December 2024

My Coaching Experiences & Tips For You!

I’m known in my community to be the “ping pong guy” and many people often come to me wanting to get better to beat their colleagues or friends. I’ve coached different people from ages seven to forty seven, and I’ll share some of my experiences here. The common belief that kids learn things faster is indeed true when it comes to table tennis, but it might not be for the reasons you think. In fact, adults have an easier time picking up the sport since they have more developed muscles and motor skills. Some kids can barely reach over the table! But the kids always take what I tell them very seriously and always listen to what I say, eager to change and improve as fast as possible. Most of the people that ask me to coach them have already played before, and can usually at least hit the ball and move around a little bit. But this makes my job harder! Since almost everyone I coach hasn't received formal training before, their form is pretty bad (no offense) and I have to correct it. This is what separates the kids and the adults. A ten year old kid who has been playing around in his school for two months went from being able to hit ten forehands with me to being able to rally for over fifty in just four days. He listened attentively to what I had to say, and eagerly implemented the changes, even when I told him he had to give up his previous techniques and fix some of his bad habits. He came in with a confident mindset that he could do anything. I also played with one kid from my church, also around the same age. He was much less experienced and had developed an incorrect way of gripping the paddle (gripping it with his thumb on the side of the paddle) but quickly accepted change when I told him that was incorrect. We were doing the two points forehand multiball exercise in thirty minutes.

My experience with many of the adults is vastly different. They are less willing to accept change. When I tell them to change, they tell me that “they’ve always played like that,” and that “they were too old to change their old habits” and “just to hit with them.” I thought you wanted me to coach you! Adults have the misconception that because they’re so old, they can’t change their form anymore. This is ironic, because most of the adults I’ve coached haven’t even been playing for over 5 years. They are always concerned with hitting the ball and getting it over no matter what, even if it means pushing it with their paddle in the weirdest position. This is what I think is the main difference between the adults and kids, and why the kids improve so fast. Neuroplasticity is maintained even when you get older. You always have the opportunity to change and get better. Even if “you’ve always played like that,” you can start playing differently now!

Sometimes, you just need to be a kid, eager to learn, and willing to give up something you already have for something greater.