The Simple Things that lose you points and matches

[RebornTTEvnglist]

We talk about improving techniques and being able to master certain shots and so forth, but how often do we really think about simple things that really cost us in matches? I'm not talking about a smash that went long or hit the net tape and came back. I'm talking about the ball we misjudged our hand movement on and hits the edge of our bat instead of the middle. Or the serve we slam into the end of the table or try to put that little extra on and send long. Then there's the ball that we really go for only to completely miss it, probably because our mind takes the shot as done and moves on before the ball is struck. We are human and mistakes are inherent in our actions, and equally we play to force the opponent to make a mistake. But many of our mistakes are not forced, but more a result of losing focus.

I see players every night who make these mistakes and it happens right up to the top level. At the highest club level it tends to happen less of course, but things like fatigue will still bring it out in anyone. Its impossible for us to totally cut mistakes from the game (or the points may never end  ) but I'm sure there are things we wish we could. And I'm sure there are things we can do better at.

What things do you do that you wish you could eradicate from your game that would win you a lot more points? Do you even recognise these things occurring or do you gloss over them? If you have already made good efforts to overcome some of these things, what have you been able to do?

[speedplay]

I for one miss way to many serves, even if it have improved lately. I'm aware of the problem and I also know why I do it. It's because my serve is probably my weakest shot at the moment, so I have to really for for it (otherwise, I'll give my opponent the command of the point straight away) and by doing this, I miss to many serves, usually 2-3 serves each match. By staying focused and not rush to serve, it have become better. I'm also taking the opportunity to work on my serve as often as possible (despite it being boring!) which have also helped.

Another mistake I often make is that I close my bat to much when I'm hitting with my anti. Not sure if this is unforced errors or not, but it does cost me to many points. This is mostly because of an awkward bh-technique, which I'm not working on improving with mixed results. For some reason, the problem don't occur when I hit the ball diagonal, but often when I try to attack down the line.

I very rarely miss the ball completely, but it does happen that I miss the table on smashes. How ever, I wouldn't put this down to unforced errors, cause when this happens, it is because I play against some one who is good at returning smashes, so I try harder and harder and eventually I'll miss. Not a big deal to me as I probably still win more points on this then I lose as I've made several of my opponents miss their smashes because of this.

[RebornTTEvnglist]

In which way do you miss your serves Speedplay? Into the net? Send them long or wide? Slam them into the end of the table?

On thing that costs me several point over the course of a match is having the ball hit my finger on the bat. Its not always an unforced error as it usually occurs on forceful shot by the opponent where I just don't get the bat into best position in time. This is the same situation when the ball hits the bat edge and doesn't go where intended. I win as many or more points off opponents from this sort of thing too, but I'd rather them do it and me not LOL. In fact I think it can be the difference between winning and losing matches. I don't consider this to be a technique issue so much as a focus issue. Lapses in focus can affect hand eye coordination severely.

[speedplay]

In which way do you miss your serves Speedplay? Into the net? Send them long or wide? Slam them into the end of the table?

Mostly I net the serves, as my aim is to keep my serves short and low to prevent my opponent from getting in the first attack. I'm not trying to make any fancy serves, as this don't win me points at the level I currently play at, those days are gone Now, it's all about keeping them low and preferably short.

When I lose focus, I sometimes slam them in the edge of the table, but this is all due to losing focus and not something I worry to much about, because when I lose focus, it is because I'm already far ahead and I can afford to make those silly mistakes.

As for hitting the fingers, this happens to me as well, but I corrected my grip some which helped me avoid this. Now when it happens, it happens because I'm simply not quick enough to get the bat in position, so they are hardly unforced errors.

What's worse is hitting the edge of the blade when I go for a loop. Not that it happens all that often, but losing these points can be crucial to the outcome of the match. Not sure what to do about it, cause it is all about mistiming the shot and practice more is probably the only thing that helps to minimize this.

[RebornTTEvnglist]

What's worse is hitting the edge of the blade when I go for a loop. Not that it happens all that often, but losing these points can be crucial to the outcome of the match. Not sure what to do about it, cause it is all about mistiming the shot and practice more is probably the only thing that helps to minimize this.

I don't brush loop, so this one doesn't happen to me really. I'm more likely to hit the bat edge from misjudging the balls spin bounce (usually due to lapse of focus).

I also do a lot of short low serving to ensure my serve isn't killed. I've seen your serve action on vid and if its still the same high toss taken into your bat on FH at stomach level I can understand this being muffed at times. I tend to serve off a lower toss from BH for short serves off inverted then twiddle (or a long deep low pips serve with no twiddle lol). Have you ever tried this action? I know you can twiddle, so that shouldn't be a problem and a really short dead no spin serve off the anti might be a good changeup too..

[speedplay]

I do serve fr0om bh every now and then, but since my aim is to serve and attack the third ball, this puts some pressure on me to twiddle fast, which I'm not always successful with. Serving from the anti don't work at all at the club, since they are all so used to it. In regional league matches, it might win me a point or two before they figure out how to deal with it, so not a good option. Besides, my bh serve is a lot weaker then my fh serve. I can get good sidespin on it, but rarely any backspin, which makes it a sitting duck for any offensive minded player.

Since that video (wow, that is old!) I've been working on an even higher toss, since a higher toss makes deception easier, because the balls speed when it drops helps generating more spin, so even minor changes in bat angle makes the difference between two similar looking serves bigger.

I do brushloop on occasions, but I prefer to powerloop, but I still hit the edge of the blade every now and then. Most of the time it is when I'm stepping around to use fh from the bh side, so it's probably a issue of time, I do not get in position in time, so I stress the stroke and edge the ball.

[RebornTTEvnglist]

I've never really tossed high on serve. I can do it, but I get more spin and plenty of variation with different bat angles and directions off my BH serve, and deception via when I actually strike the ball during the service action. And its 99% consistent for me, but each to his own.  The worst I usually do with it is get it a little thick on the bat which reduces the spin and increases the height and it gets smashed back. Mind you it often wins a point directly if they miss the smash or do it once and then misjudge other serves thinking they are the same and put them in the net.  I find with the lighting at our club if I toss high I end up looking onto a fluro light and then can't see to play the point.

My new teammate powerloops a lot and hits the leading edge of the blade a lot. When he is on he can powerloop a ball almost like its a flick and from only a few inches off the table. And he can do it from FH or BH. He has an amazing knack for it, but his consistency is about 50-60% most the time. Its exciting when he is on with it, especially when he's playing doubles with you. But its frustrating when he ends the point sending the ball 30 metres out of court and you haven't even had a hit in the point.

Stepping around is definitely a risky move a lot of the time. I'm not quick enough or strong enough on my knee to do it quickly. I'll do it if there is time and its the best shot to put the point away, but its not often. Sometimes it might happen 2 or 3 times in a match, others times not at all. I have a reactionary/instinctive shot that takes players off guard that is a FH smash with bat from right next to my body (ie bat brushing my stomach) as I smack the ball. Its kind of like a step around without having to actually move feet much. It rarely gets returned as its almost always unexpected lol.

[Der Echte]

I think a simple thing that I could improve a lot is deccision making whether to setup and execute a FH or BH. Right now my decision making process is simple. I either abort mission and push it back, (which usually invites an atttack and instantly turns me into a close to the table 2x inverted pushblocker looking for a weak ball to take over) OR I go all out stepaound and attack strongly to win the point. ( I had better win the point, because I an very vulnurable on a fast block to the wide FH corner)

I step around too often and would benefit from using a BH loop more often before going ballistic on the FH attacking. I have a good BH loop stroke with good spin and pace, but in a match, the lack of good decision making results in a BH that is a liability a lot of the time. More time improving over here with all the time I spend playing will help, but it would be cool to instantly improve that area.