GUIDELINES TO BEGINNERS AND CADET PLAYERS/TRAINING
Article by Peter Nilsson

A.Table Tennis Technique
B.Training Programme For Beginners and Cadet Players
C.Physical Training
D.Other Points

A1. BEGINNERS
1. Racket choice: jr.racket, light wood, allround wood (Butterfly A.Grubba All+ is very good), straight or conic handle/grip, important that they can get their fingers around the handle.

2. Rubber Choice: Important to not play with thick rubbers and rubbers that are too sticky (as frienship), 1,8 - 2,0 on fh and 1,5. 1,8 mm bh.

3. Neutral Grip - say hello to your racket.

4. Be able to keep the ball in play during exercises

5. Regular Exercise.

6. Simple Exercises - many different.

7. Much control and learn right technique (this is important for the future.)

8. Legs and feet position.

9. Important to move legs and feet first and upper part of the body as second.

10. All strokes forward and go back to body position.

11. Show the strokes to the players.

12. Multi Ball

A2. CADET
1. Basic Technique

2. Fh-loop/Bh-loop-technique

3. Important to learn the right movements - strokes and footwork

4. Practise : change a lot between bh and fh, train a lot of footwork (fh from bh) and serve exercises

5. Practise loop against loop so the ball feeling/touch will be better/improve

6. Learn to have variation between speed, ball placement, spin

7. The players must learn game understanding, ball estimation and tactics

8. Variation in regular and irregular exercises

9. Individual - work with development of each player and own playing style

10. Don't teach them to play more difficult than they can play

11. Table tennis theory - use video and analyse games

12. Serve Training

13. Multi Ball

B. TRAINING PROGRAMMES.
B1. BEGINNERS - 90 min. incl. everything
Control - straight

Footwork - bh+fh from bh against bh - block

Block - train easy "safe" block

Serve - serve - return to fh - try to play fh attack

Play games at various times in the training not always in the end. One exercise - 1 set - one exercise and so on, this is a good way to train young players.

B2. CADET
13 years old - 120 min + physical training

Control - changing between bh and fh against bh - block

Footwork - 2 points fh from bh against bh-block

Block - one block from bh and fh against fh-loop from middle

Serve - short serve - short return to bh or long to fh - try to go to attack

C. PHYSICAL TRAINING
C1. BEGINNERS - 12 years old
Relay Race

Other Sports

Allround Training

Must be fun

Not necessary with seperate power training

Good age to learn technique / co-ordination

C2 CADET 13-16 years old
Allround / power training - train the whole body - education (teach the players to do physical training for themselves and not for their trainer)

Other Sports

Run - 20 min. 1 time/week

Normal power training with their body as weight

Train up the speed in their legs

jumps / bouncing

Work out

Stretching

OTHER POINTS

1. Work with development goals and not result goals

2. Don't look at the results - look at each players performance from their level

3. Teach the players the three differtent training directions and get a balance of them:
  1. Organised Training.
  2. Training on own hand
  3. Play - have fun

4. Increase the training step by step and have a balance between technique training and other trainings as condition, strength, fast, stretching

5. Think months / years in to the future and work with a positive goal picture of how the technique/play will be.

6. Be focused on each body part (50% on each)
Upper part of body - stroke technique, racket grip, balance.
Lower part of body - how they move the feet and right footwork

7. Good body position / good balance - bend down knees and shoulders forward.

8. In the youth years it is very important with a wide education / training and then get an order of priorities
  • Basic Technique
  • Regular (repeat) training.
  • Spin play before speed play
  • General movement / strokes - footwork and co-ordination

    9. Smooth - calm - relax - technique and good rhythm

    10. Play tournaments in moderation, good planning.

    11. Have much international training and tournaments exchange

    12. It is important that Cadet players are practising at least 3 times per week + tournaments

    13. Important to practise the whole year and have 2-3 shorter breaks.

    Players must have the basic technique before they start to glue. When players are beginning to glue - start with allround wood and thin rubbers - 1,8 mm

    15. Important as a trainer that you are well prepared for training/tournaments