, and play too upright
10) Try to make power shots (without max spin) when ball has dropped below table
11) Reach for balls
12) Do not step in on serves that are short
13) Do not have courage to step in and flick, even if they know how to flick
14) Make poor decisions on which balls to attack
15) Do not make quality pushes - their push is attacked easily for a point
16) Do not make passing shots that carry light topspin, clear net low, and are difficult to attack and setup an attack for the next shot
17) Do not stay calm in match, easily distracted or upset, bothered by every noise
18) Do not construct points, have no plan how to setup their strong shots
19) Do not take advantage of the serve as a means to create an immediate offensive advantage
20) Grip the bat way too tight in a close point or juncture in a match
21) Use a grip that is difficult to transition form FH to BH and back to FH
22) Move too early before opponents hit the ball, open themselves to a ball hit by where they just were
23) Commit to a FH or BH return by moving arm and blade before opponent strikes ball, which gives away easy point
24) Do not stay close to the table to block to take advantage of time pressure and angles
25) Do not block off the bounce, reach for the block, do not adjust bat angles, do not block to difficult spot, do not know how to block soft, hard, or active
26) Do not have good depth on offensive shots, lands too shallow and allows opponent to easily counter attack
27) Do not generate heavy spin, spin they make is too weak and easy to counter or block
28) Do not know how to vary the spin on attacks and do not attack at different speeds
29) Land attacks, but not at a high enough percentage, inconsistant, lose too many points attacking balls that should be high percentage
30) Attack the "wrong" balls, make poor decisions on which stroke to use
31) Do not have a trained sequence of combinations to attack or block. One block from player's attack or one continued attack from players block is the end of the road - no further plan on how to continue.
32) Do not use enough wrist in loops, lose too much spin. Do not use the whole body. Often raise playing elbow our scrunch shoulder instead of lowering waist and exploding throught the strike zone.
33) Do not know which serves will get which kind of likely return.
34) Do not adapt as match goes on. Try to win using the same tactic or shot, even if opponent has proved he can handle it.
35) Does not have a dependable BH loop opener or BH power shot (shakehand players)
36) Move too far from table to counter
37) Do not move in to hit balls that do not kick towards players, such as a slow, very light underspin or a no-spin ball
38) Too scared to attack, even when presented with a good attacking chance, push balls they shoul loop, then find themselves defending a strong attack.
39) Do not learn what troubles an opponent or what shots give the player a better ball to attack
40) Do not stay crouched in point, do not make a good first step
41) Do not use 2 step or crossover footwork with balance, cannot move to the wide FH to attack, then bounce back towards nuetral position to cope with the return
42) Get scared when they see opponent use heavy topspin, instead of using it as an opportunity to block or counter to disrupt his timing
43) Do not seek to play vs a variety of styles. Ex, can play OK vs a similar attacking topspinner, but fail vs Short Pips BH or LP players
44) Very indecisive or overdecisive
45) Frequently move the hitting elbow forward before impact, reduces power, spin, landing % - that uses mostly shoulder which is too weak compared to using whole body
46) Do not observe strengths/weaknesses of opponents beofre match
47) Do not have an understanding of where to strike the ball (back of ball, top of ball, slightly under the ball) for diffenent incoming balls
48) Backswing pusts racket way too low for an incoming topspin ball, causes player to swing upwards and often long/out
49) Can open vs underspin with an upwards lifting stroke, then use the very same stroke to attack the block, which is usally a light topspin. Result is fail
50) Use the wrist wrong. Use too much slap, (the part of wrist motion that can have a 90 degree range instead of wrist pivot (the part of wrist that has a 30 degree range in each direction
51) Try to wrap around the ball, instead of simply using a consistant swing plane and explode through the ball.

I'll stop at 51 beofre any of you throw a frypan at me.

 

In the thread at OOAK, someome posted a pic of a frypan, which was LULZ.

 

My post is 1/2 way down, maybe the 8th post.

Could be.  But I would look at your video and count the number of shot you missed and the number of shots your hitting partner missed during the practice.   It is a very simple benchmark.

Control of the ball is not just a 1 sided affair in TT.  If you hit it in such a way that your hitting partner cannot control the placement back to you, then I think a major point of training is missed.

Your not trying to beat the coach.  You're trying to learn to control the ball.   You can smash and kill the ball anytime.  But most TT player train with 70% or less of their full power to keep the rallies going so they can master a particular stroke using various spin.

So you might look at training videos of pros training and want to hit as hard as that.  But in reality that's really only 70% or less of their full power.  Not to mention their hitting partners are also hitting back with much less than their full power, with more consistency and control as well.

As for comments about multi-ball, all pros do multi-ball as warm up in training.  Doing multi-ball is not a downgrade or something too basic.  Just count the misses, who missed in your video, and number of hits in a rally.  Use that as a bench mark.  If you find them acceptable, then don't do as much multi-ball.  Everyone has their own opinions on training.