Training beginners is a daunting task. When teaching beginners you need to consider both now and the future. It is not enough to teach them things that will help them in 5 years time if they have no success now. Similarly it is no good teaching them only the way to win points now and disregard technique.

Work on strokes

The first thing that you are charged with is to improve their game. The first thing to do is give them the tools to do that. By improving their strokes they will start to improve their game. This is not an easy task because unfortunately you need to get them to repeat the strokes many times before they can master them. You need to be able to find ways to keep it interesting enough to do that. Take a look at the TOPS manual for many ideas on how to do that.

Give them some simple ideas on how to win games.

Strokes alone will not get them over the line to start with. How many times have you seen a beginner with perfect technique getting smashed by the kid that knows how to win points. If your beginner doesn’t know those simple things like placing the ball and being able to hit the ball low enough and fast enough to win points they are going to get frustrated. Nothing succeeds like success.

Work on balance and movement

Work on their movement and balance by giving them some footwork drills. Try to make thee as interesting as possible. Teach them the correct way to move and teach them about balance.

Get them involved in some games

Hitting and drilling alone will soon mean no more student. Young beginners want to challenge each other to test their skills. The competitions don’t have to be given too much importance but still provide it for them. It also teaches them the winning and losing side.

Get them involved in tournaments if they are user friendly

If you have some tournaments in your area for children try to get them involved with them too. This opens their eyes to the bigger picture. By attending these tournaments they will see some of the better players and get some good images of how to play well. Of course make sure these tournaments are user friendly and won’t bore the kids silly on their first experience and turn them away from table tennis forever.

Teach them how to learn

You need to provide a training environment where the players are shown how to learn. Show them the training drills and give them a structure to their sessions. Try to show them the type of effort it requires to improve. This can be difficult, but it will provide them with a whole range of skills if they are able to grasp this.

Keep it fun

The last and most important thing is to keep the sessions and table tennis in general fun for the kids. If they don’t enjoy the experience, they will not be playing in 5 years time.

To finish a session have a fun game like ‘Round the world’ or ‘Beat the Champ’. This will leave them with a good feeling about the session and will keep them coming back for more.

Kids get involved in sports for a whole lot of reasons but one of the main ones is to have fun and be with friends. Try to provide that for them. If they don’t like it they just won’t be motivated to turn up next time.