Table tennis : steps to success

164 Pages·1993·25.433 MB·English

by  Larry Hodges

steps success
to
ACTIVITY SGRIGS
l
I
Success
Steps to
HODGES
LARRY
in cooperation with
United States Table Tennis Association
DO NOT REMOVE
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^
Hodges, Larry
$ Table tennis
Steps to Success
Larry Hodges
National Coaching Chairman
United States Table Tennis Association
incooperation with
United States Table Tennis Association
1^0
Human
Kinetics Publishers
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Hodges,Larry, 1960-
Tabletennis stepstosuccess / LarryHodges,
:
p. cm.—(Stepstosuccessactivityseries)
ISBN0-87322-403-5
1. Tabletennis. I. Title. II. Series.
GV1005.H58 1903
796.34'6-dc20 92-37606
CIP
Fort
ISBN:0-87322-403-5
Copyright©1993byHumanKineticsPublishers,Inc.
Allrightsreserved.Exceptforuseinareview,thereproductionorutilizationofthisworkinanyformorbyanyelectronic,
mechanical,orothermeans,nowknownorhereafterinvented,includingxerography,photocopying,andrecording,andin
anyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem,isforbiddenwithoutthewrittenpermissionofthepublisher.
AcquisitionsEditor: BrianHolding
DevelopmentalEditor:JudyPattersonWright,PhD
AssistantEditors: LauraBofinger,ValerieHall,MoyraKnight,JulieSwadener,andDawnRoselund
Copyeditor:ChrisDeVito
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TypesetterandTextLayout:KathyBoudreau-Fuoss
TextDesign:KeithBlomberg
CoverDesign:JackDavis
CoverPhoto:WillZehr
Illustrations:TimOffenstein
Printer: UnitedGraphics
InstructionalDesignerfortheStepstoSuccessActivitySeries:JoanN.Vickers,EdD,UniversityofCalgary,Calgary,Alberta,
Canada
Somelinedrawingsin"WarmingUpforSuccess"arefromSelf-Defense:StepstoSuccessbyJoanM.Nelson,1991,Champaign,
Illinois:LeisurePress.Copyright1991byLeisurePress.Adaptedandreprintedbypermission;fromTennis:StepstoSuccess
byJimBrown,1989,Champaign,Illinois:LeisurePress.Copyright1989byLeisurePress.Reprintedbypermission;andfrom
Weight Training: Steps to Success by Thomas R. Baechle and Barney R. Groves, 1992, Champaign, Illinois: Leisure Press.
Copyright 1992byLeisurePress.Reprintedbypermission.
Human Kineticsbooksareavailableatspecial discounts forbulkpurchase. Specialeditionsorbookexcerptscanalsobe
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Contents
SeriesPreface iv
Preface v
TheStepstoSuccessStaircase vii
TableTennisToday
1
TableTennisEquipment 4
WarmingUpforSuccess 7
Step 1 Gripand RacketControl 10
Step 2 Spinand RacketAngles: It'saGameofSpin 20
Step 3 ReadyStanceand theForehand and Backhand Drives 27
Step 4 BeginningServes: GettingtheInitiative 36
Step 5 PositioningandFootwork: How toMovetotheBall 47
Step 6 Pushing: YourBasicBackspinShot 55
Step 7 Blocking: Close-to-the-TableDefense 63
Step 8 Looping:TopspinAttacking 69
Step 9 Flipping: HowtoAttackShortBalls 83
Step 10 Chopping: BackspinDefense 89
Step 11 Lobbing: HowtoReturnSmashes 96
Step 12 AdvancedServes: ReallyGettingtheInitiative 106
Step 13 PlayingStylesandRallyingTactics 117
Step 14 AdvancedServiceandReceiveStrategy 133
Step 15 ThePhysicalandMentalGame 139
PlayinginTournaments 145
RatingYourTotalProgress 147
Glossary 149
AbouttheAuthor 151
m
Series Preface
The Steps to Success Activity Series is a break- stepstosuccessmodel,whichisthebasisfortheSteps
through in skill instruction through the—develop- to Success Activity Series. Teacher educators can
mentofcompletelearningprogressions thesteps usetheseriestextbookintheirprofessionalprepa-
to success. These steps help individuals quickly ration classes to help future teachers and coaches
performbasicskillssuccessfullyandpreparethem learnhowtodesigneffectivephysicalactivitypro-
to acquire more advanced skills readily. At each gramsinschool,recreation,orcommunityteaching
step, individuals are encouraged to learn at their and coachingsettings.
ownpaceand tointegratetheirnewskillsintothe After identifying the need forvarious texts, we
totalactionoftheactivity. refined the steps to success instructional design
Theunique featuresoftheSteps toSuccess Ac- modelanddeveloped prototypes. Oncethesepro-
tivity Series are the result of comprehensive de- totypeswerefine-tuned,wecarefullyselected au-
—
velopment through analyzing existing activity thors for the activities who were not only thor-
books, incorporating the latest research from the oughly familiar with their sports but also had
sport sciences and consulting with students, in- years of experience in teaching them. Each au-
structors, teacher educators, and administrators. thor had to be known as a gifted instructor who
This groundwork pointed up the need for three understands the teaching of sport so thoroughly
—
differenttypesofbooks fo—rparticipants,instruc- that he or she could readily apply the steps to
tors, and teacher educators which we have cre- success model.
ated and together comprise the Steps to Success Next, all ofthe manuscripts were carefully de-
ActivitySeries. velopedtomeettheguidelinesofthestepstosuccess
This participant's book, Table Tennis: Steps to model. Then our production team, along with
Success,isaself-paced,step-by-stepguidethatyou outstanding artists, created a highly visual, user-
canuseasaninstructionaltool.Theuniquefeatures friendlyseriesofbooks.
ofthisparticipant'sbookinclude Theresult:TheStepstoSuccessActivitySeriesis
the premier sports instructional series available
• sequential illustrations that clearly show
today.
propertechnique, This series would nothavebeen possiblewith-
• helpfulsuggestionsfordetectingandcorrect-
outthecontributionsofthefollowing:
ingerrors,
• excellent practice progressions with accom- • Dr. RainerMartens, Publisher,
panying Success Goals for measuring perfor- • Dr.JoanVickers,instructionaldesignexpert,
mance,and • thestaffofHumanKineticsPublishers,and
• checklistsforratingtechnique. • themanystudents,teachers,coaches,consult-
ants, teacher educators, specialists, and ad-
Many of the activities in the Steps to Success ministrators who shared their ideas—and
Activity Series also have a comprehensive
dreams.
instructor'sguide. However,onehasnotbeende-
veloped fortabletennis. JudyPattersonWright
Theseriestextbook,InstructionalDesignforTeach- Series Editor
ing Physical Activities (Vickers, 1990), explains the
iv
Preface
This book is for beginning, intermediate, and ad- description (and everything else in the book) was
vancedtabletennisplayers.Itisforthosewhohave reviewed and approved by an editorial board of
thatdeep-downdesiretobeachampionand those seventopcoaches.It'sthefirstbooktocoverstrategy
whoareinitmostlyforfun. Aboveall,thisbookis extensively,a reallackin manybooks. Finally,each
intended to helpyou make themostofyourabili- stepofthewayyou willbelearningthemanydrills
ties,whateveryourskilllevel. Inshort,thisbookis youshoulddotobecomeatopplayer.Morethan120
foryou. drillsaretaught in thisbook.
Inthesepagesyou'llfindthemanystepsittakes Arevolutionaryapproachtofootworkistakenin
tobecomea good table tennisplayer. Someofthe thisbook.Inmostbooksontabletennis,footworkis
stepsareeasy,somearehard,butallwillhelpyou taught at the very end, almost as an afterthought.
in someway. Here, footworkis taughtas it should be, as close to
Thisbookhasallowedmetogetdownonpaper the beginning as possible. How can you hit a shot
all the playing techniques I've learned over the properlyuntilyou'velearnedtomoveintoposition?
years. Much of the content comes from years of Manyhavecommentedfavorablyonthestrategy
observing and teaching at the Olympic Training chapters taught here. There have been otherbooks
Center, and at the National Table Tennis Center on table tennis, but none have adequately covered
with my fellow coaches Cheng Yinghua andJack thissubject. I'veneverunderstoodwhythis—wasso,
Huang.Stillmorehascomefromlongdiscussions sincestrategyissomucha partofthegame more
and even heated debates among top coaches and sothaninalmostanyothersport.Thehardpartwas
playersIhaveworkedwith,especiallySeanO'Neill limiting myself to just two chapters, plus many
and Dan Seemiller (who've won 10 U.S. men's tactical suggestions in other sections. Someday I
singles titles between them), who both greatly hope to write an entirebookon tactics. As it is, the
helped in the presentation of the finer points of strategysections arelongerthansomeentirebooks
thegame. ontabletennis!
The techniques taught in this book are not the Thesectiononadvancedservesis,asfarasIknow,
finalword intabletennis.Therearealwaysdiffer- thefirstrealdescriptionofadvancedservesinprint.
encesofopinionsamongcoachesinanysport,even Returnofserveiscoveredextensively,frombeginning
amongthebestcoaches intheworld. Thisbookis tomoreadvancedshotsliketheflipandshortpush.
onecorrectandhighlysuccessfulsetoftechniques, Throughout this book, techniques are taught for
themostcommonlytaughtones.Whatmakesthis right-handers.Ifyou'releft-handed,merelyreverse
bookuniqueisthewaytheyaretaught. accordingly,andpleaseacceptmyapologiesfornot
This book takes the reader on a table tennis addressingyoudirectly.
journeythathasbeenmanyyearsintheplanning. IwouldliketothankHumanKineticsPublishers
my
Ingeneral,theprogressiongoesfromintroductory (especiallyDr.JudyPattersonWright, develop-
principles(e.g.,grip,spin,andserves),toposition- mental editor, and Brian Holding, who helped get
ing and footwork, to the shots themselves, and thewholethingstarted)forthehelpandadvicethey
finallytothestrategiesinvolved. Thereisa logical gave me. Without their help this book would not
progression ofshots, startingwith thesimpleand exist. I would like to thank Perry Malouf, Elaine
workinguptothedifficult.Eachstepshowshowits Hodges, Dr. Lin, and Donna Sakai for taking the
materialcanbeusedinarealmatchsituation.Each photos that the drawings are based on, and Sean
stepintegrateswhatisbeingtaughtwithwhathas O'Neill,LauraLin,andJenniferNewell,whoserved
already been taught. Each step includes drills to as the models formany ofthe photos. Iwould also
practicewhatyou'velearned. like to thank Sean for the extensive editing and
This book has many unique aspects. It stresses critiquinghedid inthebook'searlydrafts. Iwould
theimportanceoffootworkrightfromthestart,and liketothankButterflyTableTennisfortheirsupport
itteachesbothtwo-stepandcrossoverfootwork;it ofthisproject.AndIwouldliketothanktheUnited
teaches the finer points of the grip, as well as States TableTennis Association and PresidentDan
covering the Seemiller grip and the Korean and Seemiller for all their help and support, and espe-
Chinese penhold grips; itcovers advanced serves cially the USTTA editorial board, which reviewed
and theirtechniques; it covers thereturn ofserve, and maderecommendationsforthebook.
including flipping and short pushes. Each stroke LarryHodges
USTTAEditorialBoard
• GeorgeBrathwaite,formerU.S. teammemberand nine-timeU.S. SeniorChampion
• TyHoff,TableTennisCoach,AugustaCollege,Georgia
• ChristianLillieroos,MexicanNationalCoach
• PaulNormandin,FormerAndersonCollegeTableTennisCoach
• SeanO'Neill,five-timeMen'sNationalChampion, 1988and 1992OlympicTeam
• Dave Sakai, two-time North American Senior Champion, 1979 Pan Am Team Member, former
NationalCoachingChairman
• DanSeemiller,PresidentoftheUSTTA,formerU.S.Men'sTeamCoachandfive-timeMen'sNational
Champion
VI
.
The Steps to Success Staircase
—
Get ready to climb a staircase one that will lead eral parts to each skill: preparation (getting
youtobeagreattabletennisplayer.Youcan'tleap intoastartingposition),execution(perform-
tothetop; you get thereonestepata time. ing the skill), and follow-through (recover-
Eachofthe15stepsyou'lltakeisaneasytransi- ing to starting position). These are your
tionfrom theonebefore. Thefirstfewstepsofthe "Keys toSuccess."
staircaseprovidea solid foundationofbasicskills 3. Lookoverthedescriptionsofcommonerrors
andconcepts.Asyouprogressfurther,you'lllearn that may occur and the recommendations
howtoconnectgroupsofthoseseeminglyisolated forhow tocorrect them.
skills.Practicingcombinationsoftabletennisskills 4. Readthedirectionsand theSuccessGoalfor
will give you the experience you need to make eachdrill. Practiceaccordingly,record your
natural and accurate decisions at the table. You'll score, and compare your score with the
learn to choose the proper stroke to match your Success Goal. You should meet theSuccess
—
particular table tennis needs whether for quick- Goal of each drill before moving on to the
ness,power,deception,orjustfun.Asyounearthe next,becausethedrillsprogressfromeasyto
topofthestaircase, theclimbwill ease, andyou'll difficult. This sequence is designed to help
findthatyouhavedevelopedasenseofconfidence you improve your skills through repetition
in your table tennis abilities that makes further and purposefulpractice.
progressa realjoy. 5. AssoonasyoureachalltheSuccessGoalsfor
Topreparetobecome a good climber, familiar- one step, you are ready for a qualified ob-
—
ize yourself with this and the following sections: server such as your teacher, coach, or
—
'TableTennisToday," 'TableTennisEquipment," trainingpartner toevaluateyourbasicskill
and "Warming Up for Success." They'll orient techniquebycomparingthemtotheKeysto
you and show you how to set up your practice Success for each technique. This is a quali-
sessions. tative,orsubjective,evaluationofyourbasic
Followthesamesequenceeachstepoftheway: techniqueorform.Remember,usingcorrect
formwillenhanceyourperformance.
1 Read theexplanationsofwhatiscovered in 6. Gothroughtheseproceduresforeachofthe
thestep,whythestepisimportant,andhow 15 Steps to Success. Then rate yourself ac-
toexecuteorperformthestep'sfocus,which cording to the directions for "Rating Your
may be a basic skill, concept, or tactic, or TotalProgress."
combinationofthethree.
2. Followthenumbered illustrationsshowing Good luck in your step-by-step journey. You'll
exactly how to position your body to ex- developyourtable tennis skills,build confidence,
ecute each basic skill. There are three gen- besuccessful,and havefun!
Vll
Key
- » Pathofbody
Pathofball
»>
Pathofracket
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