How to improve at table tennis without a coach

Many adult players donâ€t have access to a coach. The unfortunate reality is that there arenâ€t that many table tennis coaches available. Yes, some towns and cities may have a coach (or multiple coaches), but other places have none at all. And the table tennis coaches which do exist often focus more on junior players, rather than adults.

This can be very frustrating to an adult player, who is eager to improve. I have many players travel a long distance to see me, because they have no other options nearby (and the quality of the coaching, of course 😉).

Having access to a table tennis coach is undoubtedly useful. You will improve quicker and a coach can help you solve any problems you are having with your game. But itâ€s not absolutely essential. You can still improve a lot without having any personal coaching at all. Hereâ€s a few things you can do…

Analyse your game

Without someone to help you, you have to coach yourself. You can start with an analysis of your own game. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? How do you win points? How do you lose points? What shots can you play confidently? What shots are you unable to play? What standard are you playing at now? What standard would you like to get to? What do you need to change about your game to reach that standard?

By answering these questions, you will develop a much better understanding of your own game. You will become more aware of what is wrong with your game and youâ€ll seek solutions to fix it. Youâ€ll become more aware of what your strengths are and how to use these more when you play.

Every time you train, and every time you play a match, you can analyse your own performance. Do it, do it and do it again. Make analysis a habit. This will become the absolute foundation of your ability to coach yourself.

Film yourself

How we think we play can often be very different to the way we actually play. When I first started playing, I had a clear image in my mind of how I played table tennis – and it was awesome. I was in for quite a shock when I actually saw myself on video for the first time. Do I really play like that? I look terrible. My shots are all wrong. Iâ€m not moving. Iâ€m standing upright (ok, ok … not much has changed in 20 years!).

The camera never lies. Once you get over the initial shock of how you really play, filming yourself is a really useful tool. You see very clearly what is wrong (and right) with your game. This could be something technical (stance, footwork, shot execution) or tactical (ball placement, decision making, serve strategy etc).

You simply use video as another form of analysis, but one which is based on real evidence, rather than imagined evidence. You can make notes on areas you want to improve or tactics which you want to try in the future. And this can inform what you work on in your next training session. You are in charge. You are your own coach.

External feedbackÂ

Even without a coach, you can still get plenty of feedback about your game. Ask other players what they think about how you play. What do they think youâ€re good at? What do they think you can improve?

Other players are usually very happy to tell you their thoughts, often in great detail. And you can get some really useful feedback. Maybe you always play a shot to the same position, and this makes it easy to return. You were unaware of this, but with this little bit of feedback, you make a determined effort to vary your ball placement more. Instantly you have made an improvement in an area you didnâ€t know needed improving.

Or maybe you get feedback that a serve is particularly difficult to return. Itâ€s a serve you only use once a match, but with this feedback you decide to use it a little more and start winning more points.

There are so many unexpected things you can learn by seeking feedback from others. So make this another habit in your role as self-coach.

Watch coaching videos

There are loads of coaching videos on YouTube. Probably too many! You can find a video on every aspect of table tennis. And most of these videos are created by experienced coaches or very high level players (and me, of course!).

In a recent tournament, I lost to a player who told me he has never had any coaching, but he has watched all my YouTube tutorials. Damn! My videos are helping players beat me. This wasnâ€t supposed to be the plan!

But despite personal humiliation, it is a good example of how useful YouTube tutorials can be. Iâ€m sure it wasnâ€t just my videos he had been watching, but he had clearly picked up loads of technical and tactical tips and had coached himself to success.

All you have to do is go on YouTube, search the topic you want to learn more about and hey presto! Youâ€ll have a load of free coaching instruction to help you.

Training camps

Even though you may not have access to a regular coach, you can still receive some coaching. A really good option is to attend a training camp. There are many available which do cater for adult players.

Youâ€ll get access to new ideas, both technical and tactical. Youâ€ll get some personal feedback from the coaches at the training camp. And you get to play a lot of table tennis.

Itâ€s not something you need to do regularly. Just going to one training camp per year is enough. Itâ€s usually very motivating and can help you work out what you need to focus on in future training sessions.

I have a list of training camps in the UK and Europe on my website or take a look at this Facebook group, where lots of different training camps are promoted.

Tom is redundant

There is plenty you can do without a table tennis coach. You just need to approach it in the right way. Always analyse your performance. Film yourself. Seek feedback. Make use of free coaching videos and attend a training camp. Do all of this and you will improve a lot.

I feel like I am talking myself out of a job! Iâ€ll backtrack a little bit. If you do have access to a coach, then absolutely take advantage of this. You should still do all the things I mentioned above, but working with a coach will help speed up the process of improvement.

You are very welcome to come and see me in Cambridge for 1-to-1 coaching or a training camp. And if Cambridge is too far, you can join my online academy – Tomâ€s TT Academy – which is a very affordable way to get lots of regular coaching content from myself.Â

But the biggest takeaway message is this … if you donâ€t have access to a coach, you can still have great success coaching yourself. Yes, it will be a little bit harder, but definitely possible to do.

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