I believe table tennis rivalry whether it be; coaching, players, clubs, etc. is and should be seen as a healthy form of development.
Table Tennis Player
As a player, one of the best ways to grow and develop yourself is by having a person or persons seen as rivals. Great examples of rivalry in sport include Roger Federer and Nadal, Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier, Messi and Ronaldo. These greats became extraordinary because they pushed themselves beyond normal capability in view of becoming better than their rivals. Positive rivalry depends on your character some will avoid rivalry and see it as a negative impact on their career or focus. The fact of this matter is you must focus on yourself (primarily) because you are unable to control someone else’s action. But if you notice what others are doing it can help you develop and drive you further than someone who’s solely focused on themselves.
Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier Rivalry
Table Tennis Coach:
I am Unsure about other countries but in England, it feels as if there is a lot of rivalry between coaches, is this healthy? Yes and No. As a coach, I believe we coach to develop players and the game and by having strong coaching rivalries we can damage players and development as a whole. It’s good to learn from other coaches and develop players to the best of your ability but try to avoid aggressive rivalries.
Table Tennis Clubs:
We see very strong club rivalry in English Football but does it elevate the game? In my opinion yes it does, it makes every aspect of each club and the fans wanting more. I do believe table tennis should collaborate much more as we are an individual sport but maintain a vision of development alongside other clubs. We must find a way of having more full-time clubs and this would enable further growth and healthy rivalry.
BUY NOW on Amazon
I think many players over the years have become great and even better than what they may have believed possible because of local, national and international rivalry. If you have a good balance of rivalry it will enable you to grow and push beyond what was first thought.
Your rivalry can change but you as a person must not change, the mindset must stay the same. Use your rival as someone or something healthy which makes you a better person.
Most people who play or have played know the basic rules in table tennis. If you don’t here’s a link for table tennis rules.
Table tennis has and most likely will continue to evolve.
Table tennis has evolved so much that many recreational table tennis or (ping pong) players abide by the older rules. Such as celluloid balls, up to 21 points, 5 serves each, no ball toss etc. This means if you are unwilling to adapt and change, table tennis as a sport will gust rate the hell out of you.
Rules are important:
Rules are extremely important, it’s like building a cupboard from Ikea without instructions. You would put many holes in the wrong place, you may break a few pieces, some things would be the wrong way round etc.
Rules allow people to express themselves but with limitations and a clear outcome. How you reach the outcome is down to you. It also may pave the way in which we perform and carry out the task at hand.
Should rules be broken?
Depends on who you ask, Arnold Schwarzenegger says, “break some rules but don’t break the law”. Personally, I love this quote and in many ways, I follow his philosophy. My wife, on the other hand, will not and does not break the rules. This may be because of upbringing, past experiences or developed via culture.
Arnold Schwarzenegger playing table tennis
For me personally, there were little rules growing up. My mum was hardly home and if she was she wasn’t exactly a stickler for rules. On the other hand, my wife was brought up in a lovely family home with 4 siblings. This meant order was required in making sure everyone and everything was in check, keeping piece inside the home.
Pros and cons of rules:
If you are like me and break the rules you can find yourself in many sticky situations. Lots of mistakes, lots of disagreements, lots of seemingly (failures). But on the positive side, you may find lots of success, new ideas, exponential growth, unique methods, super learning, wonderful experience, development of strong mindset, grit, survival, and finding ways thought of as impossible etc.
On the other hand:
If you’re like my wife, you will not; try out new things, ponder over small mistakes, have fewer experiences, predictable often using systematic methods, let fear control you, follow others, be indecisive etc. But you will be trustworthy, organised, committed, play fair, rarely get in trouble, rarely make mistakes, consistent etc.
Are rules important?
Yes, 100% they are but if I had a choice (which we all do) I would choose to take positive qualities from both. This includes; Pushing the boundaries, look for loopholes and explore beyond to gain those special experiences via personal goals and vision. Yet I would also benefit from being committed, focused, have clear outlines and be organised.
I think if you are able to combine both elements you will witness great success.
Many of the best players explore the limits of scientific rules, both in physical and mental capabilities.
Breaking table tennis rules:
If the game is up to 11 why not play;
1. some games up to 100 points?
Why not play half table only?
Why not play two red rubbers one anti-spin?
Why not serve behind the arm/body creating illegal serves?
All these things wild explorations will elevate your game because you will have to adapt. As human beings, we are the best creatures on the planet at adapting because not only does our body adapt but our brain also looks for solutions.
Of course, once the official game begins re-group, focus and use your new skills to find ways of winning inside the rule book.
The choice is yours, become one way or another or be everything.
I know it’s easy to say, table tennis belief can be developed.
Before We Believe:
I think the biggest issue we all have is hearing, listening and doing what others do. I don’t like this saying but it’s so true “most are sheep” which often kills potential. We are the most privileged species on the planet, yet most follow and few create. We have a gift which enables us in more ways than any other thing on the planet.
So why do we let our surroundings dictate us?
One Simple Reason:
Fear of what others think, do and say! Most would live a fake life, their whole lives because they fear what others may think or say.
What a shame, to live under a shadow when you only have one life (that we know of).
The older you get the shorter your time becomes but while you’re still breathing you still have time to make your life yours.
Develop table tennis belief
Table Tennis Belief:
The game has evolved so much over the past 30 years and we are seeing less and less versatility. I think it’s a shame for players and for the sport. I appreciate that it’s highly unluckily to become a world champion if you only chop, or chop block on your backhand or lob & fish. But only one person becomes a world champion every two years, so why not play the way you want?!
In order to love what you do and enable your skill to truly flourish, you must develop your own style. This means finding what works for you and believe in that pathway.
An insight into achievement via work and belief
Table Tennis Styles:
If players were given more freedom to explore, experiment and have a personal style I believe we would retain more players. I think many players are boxed via associations, clubs and coaches. The sport requires expression and it’s moving more and more towards a single formula of play.
There is no human on the planet that has the same DNA so why are we teaching all our players a systematic style of play?!
Believe in yourself, express yourself and find what suits you. If you do this, you may not be a winner or seen as “normal” but you are true to yourself. And being true to yourself means you are truly living.
I am very interested in your thoughts and opinions so please leave a comment below
As a teenager my table tennis confidence was huge. I believed I could beat anyone and if you beat me I would shake your hand and say “I’ll beat you next time”.
One thing can change everything:
I lost my confidence aged 18 after my coach in France told me I would never achieve my dream of becoming a world champion. My game and self-belief were zapped out of me and for a year I tried to find that spirit and inner table tennis confidence I possessed as a teenager. I had had occasional good results which would re-spark my confidence but it wouldn’t last long. At 19 I put my bat down and felt that would be it for me as a table tennis player.
Psychology book tailor-made for Table Tennis
I was coaching table tennis but I opted out of physical play and rarely held a bat in my hand unless absolutely necessary. Luckily for me staying inside the sport as a coach saw me come back when I was 20 years old. I thought my past coaches words would have left me and I could move on. Yet I found myself constantly up and down in terms of table tennis confidence (Match Play). I was asked to play in the German league I was honoured and thought it may help my confidence but instead, it killed it. I decided to stop playing competitively and only play in my local club and leagues. My main focus in table tennis changed from a player into a coaching career driven towards helping and aiding players who wanted to upscale their games.
Power of words:
At 27 a special man entered into my life Sule Oleleyo former no.1 Nigerian player and 5x African champion. He worked with me at Harefield Academy for 1 year and changed my belief. He literally said the opposite of what my coach said! Sule said you’re so talented you must play. You can’t be a player forever but you can be a coach for life. He went on to say “enjoy playing each time you play, not everyone is privileged to compete at high national or international level”. Those simple words I would say to myself when I came back into competition “enjoy the moment you may never have it again!”
Beginner Bat new to the Game
Due to confidence
My level of play skyrocketed beating 6 players inside the top 15 and playing at the highest division in British League. I created a team that went on to win the Senior British League and I was apart of that team.
At 30 I was unlucky with health issues and it was effectively my last stint of Peak Performance.
7 years on I was asked to play in the Belgium League and after performing well, my table tennis confidence in match play shot right back up. I trained with a friend this week and a few weeks ago this player pushed me close in some games and even took some games and a match of me. Today I won every game giving my opponent no more than 5 points per game, I felt like I teenager again!
Intermediate – minimum of 6 months of play
You’re in charge of Confidence
Three things are required for you to play confidently:
Surround yourself with people who support you and believe in your ability.
Words are powerful but you choose which ones may or may not impact your life. I chose the wrong words initially but eventually, I listened to the right ones. Listen to the ones that make you a better person.
Enjoy, when you play not to lose or only to win, you implement fear and anxiety which does not allow you to perform at peak level. Enjoying the occasion, whether you perform or not every occasion is special as long as you put in 100% effort, the reward will be the experience.
Confidence is your choice don’t let others dictate your capabilities.
*Regardless of your level, you will require good equipment to execute skilled strokes and shots, eBaTT Recommends
Advanced – Local club level, minimum 1 year of play
I am always interested in your thoughts and views so please leave a comment
Wow, the table tennis culture in Belgium is so different.
Playing table tennis in the Belgium League
Nearly 20 years ago I played in Belgium at a club called Soka. The club had plenty of teams ranging from lower divisions through to the top division ‘Super Liga’. The Belgique super league has been famous for many years attracting lots of superstar table tennis players. Players include Samsanov, Primorac, JM Saive and many others. Moving forward in time I was back playing in Belgium, for a different club and here are some lessons and experiences which may interest you.
My experience
I have competed seldom over the past 7 years and most of the time it has been local competition. The play included once or twice a year to help friends and students at SBL but most know my focus is on coaching these days. Yet this felt like a mini-renaissance, I was asked to compete on behalf of another club as a player. This was no favour nor was it to help my teams out, it was me providing my skills as a player to a club.
Mindset
It was a weird and honourable feeling to for me. My head was giving excuses as to why I may lose and why I should not compete! I entered the hall and began watching my opposition knock up, again I questioned my ability to be there and could I beat these guys?
Our brains implode with information through a new experience and this was exactly how I felt especially when I was told before the match “this is an important match”. Luckily for me, my first match was against a defensive player. This gave me immediate confidence, I’ve always believed to be good against defensive players and I used the confidence to win that match 3-1. Two matches are played simultaneously and I glimpsed across on occasion eyeing up my next opponent blasting balls. Again my mind started began procrastinating saying all sorts of things like it’s OK you’ve won be happy.
As you can see our minds like to make us feel secure by giving excuses or looking for ways to protect us. I managed to win all 4 of my matches. My confidence by the 3rd and 4th match was at a massive high and I was able to execute my match play as if I was in the practice hall.
How and why was I able to turn my initial doubts into confidence and winning convincingly?
I purposely put pressure on myself, by posting on social media that I’m competing. I knew this would provide me a sense of external pressure and build my internal pressure. I wanted to put myself in a position where I felt uncomfortable and see if I could find a way to overcome it.
Admittedly I was very nervous the first match. All eyes on me from 90% of the club members and players, the club has paid for me to come and perform and I was told by the president that this match is important prior to the event.
So… how did I manage to control the pressure, something many fail (including myself) to handle or control?
The first game
My opponent struggled with my serve and I ran away winning 11-3, this is one of the reasons I always bang on about the importance of having good serves. Second game it all changed he was able to return my serves and began to put all the balls back on the table, furthermore I lost focus looking at my next opponent and I lost 11-9.
My mind began to get scrambled again “what if you lose this game? You’ll be 2-1 down and it will be hard to come back, then you may lose the other games!”. And you said, “you’re good against chop!!!” It was time to put my teachings into practice and often a good start can lead to a good ending.
Finding a way
My mantra is finding a way, I quickly changed those thoughts to
1. Focus on the moment
2. How can you win tactically
3. Lowering my pulse rate by focusing on my breath.
This allowed me to ignore all the variables and hone in on my skill and what I can do to win. I found some new tactics and slowly drew away point by point. The possible outcomes and negative thoughts disappeared and I was in the zone. I believe I won the next two games under 5.
Table Tennis Characters
I wrote a blog 2 weeks ago about how a character is required in our sport. Well, character in Belgium is in huge abundance which explains why they get people to come and watch plus support the sport. My second match was against the player I was viewing while I played my first match. You had to be there to believe it!
FIRST POINT – I won, (via my serve) this young man was effing and blinding for about 30 seconds.
SECOND POINT – I won, (third ball attack) my opponent goes mental at himself with verbal abuse and physically he goes to kick the table skimming it (luckily for him). Lots of verbal diarrhoea both out loud and under his breath, nothing aimed at me in fact as he prepares to play the next point, he says well played (LOL). The other amazing thing I noticed was how the umpire says nothing at all of this physical and metal outcry.
The THIRD POINT – he misses a shot and that was it he literally gave up. I tried to stay focused because sometimes this kind of giving up attitude allows a player to play freely and occasionally even better than their normal play. Furthermore by staying focused it employs that you are not taking them lightly regardless of their state and reinforces their (giving up attitude) making it virtually impossible for them to win. Even though I tried to maintain focus in game 2 he regrouped swinging left right and centre taking that game off me 11-7. My corner told me to go to his forehand when attacking. I knew it was important to get a good start and hopefully get him to lose his cool again. I did just that and he began playing as if he had lost the match and I just focused on winning one point at a time. Tactically I decided to go to his cross over which seemed to work better than going to his forehand side. (Lesson for youngsters) listen to advice but if it doesn’t seem to work or you’re uncomfortable, change tactics accordingly.
The madness continues:
Players often swore between points, lots of outspoken verbal diarrhoea some players drunk beer in between points and I saw one guy snap his bat in half after losing. Yet, with all this drama every player is courteous and polite in so many respects regardless of their outcry. For example, players wished you “Bonne Match” (have a good match) before play commenced, an immediate apology was given if a net or edge occurred. Gestures of well played, sorry and honesty was truly amazing to see. The respect for the player, game and club was beautiful to see such as; If a ball interrupted play players would always ask did the ball disturb you? And if the umpire thought it did not the opponent would correct them and say no by flipping the scoreboard and giving you back the point. Even though there was lots of verbal and physical outcry it was clear to see that was the personal character being expressed and they never I portrayed any animosity towards the other player.
Table tennis culture in Belgium
This was fascinating to me, they have 30 thousand registered players in a very small country. Yet they have produced a world no.1 and many world-class players over the past 30 years. They have a top division professional league where some top players get up to €50k per season.
A very large proportion of the clubs are based in a full-time table tennis hall which has a bar, lounge seating area and its open 7 days a week. They provide for the local community and the community supports them by offering sponsorship. This particular club I was playing for had over 50 different sponsors scattered all around the hall.
Pub – Drink – Play
Effectively the system works like this, there’s a bar open to the public. Players enjoy a drink and socialise with their friends and compete for both, on a social, local, national and even professional level. The local community support the club via multiple local businesses. Often the sponsors are players inside the club and they get multiple benefits via sponsoring the club. Tax benefits, supporting the local community, their company is viewed by internal and external people and they get to have a beer on the house. The beautiful thing was seeing families attend the club to watch dad, mother, brother or sister compete. After the match, both teams sit down for a drink and a meal were discussions about table tennis flows.
Table tennis pub clubs:
Maybe it’s time for us to incorporate a similar structure in England? Lots of pubs are closing down, this gives scope and possibly reviving pubs across England. All that’s needed is pubs that have some land where a hall can be built to accommodate a playing area/facility.
The benefits:
People attend the pub to play
Join their friends who play
Watch TT (entertainment while they have a drink)
Burn off the beer calories
Social evening
Compete
Provide for the community and unite the community via a social gathering
To see little clips and pictures of the club in action please visit my social media networks (Insta or FB)
Table tennis never ceases to amaze me, the sport can give so much to a person’s livelihood. All we have to do is invest in building a culture that understands and wants to take part.
Today I want to talk about personal table tennis develop. How and why you should develop your personal game.
The Hook
It all starts with some kind of trigger; you see a top table tennis player executing beautifully crafted shots, you hear the sound of the ball pinging from side to side, or you play a friend in their house and execute some crazy smashes. Once you’re hooked, it’s a sport that draws you in deep and due to its super complex variety of skills, few truly master the game.
Table Tennis Focus
Tips to develop your game:
Join a club; joining a club has multiple benefits. Variety of players, possible coaching sessions and a coach. You can enjoy competing against and with your club teammates. You have access to a table and depending on the club it can be potentially accessible 24/7.
Sparring partners: try to have a list of players in and around your area. Hook up with them for regular training and match play. As you develop and tweak your game, the level or sparring partners must be monitored. Some may grow with you and others may not pay close attention to who’s helping you develop.
Coach: if you are fortunate enough to afford a coach, invest in one. A coach often finds ways of developing your game at an accelerated rate. A good coach will provide many opportunities for growth and development in your game.
Expand your horizon:
Have a base (club, coach, sparring partners and training location) but often go out of your normal routine. This includes visiting other clubs, trying a new coach or having a side coach. You may find by expanding your base that your current base does not cater to your needs anymore. Never forget your original base and always pay respect but if you have outgrown or feel you can benefit more from somewhere else. Then I believe a good base will support your decision if you do decide to move on.
Monitor: A club, sparring partner and coach can only monitor your game so much. Unless you have a full-time coach who solely focuses on you, it’s up to you to monitor your game. How? Have a table tennis book. In this book, you should be writing down all your experiences and developments. This book is your guide towards achieving your goals.
The development comes by understanding your past experiences alongside knowing your current experiences which guide you to your chosen destiny.
Written by Eli Baraty eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis) Coach Me Table Tennis – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –Instagram: _elibaraty Twitter: @elibaraty FB: Coach Me Table Tennis – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – W: www.coachmetabletennis.com M: 07900401144
A table tennis tactic which is thought of is actually irrelevant if you’re unable to execute it.
Having a tool is useless if you don’t know how to use it:
When developing players I always do my best to explain my methods. This gives them the ability to execute their leanings at particular game scenario’s. A tactic is easily spoken about but the player often won’t have the tools or know how to implement such instructions.
It’s important if you’re coaching someone in the corner for the first time. That you be honest with one another and discuss what the player is able and capable of. If you know the player well then stick to tactics that you both know.
W. Schlager Table Tennis World Champion 2003
Finding a way:
Sometimes the tools and tactics may not work, that’s when you must step outside of your comfort zone and look for solutions. I live by many motto’s and philosophies and one I like “ if there’s a problem, then there’s a solution”. You may not have the best backhand in the world but you can still win a world or Olympic title. Both JP Gatien (World 1993) and Ryu Seung Min (Olympics 2004) did it, they found other ways to compromise their personal deficiency’s.
The game is evolving:
It’s getting harder and harder to win major titles or become a world class player if you have technical deficiencies. Today most top players have near complete games, what set’s them apart is the mindset and tactics used to find small gaps and wholes.
Developing tactics:
Tactics are where you can observe your opponents weakness and use it against them. For example, if you play a someone that struggles to flick with their forehand, would you serve short to the backhand? I once played a player who had an amazing backhand and forehand flick. We are all taught to serve short which is what I did and I was 2-0 down. My teammate came over and said, “Eli, serve long and occasionally short”. It was an easy game for me from then on winning 3-2. Tactics are often simple if understood and seen, the key is finding them. Tactics, as mentioned, can be easy but you won’t be able to execute them if your game is limited.
When you play games and train, try to reflect post-match. Analyse what worked and what didn’t and this will slowly open up your thought process of how to win matches using various tactics.
We can’t all be a genius but we can be smart with practice and time.
Written by Eli Baraty eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis) Coach Me Table Tennis – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –Instagram: _elibaraty Twitter: @elibaraty FB: Coach Me Table Tennis – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – W: www.coachmetabletennis.com M: 07900401144
We all go through table tennis ups and downs but what are the lessons? Ups:
Table Tennis has a special hypnotic effect and the game often is played in a trance-like mode. This is when you feel like you’re flying or hovering above the ground when moving, you see the ball like a football and time slows down. This feeling is experienced by most table tennis players and that high feeling is like a drug which leads to addictive thrive for more play.
Downs:
Table Tennis can also be one of the most frustrating things on the planet. Forced and unforced errors consistently occur in every play. What seems easy can feel impossible and development is only done through vigorous training.
A sport that gives in many ways but also likes to take in abundance.
Fun Table Tennis
How to increase the good times:
First and foremost we must remember good times are subjective. We manipulate reality via our thoughts. Someone may play a forehand and to one person it’s incredible but to someone else, it may seem average.
We must define our reality in a positive and productive way. This allows you to enjoy more positive feelings and outcomes, furthermore, it can enable a faster development process.
The game can be lost or won, this is subject to our personal game play which dictates the outcome. Meaning, some play to win and others play not to lose and some do both depending on the situation. If we play not to lose often you will beat yourself up, if and when you do lose. If you play to win, often you will look at losing via the question of why? And how the outcome was not what you wanted it to be.
You see our mindset is the key component here. When you have the will to enforce positive actions your brain will seek ways to deliver your desired outcome.
Three elements to keep the good times in Table tennis
Remember why you play, because you love the game
Mindset: Every event or circumstance is subjective therefore you can make it a positive or negative scenario.
Table tennis is a sport that gives through life’s lessons. Use your losses, and wins as life learning experiences. Develop yourself through the sport that enables in so many ways.
Life has its ups and downs, and our character is built via the way we deal with those experiences.
Be sure to subscribe to my social media for your Friday weekly Blog reminder.
Written by Eli Baraty
We all put some kind of table tennis expectations upon ourselves.
The key is how do we handle that pressure?
Here’s a beautiful test I use with my players. I want you to close your eyes and think of a table tennis player. Use the first player that pops into your head, see them playing, look at their clothing, their footwork, their attitude, their technique and observe the surroundings.
Ok!
Who did you see?
What was their style?
Was it a male or female player?
Where was this person playing?
There will not be one reader who has the exact same visual.
Some will have themselves, others will see a player they train with or a player they admire or idolise. The location will vary depending on your experiences.
You see we all build images via our personal experience and create our reality through them.
Once you understand your personal thoughts, you can understand why and what you expect of yourself.
Our visuals change:
The more we play and compete the more images are compiled in our brains.
How does this affect us?
If we win an event or beat a player that we have not beaten before that image is implanted firmly in our memory bank. Which means we have a set of experienced images that provide users with certain future expectations. This can also work the other way if we lose or lost an event that image can set a precedence.
How to deal with expectation:
Some have a natural release mechanism and other hold their experiences firmly. This is due to both internal and external effects that build our internal imagery. For example, if you lose to someone you should have beaten (on paper) and your family, coach or others criticise you for this negative loss, you will naturally tap into your survival mechanisms. This includes attempting to ignore, defending yourself, wanting revenge, or possibly quitting the game.
Fear of negative connotations kick in our survival mode and in many cases it’s vital. For example, if you hear a car coming but can’t see it around the corner, you will stay on the pavement. On the other hand, our survival mechanism may holt our development. For example when a baby learns how to walk, if they fell once and never attempted to get back up, he/she would never walk.
Positive results leading to future expectations:
Winning sounds and feels good when people will applaud you and that experience often is re-played your in your mind for a short period of time. This positive outcome/‘s, build an expectation of, I must repeat and continue to develop. Otherwise, I’m a failure both to myself and those who see me as a good player or champions.
The key is to understand your ability and use it to its fullest potential. This means what has been done in the past should not have an effect on your present performance. Many things change over time, your state of mind, your training schedule, your physical health etc. Therefore you must do your best on every given occasion and avoid passed expectations by focusing on the present task.
Learning to deal with expectation:
Understanding your views and thoughts (as mentioned above)
Learn to face pressured situations by challenging yourself in doing uncomfortable things on your own and when surrounded by other people.
Forgive, learn and develop; forgiveness is one secret top players use. They are able to forgive the negativity surrounded with a poor result and most importantly forgive themselves. Once forgiveness has been implemented we are able to view the issue clearly and learn from the outcome. Lastly, you must develop a system to tackle passed results.
Table tennis expectation:
Table tennis expectations ultimately have been built via images from past and present experiences. You can change the images in your mind to create a positive connotation. Like anything this is a skill, that needs the practice to develop and you will become good at it.
A great saying from one of the old time greats ‘Michael Jordan’ “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots, I’ve lost 300 games, I’ve missed 26 winning game shots, I’ve failed over and over again in my life and that’s why I SUCCEED.”
Building table tennis foundations are one aspect of the game, few are willing to focus on in today’s modern society. We live in an instant gratification bubble, (surrounded by layers of protection and technology creating a virtual world).
After watching the European table tennis championships this weekend. I quickly realised why Timo Boll is the most successful player in the European Championship’s history. Timo Boll is without a doubt the most stable player in Europe and this is because he has put in the graft for many many years. Commitment, persistence, repetition and hard work is something many younger players lack in Europe.
Building a foundation:
Timo started from a very young age on his home table with his dad. It was clear back then that the aim was to develop his strokes and craft his shots. Technically his forehand is not textbook but Timo has manufactured a solid forehand shot. Years of controlled footwork enables Timo to play high-quality shots from both wings, whether at a standstill or in motion.
The difference between Timo and the rest of the European players:
Timo Boll at the European Championships 2018
The difference between Timo and the rest of European players? He is the safest player on both wings, his shots may not be as powerful as Carlderano’s or as fast Harimoto’s shots but they are of extremely high quality. Every shot is positive with plenty of energy on the ball and both wings have a very low margin of error. Timo’s stability on both wings enables him to slowly break down his European opponents. No matter what the score is or how good his opponent/’s are playing, they often question themselves. In their minds, “Timo won’t miss, will I start missing? “I must play super high-quality shots to win, otherwise Timo is too consistent for me!” Those factors, put huge pressure on players to play at a high-risk game constantly and mentally they doubt their personal ability.
Why has Timo never won a Worlds or Olympic title?
Over 15 years ago I told, my students when Timo was world no.1, he will never win the Worlds or Olympic title!
Why such a bold statement? For me Timo is a complete player, unfortunately being complete is not enough! Many Asian players are complete players and this means they can able to go toe to toe with Timo. You need a weapon, Timo has no real weapon, his weapon is his solid foundations. In Europe, that’s enough to be on top of the pack. Most European players don’t have a solid base but many have a weapon and those weapons can inflict shock results. Examples of weapons:
Liam Pitchford – Backhand Switch
Par Garrell – Service
Ma Long – Huge Power
Harimoto – Speed
Zhang Jike – Mental toughness
All these players have the X-factor and that’s why they have won majors or are capable of pulling off extraordinary performances.
What European players need to become world beaters:
They must work on: Dedication – Developing strong foundations, lots of time spent on basic stroke development. This entails lots of repetition and many hours in the practice hall. Footwork – Understand and develop correct footwork to enable powerful shots whether at a standstill or in motion Middle Game – Hone in on high-quality shots constantly without breaking down, enabling continuous rallies when their weapons are not working.
An example of a hard-working European Player but started too late – Click Here
The secret:
Start young, work on consistency and repetition, developing high tension shots on a regular basis. Be patient and over time those building blocks will have formed a solid foundation. At the same time develop a weapon and then you have all the attributes to be great like Timo but also win majors like Ma Long and Zhang Jike.
There’s no tree on the planet standing without strong routes if you want to stand strong build strong foundation!
Written by Eli Baraty eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis) Coach Me Table Tennis – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Instagram: _elibaraty Twitter: @elibaraty FB: Coach Me Table Tennis – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – W: www.coachmetabletennis.com M: 07900401144
