I would rather tell her that's it's ok to lose that match, and just try to vary the placement of the loop. Pick a side that is weaker, pick depth. If she is waiting on the edge of the table waiting to smash, make sure you loop deep, almost on white line. And yes, some sidespin when the ball bounces high enough. It is difficult to use sidespin on low balls.

But the most important thing is to build her character. She should be fearless. If three loops got smacked in a row you loop again, somewhere else, and keep coming and show them you don't doubt yourself. Like ZJK.

Screw the match. Nobody needs to win by chopping.

My opinion. I know for some people winning iss the only thing that counts

In my experience those that learn to flick loop really struggle to learn to loop later on because they have to unlearn the dodgy technique of their younger years. This applies to boys as well. Im guessing this flick-loop for the young approach has been quite popular for a decade or so (?) and now you can see its effects when kids get to the 17-20ish age group. Their 'loops' have a very flat trajectory and they really struggle against heavy backspin. There are around half a dozen such kids at my club (2 have trained in China). They have just hit a brick wall and wont get any better unless they do some major deconstructing and reconstructing. A few of the problems are the slappy wrist component of the flick-loop and the lack of legs/body. 

My sons piano teacher reckons that for every hour a kids learns bad technique/fingering it takes 3 hours to unlearn it. Also, try coaching an ex-tennis player and see how tough it is to get them to loop properly. Unlearning shoddy technique can be done but its not the easiest path to travel. Better to learn correctly from day one and have your sights set on the future.

I find that extraordinary. In my experience those who DONT learn to loop with power when young frequently end up having piddly loops when they are older. The good loopers have a solid blend of leg/body-strength and arm. If you get power/spin in your loops you can hit as hard and fast as you like. If you dont have the right foundation your loop with be flat and very risky.

Huh?? Who said anything about ignoring footwork and not having a balanced approach and not learning all of the required skills???

We were talking about the best way to teach looping to youngsters. Your approach may be correct or mine may be. Whichever approach you adopt it is still possible to learn (or neglect) other aspects of the game. What you have written makes no sense.  

I still find it extraordinary that  have never seen a kid who was slow and powerful and later became FAST and powerful. The fact that all of the fast and powerful loopers you have seen learnt via the flick-loop method is just amazing.

How did the talk of a balanced approach and footwork enter a conversation regarding looping? If you were off-topic then just acknowledge it and move on rather than brand someones approach 'nonsense'.

Furthermore, you write:

For example, this can be good pushing, as shown in the long rally link provided above by Gauguin (really cool). The coach should teach her to do that whatever shot/tactic really well. 

Well, at 9:5 it sure hurts... even in the lion's den, as you are... 

I wrote the above from the perspective of trying in the past to coach my daughter. One thing I learned on that occasion was that with young ladies you better be very attentive to how they feel about things... 

I mean, imposing your style - or else - isn't gonna work.

However, what you described is a nice example of how to be smart and flexible in order to improve your chances, and that is still a little different cup of tea...

I do not assume this. How do you assume I assume this? You are just making this up. Please give a quote which shows I assume this. What I did say is that many (not all) female players struggle to learn how to loop properly as they get older if they have learnt the 'slap loop' approach when they are younger. I have come across this often enough, especially with sub-elite juniors but even 2 elite level women I know of also had difficulty. Of course there are players who are able to both slap loop and the loop properly. I never suggested otherwise. Also, it may be a dumb thing to do short term but long term it is not. It depends on where your focus as a coach lies. Some coach to win under 13s, I tend to coach looking ahead to a mature style. Both approaches have their pros and cons. 

roundrobin wrote: You further assume if the other girls at or above her level perform a loop, they will loop with a wristy, half-ass motion.  How do you know that?

Again please give me a quote where I assumed this. You are making this up. How do I know how Hungarian under 13 girls loop? I did say that many girls these days are taught to do half-flat-half-topspin 'drives' which rely a lot on wrist. This is not an assumption, it is a fact. This approach is extremely common here, especially among the chinese coaches. Whilst this approach no doubt has its positives (especially with very young girls who lack the strength to put spin on their loops) it can, as I have already detailed, have its long term negatives. Of course I am not saying that everyone will experience such difficulties but I have found a good number do. In the case of the girl in question who can already put spin on her loop I suggested she continue on the path she is on. Once she learns to get depth on her loops they will no longer be easy to put away. Also, looping this way does not preclude her from swinging fast. I cannot see how this is bad advice unless you are only concerned with the very short term.

roundrobin wrote: Lastly, you assume this girl's style will give her an advantage once she grows up because you think she will be able to loop better than her peers.  Again, this is also based on your belief that other girls can't loop when they grow up.  This is yet another completely baseless assumption...

Again I did not assume this and you are making it up. Please show a quote where I said this. How can I possibly know that she will be able to loop better than her peers? I have said that it sounds like she is already learning how to loop properly and she should continue on the same path. Clearly some girls learn to loop very well. What I did say is that quite a number of girls (clearly not all) struggle to learn how to learn how to loop properly and that this is due to them being unable to change from the flatish slap technique they learnt for years when they were younger. This is not a belief or an assumption but a fact.

A loaded, slow topspin is an overrated concept. It's good at lower levels but will usually get you murdered if you use it too often at high levels.  Ask ANY coach - modern game is won on speed. NOT SPIN. And this is consistent knowledge across any coach.

If you are late for a long push, you have already lost the point. Whatever you do, its mostly a lost cause. This is like the question  - how should I return a smash. Well you should be aiming to avoid the smash in the first place. So the only solution is to anticipate and work on your footwork. A push is generally a stroke you should never be late to because the previous shot you made would also be a push (can not be a topspin) and that means that there is no reason for you to be out of position in a push rally.

You shouldn't abandon the slow loop entirely.  Every shot has its place.  It's all about knowing when to use it.  Sometimes you can't loop drive - for instance if you're late, the ball is too low or you're not in the right position.  These are cases where you might consider the slow loop to stay in the point.  Location and depth are critical when slow looping and those all depend on where you opponent is standing.  

There's a guy in my club that eats slow loops to his FH for breakfast unless they are right near the end line deep.  I try my best to avoid that, but if it happens I know to back up.  I can however, slow loop to the wide BH or middle - though not the elbow.

I would ask just how tall is this girl?  The table is 30 inches high.  The ball will bounce up about another 6 inches. If the girl is tall enough she may be able to loop these balls back because her vertical paddle speed can be high but as one goes past a certain point your paddle speed drops.  On top of that, if one hits a side top spin then usually the ball must be hit where the arm is swinging up and out.  I just can't image a small girl doing this unless she lets the ball drop so she impacts the ball when her paddle is swinging up and out.

When I hit a side top spin, what I call a hook loop, I am usually late and hitting the lower than I usually would.   Because the ball is lower my arm is swinging out and away from my body before it starts to swing up.  I can do this because I am tall.   I can't imagine this being a practical shot for a much smaller 11 year old girl.  Also,  it is hard enough to just loop the back spins back let alone the extra paddle speed it would require hook loop the ball back.   I have done this a few times because I am late but I much prefer to hit the ball at the height where my paddle is moving vertically the fastest to match the back spin. 

 

This is not quite right.  The part you are forgetting is that sidespin loops against backspin also avoid the axis where the spin is heaviest and therefore do not require as much lift.

I stand corrected but the maximum spin is not at the axis, it is at the equator.

1. Video the game and make notes and see what worked and what didn't, and do more of what worked next time.

2. practice against these tactics by getting the coach to do backspin your girl loops and then coach counters and work on power, placement, tactics and recovery to counter their counters etc

3.work on different serve tactics to allow better third ball attacks and reduce getting stuck in pushing game

4. learn pushing game as part of training

5.Get mytt members to argue over nothing

6. Watch other girls play your opponent