Paul has stormed into the last 32 at the Tokyo Olympics, taking Robert Gardos (Austria) out 4-1.
Paul is looking in very good form at his 3rd games, and seems to be enjoying what may be his last Olympic.
Category: Table Tennis England
English National Championships Under 10-13’s
It’s always a joy to be present at the English National Championships Under 10’s 11’s 12’s and 13’s because you see tomorrow’s future champions.
The Tournament
This event was held at Wolverhampton at a lovely venue which has been used for Grand Prix’s and Junior British League. I feel the event was run a lot more smoothly than the (Junior National Table Tennis Championships) with a lot more entries and the tournament was punctual. I must admit though, the event for me runs way too long, commencing at 8am and finishing near 8pm. I don’t think it’s fair having players, coaches, and parents in a hall 12 hours. The results sometimes can be misleading because the young players are tired and more often than not you will not see their peak performance after a long day.
The Atmosphere
I must admit the atmosphere in the hall felt pleasant and positive; players coaches and parents seemed to be getting along. I believe due to many being new to the sport they are competing via the will to win. The young players don’t know what kind of politics is going on and the parents are new to the sport. Also, the prestige of this event compared to junior or senior level national’s is less and the coaches relax and watch their players compete on friendly but competitive terms.
Enjoy and Play Table Tennis
I often ask myself why is there so much politics inside a minor sport? I guess the answer is simple the more you get involved and become accustomed to something the more you want it to be your way. Therefore this lead’s to inner ego’s and even though many think they are doing the right thing they often forget the most important thing. The love and joy of the sport, yes its nice to win and implement certain methods of your own but in truth, we all just want to play.
Table Tennis England
I was happy to see Matt (England Coach), Marcus (England Coach) and Sandra Deaton (TTE Chairman), at the event. From what I saw they seemed to be mingling with players, coaches, and parents. This is what our sport needs, the heads of table tennis working with the community towards future growth. I won’t lie I was disappointed not to see Alan and more importantly, Sarah (TTE CEO) or Simon (TTE Performance Director), from my perspective it feels like they don’t truly care about our sport (domestically). The European youth championships will commence next month, let’s see how our players do. Personally, I want each player to shine but realistically I don’t believe this will happen due to poor TTE youth development.
Future of Table Tennis in England
My biggest gripe as a coach and a table tennis advocate for our sport in England is the lack of support for the youth via TTE. Let’s be clear and honest England have lots of money and TTE have million are going through their accounts. Why is it so difficult to have a pot of money or a sponsor for players inside the England youth team/squad? These players invest thousands of hours, thousands of pounds, put their hearts into the sport and… When or if they reach their goal of representing England, TTE asks for more money, which then includes them in the squad. Personally, I feel it’s a broken system. A system that can cost over £10k and you may not get picked, furthermore, a program that judges you on your fitness rather than your ability. Table tennis is a skill-based sport and to develop your skill takes years. Anyone at any time can uplift their fitness in a matter of weeks to months, so why penalise players if they can’t reach a certain level in a bleep test?
To become great we must start and to be great we must be supported
English Table Tennis National Junior Championships 2019
English Table Tennis National Junior championships was held in Nottingham university this weekend and I was present at the event coaching and observing.
It’s truly sad for me to say this but honesty is said to be the best policy and it pains me to say it but the foundations of English table tennis is at an all-time low.
My Attitude
Anyone that knows me or follows me on social media will know fine well, that I look at the bright side of life. I believe anything can be achieved and I believe in finding a positive even in the worst situation. I must say though, having coached at the Junior National Championships (weekend just gone), things look dire for the future English table tennis. I am struggling to stay positive with the amount of negativity I see, feel and hear.
Current Issues & Solutions for the National’s
1. Reward: players attend from all over the country and only a hand full will come out as champions, runner’s up or in a bronze medal position (for both main event and consolation). Let’s upscale the reward system.
Solution: It wouldn’t cost much to hand out other awards such as; Point of the day, Player of the day, match of the day, Sportsmanship, etc. This would also keep many players and families in the hall to the end of an event. The bonus would be, potentially more spectators for the final’s which will add atmosphere and support to the prestigious final’s.
2. A Restricted number of players: Having 32 players in an event is firstly un-motivating for the vast majority of aspiring players. My first junior nationals, I was ranked around 60 in England but I won my group and beat England no.16. I progressed through to the last 16, losing to England no.3 (Michael Chan) and I had my chances against him making the hall stop. I have not witnessed a hall stop for many years in English TT because we are not providing opportunities! To become the best you must face the best, but we are limiting access towards the top end. How can no.60 beat no.16 if he/she is unable to attend? TTE is making the possible impossible!
Solution: Open the event to 64 or 96 players or even 128, this will create a much bigger buzz in the hall and give many more players the opportunity to be a part of this prestigious event. Having more players gives a lot more opportunities and can also cause shock results. This will encourage many more players to grow and push for the top spot. Today at the event I saw many tables unused and having more players would utilise the space in a greater capacity.
3. Groups: I understand TTE is trying to create a formula like ITTF with a group of 3 and 1 goes through. Firstly I don’t agree with the ITTF system but that’s a whole other subject. The point is simple, A family’s cost for such an event is travel expenses, possibly a coach (funding and wages), hotel, and entry fee. The expenses can mount from £100 to even £500 maybe, even more, depending on circumstances. Horrifically this huge amount spent can mount up to a total of 3 matches for 16 of the players. 1 match for one of the seeds if they lose their first match or two matches if they lose their second match. An average of 3 matches per player can cost up to £500, what is going on? That’s a holiday abroad for some families and yet these families are investing this money on 3 table tennis matches instead!
Solution: Make the groups bigger, groups of 4 (possibly 5), I think it’s fair and have two players go through and 2 go into consolation. I’m no expert in tournaments but I’m sure we can go to France, Germany or Sweden and model their system.
General observations
The first impression, when walking into the hall; uncertainty, small cliques, segregated environment, England coaches casting a shadow from above watching for hours and hours on end, the atmosphere, in general, was low, ripple effect on player’s performing below par and due to intense pressure the joy felt zapped out of the players.
I believe in healthy competition and I love to compete but in the hall today it felt like some people are enemies! We are blessed to be a part of such a special sport, so let’s remember that it’s a competition of skill, not hatred.
I had a crazy thought today – why don’t we kick off an event with all players, parents, umpires, and coaches lined up. Where everyone quickly shakes each-others hands, prior to the event? They do this prior to every football match, players and referees greet each other in friendly terms before the competition kicks off.
Trust and respect is seemingly lost for TTE
I went around talking to many coaches, parents and players and the feedback were very negative towards TTE. I did not once entice this kind of negative conversation yet somehow someway, it was brought into the conversation.
Issues mentioned
- Lack of care or support for players via TTE
- A most important event, where were; Sandra Deaton (Chairman), Sarah Sutcliff (CEO), Simon Mill’s? (High-Performance Director)
- Lack of care for coaches from TTE
- Lack of club support from TTE
- EYS is a complete failure and flawed in so many ways
- TTE is running table tennis into the ground
The negative feedback I received was overwhelming and at times I felt like crying. I want to help so much yet I have no real say and influence on how TTE run table tennis in England. I am far from perfect but I pride myself in one quality and that’s compassion. I care about every person who plays or has involvement in table tennis. I want them to succeed in their own right and I think that’s the key ingredient missing with TTE. Every person I spoke to today spoke negatively about TTE, what was worse, no one mentioned anything about TTE trying to help or make a difference. It feels like they take and dictate their vision and their system. Does TTE not hear or choose to ignore the table tennis community’s desperate cry?
The system was never perfect but I remember and know that often the governing body aimed or wanted to help in one way, shape or form. Currently, it feels like TTE doesn’t want to help the players they just want to do what they feel or think is right and everyone must accept it.
Moving Forward
Currently, there is no easy fix but there are solutions and if implemented, our sport will grow and blossom and we will see positives in due time. The national championships today was a clear sign of where our future is heading. This should be a sign for TTE that whatever they are trying to implement is not working. They have lost so many top players due to poor treatment, so please start looking at what is working and who is doing a good job. Then look at collaborating and uniting with them, the benefits of uniting, are truly unlimited. Let’s make positive developments and stop this feeling of TTE is here and the table tennis community is there.
TTE need to:
- Listen to the table tennis community
- Help top players
- Unite with coaches
- Link with clubs
- Give back to the community of table tennis
- Unite and collaborate with the right people inside the system
These key elements are not hard to implement, all you need is to take your ego away and open your heart and arms to those who in effect make you.
When you are closed you are limited but if you’re open then you become unlimited.
Side note – I am hosting a table tennis training camp in America, more info Click HERE
Table Tennis Atmosphere
Did the English Senior Nationals have table tennis atmosphere?
In short no!
I must admit, there were huge developments from last year’s nationals. Credit is due when something has been upscaled because it’s easy to criticise from the sideline and as a business owner my self, it can be hurtful when others disrespect or criticise your work from an outside perspective. Personally, I pride myself in giving 100% to every task so when I’m critiqued or receive negative feedback I’m able to hold my head up high and say it’s OK, let’s try and learn from this. This is only if what I did was wrong (make a note) my effort is never penalised I’m only being critiqued on my work.
From what I saw, a great deal of effort was implemented via TTE into making the nationals a prestigious event and I am not pointing my fingers in that direction. But here’s where I would like to see further developments.
Table Tennis Atmosphere:
I watched a few matches on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and the atmosphere was dead on Friday. It slightly upscaled both on Saturday and Sunday but was not at a level where I believe it should be at.
French Senior Table Tennis National Championships:
I also watched the French National Championships and that was a different world altogether. There is a huge qualification system with 4 tournament rounds that enables up to (I believe) 100 players to qualify. In the main event there are 128 players and that’s where the fun begins with lots of exciting matches and of course upsets. In this year’s semifinals, none of the top 4 seeds reached that stage and one player was seeded 21. As soon as you tuned into the live video feed, you could feel and hear the buzz in the hall, it’s truly what sport requires to flourish as a whole.
Here’s a list of what I saw in comparison;
English table tennis:
- No crowd day one
- Small crowd days 2 & 3
- No light effects
- No real support from the crowd
- Little engagement with the crowd
- Commentary (not my words although I agree was poor)
- No special intro
- No mascot
- No clappers or bangers
- Little to no music
- Split into two halls
French table tennis Championships:
- Big crowd
- Spotlights on players as they enter the court
- Crowd; chanting, supporting, truly vocal throughout each match
- Clappers, bangers and drums
- Music constantly implemented sparking the players and crowd
- Special player intro’s with music and fireworks
- Commentators really engaging and fun to listen to with comments such as; Oh La La la la
- Table tennis mascot
- One hall
Table Tennis Nationals is held once a year:
I appreciate it’s all easily said compared to being done. But let’s be honest we have one major event per year in England and it’s clear that a lot has been put into it. Therefore if a lot of investment (time, money, effort, energy) then let’s invest wisely.
Making an event special is done by one key ingredient, atmosphere. If you get the buzz feeling inside the hall it will be felt by those watching from the outside.
I am always interested in hearing your thoughts and opinions so please comment below
Written by Eli Baraty
eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis)
Coach Me Table Tennis
English Table Tennis National Championships
Table Tennis National Championships
Another year since the last English Table Tennis Championships.
Table Tennis Progress:
It’s nice to see TTE taking people’s views and advice. They have introduced an open qualifiers event which enables anyone to qualify. I’m glad and happy this has been implemented but…
I would like to see the national event on a greater scale. We have 40 thousand registered Table Tennis Players and only 32 participate in the main event. I honestly believe we could upscale this event with events of 128 to 64 and 32 depending on categories.
Why bigger scale?
- More opportunity for players to be involved and apart of this special event
- More spectators and support
- Increased odds of upsets and surprises
Who will win this match? Alex or Florian?
Player Organisation
I don’t want to dwell into the current state of TTE and our National Championships. Therefore I’ll talk about the player’s organisation.
3 key elements required to perform:
- Least decision making as possible: this means to prepare you bag, bat any every physical thing required for the event the night before. This enables your brain to focus on fewer things and zone into the task at hand.
- The draw: There are different views when approaching a draw. Some want to play and avoid the draw. They get nervous or overthink and sometimes predict their future. Others like to plan their match play and how to face each opponent. I won’t say there’s a right or wrong but I will say the best always prepare.
- Get used to the environment: Go and train at the location pre-tournament. If you know which table you will begin your matches, train in there. Find the weakest spot in the hall and train there also. Use the match ball, play a match (if you wish) and develop inner confidence with the location. All of these implementations can and more often than not will give you marginal gains.
Nationals in England
Currently, we don’t have it right but the beautiful thing is many other countries do. Therefore in my opinion modelling is required, this will kick start our development of the nationals. Once we have the system in place, incremental changes can be developed to suit our nation.
For more info and to view the current English Table Tennis Nationals
The Nationals are the nations most prestigious event let’s find ways of making it a success for everyone.
I am always interested in your view and thoughts so please leave a comment
Written by Eli Baraty
eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis)
Coach Me Table Tennis
Develop Your Table Tennis Belief
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.
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.
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
Written Eli Baraty
eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis)
Coach Me Table Tennis
Table Tennis Culture in Belgium
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
For more info about Hayon EBS click here
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.
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Written by Eli Baraty
eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis)
Coach Me Table Tennis
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Personal Table Tennis Development
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.
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
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Table Tennis is Becoming Popular But Lack of Facilities Hold the Sport Back
A sport which enables anyone and everyone to participate and compete. No other sport is as accessible and enables people to play and compete regardless of age and ability.
Table tennis is becoming popular at virtually every nation, so why does it seem like an underground sport?
Cheap Sport
There’s a stigma that it’s a cheap sport and people wont and don’t like paying good money for table hire, coaching and training. Other similar sports such as golf and tennis have systems where you must invest thousands to play and develop your game. Being a club member is often hundreds of pounds and coaching starts at £40ph all the way up to £150ph.
Why is table Tennis treated as a cheap sport?
You can buy a table and play at home
Most leisure centres will have a table where you can hire a table
It can be played in an office, park or home
Facilities
Other sports such as Football, Tennis, Ruby, Golf etc. Have full-time centres and facilities scattered across the country. This automatically up-scales any sport and enables them to market themselves as a brand and showcase the sport in a projected light.
Table Tennis has possibly 20 full-time centres/club facilities scattered across the whole of England! Where for example a golf club (which required huge land in comparison not to mention upkeep costs) can be seen all over the nation, some within walking distance of each other.
Other sports:
Sports such as; football, tennis, golf, rugby, cricket all have full-time facilities (uncountable amount) across the nation. This allows each club or facility to market themselves to the local and possible national and international market. Furthermore, it creates competition which drives each club to better themselves and grow.
Table tennis is dependent on individuals to drive the sport forward. We need facilities and inside those facilities, there will be driving forces to upscale and provide for the local community. It’s a culture that must be built and it’s required to enable our sport to truly flourish.
My aim is to personally gather a team and build a showcase centre, one that all can aspire to. And to provide the format across the nation so table tennis can be great not just popular.
Ultimate aim:
Provide for all, cater for all, make table tennis mainstream and keep our best players on home soil.
Written by Eli Baraty
eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis)
Coach Me Table Tennis
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Table Tennis Evolution
Table tennis evolution could possibly be greater than any other sport?!
I don’t know for a fact if table tennis has evolved more than any other sport but it sure does feel like it.
Table Tennis History
Our game started with a wine bottle cork and some cigar boxes (primitive).
Today table tennis uses more variety of equipment than any other sport on the planet and has had countless rules and game-changing scenarios.
Many have their grips and yet most adapt to the ever-changing sport.
Modern table tennis game:
Today the game has super equipment technology, which allows players to spin the ball at Zero to 100revs per second. The ball can be hit with plenty of power and speeds.
Table tennis evolution has caused many issues for the sport.
If you don’t play you won’t understand the spin, you will see a few long-lasting rallies and dismiss those who seemingly miss the odd easy looking shot.
Modern technique advancements:
- Backhand flick: allows us to override spin and produce enough sidespin/topspin to take control of the ball
- Backhand: the backhand is a weapon used much more in today’s game and without it, it’s virtually impossible to be a world class player.
- Forehand topspin: due to speed modern top players play this stroke almost square now. They bend the playing hand knee, loading the leg with ground power. The waist can twist via this drop stance and this giving the player more time as opposed to bringing the playing hand leg slightly backwards (off square stance). This is of course mainly used close to the table to create efficiency in movement due to lack of time.
What does the future of table tennis look like?
No one truly knows but if you study the past and today’s game you will see how the game has evolved. This evolution can give you better insights into how the game will be shaped in years to come.
Develop modern strokes as a foundation for your game but be open-minded to adapt your game. This is because a change in table tennis may happen at any given moment.
Written by Eli Baraty
eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis)
Coach Me Table Tennis
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