Kids Starting Out Must Have Fun

I recently read the book “Reading Magic” by Mem Fox. Although the book has nothing to do with Table Tennis, I found some interesting points that I could easily relate to. Basically the book suggests that by reading aloud to our kids every night, they will find learning to read much easier. The reasons for this is that the children will associate fun with reading and find it rewarding.

Don’t Make it Painful

Mem Fox goes onto to discourage the process of forcing kids with reading difficulties to learn to read by forcing them to sound out each individual letter. This takes away the fun of reading an entire story and puts pressure on kids to learn. It is much better to simply read aloud to these kids often so that they enjoy reading and will start to follow our lead and begin to pick up on the sentences and then the words and eventually the individual letters.

Don’t Over Coach Beginners

With coaching Table Tennis to beginners, I believe the lessons are the same. Don’t overload the student with a million different ideas that they must remember while trying to play a forehand. I’ve seen it a thousand times where a coach tries to tell the student to ensure that their feet are at a certain angle, that the waist must twist back, the arm must move back to a certain point, the follow through must end up pointing in some direction. This is all too much information to take in when learning how to play the game.

Learn By Watching

Just as Mem Fox suggests that reading aloud to kids will help them learn to read, I suggest that by having students watch high quality Table Tennis players, they will learn to play high quality Table Tennis. This is why a student can play at home every night with their brother for a year and not improve a great deal, but as soon as they start going to a Table Tennis club and see players better than themselves, they improve out of sight.

Have Fun

So the motto to the blog is Have Fun! If you are trying to learn how to play a fast forehand, then don’t concern yourself with every little detail known to mankind about playing a forehand. This makes the task a chore, and you’ll eventually lose enthusiasm for the process. Instead go down to your local club and watch some top players for a few hours each week, you’ll have a lot more fun and improve a whole lot more.

Don’t I Have to Work Hard to Get Better?

Sure, if you want to become World Champion, then you had better be prepared to put in a lot of hard work, but if you are that serious about the game, then I’m sure you’ll actually enjoy the hard work. But when you are just starting out, make sure that you keep the game fun.