Table Tennis Tips: 2011-2013

by Larry Hodges

Here are 150 Tips to help your table tennis game, by Larry Hodges - a member of the U.S. Table Tennis Hall of Fame and a National Coach. They compile in logical progression three years' worth of Tips of the Week from TableTennisCoaching.com. They cover all aspects of the game: Serve, Receive, the Strokes, Grip and Stance, Footwork, Tactics, How to Improve, Sports Psychology, Equipment, and Tournaments.

228 pages, Paperback

First published May 17, 2014

About the author

Larry Hodges, from Germantown, MD, was going to be a math professor (bachelor's in math), but science fiction writing and table tennis (yes, ping-pong) sidetracked him, and now he writes (and coaches the latter) for a living. He is an active member of Science Fiction Writers of America with over 80 short story sales. "Campaign 2100: Game of Scorpions" is his third novel, and combines three of his favorite things: science fiction, politics, and table tennis. He's a graduate of the six-week 2006 Odyssey Writers Workshop and the 2008 Taos Toolbox Writers Workshop, and is a member of Codexwriters.com. His story "The Awakening" was the unanimous grand prize winner at the 2010 Garden State Horror Writers Short Story Competition. He's a full-time writer with eleven books and over 1700 published articles in over 150 different publications. He also writes about and coaches the Olympic Sport of Table Tennis, is a member of the USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame (Google it!), and once beat someone using an ice cube as a racket. Visit him at www.larryhodges.org.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Great detail!

[Venkatesh-Prasad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book focuses on "soft skills" of table tennis. It does not teach you the basics of various shots/serves/receives or how to fine tune your shots/serves/receives. It focuses on what makes a specific shot good (e.g., what are the characteristics of a good and effective push?), playing tactics and strategy, training, mental preparation, and numerous other good practices that is often disregarded by players without dedicated coaching and dedicated/limited practice regiment. The writing style of the book (which I think is a compilation of blogs) is engaging and easy to understand and implement.

Even having played table tennis on and off for years now, I am glad that I read this book cos' I learned a lot from it.

A must read for anyone serious about playing table tennis as a competitive sport.