Preparing for school competition

Hi, Alois,

Soon I will fight in my first competition. I am only 14 years old and it will be competition of schools. I really want to win it. I can play table tennis only at school because I don't have table at home.

So I want to ask you how should I practice for competition at home and how should I practice at school. Also I want to ask what spin serves and what strategy should I use in a competition.

Thank You

Hi Tomas,

Firstly good luck with your first competition.

The main thing to think about now before the competition is to work on your serving and receive of serve.  Pick out the one or two serves that are your best serves and practice them a lot.  Also get someone else to serve to you all different types of serves and focus on making the best return you can make.

Then play a lot of matches against a whole lot of different players.

During the competition, think about your tactics against each player you will play.  Think about which side they are weaker on and which of your serves they don't like.  Also think about whether they like a slow game or a fast game.  If you can think about these things you will start to develop a good game strategy.

Also don't forget to enjoy the experience and just work hard during each point.

Let us know how you go in the competition.