Feel and read the spin
Ready when: Serve and rules (b4) done.
What you are learning
Feeling and reading spin. Brushing under the ball makes it spin backward (backspin) and stay low; brushing the side makes it curve. Watching the opponent's bat at contact tells you what spin is coming.
Words on this card Bat, Toss, Underspin
- Bat
- The racket; the wooden part is the blade, the sticky surface the rubber.
- Toss
- Throwing the ball up from an open hand before serving.
- Underspin
- Brushing under the ball so it spins backward and stays low.
Show it first for the one teaching
- On the floor, brush under the ball with the bat so it rolls out and spins back toward you.
- Brush it sideways so it curves.
- At the table, slice under the ball with an open face so it stays low and checks back after the bounce.
Your part while they practise
Serve with or without spin; call the result.
Step by step
- On the floor, brush under the ball so it rolls out and spins back toward you.
- Brush it sideways so it curves.
- At the table, slice under the ball with an open face so it stays low and checks back after the bounce.
- Then you serve and the player calls "spin" or "no spin" before hitting.
How much: 10 tries of each 12 min a session 2 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Short serves
A serve that would bounce twice on the receiver's side scores.
Who plays: 2 players, taking turns to serve 10.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Serve short with backspin
- The receiver lets it go; if it bounces twice on their side, the server scores
- Then the receiver calls "spin" or "no spin" on each of your serves
- 10 serves each
- Fair play
- A grown-up must change the spin without changing the swing.
- Points
- 1 point for each serve that bounces twice; 1 point for each spin called right.
- Fouls
- No point
- A serve that goes off the end of the table
- An illegal toss
- Calling after the ball has bounced
- Winning
- More points after 10 serves each.
- 6 points for 1 star
- 11 points for 2 stars
- 16 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
Brush slowly, big movements.
Change spin without changing the swing.
What you will see, and what to say
- the ball does not come back
Brush under, do not hit
Thin and soft. - the receiver guesses
Watch the bat at contact
Look at the bat.
Self-check
5 of 10 balls spin back toward the line; 8 of 10 correct calls.
Stop and get a coach when
The player is ready for heavy-spin serves (i3).
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains spin feel, reading spin, serve length.
awiseathlete.com/sports/table-tennis/table-tennis-i4