Pay Attention!

When training for table tennis, you should always strive to give each drill 100% of your focus. For those of us who are at less than elite status, it is all too easy to let our attention wander during training, as we spend time chatting to our training partner. And to be honest, an hour long training session where nothing is said at all would not be very appealing to most players anyway!

So while I'm certainly not advocating a ban on conversation during a training session, it is important to try to maintain your concentration as much as possible. And even if you aren't chatting during your session, it is still easy to drift off and go on automatic pilot. One of my pet peeves when coaching is watching a player make a simple mistake such as using the wrong racket angle during a drill, then repeat the exact same mistake a second and third time, without ever stopping to think about what he or she is doing wrong.

Here's a quick couple of tips to help you keep focused during your training.

Zip the Lip

Shut up during the rallies. This is probably the quickest and easiest tip to help keep your concentration high during a long session. If you must talk socially, do so while you are chasing down the ball between rallies. Then when the ball is put into play, shut up and get to work.

Check your Checklist

Pay attention to what is going wrong - and what is going right. This tip is a little tougher to do, but it can pay big dividends when you go out and play in competition.

Instead of chatting between training rallies, try to pay attention to what you just did wrong. There is a quick 5 point checklist that you should run through in your head before starting the next rally. While it may seem a bit bothersome at first, keep practicing and you'll soon be able to go through the checklist in only a few seconds.

When you make a mistake, you should:

1. Work out what went wrong;
2. Work out why it went wrong;
3. Work out what you will do to fix it next time;
4. Try to execute your plan the next time the same situation happens; and
5. Check whether your plan fixed the problem. If not, go back to Step 1 and try again.

When you play an unexpectedly good shot, use a similar 4 step checklist, with a few modifications.

1. Work out what went right;
2. Work out why it went better than expected;
3. Try to repeat the stroke the next time the same situation happens; and
4. If you can repeat the stroke with similar success, remember what you did and keep practicing it to groove the stroke.

Keeping quiet during your training rallies is a big step in the right direction for improving your training focus. Using the quick mental checklists given above will be even more beneficial, especially since once you are proficient at applying the checklists, it is easy to use them during a match to your advantage.