What Type of Drills Should You Do?
A drill is simply a training routine used by two players, such as forehand topspin to forehand block, where one player is working on one part of his game (his forehand topspin), and the other player is working on another aspect of his game (his forehand block). In most cases, one player will be doing a more complex pattern than the other (i.e. the player hitting the forehand topspin might be hitting the ball from two different places). The player who is doing the simpler part of the routine (in this case, the person blocking the ball) is called the feeder. But just because he's doing something simpler, it doesn't mean that he is not training as well!To start with, keep your training drills simple – there is plenty of time for more complex drills later. Keep the length of each drill around 5-10 minutes, otherwise you risk getting bored and losing concentration.
When planning your drills, it is easiest to think in terms of degrees of complexity. A simple drill has a low degree of complexity, while a difficult drill usually has a higher degree of complexity. I've included a separate explanation and examples of the degree of complexity concept here.
The idea behind drilling is to improve your technique while slowly increasing the amount of pressure you can handle. Simple drills are used to groove the correct technique, and then more complex drills are used to put you under pressure while you try to maintain good form. As you continue to improve, your drills will become more and more like match simulations.
Aim for an approximately 70-80% success rate when drilling. If you are making mistakes more often than that, the drill is too hard or you are trying to hit the ball too hard. If you are getting it right 95% of the time, the drill is probably too easy and you are not making the most efficient use of your time- you could be doing a more complex drill that would be of more benefit.
Always have a goal in mind when doing any drill, rather than just aimlessly going through the motions. Keep track of how well you are performing your drills, so that you know when it is time to move up to a harder drill.
When drilling, make sure that you are working on all parts of your game. If you ignore your weaknesses, they will always be vulnerable. Work hard at improving your weaknesses so that you do not have any areas that an opponent can exploit when playing you.
Variety
Having some variety when training is always a good thing. A variety of training partners will expose you to many different styles and techniques, and force you to adapt to different players. Varying your training exercises will allow you to approach each training session with eagerness, instead of getting bored with the same old routine.Don't overdo the variety though – you do need some amount of consistency to help you track your progress. If every training session is completely different, it can be hard to know whether you are improving or not, since you have nothing to compare your performance against. So keep a good balance between old favorites and new exercises.
Conclusion
Training is an essential part of any serious table tennis player's routine. Hopefully the above tips will help point you in the right direction when it comes to beginning your own training routine. Remember that it is your own training routine, so if something works well for you, don't worry about what anybody else thinks, just do it! It's when you stop improving that you will want to be asking around for help. With intelligent use of these training basics, you should be able to go a long way before that happens.Return to Beginner's Guide to Training - Overview
