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Written by Scott Preiss
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Before I leave on my next table tennis training trip to China in just a few weeks, I started to think about what it takes to be a world-class player and what I can do to provide my son with the correct training to achieve his goals.
When I look back at all the training I have done in the past 30 years it comes down to one type of training particularly important for developing a world class player; multi-ball training. This is training where the balls are fed to you from across the table tennis table. No the player is not eat what he or she is being fed, but to hit the ball back across the table when they come to your side of the table.
There are many coaches throughout Europe and China whose sole position is to feed multi -ball. I remember training at the German Olympic Training Center in Heidelberg one year. I brought eight young US juniors to Germany to train with eight young German junior players. When we arrived to the gym there was a Chinese coach in the corner who was feeding multi ball to the European players. I heard only a few words from him in a few hours, but he fed thousands upon thousands of balls to each and every player in the room. It was like “Crouching Tiger Hidden Ping Pong Balls”
This Chinese coach was able to bend down into a lotus type position and feed balls to the players without hurting his back. Hitting balls to forehand, then to backhand, then drop shots, then topspin, and then backs-pin, always keeping the player guessing what is coming at them. This is an excellent reflex exercise and also is a wonderful way to groom the stroke of the player. After training a player needs not think of his stroke, it will become automatic.
A key to feeding good multi ball is to know how much challenge to give to your student, and also how to keep them confident with their game. Hitting the balls to fast or imparting too much spin to make the player miss will accomplish little. The strategy of the multi-ball coach is help the player get into the zone. That would be when the timing, the impact, the footwork are all working together. It is important too that the player not do multi-ball training when they are so tired they are not executing the shots properly. It is best to work with the player, get their timing in sync with your feeding. No the player is not being fed food, but ping pong balls to hit.
Scott Preiss
Former US World Team Trainer
Certified US National Coach and Entertainer
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