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Doh!
That is pretty much what Shirley Ho did beating me - sounds
like you gave her some tips BEFORE the tournament. I
feel betrayed : (
Shirley didn't loop much, but has really sound forehand and
backhand strokes. She also has annoyingly precise ball
control, i.e. when she went cross court, she went "very
cross court" and when she went down the line, she
generally kept the ball within a couple inches of the line
most of the time. She also hit most ball fairly deep,
which makes my close to the table attack and counter game a
bit tougher.
Ethan looped more, and this probably would have been sound
technique against him. He has some pretty nasty serves,
and isn't shy about abusing weak returns. I think moving
him around more would have been an excellent tactic, but not
one I'm currently capable of pulling off.
My "to do" list after the tournament is long.
Here's a peek:
#1 unfortunately involves improving mu pushes. I need
more consistency and need to learn to vary the location and
spins better. I also need to learn to push a bit less
and flip or loop more. I lost way too many points on
missed or weak pushes.
#2 is general movement - including losing weight, improving
footwork, and getting my feet in the right place. I
especially need to get better at getting set after serving.
I lost too many points on decent, but not really good returns
that I just wasn't ready for...
#3 is improving serves and serve returns. Ethan Chua had
a couple serves that tore me up. Several others (Cole
and Mike are two...) have ones that I feel handcuffed me
unnecessarily. I need to get better at serve deception
too.
#4 is getting my new and improved backhand into action
comfortably. I have a habit of getting locked into
either a blocking or pushing mode and missing attack
possibilities. I need to build enough confidence to
stroke the ball freely (and hopefully correctly) under match
pressure.
#5 is working on better placement and consistency on my
"regular" forehand and backhand strokes.
Shirley really illustrated how much this matters.
#6 is that dang loop. I think it is, and the moment,
less critical to success than the above, but, should I get
them sorted out, it will become more important.
There are too many other details to mention, but those are
highlights. Dang, I got some work to do!
bes
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Arizona Table Tennis Online
