Senior Citizen Prognosis

Table Tennis Strokes and Technique

Last updated 9 years ago

steve dausch

steve dausch Asked 9 years ago

Hello Coach,

I started playing in my late 60's. Have played once a week for 2 years. But 6 months ago I acquired a table and Robot, and took 9 private lessons and started adding daily "scrimmages" with my wife who is a lower level new player. My skill improvement has been slow and modest. I have more effective serves, and occasionally can hit a decent forehand attack ball. But my playing group is beating me up especially in singles, doubles not so bad.

Just about everybody I play is better than me, and getting beat up on a weekly basis can be demoralizing

The way I am playing/ 10000 hrs will take almost 4 years.

What do you believe is reasonable improvement expectation? Are we talking months, years, decades or never for somebody my age.


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario Answered 9 years ago

Hi Steve,

Improvement comes at different rates and definitely isn’t linear.

I think starting at a later age is more difficult but not impossible to gain improvement.  Just persevere and get as good as you can.  As I say to everyone, no matter what their age, just see where you can get to.  Set yourself some simple goals of things you want to achieve, not results wise but more skills wise.

For example, think about being able to get get 20 topspin balls on in a row or being able to complete 8 out of 10 3rd ball attacks in a training drill.

 


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Thoughts on this question

Craig Smith

Craig Smith Posted 9 years ago

Just a thought...  I am also an older player and play 2X a week at the senior center (for 2 hours each).I found I did not do well playing as I did 40 years ago.  I switched to a balsa blade with long pips on the backhand and a tacky rubber on the forehand.  After 3 moths playing "the old way", I was the worse player in the group and almost a sure loss to any partner in doubles.  In the 3 weeks since switching, I now am on the winning team in doubles and  last Friday won all but one of my singles matches.  My biggest problem was spin.  the guys i play with have all sorts of screwy serves and returns that hide the spin they are putting on the ball.  With the long pips I just hit thru the spin.  My only problem when i first switched was a nothing serve.  That is why I have a nice sticky inverted rubber on the backhand side and serve with that side.  You can get a long pips rubber real cheap- I would suggest you switch for a few weeks and see if you don't improve a LOT.


Dieter Verhofstadt

Dieter Verhofstadt Posted 9 years ago

For all players, the fundamentals will always make the biggest difference: grip, stance, footwork and execution of basic strokes.

As an older player you need to understand what limitations you have: are you too stiff to crouch? are you lacking reaction speed to stay close to the table and get back to ready position? are your fingers preventing you from doing a proper grip?

Only if your physical condition prevents you from playing fundamentally well, you can move away from them, for example by playing away farther from the table and give yourself more time. You can indeed add odd rubbers to the equation to take even more pace out of the exchange (but I'm not a fan of those).

If a slow learning curve is the only effect of your age, then still the fundamentals are the first thing to pay attention too. Tricky serves and shots may deliver some short term results but those vanish quickly.

I'm a beginner in my 40s and progress goes too slow at my age as well. But we still need to be patient, despite our horizon being closer than we'd wish!

 


Thomas Kunzfeld

Thomas Kunzfeld Posted 9 years ago

Hi Steve,

for someone in their late sixties to me it seems extremely ambitious wanting to get to 10000 hours within four years - that means practicing almost 50 hous a week.

I am 51 and have just started. I train about 5 hours a week - so I don´t think I will reach 10000 hours :-)

 


steve dausch

steve dausch Posted 9 years ago

I have found the comments above quite helpful. Correction on my 10000 hrs math: based on my current practice and play mode it will take me only 38 years to achieve 10000 hrs at age 106.

I agree with the comment on focusing on fundamentals. Been trying to concentrate on consistency rather than showboating. I believe I am better physically than most players my age, but when losing  I get frustrated and start pressing which probably magnifies problems. I tend to be an attack player with decent serves. Am weak at blocking. Would like to learn to Chop...it looks easy, but its probably not easy to learn. cant find videos on Chopping.  


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 9 years ago

Hi Steve,

Take a look at the lessons on Backhand PushForehand PushForehand Chop and Backhand Chop.



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