by Larry Hodges (Author)
This book is excellent as a course text or as a self-instruction guide. It uses a unique progression of skills - the steps to success - to help players select serves and return shots that will give their opponents problems; add excitement to their game by putting topspin, backspin, or sidespin on the ball; choose the proper stroke to match their particular needs - whether for quickness, power, deception or just fun; select the best grip; improve their practices and games by starting out with an effective warm-up routine; find and enter tournaments; and prepare for tournament competition. Each of the 15 steps featured in Table Tennis: Steps to Success provides a solid foundation of basic skills and concepts. As players progress, they will learn how to adapt their game using the advanced strategies and playing techniques. Each step (chapter) explains why the skill or concept is important, identifies the keys to correct technique, helps players correct common errors, explains how to practise each skill in realistic ways, lists specific performance goals for each drill, gives a summary checklist for evaluating proper technique, and lets player proceed at their own pace. Table Tennis: Steps to Success features over 120 drills and 140 illustrations and will help students get started, make steady progress, practise match-winning skills, and correct problems as they develop.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 160
Publisher: Human Kinetics
Published: Apr 1993
ISBN 10: 0873224035
ISBN 13: 9780873224031
Larry Hodges is the national coaching chairman for the United States Table Tennis Association (USTTA) and a past vice president. He is also director and a coach at the National Table Tennis Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland. As a certified National Coach, Larry has worked with the best players in the country. He managed and coached at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs from 1985 to 1989, and he has been the U.S. Junior Coach at the U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships since 1990. Larry has taught table tennis classes in colleges, recreation centers, clinics, and clubs all over the United States.
Larry is the editor of Table Tennis Today, the national magazine for table tennis. He is also the author of the book Instructors Guide to Table Tennis and more than 200 articles on table tennis. Larry has been playing serious table tennis since 1976. He has been ranked among the top 30 players in the United States and has won state championships in North Carolina, Maryland, and Colorado. He is also a former National Collegiate Doubles Champion. When he's not coaching, playing, or writing about table tennis, Larry enjoys reading and writing science fiction, playing tennis and basketball, and tutoring kids in math and English.