Hitting/Practicing with Lower/Higher Rated Players

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   The Unsaid Rules for Hitting with Players at a Different Rating Level from Yours
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(I wanted to write about the stress of going for power that your technique cannot handle, but I want to address this topic instead and get comments and insights.  Stress and technique will be next week.)

We often hear stories of lower rated players being avoided by higher rated players or higher rated players hating the quality of practice they get from lower rated players.  In a club where people are together and trying to improve, training is very important and sometimes, when you don't have your ideal training partners to work with, you need to find a player that may be well above or well below you to work on your game.  My hope is that this article will help you when it comes to making reasonable assumptions about what your partner wants.  
The biggest rule is that there is nothing wrong with being explicit and polite about EXACTLY what you want.  The second biggest rule is that it is good to offer your partner a chance to work on what they want.  Part of what creates trouble when hitting with people is assuming that people know "better" (which often equates with being good mind readers) and being too upset when they don't.  The problem with mind reading is less prevalent in clubs where most if not all the players are getting good coaching because certain habits are common place, but there are still exceptions to these habits for a variety of reasons, some of which I will cover below.

There is nothing wrong with refusing to hit with someone per se.  There are many legitimate reasons why one might refuse to do so, including one's prior experience with them, personal injury etc.  This post attempts to bridge the gap caused by players coming together without knowing what tools they need to get a good practice from each other.  It's not hard to practice profitably with anyone as long as you understand how to get good practice.

I was fortunate to play in a club and hit with a lot of players above my level when getting better at table tennis.  Part of this was a cultural change that was in part enabled by my coach, who also got better as an adult and didn't like the attitude of some better players when it came to hitting with developing players, and part of it was simply that I hit well enough in some ways to be a decent practice partner even when I was 400 - 800 pts below the level of the people I was hitting with.  Till this day, I will hit with anyone at any rating level in my club for at least 10 minutes, and much longer as long as they bring a co-operative attitude to the hitting session.

Here are some tips directed at both players so that this  

ALL

Be as politely explicit upfront about what you want to practice.
Start the drill/hitting with balls of easy quality (slow, hit to the middle of the table, same pace and spin) and build up from the.
Go for consistency over power or extreme placement.  You are training, not trying to win a point.  That said, it is okay to go for deep placement consistently.  50-60% power is reasonable, and can be ramped up or down, depending on how well the opponent is controlling it - lower level players don't always react positively to depth.  Higher level players may have to stick at the 50% mark or even get to 40% sometimes in order to allow the lower level player to control the ball.  Lower level players should probably stay at the 50% mark for a different reason - their control tends to suffer when they go for higher levels of power.
Keep the drill discipline for as long as you can.  If it's a forehand to forehand exercise, don't play the ball to the backhand for fun unless you have agreed to do so.  It is okay to tolerate deviation after a certain number of reps and agree on this if you want it.  On the other hand, some players want in cases of minor deviation to work back into the drill pattern - this can be an interesting test of control skills.  Others prefer to proceed to open play.  These options are fine as are others. 
Be willing to take turns getting practice that benefits you.  Let one player spend time working on something, then the other player goes next etc.
Note the age of your practice partner - kids (usually under 15, sometimes even under 18) aren't as disciplined or focused unless they are already at a very high level of play well beyond the scope of this article.  Therefore, you may have to make more concessions to their desire for free play in order to get a good session with them.
Use multi-ball when possible.  If there aren't enough balls to do multiball, set up your partner for successful returns as much as possible within the drill discipline.

TIPS FOR LOWER RATED PLAYER

In a practice rally, your job is to keep the ball on the table according to the drill rules, not to try to out hit the higher rated player.  This probably the biggest mistake lower rated players make - they try to impress the higher rated player with their power, when the higher rated player will be far more impressed by your drill control and reaction time when the drill breaks down.  Lower rated players often do things like hitting the ball into the backhand side on forehand to forehand drills, or smash winners in hitting practice.  If the higher rated player OCCASIONALLY smashes a winner by you in the drill pattern after hitting back and forth a few times, note that the higher rated player is actually helping you by testing your reaction time and trying to stop you from being too complacent.  Don't take that as an opportunity to repeatedly smash anywhere - try to anticipate that smash and respond to the ball when it comes the next time.
Develop good multiball technique.  Everyone wants to work with a good feeder.
Develop good technique on your defensive strokes, especially the block and the push.  Being a good blocker goes a LONG way when people are looking for practice partners - a lot of my practice with higher rated players was counterhitting/blocking on X's and H's (X=crosscourt, H= down the line) and blocking loops.  Learn to block consistently without adding topspin.  Having a good push makes you a good partner for third ball attack drills with loop vs. underspin. 
Learn to serve the basic spins (top, side, back) to different points of the table in case the higher rated player wants to practice vs. a specific serve.
Don't be too demanding about what you want (unless of course, you are multiball feeding) - just by getting to consistently practice controlling a higher quality ball, you are getting a lot out of the session.
Be polite and receptive to tips.  You don't have to keep or accept them - just be sure acknowledge the tips politely, try to implement during practice and if you have a coach, run them by him/her.  If not, evaluate the source and the effectiveness of the tip using your best judgment during and after the practice session.  However, don't ruin the tone of the practice by debating the tip too violently in real time.

TIPS FOR HIGHER RATED PLAYER

Evaluate and appreciate the limits of your partner.  Start at a reasonable level, but be ready to be flexible.  Usually, careful placement in the middle of the table at the start of the drill lets the lower-rated player build confidence and control before the speed/spin gets ramped up.
Take responsibility for being the primary ball controller of the drill.  In other words, your consistency and placement will often drive how good the drill will be.
Feel free to break down the play once after  a few consistency reps to test your power shots. Some players agree on a number of reps (5 or 6) to do this.
Wear a coaching hat when you are not getting what you want.  Give a few pointers on good technique so that the drill can flow better if it is not to your satisfaction.  Look for the partner's strengths and get practice against them. Do remember that there is also value in practicing against balls that are of lower quality than your usual opponents as those balls are sometimes produced by your usual opponents and you need practice punishing them adequately.
Explain hitting etiquette to your lower rated practice partner when he is going too far astray.  Be as non-judgmental as you can about it.  
Talk to your partner as you ramp up the difficulty of your practice strokes so they don't get frustrated when their consistency goes down.

CLOSING POINTS

This post is far from exhaustive and is meant to be the basis for a discussion that I have always wanted to have a baseline for.  I would like to thank Herbert Hodges as he was the player who talked me through how this worked when I was just starting out in tournament table tennis.  I made the mistake of assuming that because he told me this that everyone knew it and agreed with it, but my experience has not confirmed this assumption.  So I hope following these tips/rules make you a better practice partner at the club.

Edited by NextLevel - 04/09/2015 at 8:41am