When you see a ball you can put away, mentally (and possibly physically) your eyes go wide, you smile (perhaps inwardly), and you prepare to pulverize the ball with every bit of muscle-pounding power you can muster.

NO!!!

Never hit a ball with "full power." That's in quotes because I'm referring to the idea of using every muscle at full, spastic power. It's called "muscling" the ball, which is a bad habit. If you do that, you get a jerky swing that you cannot really control, and you often lose the greater power of a smooth, power-generating swing. This is especially true when looping.

Instead, you want to smoothly use the appropriate muscles in natural sequence. If you do that, you not only keep control of the swing, but you actually get as much or more power than if you spastically try to use every muscle at 100%. You generate power not by jerking a muscle at full speed, but by smoothly accelerating into the ball so that your racket reaches maximum velocity as it accelerates through the ball. For example, on a forehand loop or smash it starts with the weight shift from the legs, then the hips and waist, shoulders, arm, and wrist. And then you not only get a satisfying POW or WHOOSH . . . the ball actually hits the table consistently.

When you start out, the coach is the BOSS. If you are smart, you'll do what he says. Sometimes you'll have a coach that just doesn't work for you, or perhaps he's just not a good coach - and then perhaps you should switch coaches. But once you have a good and compatible coach, listen to the coach.

But as you advance in the sport, you become more experienced. As I've written in the past, if you want to become a good player, you have to become the world's top authority on Your Game. As you approach that, your work with a coach becomes more of a collaboration. He's the expert on developing table tennis players; you are the expert on your game. If the coach is a good one, he'll listen to you, and you should listen to him - and then, working together, you can become the best you can possibly be.

Make sure to discuss your game with the coach. You need to both have the same vision as to where you are trying to go in terms of style and level. Take the long strategic view, and GO FOR IT!

What does your opponent do that most threatens you? it's important to find this out as early in a match as possible - or, ideally, before the match begins. That's why it's important to scout out opponents, either by watching them live or on video, or asking others about them.

Once you know what their strengths are, it's very simple: How can you nullify it? Because if you can't, you've already lost.

To use a simple example, suppose a player is really good at serving backspin and then looping any long push. He's unstoppable!!! Unless . . . you don't give him that long push that he likes to loop. And at most levels, most players often just push serves back, over and over, even if the opponent is effective at attacking them.

Instead, figure out early on how to stop his strength. In this case, you have a number of options - and it's always mind-boggling how so many players either don't think of these things, or - more often - don't think of them at the table, and only after the match figure it out. So, how would you stop this? If the serve is even slightly long, then loop it. (If you can't, learn to.) If it's short, then you have all sorts of possibilities. Flip. Push short. Push long but very quick off the bounce and fast and at a wide angle. Push long but super heavy or with varying spin at wide angles. Perhaps discuss it with other players or coaches, and they may have suggestions. Find what works!

If you can't do what it takes to stop the opponent's strength, then it's up to you develop what's needed to do so . . . for next time. Go to it!

If you are putting in hours and Hours and HOURS of training, you should improve, right? And you likely will. But are you improving as fast as you could? Or are you just putting in mindless hours that’ll lead to advanced mediocrity, as opposed to really improving to your maximum potential? For many players, alas, it’s the former.

The idea of “Deliberate Practice” was pioneered by Psychologist Anders Ericsson, who found that real progress comes from structured, focused training designed to push you beyond your comfort zone. It is a type of training marked by:

• Clear, measurable goals
• Tasks that stretch ability
• Immediate feedback
• Focused repetition
• Reflection and adjustment

Many or most players, especially those below the elite level, spend much of their practice time mindlessly hitting balls back and forth, which may not address weaknesses or build up strengths in a way they can be used effectively in a match situation. To reach a higher level, you should have sessions that address each of the above.

EXAMPLES of Deliberate Practice for Table Tennis
(NOTE – the following drills, Keys to Effective Deliberate Practice, and Common Mistakes to Avoid come from Sean O’Neill, with his permission.)

• Serve placement focus: Spend 20 minutes aiming for one small target on the table. Get feedback from a coach or even a camera. Track how many land where you want.
• Footwork patterns with video review: Work on side-to-side movement while looping forehands. Record the session and review whether you maintain balance and timing.
• Serve receive against spin: Ask a partner to serve heavy underspin, sidespin, or no spin. Repeat until you can return 8 of 10 balls consistently with the same technique.
• Short ball control: Practice pushing against a variety of serves, adjusting placement and depth until you feel confident under pressure.

Each of these drills has a purpose, a feedback loop, and a way to measure progress.

KEYS to Effective Deliberate Practice

• Set specific goals: “I want to improve my third-ball attack against underspin” is better than “I want to get better.”
• Seek immediate feedback: Ask a coach, use video, or review results on the spot.
• Push yourself: If practice feels comfortable, you’re not stretching your limits.
• Measure progress: Track consistency percentages, point outcomes, or even how relaxed your body feels under pressure.

COMMON MISTAKES to Avoid

• Practicing only what you’re already good at.
• Playing “fun” matches without focusing on weak areas.
• Ignoring feedback or failing to review video.
• Training without a clear objective for the session.

CONCLUSION
Quality practice is far more important than quantity. Using deliberate practice will allow you to step-by-step work your way up as you focus on each aspect of the game. It’s the best way to improve at the fastest rate possible to your highest possible level.

You probably have a regular forehand pendulum serve, or backhand serve, or perhaps a forehand tomahawk serve, or something else. These are all good serves. But if that's all you use, then it's pretty much an announcement about what type of sidespin will be on the serve. Your opponent is grateful for making things easier for him!

It's good to have a few variations of these regular serves as your front-line serves - perhaps side-backspin, pure side, side-topspin, a super-heavy pure backspin, and a no-spin. But why not learn an "off" serve as well, by developing the reverse sidespin version of these serves? Not only do opponents have to learn to handle these serves, but they have to now adjust to your regular serves when you go back and forth. Think of all those close matches you’ve lost, and imagine the outcome if you’d had a few more serving variations to confuse your opponent.

Reverse serves aren't hard to learn. It's just a matter of hitting the ball in the opposite direction you normally would, thereby giving the reverse sidespin from what you normally use. While it would be nice to develop these reverse serves as alternate front-line serves - top players do, and it takes a lot of practice - but what's more important at most levels is just the variation that they have to look out for. You might only be able to do the reverse sidespin with one or two variations - perhaps pure sidespin and side-backspin - but if you develop them and use them sparingly, they become highly effective - often free points.