A real low and short
no-spin serve can give you some easy points in matches, as they are
difficult to flip hard, and they require good timing to push hard.
Mix it up with a heavy backspin in the same spot. Remember to get it
short, the ball should bounce short on your side close to the net...
Note: Information in this guide
will continue to be added as the table tennis community shares their
experiences with others, and allow us to include it in this guide. So if
you've used a robot, please share your experience and allow us to add
your comments into this guide, so that others can benefit from your
experience.
Robot Greatest Benefits:
If you want to be convinced that a robot is worthwhile for
you, then please read this sections, and I'll try and convince you, hah hah!
#1 Ideal for practicing, fine-tuning and speeding up your
strokes Assuming you have learnt the basic strokes, you
need to practice them to get better. Robots are ideal for this, because they
have the ability to give you the same ball over and over again, allowing you
to (1) practice the stroke, (2) fine-tune the stroke, (3) speed it up once
you've mastered it and (4) see what effects some minor adjustment can make.
A real practice partner will almost certainly not give you
the same ball continuously, so if you start missing you won't know if the
ball came a little different, or if you made an error in you
stroke/footwork. Of course a real practice partner will also likely run out
of energy or will get bored...something you don't need to worry about with a
robot!
#2 Makes table tennis fun, especially for
kids
If you're keep to get your or other's kids interested in table tennis, then
a robot is a real treat. Kids love this sort of thing. You can use it as a
treat after some serious training, or as a demo to get new kids interested,
or just have it around as a bit of fun.
#3
Exercise and Health
If you thought table tennis does not require much fitness or endurance,
think again! Once you're learned some of the basic strokes you'll realise
you need a lot more than just an arm movement to play a proper stroke, and
you need to move your feet to get into position to play your strokes
properly. A robot setup to oscillate or even programmed to shoot out balls
to specific locations, can feed you balls all over the table, over and over
again, at a speed and frequency of your choice. This will give you a great
workout, for either losing weight or gaining fitness and/or endurance. Not
only will the weight loss and improvement in fitness/endurance improve your
game, but it will no doubt improve your coordination and strokes enormously
as well. Although the example in the video below may be a little extreme, it
does make a valid point!
#4 A great aid for Group Coaching
After recently speaking to a coach who does a lot of group coaching, I've
realised how valuable a few robots can be. To keep costs down, only very
simply robots can make group coaching so much easier, and require a lot less
helpers or other coaches. You can simply set the robots of for a particular
stroke that the kids need to learn, and allow them to practice it over and
over again, while you walk around the group and offer advice where needed.
In this case a few smaller robots, costing only a few hundred dollars each,
can be much more valuable then a single more complex unit.
#5 Improve footwork and coordination
Apart from allowing you to practice your individual strokes, most robots can
be set to oscillate or even programmed to shoot out balls to specific
locations. This can be highly valuable to practice your footwork, and speed
it up once you've mastered the basics. This again is especially useful for
kids, and their coordination is still developing, and footwork can be taught
right from the start.
#6 To play when no partner
is available
Although a robot is no substitute for a partner to play with, it sure is a
lot better than not being able to play at all!
#7
Practice to handle a weakness or a trouble shot from an opponent
For those that play competition, you'll know every has a weakness. Once an
opponent find this, and has the ability to use it against you, it can mean
the end of the game. A robot can usually be setup to play the balls you have
trouble with, so you can practice it over and again, until you you turn it
into a strength.
Similarly there are always some players that play a
particular shot you may have trouble with... well setup the robot to give
you that trouble shot, and practice over and over again to work out how to
handle it!
#8 Clubs facility
A club that has a robot available is a likely attraction for new players. It
can be a very important facility that you can offer to your members, and can
offer great benefits as outlined above.
If you want to be convinced that a robot is worthwhile for
you, then please read this sections, and I'll try and convince you, hah hah!
